12/15/2009
1. What was the reasoning for lowering acedemic standards in the Untied States? What can the U.S. learn from other countries?
2. Homosexuals are not allowed to marry one another because of a law that is based on the Bible. One of our rights a citizen of the U.S. is to be able to chose our own religion. If some homosexuals are not religious but still have to follow a reilgous based law, wouldn't that be against one of their constitutional rights?
3. Why is a large amount of the world starving and why is a large amount of the world obese?
Posted at 6:06 PM by Emily Stewart
12/15/2009
a. The Bruce Islands was a slave trading post that Europeans bought, sold and shipped their slaves to the America.
b. Edward Hopper is an American Artist. He painted Nighthawks, a painting we saw at the art museum in Chicago.
c.Telemann was a German composer of a wide variety of music.
d.Kumbha Mela is a pligrimage that people of the hindu faith do atleast four times every twelve years
e. The Great Rift is a valley located in Africa.
f. A savanna is a flat grassland generally found in tropical and sub-tropical regions.
g.Porte de L'Afrique is a port into Africa.
h. Irigation, a form of writing, and a more productive agriculture.
ESSAYS
1. I agree with historians and geographers and how they say that different cultures can be understood through their art. For example buddist do not worship only one god and it shows through their art work. As soon as you walked into the Asian art exhibit there were four different statues all representing something different. Two of them were protection and tranquilty. They also showed us several different forms of the god, ganesh. This shows that each god means something different to each individual.
2. I think art is a reflection of a society's fundamental beliefs and actions because art is a way to express how you feel about something that is very dear to you. Many people paint or sculpt things that have a lot of meaning to them. They are not going to go out and paint a picture of the sun if it beautiful before they are going to go paint a picture of the sun that means something to their culture. People learned a long time ago, that the only way that people are going to remember things is if they are still present in years to come.
Posted at 4:49 PM by Emily Stewart
a. The Bruce Islands was a slave trading post that Europeans bought, sold and shipped their slaves to the America.
b. Edward Hopper is an American Artist. He painted Nighthawks, a painting we saw at the art museum in Chicago.
c.Telemann was a German composer of a wide variety of music.
d.Kumbha Mela is a pligrimage that people of the hindu faith do atleast four times every twelve years
e. The Great Rift is a valley located in Africa.
f. A savanna is a flat grassland generally found in tropical and sub-tropical regions.
g.Porte de L'Afrique is a port into Africa.
h. Irigation, a form of writing, and a more productive agriculture.
ESSAYS
1. I agree with historians and geographers and how they say that different cultures can be understood through their art. For example buddist do not worship only one god and it shows through their art work. As soon as you walked into the Asian art exhibit there were four different statues all representing something different. Two of them were protection and tranquilty. They also showed us several different forms of the god, ganesh. This shows that each god means something different to each individual.
2. I think art is a reflection of a society's fundamental beliefs and actions because art is a way to express how you feel about something that is very dear to you. Many people paint or sculpt things that have a lot of meaning to them. They are not going to go out and paint a picture of the sun if it beautiful before they are going to go paint a picture of the sun that means something to their culture. People learned a long time ago, that the only way that people are going to remember things is if they are still present in years to come.
Posted at 4:49 PM by Emily Stewart
3 Questions
12/14/2009
1) How could having sex with a toddler help cure HIV/AIDS?
2) If religions believe in the same God, why are people having religious wars?
3) If the United States is 40th in innovation, what are all the other countries that are ahead of us?
Posted at 12:06 PM by Chaz Dial
1) How could having sex with a toddler help cure HIV/AIDS?
2) If religions believe in the same God, why are people having religious wars?
3) If the United States is 40th in innovation, what are all the other countries that are ahead of us?
Posted at 12:06 PM by Chaz Dial
A Test
12/14/2009
A. What was the importance (or infamy) of Bunce Island? Bunce Island was one of many slave castles built during the Atlantic Slave Trade by Europeans along the West coast of Africa. It provided most of the slaves used to produce corn in South Carolina and Georgia in the 1700s. Many times, it was attacked by pirates and became an ideal target for war times.
B. Who was Edward Hopper and why was he important? Edward Hopper, the creator of one of my favorite pieces in the Chicago Art Institute, Nighthawks, is a famous American artist focusing in painting and printmaking. His work is revered throughout the world and is influential in pop culture in various cartoons and even on That 70s Show.
C. Who was Telemann? Telemann was the composer for one of the pieces our class had the opportunity to hear at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He was named the most prolific composer of all time by the Guinness Book of World Records.
D. What was India's Great Kumbha Mela Pilgrimage? It is a mass Hindu pilgrimage which takes place four times every twelve years to one of four locations. The locations rotate by year. The main event is a ritual bath, but there are also feasts, songs, and assemblies. Millions of people attend this pilgrimage in one day.
E. What is the Great Rift? It is a 6,000 kilometer long trench located in Northeast Africa. The term refers to a rift of tectonic plates along Africa's coast which is splitting the African Plate in two.
F. What's a savanna? A savanna is a type of ecosystem in which trees are scattered and separated. It has one rainy season and is usually located between a forest and desert.
G. What is Porte de L'Afrique? Porte de L'Afrique is a port from France into Africa of which Roger Broders created a famous poster.
H. Identify 3 ingenius innovations of the people of MesoAmerica. 1. Agriculture - corn, tiering, canals2. Governing structure3. Creation of roadways
Discuss in correct grammatical prose two of the following: 1. Anthropologists, cultural historians, geographers, and archeologists often look to the arts and mores of countries as a clue to the behavior, beliefs and practice of a people. Use your first-hand experience these four days to discuss. Example: Buddhist/Hindu art/sculpture as reflective of society - religion, culture, etc. 2. How do you think art is a reflection of a society's fundamental beliefs and actions? Reference your experience at the Art Institute, the Islamic Center, the Spertus Museum and the DuSable Museum? 3. What has to happen in Africa ala environment, political stability, agriculture, wildlife, etc. To (think globally) begin solving some of the problems of the world community. Reference the work of Wangari Maathai, the scientists referenced at the Field Museum, the Great Rift Valley, Nelson Mandela, etc. 4. What "thoughts" have you had from the remarks of Reza Aslan and his description of the complexity of working with Islamic/Muslim/Arab nations? How are the "pressure groups" different ala Aslan and what conclusions have you made about the Middle East situation ala Aslan? "What does it mean to you?"
1. One of the most helpful things anyone said to our group throughout our trip came from my least favorite docent. At the DuSable Museum of African American History, in the art gallery area, our docent taught us how to view art objectively and subjectively. He said to: (1) look at the artist's name; (2) look at the year it was created; and (3) look at the artwork. I wish we had heard this piece of advice prior to our visits to the Art Institute and Spertus Museum - possibly even the Chicago Symphony. The most prominent works that come to mind in which we analyzed are the many by the same artist at the Spertus Museum. Watching the trends in his work from after the Holocaust brings the viewer to understand how the entire Jewish community felt at that time.
4. I almost completely agreed with Reza Aslan, our enthusiastic speaker for the evening at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs lecture series. His ideas for working towards a better relationship with Islamic nations was enthralling. He believes that, on the issue of Palestine, "Obama gets an F because he set the bar too high and now Israel wears the pants in its relationship with America." We need to allow third world Muslim countires to take part in politics on their own so they have the opportunity to fail. America can't keep helping them. The terms Aslan used repeatedly were nationalists, transnationalists, and jihadists. These terms can be defined as follows:
Nationalists: groups working toward a national structureTransnationalists: groups working toward destroying all governmental structure to create a New World OrderJihadists: transnationalist groups using brutal, ususual force to destroy their opposition
His definitions, although they clashed with Dr. Ali's and Dr. Abbott's, were helpful during his speech. I have come to the conclusion that the United States needs to pull out of the Middle East situtation at a decent rate and allow those countries to come up with their own structure that works for them. If they do fail, assist the country by not allowing the transnationalists and jihadists to take over and throw away all of the work accomplished.
Posted at 12:01 PM by Sam Kheim
A. What was the importance (or infamy) of Bunce Island? Bunce Island was one of many slave castles built during the Atlantic Slave Trade by Europeans along the West coast of Africa. It provided most of the slaves used to produce corn in South Carolina and Georgia in the 1700s. Many times, it was attacked by pirates and became an ideal target for war times.
B. Who was Edward Hopper and why was he important? Edward Hopper, the creator of one of my favorite pieces in the Chicago Art Institute, Nighthawks, is a famous American artist focusing in painting and printmaking. His work is revered throughout the world and is influential in pop culture in various cartoons and even on That 70s Show.
C. Who was Telemann? Telemann was the composer for one of the pieces our class had the opportunity to hear at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He was named the most prolific composer of all time by the Guinness Book of World Records.
D. What was India's Great Kumbha Mela Pilgrimage? It is a mass Hindu pilgrimage which takes place four times every twelve years to one of four locations. The locations rotate by year. The main event is a ritual bath, but there are also feasts, songs, and assemblies. Millions of people attend this pilgrimage in one day.
E. What is the Great Rift? It is a 6,000 kilometer long trench located in Northeast Africa. The term refers to a rift of tectonic plates along Africa's coast which is splitting the African Plate in two.
F. What's a savanna? A savanna is a type of ecosystem in which trees are scattered and separated. It has one rainy season and is usually located between a forest and desert.
G. What is Porte de L'Afrique? Porte de L'Afrique is a port from France into Africa of which Roger Broders created a famous poster.
H. Identify 3 ingenius innovations of the people of MesoAmerica. 1. Agriculture - corn, tiering, canals2. Governing structure3. Creation of roadways
Discuss in correct grammatical prose two of the following: 1. Anthropologists, cultural historians, geographers, and archeologists often look to the arts and mores of countries as a clue to the behavior, beliefs and practice of a people. Use your first-hand experience these four days to discuss. Example: Buddhist/Hindu art/sculpture as reflective of society - religion, culture, etc. 2. How do you think art is a reflection of a society's fundamental beliefs and actions? Reference your experience at the Art Institute, the Islamic Center, the Spertus Museum and the DuSable Museum? 3. What has to happen in Africa ala environment, political stability, agriculture, wildlife, etc. To (think globally) begin solving some of the problems of the world community. Reference the work of Wangari Maathai, the scientists referenced at the Field Museum, the Great Rift Valley, Nelson Mandela, etc. 4. What "thoughts" have you had from the remarks of Reza Aslan and his description of the complexity of working with Islamic/Muslim/Arab nations? How are the "pressure groups" different ala Aslan and what conclusions have you made about the Middle East situation ala Aslan? "What does it mean to you?"
