Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Communities

I enjoyed the readings for 9/29's class. I thought it was interesting to hear about the way in which Manitou Heights was chosen for St. Olaf College and they way in which American colleges and universities developed. For some reason I was surprised when I read in "The American Campus as an 'Academical Village'" that the "architect's job not only designs the individual buildings but the creation of a whole community."

The strong community here at St. Olaf is one of the main reasons why I'm here. I wanted the warm and welcoming atmosphere and a place I would be happy to live day by day in. I never really thought about how this community was put together. Did the architect's over St. Olaf's history think about this when they designed the campus? Is that the reason we have so much land (I've heard at least 300 acres) but all out buildings are close enough that I can get from Hoyme all the way to Old Main in 7 minutes? Big universities, as well as small colleges, are built over a long period of time. Have people been thinking about the community they build from day one of construction? Why weren't English universities built with this in mind?

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Speaking

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was enthralled by the Anne Hutchinson reading. Although I was fascinated by her life and her bravery, it was this quote on page 490 that I found most interesting:

"Perhaps she believed that what she said was true"

It's so simple but it's so surprising how many people don't say what they believe in or believe in what they say. Even people are afraid to be out spoken for reasons we can all easily brainstorm, I still find it unfortunate. I feel as though if we don't speak what we believe we can never be who we want to be. It shields the world from seeing who we really are. In a way it's restricting our freedom. T.T. Williams would say this is holding back our democracy. We can't have democracy unless we say what we believe. 

Many people don't speak what they believe because they think others won't listen. As we discussed freedom's in class last week someone pointed out that we all have the freedom to speech and with that comes with the freedom to listen to others. As I read in Richard Lederer's essay "English is a Crazy Language" during my senior year in high school, we all need to "take a step back and listen to the sounds that escape from the hole's in people's faces." Maybe if we did that more people would be like Anne Hutchinson and believe what they say is true.

Anne Hutchinson

So far this has been my favorite reading. I've found all the of the articles and readings about the Puritans interesting (mostly because I loved reading Nathanial Hawthrone's The Scarlett Letter) but I found reading about Anne Hutchinson to be fascinating. I might have been enthralled because I have never known much about her or taken the time to find look into her life and history. As I read this article, I couldn't help but to wonder why they made such a big deal out of her and her teachings. Westerkamp makes it very, very clear that Anne was not the first person to put forth these ideas, teachings and movements. She wasn't even the first women to bring up these ideas. So why condemn and punish her? Why was Anne Hutchinson outcast from her home, community and family? Was it because her voice simply the loudest?

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

The Catholics and "Blago"

As I started reading the first chapter of The American Dream by Jim Cullen, I came across a passage that, if I had not been paying close enough attention, I would have thought had come from a recent news article from back home. 

Found on page 19, Cullen is explaining that "one of the most important reasons for the Protestant Reformation in the first place: the Roman Catholic practice of selling indulgences whereby the rich could buy forgiveness of their sins. What made this so repellent was not so much what might bother someone today- a kind of class inequality that suggested salvation went to the highest bidder".

To me, that compared to former Illinois governor, Rod Blagojevich, trying to sell Obama's vacant senate seat to the highest bidder. 

From this comparison I can completely understand how many people felt about the Roman Catholics "selling forgiveness". It's shocking, unbelievable and morally questionable.

Instead of preaching that through faith in a loving God everyone can be saved the Roman Catholics were advertising eternal life to the wealthiest members of society. Does that really convey the message of God's love and mercy?

And instead of going through the proper procedures and regulations for replacing the senate seat "Blago" tried to sell it. How can that be considered democratic in the least?

Sunday, September 19, 2010

A Wife Explains Why She Likes Country

Quote: "I'm fixin' to wear boots to the dance/ and make my hair bigger, because no smarty-pants, just easy rhymes,/ perfect love, because I'm lost deep within myself and the sad songs call me out,/ because even you with your superior aesthetic cried/ when Tammy Wynette died,"

From "A Wife Explains Why She Likes Country"
Found in the last 1/3 of the poem


I decided to use this quote for today's blog post because, quite frankly, it really confused me. As I was reading the poem I understood that the author, Barbara Ras, was describing the country,a rural lifestyle and the scenery, activities and ideals that come with it. What I didn't understand was who Tammy Wynette was. Was she a real person? If so what did she do? Who was she? Maybe she was a myth or urban legend? If that was the case, what did she represent. I knew the line and the meaning of the poem as a whole would make more sense and have more meaning to it if I understood this allusion.

I immediately looked up Tammy Wynette and found out she was one of the most influential female country singers who not only had a successful career during the 1970s (and really up until her death in 1998), but also paved the way for other country female artists.

After reading this (and much more) about Tammy Wynette, I understood the meaning of the poem much more. Barbara Ras was trying to depict why she is so influenced by the country and why it means so much to her. To make a reference to one of the most influential female country starts packs a lot of punch.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Witnessing a lifetime

When I first clicked on the link that directed us to the essays by T.T Williams my stomach dropped. What I initially though was going to be a fairly quick assignment looked was going to take all night to complete. Much to my surprise, as I started on the essay "Commencement" I found myself thoroughly enjoying not only the writing style of Williams, but the message as well. I was intrigued by the idea of democracy being a constant battle and something we always need to be fussing about.
Although I was facinated by the ideas and themes Williams presented, what struck me most was one of the first parts of the first essay. Williams was describing her meeting with a few members of the graduating class of the University of Utah and how she heard "mature voices, steady minds speaking from a generation that had witnessed the beginning of two wars, Afghanistan and Iraq, while students at the university." Immeditatly my thoughts went to a subject I often find myself pondering:  my generation might only be 18 years old but we've seen an awful lot and I wonder what else we're going to see in our lifetimes.

Like the graduating class of Utah I can remember the start of both of those wars.

I can remember 9/11and what my 9 year old mind made of the censored information my parents gave me. Reflecting back, I now find it hard to remember what the pre 9/11 world was like.

I can remember the natural disasters; the hurricanes, the earth quakes, the tsunamis and the over whelming responses from people all over the world looking to give a helping hand in the end.

I can remember the economic turmoil, the first African-American president and all the corruption our (well, at least in Illinois, after all, we do have quite the track record when it comes to governors) society has seen.


Of course these are things I'm always going to remember, but when I sit in retrospect for a while, my thoughts eventually turn to the future.

What else will my generation (and the 2003 graduating class of Utah) see in the years to come?

T.T Williams may have only scarcely brushed on the subject of retrospect but it definitely stuck with me and definitely got me thinking about the past and imagining what could come in the future.