1. One of the most helpful things anyone said to our group throughout our trip came from my least favorite docent. At the DuSable Museum of African American History, in the art gallery area, our docent taught us how to view art objectively and subjectively. He said to: (1) look at the artist's name; (2) look at the year it was created; and (3) look at the artwork. I wish we had heard this piece of advice prior to our visits to the Art Institute and Spertus Museum - possibly even the Chicago Symphony. The most prominent works that come to mind in which we analyzed are the many by the same artist at the Spertus Museum. Watching the trends in his work from after the Holocaust brings the viewer to understand how the entire Jewish community felt at that time.
4. I almost completely agreed with Reza Aslan, our enthusiastic speaker for the evening at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs lecture series. His ideas for working towards a better relationship with Islamic nations was enthralling. He believes that, on the issue of Palestine, "Obama gets an F because he set the bar too high and now Israel wears the pants in its relationship with America." We need to allow third world Muslim countires to take part in politics on their own so they have the opportunity to fail. America can't keep helping them. The terms Aslan used repeatedly were nationalists, transnationalists, and jihadists. These terms can be defined as follows:
Nationalists: groups working toward a national structureTransnationalists: groups working toward destroying all governmental structure to create a New World OrderJihadists: transnationalist groups using brutal, ususual force to destroy their opposition
His definitions, although they clashed with Dr. Ali's and Dr. Abbott's, were helpful during his speech. I have come to the conclusion that the United States needs to pull out of the Middle East situtation at a decent rate and allow those countries to come up with their own structure that works for them. If they do fail, assist the country by not allowing the transnationalists and jihadists to take over and throw away all of the work accomplished.
Posted at 12:01 PM by Sam Kheim
Test 2
12/14/2009
Bunce Island was a west African island that was huge in the slave trade with the americas
Edward Hopper was a realist who painted life in America
Telemann was composer who wrote his masterpeices using a wide variety of styles
Kumbh Mela is a Hindu pilgramige held ever 4 years
The great rift vally is over 3,500 miles long and runs from northern Asia to East Africa
a savvanna is located in tropic or sub tropic regoins there are glrass lands with little no no hills
Port de L'Afrique conects france to Africa
1. government. 2. farming. 3. weapons for war and hunting
2. Art is huge in the way of society and how the artist represents his art is how he is feeling toward things around him. As we saw in the art museum along with the desovo museum many of the artist painted things that showed them or ment something thing to them at that time in their lifes or the history of their country and there society. As we saw in the Islamic center God is a huge part of their society so the wall painted with almost 100 names of god showed how important god is to them. Art is a gate way to see how people at a time in history think abput their society.
4. Going to Reza Aslan's speech about the middle east and the problems there was a really treat. he talked about pressure groups and how not all groups want global domination and these are the groups we need to focuse on becasue they are willing to talk were as the groups that want total global domination can not be talked to. i thought he had some great points and was a brave soul to walk into Chicago and do a little Obama bashing on his middle east plans. over all i though Mr. Aslan was very good, hearing him talked made me think that maybe with the right people in office we can stop the violence in the middle east, and getting those people in to office is our job as a nation
Posted at 11:55 AM by James Davis
Bunce Island was a west African island that was huge in the slave trade with the americas
Edward Hopper was a realist who painted life in America
Telemann was composer who wrote his masterpeices using a wide variety of styles
Kumbh Mela is a Hindu pilgramige held ever 4 years
The great rift vally is over 3,500 miles long and runs from northern Asia to East Africa
a savvanna is located in tropic or sub tropic regoins there are glrass lands with little no no hills
Port de L'Afrique conects france to Africa
1. government. 2. farming. 3. weapons for war and hunting
2. Art is huge in the way of society and how the artist represents his art is how he is feeling toward things around him. As we saw in the art museum along with the desovo museum many of the artist painted things that showed them or ment something thing to them at that time in their lifes or the history of their country and there society. As we saw in the Islamic center God is a huge part of their society so the wall painted with almost 100 names of god showed how important god is to them. Art is a gate way to see how people at a time in history think abput their society.
4. Going to Reza Aslan's speech about the middle east and the problems there was a really treat. he talked about pressure groups and how not all groups want global domination and these are the groups we need to focuse on becasue they are willing to talk were as the groups that want total global domination can not be talked to. i thought he had some great points and was a brave soul to walk into Chicago and do a little Obama bashing on his middle east plans. over all i though Mr. Aslan was very good, hearing him talked made me think that maybe with the right people in office we can stop the violence in the middle east, and getting those people in to office is our job as a nation
Posted at 11:55 AM by James Davis
Round 2
12/14/2009
a. Bunce Island was the largest British slave castle founded around 1670 on the coast of West Africa. It is now a landmark for the African slave trade because it was home base for traders to imprison thousands of Africans before they were sent to America. Because of their experience of growing rice in West Africa, these slaves were traded to plantation owners in the South to apply their knowledge. b. Edward Hopper was a Famous American artist at a time in art history when we were trying to find our style. He is most famous for his genre scenes because they perfectly depict classic America. He was innovative and created paintings that were not offensive and appealed to everyone. Hopper is most famous for “Nighthawks,” painted in 1942. c. Georg Telemann is a famous German composer who’s work we heard at the Chicago Symphony. He composed hundreds of pieces throughout his lifetime, many of them famous. d. The Kumbh Mela is the largest and most sacred pilgrimage in the world that occurs four times every twelve years. Each location is near a river where ritual bathing, religious discussions, devotional singing, and the mass feeding of holy men, women, and the poor take place. e. The great rift is 3,700 miles long and stretches from Syria in Southwest Asia to central Mozambique in East Africa. Because it is continuously moving, it could result in the continent of Africa to split. f. A savanna is flat grassland found in both tropical and subtropical regions. They are considered to be transitional places between dessert and forest. g. The Porte de L’Afrique, the gateway to Africa, is a famous poster advertising this port located in Marseille, France. This port bridges the gap between France and Africa. h. Mesoamerica Innovations: 1. Roadways and Canals 2. Irrigation Systems 3. Non-toxic ceramics #2. Art absolutely is, and has always been a reflection of society ever since the beginning of time. Much of the art we saw in the Chinese, Indian, and African galleries at the Art Institute were idols and sculptures placed in society for people to pray to or ask for healing. Many of the Chinese and Indian sculptures were gods and warriors that could be placed in someone’s home to bring good fortune or ward off evil spirits from their families. All of these ancient relics were purely culturally and religiously-based, and they tell a story of a particular time in world history. The wonderful thing about art is that it appeals to people from all walks of life. At the Dusable Museum, the first thing we saw was a huge wooden mural entitled “Freedom Now.” This piece transcended time throughout African American history, from pre-slave trade to the civil rights movement. It showed the fundamental beliefs of not only the African culture, but also the counter culture they were exposed to throughout history. Our tour guide there gave us some advice when viewing art. He told us to first look at the artist’s name, then the time period in which it was created, and then lastly the title of the work. Although I do not always apply it, this technique definitely helps the viewer determine what the artist was thinking when they created their work because society and world issues are clearly represented in art whether it is intentional or not. Our tour guide at the Spertus museum continuously repeated the theme of their art exhibition, “What does it mean to you?” Each series was a clear reflection of how history and culture directly impacted each Jewish artist. I thought this theme was interesting because it is totally open to interpretation by both the artist and viewer, just as the Torah is taught to be questioned. Hypothetically, you can consider just about anything in the world art as long as it means something to the artist or touches the viewer in a way, shape, or form. When we saw the Camp Grenada board game, it instantly triggered a childhood memory for Dr. Scherer, and that is what art is all about. #4. Although I didn’t exactly understand everything Reza Azlan had to say in his lecture on God and globalization in the Middle East, he did command my attention and make me contemplate about our current situation. One of his pain points, which we all learned in kindergarten, was that words do in fact matter. Azlan kind of ragged on president O’Bama, but he did acknowledge that he has created a “sea change” in many Islamic young people thus far in his term. Also, O’Bama recognizes that we are dealing with groups and organizations with no single ideology. Religious nationalism is a global phenomenon. All that Islam wants stops at the borders of historical Palestine, and Jihadists want the world. In reality, there is no way that these terrorists will destroy all state structures and rule the world under one single world order, but Azlan thinks that we are definitely letting them take a crack at it. I’m just glad that the world is not up for negotiation.
Posted at 11:54 AM by Bekah Mathiesen
a. Bunce Island was the largest British slave castle founded around 1670 on the coast of West Africa. It is now a landmark for the African slave trade because it was home base for traders to imprison thousands of Africans before they were sent to America. Because of their experience of growing rice in West Africa, these slaves were traded to plantation owners in the South to apply their knowledge. b. Edward Hopper was a Famous American artist at a time in art history when we were trying to find our style. He is most famous for his genre scenes because they perfectly depict classic America. He was innovative and created paintings that were not offensive and appealed to everyone. Hopper is most famous for “Nighthawks,” painted in 1942. c. Georg Telemann is a famous German composer who’s work we heard at the Chicago Symphony. He composed hundreds of pieces throughout his lifetime, many of them famous. d. The Kumbh Mela is the largest and most sacred pilgrimage in the world that occurs four times every twelve years. Each location is near a river where ritual bathing, religious discussions, devotional singing, and the mass feeding of holy men, women, and the poor take place. e. The great rift is 3,700 miles long and stretches from Syria in Southwest Asia to central Mozambique in East Africa. Because it is continuously moving, it could result in the continent of Africa to split. f. A savanna is flat grassland found in both tropical and subtropical regions. They are considered to be transitional places between dessert and forest. g. The Porte de L’Afrique, the gateway to Africa, is a famous poster advertising this port located in Marseille, France. This port bridges the gap between France and Africa. h. Mesoamerica Innovations: 1. Roadways and Canals 2. Irrigation Systems 3. Non-toxic ceramics #2. Art absolutely is, and has always been a reflection of society ever since the beginning of time. Much of the art we saw in the Chinese, Indian, and African galleries at the Art Institute were idols and sculptures placed in society for people to pray to or ask for healing. Many of the Chinese and Indian sculptures were gods and warriors that could be placed in someone’s home to bring good fortune or ward off evil spirits from their families. All of these ancient relics were purely culturally and religiously-based, and they tell a story of a particular time in world history. The wonderful thing about art is that it appeals to people from all walks of life. At the Dusable Museum, the first thing we saw was a huge wooden mural entitled “Freedom Now.” This piece transcended time throughout African American history, from pre-slave trade to the civil rights movement. It showed the fundamental beliefs of not only the African culture, but also the counter culture they were exposed to throughout history. Our tour guide there gave us some advice when viewing art. He told us to first look at the artist’s name, then the time period in which it was created, and then lastly the title of the work. Although I do not always apply it, this technique definitely helps the viewer determine what the artist was thinking when they created their work because society and world issues are clearly represented in art whether it is intentional or not. Our tour guide at the Spertus museum continuously repeated the theme of their art exhibition, “What does it mean to you?” Each series was a clear reflection of how history and culture directly impacted each Jewish artist. I thought this theme was interesting because it is totally open to interpretation by both the artist and viewer, just as the Torah is taught to be questioned. Hypothetically, you can consider just about anything in the world art as long as it means something to the artist or touches the viewer in a way, shape, or form. When we saw the Camp Grenada board game, it instantly triggered a childhood memory for Dr. Scherer, and that is what art is all about. #4. Although I didn’t exactly understand everything Reza Azlan had to say in his lecture on God and globalization in the Middle East, he did command my attention and make me contemplate about our current situation. One of his pain points, which we all learned in kindergarten, was that words do in fact matter. Azlan kind of ragged on president O’Bama, but he did acknowledge that he has created a “sea change” in many Islamic young people thus far in his term. Also, O’Bama recognizes that we are dealing with groups and organizations with no single ideology. Religious nationalism is a global phenomenon. All that Islam wants stops at the borders of historical Palestine, and Jihadists want the world. In reality, there is no way that these terrorists will destroy all state structures and rule the world under one single world order, but Azlan thinks that we are definitely letting them take a crack at it. I’m just glad that the world is not up for negotiation.
Posted at 11:54 AM by Bekah Mathiesen
Test
12/14/2009
1. It was the base for Eurpoean Slave Trade.
2. He was an American realist painter. His work reflected his veiws on modern America
3. Georg Phililpp Telemann was a German music composer and mulit insturmentalist, and he was self-taught.
4. It happens every twelve years, and it rotates around four locations.
5. Its a molecular dust cloud located between solar systems.
6. It is a grass land ecosystem.
7.
8. a. Corn.
b. Government system.
c. development of tools.
2. Art is the major idem that represents the fundamental beliefs in a culture. Every museum we when to it showed that. The art that depiced there gods and showed what people were thought to need in the next life was unbleiveable.
Posted at 11:35 AM by Kyle Haeberlin
1. It was the base for Eurpoean Slave Trade.
2. He was an American realist painter. His work reflected his veiws on modern America
3. Georg Phililpp Telemann was a German music composer and mulit insturmentalist, and he was self-taught.
4. It happens every twelve years, and it rotates around four locations.
5. Its a molecular dust cloud located between solar systems.
6. It is a grass land ecosystem.
7.
8. a. Corn.
b. Government system.
c. development of tools.
2. Art is the major idem that represents the fundamental beliefs in a culture. Every museum we when to it showed that. The art that depiced there gods and showed what people were thought to need in the next life was unbleiveable.
Posted at 11:35 AM by Kyle Haeberlin
Test #2
12/14/2009
A) Bunce Island was a British slave castle that was used by slave traders to imprision slaves before they were loaded onto the ships and sent to America.
B) Edward Hopper was an artist that had a career in commercial illustration and print making. He is most famous for his paintings of American life showing the struggle of city living. (during the great depression)
C) Georg Phillipp could write in many styles of music and composed hundreds of pieces of music. He is considered one of the greatest German composers of his time. We heard a few songs from Telemann's Tafelmusic, II at the Chicago Symphony.
D) It is the largest pilgrimage gathering in the world with millions of people attending. This pilgrimage occurs four times every twelve years. The next one is scheduled to occur in 2010.
E) The Great Rift Valley is a geographic trench that is in East Africa. It is more than 3700 miles long. In a few million years, Africa will probably split up and form a new land mass.
F) A savanna is land covered with grass and scattered trees or an open canopy of trees. Most savannas are in Africa out of the 20% of them on Earth.
G) Porte de L'Afrique means Gateway to Africa.
H) 1. Military, Economy, Religion (State Power Triad)
2. Architecture
3. Grinding corn with rocks to make flour
Essay:
2) Art can be an expression of a certain belief or certain situation at a given period of time. Back in ancient times, before spoken language, people used pictures as a way of communication. At the Chicago Art Institute, there were many different types of art exhibits. But our tour guide at the African American meusem said that you should not judge a piece of art before you know the story behind it, such as who made it? When it was made? What the society was like at the time? And what was going on in his/her life at that time...
3) Africa has many many problems. Alot of things needs to be done in order to make them a more wealthy and better society. Diseases such as AIDS/HIV is a big percentage of deaths in Africa, so maybe there should be promotions to help promote safe sex. Education is also another big problem. The education rate in Africa is very low in most parts, so if Africa were to educate their citizens, people would be able to help fix the internal issues, and therefore help some of the economic and social issues of Africa. Also it would help them to not persecute their politcal leaders, such as what happened to Nelson Mandela, who was beat and imprisioned.
Posted at 11:29 AM by Chaz Dial
A) Bunce Island was a British slave castle that was used by slave traders to imprision slaves before they were loaded onto the ships and sent to America.
B) Edward Hopper was an artist that had a career in commercial illustration and print making. He is most famous for his paintings of American life showing the struggle of city living. (during the great depression)
C) Georg Phillipp could write in many styles of music and composed hundreds of pieces of music. He is considered one of the greatest German composers of his time. We heard a few songs from Telemann's Tafelmusic, II at the Chicago Symphony.
D) It is the largest pilgrimage gathering in the world with millions of people attending. This pilgrimage occurs four times every twelve years. The next one is scheduled to occur in 2010.
E) The Great Rift Valley is a geographic trench that is in East Africa. It is more than 3700 miles long. In a few million years, Africa will probably split up and form a new land mass.
F) A savanna is land covered with grass and scattered trees or an open canopy of trees. Most savannas are in Africa out of the 20% of them on Earth.
G) Porte de L'Afrique means Gateway to Africa.
H) 1. Military, Economy, Religion (State Power Triad)
2. Architecture
3. Grinding corn with rocks to make flour
Essay:
2) Art can be an expression of a certain belief or certain situation at a given period of time. Back in ancient times, before spoken language, people used pictures as a way of communication. At the Chicago Art Institute, there were many different types of art exhibits. But our tour guide at the African American meusem said that you should not judge a piece of art before you know the story behind it, such as who made it? When it was made? What the society was like at the time? And what was going on in his/her life at that time...
3) Africa has many many problems. Alot of things needs to be done in order to make them a more wealthy and better society. Diseases such as AIDS/HIV is a big percentage of deaths in Africa, so maybe there should be promotions to help promote safe sex. Education is also another big problem. The education rate in Africa is very low in most parts, so if Africa were to educate their citizens, people would be able to help fix the internal issues, and therefore help some of the economic and social issues of Africa. Also it would help them to not persecute their politcal leaders, such as what happened to Nelson Mandela, who was beat and imprisioned.
Posted at 11:29 AM by Chaz Dial
Test 2
12/14/2009
A.) bunce island was a british slave castle that was used by slave traders to imprison slaves befre they were loaded onto the ships and sent to america.
B.) edward hopper was an artisit. one of his famous paintings is Nighthawks, which is at the art insititue fo chicago.
C.) george telemann was one of the greatest german composers, he composed hundreds of pieces of music of all styles.
D.) it is the largest pilgrimage in the world. the pilgrimage occurs four times every 12 years. it is also believed that bathing int he ganges river will cleanse you of your past sins.
E.)the great rift valley is the name given to the continuous geographic trench that runs from northern syria in the southwest asia to mozambique in the east africa it is more than 3700 miles long. the rift valley is continuously moving and in millions of years it is thought to result in the split off of eastern africa.
F.)a savanna is considered to be a transitional place between dessert and forrest. exactly 20 % of the earth is covered by savanna. the majority of the savannas are in africa.
G.) porte de l'afrique can be translated to gateway to africa. there is a famous vintage french travel poster by roger broders that was published around 1930 which shows the port of marseille, france and the steamer ships in the water.
H.) 1. State power triad (military, economy, religion)
2. architecture (made scale models out of rocks before building)
3. hunter/gathers (made flour by grinding corn with rocks)
ESSAY
2.) Art can display the cultures religion and its beliefs on women, goeverment, and can even be a predictor to how educated a society is. Art can be a voice or a secret, it can tell the viewer the story or leave a viewer wonder the events that lead up to the art being created.
3.) there are many things that must be done in africa to create some type of stability and equality. there are many areas that are very plush and educated while other areas struggle and fight sickness and ignorance everyday. if the culture would separate itself from the primative ways and allow it self to be helped then education alone would turn many problems into success stories. their would be no fear of a myth or shildren being raped to cure a disease, they would not jail the future leaders of their socitey also they would fight common grounds that would drastically decrease the mortatily rate due to disagreements over religion and other tribes.
Posted at 11:29 AM by Michael Bailey
A.) bunce island was a british slave castle that was used by slave traders to imprison slaves befre they were loaded onto the ships and sent to america.
B.) edward hopper was an artisit. one of his famous paintings is Nighthawks, which is at the art insititue fo chicago.
C.) george telemann was one of the greatest german composers, he composed hundreds of pieces of music of all styles.
D.) it is the largest pilgrimage in the world. the pilgrimage occurs four times every 12 years. it is also believed that bathing int he ganges river will cleanse you of your past sins.
E.)the great rift valley is the name given to the continuous geographic trench that runs from northern syria in the southwest asia to mozambique in the east africa it is more than 3700 miles long. the rift valley is continuously moving and in millions of years it is thought to result in the split off of eastern africa.
F.)a savanna is considered to be a transitional place between dessert and forrest. exactly 20 % of the earth is covered by savanna. the majority of the savannas are in africa.
G.) porte de l'afrique can be translated to gateway to africa. there is a famous vintage french travel poster by roger broders that was published around 1930 which shows the port of marseille, france and the steamer ships in the water.
H.) 1. State power triad (military, economy, religion)
2. architecture (made scale models out of rocks before building)
3. hunter/gathers (made flour by grinding corn with rocks)
ESSAY
2.) Art can display the cultures religion and its beliefs on women, goeverment, and can even be a predictor to how educated a society is. Art can be a voice or a secret, it can tell the viewer the story or leave a viewer wonder the events that lead up to the art being created.
3.) there are many things that must be done in africa to create some type of stability and equality. there are many areas that are very plush and educated while other areas struggle and fight sickness and ignorance everyday. if the culture would separate itself from the primative ways and allow it self to be helped then education alone would turn many problems into success stories. their would be no fear of a myth or shildren being raped to cure a disease, they would not jail the future leaders of their socitey also they would fight common grounds that would drastically decrease the mortatily rate due to disagreements over religion and other tribes.
Posted at 11:29 AM by Michael Bailey
Test number 2
12/14/2009
A. Bunce Island was infamous for its slave trading. It was the largest British slave castle on the west coast of Africa.
B. Edward Hopper is an American realist painter who painted about the American way of life.
C. Telemann is considered as one of the best German composers of all time. He was a self- taught musician who used different styles of music to make his masterpieces.
D. Kumbh Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage. It is held four times every twelve years.
E. The Great Rift Valley is a continuous trench, which is 3,700mi in length, that runs from Northern Syria in Southwest Asia to central Mozambique in East Africa.
F. A savanna is a flat grassland, which are often located in tropical or subtropical regions.
G. Port de L'Afrique is a port which connects France to Africa. The name means the door to Africa.
H. 1. Irrigation
2. Weapons
3. Farming
Essays:
2. Art is very influiencial based on society and beliefs. At each exhibit we went to the art was different because of different the different cultures that were being represented. The first place we went to was the Islamic Center, which had only one piece of art. This was a large painting that had 99 names for God. The reason for the lack of art was that it is Islamic culture that they should not worship idols and that their religious center should only be used for prayer and nothing else. The second place we went to was the Art Museum, which contained art from every time period possible. The art here changed from the different time periods. In the ancient eras, art was based on religion. Artists created scultures of their gods and praised them through their art, but as the years went on paintings changed from religion to other views. Modern artists are more abstract compared to these ancient painters. The third place we went to was the Spertus Center. There we saw all sorts of art and artifacts. The theme to this exhibit was "What does it mean to YOU?" Every painting or artifact had a meaning and what the goal of this exhibit was is that they wanted us to dig deeper and find a meaning for each. Though the answers may be differnt, each item would have some meaning. The last place we went to was the DuSable Museum. This museum was very historic in that it had artifacts and paintings that told stories. The story was that of Africa. Art their had alot of meaning and some paintings told stories of the slave trade or hard times. At that museum I learned something very important and it was how to better understand art. Don't just look at the painting, but try and get some back ground on it. Know the artist, where he is from, the time period, etc. This all will help explain even the weirdest paintings.
4. The first night, we got the privilage to hear Reza Aslan speak at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Aslan spoke about the Middle Eastern problem and how he thinks it is going. He first talked about how Obama is not being a realist when it comes to solving the Middle East's problems. He feels that his goals are way to high and he needs to take his attention of the terrorists because they aren't going to change. He also talked about a dividing line that separates the east in west. The east is made up of Islamists or Nationalists and the west is made up of Jihadists or transnationalists. This is were the speech started to get interesting to me. Earlier in the three week, we got to listen to Dr. Ali and she talked about how women are held high and repected, this was very different from Aslan's thoughts. He talked about how they were often mistreated and abused. I would love to hear a debate from the two and figure out for myself who is right.
Posted at 9:40 AM by Michael Cagle
A. Bunce Island was infamous for its slave trading. It was the largest British slave castle on the west coast of Africa.
B. Edward Hopper is an American realist painter who painted about the American way of life.
C. Telemann is considered as one of the best German composers of all time. He was a self- taught musician who used different styles of music to make his masterpieces.
D. Kumbh Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage. It is held four times every twelve years.
E. The Great Rift Valley is a continuous trench, which is 3,700mi in length, that runs from Northern Syria in Southwest Asia to central Mozambique in East Africa.
F. A savanna is a flat grassland, which are often located in tropical or subtropical regions.
G. Port de L'Afrique is a port which connects France to Africa. The name means the door to Africa.
H. 1. Irrigation
2. Weapons
3. Farming
Essays:
2. Art is very influiencial based on society and beliefs. At each exhibit we went to the art was different because of different the different cultures that were being represented. The first place we went to was the Islamic Center, which had only one piece of art. This was a large painting that had 99 names for God. The reason for the lack of art was that it is Islamic culture that they should not worship idols and that their religious center should only be used for prayer and nothing else. The second place we went to was the Art Museum, which contained art from every time period possible. The art here changed from the different time periods. In the ancient eras, art was based on religion. Artists created scultures of their gods and praised them through their art, but as the years went on paintings changed from religion to other views. Modern artists are more abstract compared to these ancient painters. The third place we went to was the Spertus Center. There we saw all sorts of art and artifacts. The theme to this exhibit was "What does it mean to YOU?" Every painting or artifact had a meaning and what the goal of this exhibit was is that they wanted us to dig deeper and find a meaning for each. Though the answers may be differnt, each item would have some meaning. The last place we went to was the DuSable Museum. This museum was very historic in that it had artifacts and paintings that told stories. The story was that of Africa. Art their had alot of meaning and some paintings told stories of the slave trade or hard times. At that museum I learned something very important and it was how to better understand art. Don't just look at the painting, but try and get some back ground on it. Know the artist, where he is from, the time period, etc. This all will help explain even the weirdest paintings.
4. The first night, we got the privilage to hear Reza Aslan speak at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Aslan spoke about the Middle Eastern problem and how he thinks it is going. He first talked about how Obama is not being a realist when it comes to solving the Middle East's problems. He feels that his goals are way to high and he needs to take his attention of the terrorists because they aren't going to change. He also talked about a dividing line that separates the east in west. The east is made up of Islamists or Nationalists and the west is made up of Jihadists or transnationalists. This is were the speech started to get interesting to me. Earlier in the three week, we got to listen to Dr. Ali and she talked about how women are held high and repected, this was very different from Aslan's thoughts. He talked about how they were often mistreated and abused. I would love to hear a debate from the two and figure out for myself who is right.
Posted at 9:40 AM by Michael Cagle
Test 2.0 (Chicago)
12/14/2009
A) What was the importance (or infamy) of Bunce Island?
Bunce Island would be considered infamous rather than famous. It was one of about 40 slave trading posts that European merchants built along the west coast of Africa. This island is where the slaves were purchased, imprisoned, and loaded on the ships that took them on the middle passage to America.
B) Who was Edward Hopper and why was he important?
Edward Hopper is the best-known American realist of the inter-war period. Some of his paintings include Apartment Houses, Lighthouse Hill, and Nighthawks.
C) Who was Telemann?
Georg Philipp Telemann was a German composer that mastered several musical instruments at a very young age. Telemann is often described as the most prolific composer in history. We heard some of Telemann’s work at the Chicago Symphany.
D) What was India’s Great Kumbha Mela Pilgrimage?
The Gret Kumbha MEla Pilgrimage is an enormous gathering that takes place four times every 12 years. Several events take place during this gathering including theatrical performances and the athletic and devotional practices of holy men. At the end of their journey, the pilgrims bath in sacred waters.
E) What is the Great Rift?
The Great Rift is located in East Africa. The Great Rift Valley has been a rich source of fossils that have enabled scientists to study human evolution. One of the richest areas is the area known as the Piedmont.
F) What’s a savanna?
A savanna is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being too small or too widely spaced so that the canopy does not close.
G) What is Porte de L’Afrique?
Porte de L’Afrique is a port into Africa. A painting by Roger Broders was made of Porte de L’Afrique.
H) Identify 3 ingenious innovations of the people of MesoAmerica.
1) Their ability to master the making of weaponry
2) The invention of agriculture
3) They formed a type of writing called, glyphs
2. On our trip to Chicago, we visited many museums and viewed a great deal of art. It wasn’t until the DuSable Museum that I really began to appreciate the art that I was viewing. Our guide, DeMarcus, told us to look at the name of the painting, the date in which it was painted, and the name of the artist who constructed it before looking at the painting. He told us to do this because this may help us understand what the artist was feeling at the time. When we visited the Art Institute, I didn’t understand most of the paintings, especially the Picasso’s. Picasso liked to make paintings of people with body parts in an odd arrangement. Looking back on his work, I can now make a slightly more educated guess of what he was trying to get across to the viewer. Picasso may have been trying to represent how messed up and unusual the human species is, and possibly that not everyone is made the same.
At the Islamic Center, we did not see a great deal of art. We did however see the stone temple that was placed in the direction of Mecca. Our guide at the Islamic Center told us that in order to lead the sermon you don’t have to be especially qualified. Anyone who is of Islam faith and has read the Koran can lead the sermon, and I thought that was kind of interesting. Our guide informed us that when they pray, they pray directly to God and that is why they don’t have any crosses or items like that. At the Spertus Museum, our guide showed us some artifacts that had been collected and given to the Museum of time. There were several artifacts, but to me the ones that stuck out the most were the toys. The little animals each had a mate in every column except for the column that represented the Holocaust. In that column there was only one animal and it was a bird. The bird was supposed to signify that the only way you could get out was to be a bird. We then went up to the art gallery. Each item in there was supposed to mean something to you and our guide repeatedly asked us that. “What does it mean to you?”
4. The first night we were in Chicago, we went to the Chicago Council and heard Reza Azlan speak. He spoke to us about what is going on in Afghanistan and the other troubled countries in the Middle East. Reza told us of the dividing line that separates the east from the west. The east consists of the nationalists or Islamists and the west consists of the transnationalists or jihadists. After listening to Reza speak and after listening to Dr. Ali speak, it makes me wonder who was telling the truth. Dr. Ali said that women were greatly respected in the Islamic community, but Reza said that women were very much mistreated. I would like to see the two of them sit in a room together and see what would happen. Reza told us that he believes that President Obama is not thinking realistically in his views on Palestine. Reza believes that Obama’s actions are actually going to hinder the progression of peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Listening to Reza, I believe that we are getting ourselves in too deep and it is going to take a disaster for Obama to realize this. By that time, however, it will be too late.
Posted at 9:23 AM by Riley Watkins
A) What was the importance (or infamy) of Bunce Island?
Bunce Island would be considered infamous rather than famous. It was one of about 40 slave trading posts that European merchants built along the west coast of Africa. This island is where the slaves were purchased, imprisoned, and loaded on the ships that took them on the middle passage to America.
B) Who was Edward Hopper and why was he important?
Edward Hopper is the best-known American realist of the inter-war period. Some of his paintings include Apartment Houses, Lighthouse Hill, and Nighthawks.
C) Who was Telemann?
Georg Philipp Telemann was a German composer that mastered several musical instruments at a very young age. Telemann is often described as the most prolific composer in history. We heard some of Telemann’s work at the Chicago Symphany.
D) What was India’s Great Kumbha Mela Pilgrimage?
The Gret Kumbha MEla Pilgrimage is an enormous gathering that takes place four times every 12 years. Several events take place during this gathering including theatrical performances and the athletic and devotional practices of holy men. At the end of their journey, the pilgrims bath in sacred waters.
E) What is the Great Rift?
The Great Rift is located in East Africa. The Great Rift Valley has been a rich source of fossils that have enabled scientists to study human evolution. One of the richest areas is the area known as the Piedmont.
F) What’s a savanna?
A savanna is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being too small or too widely spaced so that the canopy does not close.
G) What is Porte de L’Afrique?
Porte de L’Afrique is a port into Africa. A painting by Roger Broders was made of Porte de L’Afrique.
H) Identify 3 ingenious innovations of the people of MesoAmerica.
1) Their ability to master the making of weaponry
2) The invention of agriculture
3) They formed a type of writing called, glyphs
2. On our trip to Chicago, we visited many museums and viewed a great deal of art. It wasn’t until the DuSable Museum that I really began to appreciate the art that I was viewing. Our guide, DeMarcus, told us to look at the name of the painting, the date in which it was painted, and the name of the artist who constructed it before looking at the painting. He told us to do this because this may help us understand what the artist was feeling at the time. When we visited the Art Institute, I didn’t understand most of the paintings, especially the Picasso’s. Picasso liked to make paintings of people with body parts in an odd arrangement. Looking back on his work, I can now make a slightly more educated guess of what he was trying to get across to the viewer. Picasso may have been trying to represent how messed up and unusual the human species is, and possibly that not everyone is made the same.
At the Islamic Center, we did not see a great deal of art. We did however see the stone temple that was placed in the direction of Mecca. Our guide at the Islamic Center told us that in order to lead the sermon you don’t have to be especially qualified. Anyone who is of Islam faith and has read the Koran can lead the sermon, and I thought that was kind of interesting. Our guide informed us that when they pray, they pray directly to God and that is why they don’t have any crosses or items like that. At the Spertus Museum, our guide showed us some artifacts that had been collected and given to the Museum of time. There were several artifacts, but to me the ones that stuck out the most were the toys. The little animals each had a mate in every column except for the column that represented the Holocaust. In that column there was only one animal and it was a bird. The bird was supposed to signify that the only way you could get out was to be a bird. We then went up to the art gallery. Each item in there was supposed to mean something to you and our guide repeatedly asked us that. “What does it mean to you?”
4. The first night we were in Chicago, we went to the Chicago Council and heard Reza Azlan speak. He spoke to us about what is going on in Afghanistan and the other troubled countries in the Middle East. Reza told us of the dividing line that separates the east from the west. The east consists of the nationalists or Islamists and the west consists of the transnationalists or jihadists. After listening to Reza speak and after listening to Dr. Ali speak, it makes me wonder who was telling the truth. Dr. Ali said that women were greatly respected in the Islamic community, but Reza said that women were very much mistreated. I would like to see the two of them sit in a room together and see what would happen. Reza told us that he believes that President Obama is not thinking realistically in his views on Palestine. Reza believes that Obama’s actions are actually going to hinder the progression of peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Listening to Reza, I believe that we are getting ourselves in too deep and it is going to take a disaster for Obama to realize this. By that time, however, it will be too late.
Posted at 9:23 AM by Riley Watkins
Test - Chicago
12/14/2009
A. What was the importance (or infamy) of Bunce Island?
Bunce Island was home to one of many slave castles (a fortified trade post) the Europeans built along the coast of West Africa. It was one of the most important sites for slave trade through the Middle Passage to the Americas. Most slaves were sent to the southern regions.
B. Who was Edward Hopper and why was he important?
Edward Hopper was an American realist painter and printmaker. Most of his paintings depicted the city life, illustrated through loneliness. One of his most paintings is Nighthawks, which we saw at the Art Institute.
C. Who was Telemann?
Georg Philipp Telemann was considered to be the greatest (German) composers of his time. Telemann was said to be able to write in any style of music and even sometimes came up with new styles on his own. He composed more than 40 operas, 46 Passions and 125 orchestral suites. While at the Chicago Symphony we listened to selections from Tafelmusik II.
D. What was India's Great Kumbha Mela Pilgrimage?
Kumbha Mela is an act of faith done by the Hindus. The Kumbha Mela Pilgrimage occurs four times every twelve years. The pilgrimage usually consists of millions of people, making it the largest gathering in the world. The people travel to the Ganges River to have a bath, which is supposed to wash away sins. The next gathering is in 2010.
E. What is the Great Rift?
The Great Rift Valley is a 6,000 mile long crack in the earth’s surface on the east coast of Africa. The Rift was formed by violent subterranean forces and is still moving. It is predicted that the land could eventually break from the continent.
F. What's a savanna?
A savanna is an area usually found between the dessert and the forest. A savanna is a flat grassland found is tropical or subtropical regions.
G. What is Porte de L'Afrique?
Porte de L’Afrique is French for the “door of Africa”. The city Marseilles in France is the port city where goods are sent between there and France.
H. Identify 3 ingenius innovations of the people of MesoAmerica.
1. Stone materials- spear point technology, Clovis times
2. Hunter-gatherer lifestyle
3. Concept of trade
2. How do you think art is a reflection of a society's fundamental beliefs and actions? Reference your experience at the Art Institute, the Islamic Center, the Spertus Museum and the DuSable Museum?
Art is a release of emotions, a reflection on how that artist feels at the time. Through the art exhibits we saw in Chicago, it is easy to understand that art is a reflection of a society’s fundamental beliefs and actions. The hard part is understanding what the artist is trying to portray and why. The guide at the DuSable Museum gave us some pointers on how to look at art. First the audience should take note of the artist’s name. Then look at where they were from, what time period they painted they master piece. This general information can allow one to fall into the artist’s mind and discover what exactly they were trying to express.
At the Islamic Center, there was barely any art. The Islamic religion does not look at “idols” for their worship of Allah. The only art found at the center was that of a colorful mural consisting of the ninety (or so) different names for Allah, or God. Although they do not look to idols in place of Allah, they can always count on that mural to remind them of what Allah represents.
On the contrary, the Spertus Museum contained art work full of stories by Jewish artists. In the exhibit “What does it mean to you”, the art work was supposed to tell the story. This is where knowing the name, the history would be helpful. Many of the pieces were created by people who were trapped with the terror of the Holocaust.
An artist’s work is an explanation of how they feel, what they have to go through. Some artist’s revolt in their art while others simply reveal what they see. Either way when art is studied and deeply observed at it can tell a story. Maybe reflect a society’s beliefs and actions.
4. What "thoughts" have you had from the remarks of Reza Aslan and his description of the complexity of working with Islamic/Muslim/Arab nations? How are the "pressure groups" different ala Aslan and what conclusions have you made about the Middle East situation ala Aslan? "What does it mean to you?"
To sit in on the Chicago Council on Global Affairs was truly an experience. Reza Aslan made many points and spoke of issues I had little knowledge of. Although I found it hard to follow along with Aslan at some points, he spoke of a few things that I particularly cared to hear. Words are the most powerful weapon. It was a surprising fact that before Obama spoke in Turkey, 90% of the people had a bad opinion of the United States. Aslan started off saying all positive things about our new president until he began to discuss the conflict between Israel and Palestine. In work with Israel, Obama receives an A. In work with Palestine, Obama receives an F. Aslan believes that Obama has too high of expectations for Palestine.
Something that confused me, but kept my attention was the discussion of the split between the east and west, nationalists (Islamists) and non-nationalists (trans-nationalists, Jihadists). Nationalism is the religious form of nationalism. Jihadism is a brand new movement that started in Afghanistan. It surprised me that most Jihadist are wealthy and do have an education. The Jihadists people cannot be negotiated with because they do not only want to rule their region but the world as well. Their goal is to destroy all state structures.
The best thing to do? Democracy in these nations cannot just done in a day. However, 1/3 of Muslims live under democracy already. Countries want democracy now, but, not just one election can bring that. People do not even understand what they are voting for (Egypt Presidential election is a prime example). But two, three, four elections, now they are on a track.
The United States is facing many issues with countries in the Middle East but with ideas from people like Aslan and the work of our country, I think it can be overcome (hopefully!).
Posted at 2:58 AM by Leah Schmidt
A. What was the importance (or infamy) of Bunce Island?
Bunce Island was home to one of many slave castles (a fortified trade post) the Europeans built along the coast of West Africa. It was one of the most important sites for slave trade through the Middle Passage to the Americas. Most slaves were sent to the southern regions.
B. Who was Edward Hopper and why was he important?
Edward Hopper was an American realist painter and printmaker. Most of his paintings depicted the city life, illustrated through loneliness. One of his most paintings is Nighthawks, which we saw at the Art Institute.
C. Who was Telemann?
Georg Philipp Telemann was considered to be the greatest (German) composers of his time. Telemann was said to be able to write in any style of music and even sometimes came up with new styles on his own. He composed more than 40 operas, 46 Passions and 125 orchestral suites. While at the Chicago Symphony we listened to selections from Tafelmusik II.
D. What was India's Great Kumbha Mela Pilgrimage?
Kumbha Mela is an act of faith done by the Hindus. The Kumbha Mela Pilgrimage occurs four times every twelve years. The pilgrimage usually consists of millions of people, making it the largest gathering in the world. The people travel to the Ganges River to have a bath, which is supposed to wash away sins. The next gathering is in 2010.
E. What is the Great Rift?
The Great Rift Valley is a 6,000 mile long crack in the earth’s surface on the east coast of Africa. The Rift was formed by violent subterranean forces and is still moving. It is predicted that the land could eventually break from the continent.
F. What's a savanna?
A savanna is an area usually found between the dessert and the forest. A savanna is a flat grassland found is tropical or subtropical regions.
G. What is Porte de L'Afrique?
Porte de L’Afrique is French for the “door of Africa”. The city Marseilles in France is the port city where goods are sent between there and France.
H. Identify 3 ingenius innovations of the people of MesoAmerica.
1. Stone materials- spear point technology, Clovis times
2. Hunter-gatherer lifestyle
3. Concept of trade
2. How do you think art is a reflection of a society's fundamental beliefs and actions? Reference your experience at the Art Institute, the Islamic Center, the Spertus Museum and the DuSable Museum?
Art is a release of emotions, a reflection on how that artist feels at the time. Through the art exhibits we saw in Chicago, it is easy to understand that art is a reflection of a society’s fundamental beliefs and actions. The hard part is understanding what the artist is trying to portray and why. The guide at the DuSable Museum gave us some pointers on how to look at art. First the audience should take note of the artist’s name. Then look at where they were from, what time period they painted they master piece. This general information can allow one to fall into the artist’s mind and discover what exactly they were trying to express.
At the Islamic Center, there was barely any art. The Islamic religion does not look at “idols” for their worship of Allah. The only art found at the center was that of a colorful mural consisting of the ninety (or so) different names for Allah, or God. Although they do not look to idols in place of Allah, they can always count on that mural to remind them of what Allah represents.
On the contrary, the Spertus Museum contained art work full of stories by Jewish artists. In the exhibit “What does it mean to you”, the art work was supposed to tell the story. This is where knowing the name, the history would be helpful. Many of the pieces were created by people who were trapped with the terror of the Holocaust.
An artist’s work is an explanation of how they feel, what they have to go through. Some artist’s revolt in their art while others simply reveal what they see. Either way when art is studied and deeply observed at it can tell a story. Maybe reflect a society’s beliefs and actions.
4. What "thoughts" have you had from the remarks of Reza Aslan and his description of the complexity of working with Islamic/Muslim/Arab nations? How are the "pressure groups" different ala Aslan and what conclusions have you made about the Middle East situation ala Aslan? "What does it mean to you?"
To sit in on the Chicago Council on Global Affairs was truly an experience. Reza Aslan made many points and spoke of issues I had little knowledge of. Although I found it hard to follow along with Aslan at some points, he spoke of a few things that I particularly cared to hear. Words are the most powerful weapon. It was a surprising fact that before Obama spoke in Turkey, 90% of the people had a bad opinion of the United States. Aslan started off saying all positive things about our new president until he began to discuss the conflict between Israel and Palestine. In work with Israel, Obama receives an A. In work with Palestine, Obama receives an F. Aslan believes that Obama has too high of expectations for Palestine.
Something that confused me, but kept my attention was the discussion of the split between the east and west, nationalists (Islamists) and non-nationalists (trans-nationalists, Jihadists). Nationalism is the religious form of nationalism. Jihadism is a brand new movement that started in Afghanistan. It surprised me that most Jihadist are wealthy and do have an education. The Jihadists people cannot be negotiated with because they do not only want to rule their region but the world as well. Their goal is to destroy all state structures.
The best thing to do? Democracy in these nations cannot just done in a day. However, 1/3 of Muslims live under democracy already. Countries want democracy now, but, not just one election can bring that. People do not even understand what they are voting for (Egypt Presidential election is a prime example). But two, three, four elections, now they are on a track.
The United States is facing many issues with countries in the Middle East but with ideas from people like Aslan and the work of our country, I think it can be overcome (hopefully!).
Posted at 2:58 AM by Leah Schmidt
Yep, another one.
12/14/2009
A. What was the importance (or infamy) of Bunce Island?
Bunce Island was once home to the largest slave castle in West Africa. It exported tens of thousands of slaves to North America and the West Indies until the British Parliament closed it down in 1808.
B. Who was Edward Hopper and why was he important?
Edward Hopper is the best-known American realist painter of the inter-war period. Most of his works depict loneliness and the struggle of living in the city. His most famous work is “Nighthawks,” which we saw that the Chicago Art Institute.
C. Who was Telemann?
Telemann is considered to be one of the best German composers of all time. He composed what is now considered “classical music” from 1720 until his death in 1767. We heard selections from Telemann at the Chicago Symphony.
D. What was India's Great Kumbha Mela Pilgrimage?
India’s Great Kumbha Mela Pilgrimage is the largest pilgrimage in the entire world, taking place four times every twelve years. During this gathering, Hindus travel to the Ganges River, where they believe the waters will cleanse them form past sins.
E. What is the Great Rift?
The Great Rift Valley is a name given to the geographic trench, approximately 3,700 miles in length, which runs from northern Syria in Southwest Asia to central Mozambique in East Africa. In millions of years, eastern Africa could break away from the continent to from a separate land mass, as a result of the constant erosion of land along the Great Rift Valley.
F. What's a savanna?
A savanna is a plain characterized by coarse grasses and scattered tree growth, particularly on the margins of the tropics where rainfall is seasonal, as in eastern Africa.
G. What is Porte de L'Afrique?
This term can be translated to “Gateway to Africa.” Roger Broders created a French travel poster, which depicts the port of Marseille, the French port to Africa.
H. Identify 3 ingenious innovations of the people of Mesoamerica.
1. Tools – For hunting, these people created spears, which were initially made of stone and later made of copper. For fishing, they created fish hooks, canoes, and a salmon trap, which worked by allowing the fish to swim in, but not out.
2. Architecture – These people began creating “pueblos” made of sod, which were sturdier than their former huts made of sticks and grasses. They assembled scale models of their homes prior to the actual building of the houses.
3. State Power Triad – These people lives on the same basic principles that we do today. They created systems of military, religion, and economy in order to properly run their societies.
Discuss in correct grammatical prose two of the following:
2. How do you think art is a reflection of a society's fundamental beliefs and actions? Reference your experience at the Art Institute, the Islamic Center, the Spertus Museum and the DuSable Museum?
Art is a direct link to society’s fundamental beliefs and actions because it is a type of honest, visual story-telling. An artist’s beliefs and actions will always appear in his or her art, and these characteristics will differ, depending upon what society a particular artist lived in.
Our guide at the DuSable Museum advised us to look at art in a way that we might not be used to in order to gain a better understanding of the work. He recommended we first look at the artist’s name, then the date the piece was created, what stage of life the artist would have been in at that time, what the artist’s society was like during the time the artwork was created, and finally look at the piece of art and interpret it based on our previous observations. This technique of viewing art is evidence that a society’s beliefs are reflected in its artwork.
The Islamic center featured little artwork, most likely because they do not believe in praying to idols. Therefore, there were no pictures or statues of who they worship, only a mural of the ninety names they have for their god. The Spertus Museum contained work done by Jewish artists, but the theme of the exhibit was “What does it mean to you?” I believe this sheds light on how understanding the Jewish community is because they are allowing viewers to interpret the pieces in many ways, not only according to the intentions of the artist. The Art Institute contained the largest variety of artwork. Much of the ancient cultures’ art reflected the societies’ religious beliefs. For example, located in the Asian exhibit were statues of the gods the Asian culture worships and of artifacts found in tombs, exemplifying how that society viewed the afterlife. In the African exhibit, there was a sculpture with nails driven into it. This statue illustrated the African culture’s belief that the gods would right any wrongs done to a person if that person drove a nail into the statue, which demonstrates that society’s belief in justice. It was interesting to see the differences between the post-modern and the contemporary American works. Knowing that the realist painters were thought of as rebels because their work was not considered acceptable shows how strict and close-minded Americans were at that time. Seeing some of the shocking images in the contemporary section of the Art Institute represents the open-mindedness of today’s Americans.
4. What "thoughts" have you had from the remarks of Reza Aslan and his description of the complexity of working with Islamic/Muslim/Arab nations? How are the "pressure groups" different ala Aslan and what conclusions have you made about the Middle East situation ala Aslan? "What does it mean to you?"
The speech made my Reza Aslan at the Chicago Council for Global Affairs was packed with information that was new to me. However, I found two comments made by Reza Aslan to be particularly interesting. One being that Jihadist groups are a made up of wealthy, educated people. I have always been told that all terrorist groups consist of poor, uneducated people and that these people join terrorist groups because they do not know any better. I do believe this is true in some instances, but not in the case of the Jihadist group. Aslan pointed out that fact that Jihads are a group of social reformers, and that uneducated people are not likely to be concerned with social movements.
The second comment that struck me was that Jihadist groups cannot be negotiated with because they do not want anything attainable. The United States is able to compromise with Islamic groups that are only concerned with ruling their particular countries (i.e. Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran) because they want something that is seemingly possible. However, the United States cannot make compromises with Jihadists because they do not want only to rule their region, but to control the entire world. This is a scary, but real problem that the United States is facing as a result of the war on terror.
Posted at 12:50 AM by Katie Harris
A. What was the importance (or infamy) of Bunce Island?
Bunce Island was once home to the largest slave castle in West Africa. It exported tens of thousands of slaves to North America and the West Indies until the British Parliament closed it down in 1808.
B. Who was Edward Hopper and why was he important?
Edward Hopper is the best-known American realist painter of the inter-war period. Most of his works depict loneliness and the struggle of living in the city. His most famous work is “Nighthawks,” which we saw that the Chicago Art Institute.
C. Who was Telemann?
Telemann is considered to be one of the best German composers of all time. He composed what is now considered “classical music” from 1720 until his death in 1767. We heard selections from Telemann at the Chicago Symphony.
D. What was India's Great Kumbha Mela Pilgrimage?
India’s Great Kumbha Mela Pilgrimage is the largest pilgrimage in the entire world, taking place four times every twelve years. During this gathering, Hindus travel to the Ganges River, where they believe the waters will cleanse them form past sins.
E. What is the Great Rift?
The Great Rift Valley is a name given to the geographic trench, approximately 3,700 miles in length, which runs from northern Syria in Southwest Asia to central Mozambique in East Africa. In millions of years, eastern Africa could break away from the continent to from a separate land mass, as a result of the constant erosion of land along the Great Rift Valley.
F. What's a savanna?
A savanna is a plain characterized by coarse grasses and scattered tree growth, particularly on the margins of the tropics where rainfall is seasonal, as in eastern Africa.
G. What is Porte de L'Afrique?
This term can be translated to “Gateway to Africa.” Roger Broders created a French travel poster, which depicts the port of Marseille, the French port to Africa.
H. Identify 3 ingenious innovations of the people of Mesoamerica.
1. Tools – For hunting, these people created spears, which were initially made of stone and later made of copper. For fishing, they created fish hooks, canoes, and a salmon trap, which worked by allowing the fish to swim in, but not out.
2. Architecture – These people began creating “pueblos” made of sod, which were sturdier than their former huts made of sticks and grasses. They assembled scale models of their homes prior to the actual building of the houses.
3. State Power Triad – These people lives on the same basic principles that we do today. They created systems of military, religion, and economy in order to properly run their societies.
Discuss in correct grammatical prose two of the following:
2. How do you think art is a reflection of a society's fundamental beliefs and actions? Reference your experience at the Art Institute, the Islamic Center, the Spertus Museum and the DuSable Museum?
Art is a direct link to society’s fundamental beliefs and actions because it is a type of honest, visual story-telling. An artist’s beliefs and actions will always appear in his or her art, and these characteristics will differ, depending upon what society a particular artist lived in.
Our guide at the DuSable Museum advised us to look at art in a way that we might not be used to in order to gain a better understanding of the work. He recommended we first look at the artist’s name, then the date the piece was created, what stage of life the artist would have been in at that time, what the artist’s society was like during the time the artwork was created, and finally look at the piece of art and interpret it based on our previous observations. This technique of viewing art is evidence that a society’s beliefs are reflected in its artwork.
The Islamic center featured little artwork, most likely because they do not believe in praying to idols. Therefore, there were no pictures or statues of who they worship, only a mural of the ninety names they have for their god. The Spertus Museum contained work done by Jewish artists, but the theme of the exhibit was “What does it mean to you?” I believe this sheds light on how understanding the Jewish community is because they are allowing viewers to interpret the pieces in many ways, not only according to the intentions of the artist. The Art Institute contained the largest variety of artwork. Much of the ancient cultures’ art reflected the societies’ religious beliefs. For example, located in the Asian exhibit were statues of the gods the Asian culture worships and of artifacts found in tombs, exemplifying how that society viewed the afterlife. In the African exhibit, there was a sculpture with nails driven into it. This statue illustrated the African culture’s belief that the gods would right any wrongs done to a person if that person drove a nail into the statue, which demonstrates that society’s belief in justice. It was interesting to see the differences between the post-modern and the contemporary American works. Knowing that the realist painters were thought of as rebels because their work was not considered acceptable shows how strict and close-minded Americans were at that time. Seeing some of the shocking images in the contemporary section of the Art Institute represents the open-mindedness of today’s Americans.
4. What "thoughts" have you had from the remarks of Reza Aslan and his description of the complexity of working with Islamic/Muslim/Arab nations? How are the "pressure groups" different ala Aslan and what conclusions have you made about the Middle East situation ala Aslan? "What does it mean to you?"
The speech made my Reza Aslan at the Chicago Council for Global Affairs was packed with information that was new to me. However, I found two comments made by Reza Aslan to be particularly interesting. One being that Jihadist groups are a made up of wealthy, educated people. I have always been told that all terrorist groups consist of poor, uneducated people and that these people join terrorist groups because they do not know any better. I do believe this is true in some instances, but not in the case of the Jihadist group. Aslan pointed out that fact that Jihads are a group of social reformers, and that uneducated people are not likely to be concerned with social movements.
The second comment that struck me was that Jihadist groups cannot be negotiated with because they do not want anything attainable. The United States is able to compromise with Islamic groups that are only concerned with ruling their particular countries (i.e. Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran) because they want something that is seemingly possible. However, the United States cannot make compromises with Jihadists because they do not want only to rule their region, but to control the entire world. This is a scary, but real problem that the United States is facing as a result of the war on terror.
Posted at 12:50 AM by Katie Harris
Test Two
12/14/2009
A. Bunce Island was once home to one of the many British slave castles. This was a place where slaves were taken before they were shipped off to other countries to be slaves there.
B. Edward Hopper was an American artist from the 20th century. He was actually one of the most famous realist painters from America during his time. He was well known for painting things the way he really saw and felt about them. We saw some of his work at the Chicago Art Institute.
C. Teleman was a great German composer and some of his work was performed by the Chicago Symphony.
D. The Kumbha Mela is a huge Pilgramage performed by Hindu's. This pilgramige occurs four times every twelve years and during this pilgrimage people perform a ritual bathing ceremony of enormous proportions.
E. The Great Rift Valley is a piece of land that stretches 6000 km and is located between Lebanon and Mozambique.
F. A savanna is a flat grassland located in tropical or subtropical regions.
G. Porte de L'Afrique is French for door to Africa. This is the name for a port in Marseille, France which leads to Africa.
H. 1. Grinding corn to make flour
2. Transportation- Canals and Roadways
3. The way they farmed to get better results out of their crops and to make farming easier.
1. Well I didn't get to get quite as much first hand experience as I had hoped (due to sickness for those of you who weren't there), but in the few things I did experience I definitly found out why looking at artifacts and things such as art would be so revealing to a people's culture and beliefs at the time. This was most obvious to me during our visit to the Chicago Art Institute. There we were guided on a two hour tour through many different times and cultures. We went to the African exhibit and saw the diffierence in East and West Africe just by looking at the art that had come out of each region. In the East there were books and tablets with Jesus and Mary painted and etched into them. Then when we looked at the west it was a much different culture. There we saw a statue of a man covered in nails. This statue was kept in a "healers" house and people would come to it and when they hammered a nail into it it was believed that this would purify them of any demons or sins. There was also a statue of a king and his queen. This one was particularly interesting because it really gave you a feel for how their culture potrayed the status of men and women. The king was nearly half the size of the woman and was seated on a thrown. The queen was standing behind him towering over him in an almost protective way. This can be translated many different ways, but I would say the most obvious conclusion is that yes the man is in charge and he is the procrlaimed leader, but the woman is the overseer of the family and is a very strong and powerful part of their culture. Also another neat fact about the statue was that the king was wearing a hat with a bird on it to symbolize, that like a bird can see his entire kingdom from above, so can he. We also came to an area of the museum that was full of a bunch of different miniature sized artifacts. There was everything from horses, houses, dogs, clay pillows, and noblemen. These were all things people were buried with. As we looked at these things you could tell that they defintily believed in life after death and that everything you were buried with you could use in the afterlife. It was very cool to see what they believed and how serious they took this belief. It was also neat to see how over time the artifacts got better and more detialed. For example, once the silk road opened up and trade between Europe and Asia became easier things such as colored glaze were introduced to these new cultures and were used in making these artifacts.
2. I think that art, or the lack there of, is the best and most universal way to see a society's fundamental beliefs and actions. Not everyone can read or write, and there are too many languages in this world for any one person to possibly learn, but everyone can interpret art. Everyone can look at a peice of art and get something out of it. A good example of the lack of art was the Islamic center. As we sat and listened to their afternoon prayer we looked around and noticed that it was much different then most religious centers we are used too. There were no paintings of their prophets or important people to their rligion, just bare walls with one painting of just the many names for God. This is important to their culture and religion because they believe there is to be no false depictions of their God and they are to have no idols and since nobody has a picture of God or any of their prophets, their walls remain empty. The Spertus musuem was filled with art and relics Jewish history. I found it very interesting because the theme was "What does it mean to you?". So, the tour guide would tell us all about an object and then ask us the question "What does it mean to you?" This was a very inventive idea as it made you you fill in the blank as to why that peice was important or if it was even important at all. The Art Institute definitly had the largest variety's and examples of art and how it pertained to culture and times. One of my favorite examples was the impressionist's art. I loved how it just told it how it was and was very upfront about their culture dirty little secrets that had mostly been ignored, atleast by the mainstream art world. Such as, the statue of a regular man with all his flaws, instead of the nearly perfect bodies of the men in other sculptures. It was also unbelievable to see how much American art as a whole has changed over just the last couple hundred years. It has moved from your everday self-portait to, well, anything you can think of, from clown torture to a pile of rocks.
Posted at 12:14 AM by Josh Seifert
A. Bunce Island was once home to one of the many British slave castles. This was a place where slaves were taken before they were shipped off to other countries to be slaves there.
B. Edward Hopper was an American artist from the 20th century. He was actually one of the most famous realist painters from America during his time. He was well known for painting things the way he really saw and felt about them. We saw some of his work at the Chicago Art Institute.
C. Teleman was a great German composer and some of his work was performed by the Chicago Symphony.
D. The Kumbha Mela is a huge Pilgramage performed by Hindu's. This pilgramige occurs four times every twelve years and during this pilgrimage people perform a ritual bathing ceremony of enormous proportions.
E. The Great Rift Valley is a piece of land that stretches 6000 km and is located between Lebanon and Mozambique.
F. A savanna is a flat grassland located in tropical or subtropical regions.
G. Porte de L'Afrique is French for door to Africa. This is the name for a port in Marseille, France which leads to Africa.
H. 1. Grinding corn to make flour
2. Transportation- Canals and Roadways
3. The way they farmed to get better results out of their crops and to make farming easier.
1. Well I didn't get to get quite as much first hand experience as I had hoped (due to sickness for those of you who weren't there), but in the few things I did experience I definitly found out why looking at artifacts and things such as art would be so revealing to a people's culture and beliefs at the time. This was most obvious to me during our visit to the Chicago Art Institute. There we were guided on a two hour tour through many different times and cultures. We went to the African exhibit and saw the diffierence in East and West Africe just by looking at the art that had come out of each region. In the East there were books and tablets with Jesus and Mary painted and etched into them. Then when we looked at the west it was a much different culture. There we saw a statue of a man covered in nails. This statue was kept in a "healers" house and people would come to it and when they hammered a nail into it it was believed that this would purify them of any demons or sins. There was also a statue of a king and his queen. This one was particularly interesting because it really gave you a feel for how their culture potrayed the status of men and women. The king was nearly half the size of the woman and was seated on a thrown. The queen was standing behind him towering over him in an almost protective way. This can be translated many different ways, but I would say the most obvious conclusion is that yes the man is in charge and he is the procrlaimed leader, but the woman is the overseer of the family and is a very strong and powerful part of their culture. Also another neat fact about the statue was that the king was wearing a hat with a bird on it to symbolize, that like a bird can see his entire kingdom from above, so can he. We also came to an area of the museum that was full of a bunch of different miniature sized artifacts. There was everything from horses, houses, dogs, clay pillows, and noblemen. These were all things people were buried with. As we looked at these things you could tell that they defintily believed in life after death and that everything you were buried with you could use in the afterlife. It was very cool to see what they believed and how serious they took this belief. It was also neat to see how over time the artifacts got better and more detialed. For example, once the silk road opened up and trade between Europe and Asia became easier things such as colored glaze were introduced to these new cultures and were used in making these artifacts.
2. I think that art, or the lack there of, is the best and most universal way to see a society's fundamental beliefs and actions. Not everyone can read or write, and there are too many languages in this world for any one person to possibly learn, but everyone can interpret art. Everyone can look at a peice of art and get something out of it. A good example of the lack of art was the Islamic center. As we sat and listened to their afternoon prayer we looked around and noticed that it was much different then most religious centers we are used too. There were no paintings of their prophets or important people to their rligion, just bare walls with one painting of just the many names for God. This is important to their culture and religion because they believe there is to be no false depictions of their God and they are to have no idols and since nobody has a picture of God or any of their prophets, their walls remain empty. The Spertus musuem was filled with art and relics Jewish history. I found it very interesting because the theme was "What does it mean to you?". So, the tour guide would tell us all about an object and then ask us the question "What does it mean to you?" This was a very inventive idea as it made you you fill in the blank as to why that peice was important or if it was even important at all. The Art Institute definitly had the largest variety's and examples of art and how it pertained to culture and times. One of my favorite examples was the impressionist's art. I loved how it just told it how it was and was very upfront about their culture dirty little secrets that had mostly been ignored, atleast by the mainstream art world. Such as, the statue of a regular man with all his flaws, instead of the nearly perfect bodies of the men in other sculptures. It was also unbelievable to see how much American art as a whole has changed over just the last couple hundred years. It has moved from your everday self-portait to, well, anything you can think of, from clown torture to a pile of rocks.
Posted at 12:14 AM by Josh Seifert
Chicago Test
12/13/2009
A. What was the importance (or infamy) of Bunce Island?
Bunce Island was one of many slave castles and trading posts on the West coast of Africa. This slave route was in place during the Atlantic Slave Trade.
B. Who was Edward Hopper and why was he important?
Edward Hopper is a famous American realist painter who placed his views on the way of life and in reference to what was going on day to day. He painted most of his work during a war era and provided some of the most distinguished pieces of work.
C. Who was Telemann?
Telemann was a German composer whose music was played while we sat in the Chicago Symphony.
D. What was India's Great Kumbha Mela Pilgrimage?
The Kumbha Mela Pilgrimage is a mass Hindu pilgrimage which occurs four times every twelve years. Within this pilgrimage, people perform a mass ritual bathing in the closest river or body of water to the gathering.
E. What is the Great Rift?
The Great Rift Valley is a 6,000 kilometers long of eroding land which could later separate a piece of Africa from Syria to Mozambique.
F. What's a savanna?
A savanna is grassland located in tropical and subtropical areas.
G. What is Porte de L'Afrique?
Porte de L'Afrique a painting/poster that shows the port or gateway to Africa. A translation of this means the door to Africa. This port is located in Marseille, France which borders the area of Africa.
H. Identify 3 ingenius innovations of the people of MesoAmerica.
1. Irrigation System – stretched all around the land of crops
2. Way of Farming – planting and gathering crops
3. Tools for killing animals, working on the farm, and basic living. (Arrowheads, fish hooks, stone plow, bowls, utensils, and spears)
Discuss in correct grammatical prose two of the following:
1. Anthropologists, cultural historians, geographers, and archeologists often look to the arts and mores of countries as a clue to the behavior, beliefs and practice of a people. Use your first-hand experience these four days to discuss. Example: Buddhist/Hindu art/sculpture as reflective of society - religion, culture, etc.
We must look to arts for the fact that many works show the way of life of people. This could be the same way those artists now and from the past, and how they would show their emotions to the economy or just their individual lives. Art is a symbol of peace and a visual language we all could soon understand. Historians can look at artifacts and tell when they were found and what animals they match up with. This is all the same for a piece of art work. Not everyone has the ability to sing, write, or talk so pieces of art can persuade or just show a visual to get a point across.
While in the Art Institute of Chicago I got to see some of the ways art can be ways of history or language to everyone. In the African exhibit we noticed a sculpture that had nails in it, this was a symbol to take away the demons that had possessed the people who came to confession. Also on this sculpture was a mirror box that allowed the people to see the demons that were hiding within them and could be fought away. We also came across sculptures that looked like dragons and dog, which could have been put in a tomb with man to keep the evil away from him. Spears and other sorts of weapons could have been placed within the tomb as well. One thing that stuck out to me was the miniature sized farms and utensils that were placed in ones grave with them to be carried to the next life. If one person were to have great lands and farming, then his land and farm were sent to his grave with him. There are all types of weird concepts, such as the doors with attached knockers. If the knockers were attached, then that place a for sure knowledge that people weren’t allowed in.
We must look upon our ancestors to find out what there was in the past but along with this comes artifacts and ways of art. Once again there are creatures being discovered each day from fossil finding but we must note that every day there are at least twenty-seven species going extinct. I thought about this the other day and wondered how it was possible but then realized there are more creatures out there than I know facts/knowledge about. This kind of moves me into wondering about the religion of human beings. We can look at science and history to put facts and theories together but must realize they are acts that could be changed from scientists to scientists.
As I move away from the history and sciences, our class had the opportunity to sit in on a prayer session at the Islamic Center. Each Islamic person of belief prays five times a day and can come to this facility and practice along with fellow believers. At this time prayer is faced towards the North-East towards Mecca. As for the Holy Quran it’s presumed by the Islam to be much greater than the Bible considering it holds less mistakes and easier to memorize word for word. In this book there are different colors on certain words to symbolize a different sound that must be made by the nose.
2. How do you think art is a reflection of a society's fundamental beliefs and actions? Reference your experience at the Art Institute, the Islamic Center, the Spertus Museum and the DuSable Museum?
Art is a great reflection on society and fundamental beliefs because it must be interpreted. We could sit back all day and watch television and hear politicians criticize one another but if we were to sit back and stare at a painting we may not get the same concept. Pieces of art work symbolize a new beginning to the way of life and how we can express ourselves. It is easy to say that artists from the past have already used art as a symbol of communication but in today’s society there are many different types of art. If you were to ask someone from the early 70s who was their favorite artists or sculptor, their answer would most likely not match the view of someone from today’s era.
In the Art Institute of Chicago there was a modern art selection that included a u-shaped set of ultraviolet lights hovering over broken ground. Many of us, including myself wouldn’t call that art but we still buy and use the same pieces every day. Another example of what I saw in modern world was a selection of chairs. These chairs were made of Iron or strong steel but still had the comfort as a chair with a cushion. Also in the same exhibit was a huge circular chair made of iron or steel but the bottom of the chair where people would sit on was made of rubber from car tires. By looking at different types of chairs and not sitting on them, I would have never guess the steel chair with rubber on seating would be the most comfortable.
We may wonder where this may fit in with the society’s fundamental beliefs or actions, but it is clear and simple. People of the United States are easy to please and if it takes a little bit of extra money most people would pay for it as long as it suited them. The United States is made up of all cultures and beliefs, so it is hard to narrow the lifestyles down but art can put any group of people together. Art is divided into all groups such as; religion, history, art pieces, life, and everything around us. The DuSable Museum is a great point of all of everything we are living for in the United States. It placed us back in history to see where African Americans came about and how different people had changed the world beyond what could be learned in a textbook. We know of all the greats but we never take time to see how their arts could evolve the way we live today. One person that is famous to us all is Martin Luther King Jr. but we must step back and see all the facts on how his speech changed the world. Next time you get the opportunity to look around you, take the time to see the freedoms that are available to us because of the history of such a great man.
Life is being taken advantage of every day because we choose to be lazy. I am one to say that I can’t read art but could see my own personal meanings behind the paintings and sculptures. That is the same for history, I figured all the information from my textbooks covered the main pieces but the main pieces aren’t always the most important. It’s the little things in life that can change the whole perspective on how we view one another and each place we visited while in Chicago gave me personally a different perspective on the way of life. We must note that art is everything around us every day, whether or not it moves it’s a way of expression.
Posted at 11:18 PM by Ryan Burns
A. What was the importance (or infamy) of Bunce Island?
Bunce Island was one of many slave castles and trading posts on the West coast of Africa. This slave route was in place during the Atlantic Slave Trade.
B. Who was Edward Hopper and why was he important?
Edward Hopper is a famous American realist painter who placed his views on the way of life and in reference to what was going on day to day. He painted most of his work during a war era and provided some of the most distinguished pieces of work.
C. Who was Telemann?
Telemann was a German composer whose music was played while we sat in the Chicago Symphony.
D. What was India's Great Kumbha Mela Pilgrimage?
The Kumbha Mela Pilgrimage is a mass Hindu pilgrimage which occurs four times every twelve years. Within this pilgrimage, people perform a mass ritual bathing in the closest river or body of water to the gathering.
E. What is the Great Rift?
The Great Rift Valley is a 6,000 kilometers long of eroding land which could later separate a piece of Africa from Syria to Mozambique.
F. What's a savanna?
A savanna is grassland located in tropical and subtropical areas.
G. What is Porte de L'Afrique?
Porte de L'Afrique a painting/poster that shows the port or gateway to Africa. A translation of this means the door to Africa. This port is located in Marseille, France which borders the area of Africa.
H. Identify 3 ingenius innovations of the people of MesoAmerica.
1. Irrigation System – stretched all around the land of crops
2. Way of Farming – planting and gathering crops
3. Tools for killing animals, working on the farm, and basic living. (Arrowheads, fish hooks, stone plow, bowls, utensils, and spears)
Discuss in correct grammatical prose two of the following:
1. Anthropologists, cultural historians, geographers, and archeologists often look to the arts and mores of countries as a clue to the behavior, beliefs and practice of a people. Use your first-hand experience these four days to discuss. Example: Buddhist/Hindu art/sculpture as reflective of society - religion, culture, etc.
We must look to arts for the fact that many works show the way of life of people. This could be the same way those artists now and from the past, and how they would show their emotions to the economy or just their individual lives. Art is a symbol of peace and a visual language we all could soon understand. Historians can look at artifacts and tell when they were found and what animals they match up with. This is all the same for a piece of art work. Not everyone has the ability to sing, write, or talk so pieces of art can persuade or just show a visual to get a point across.
While in the Art Institute of Chicago I got to see some of the ways art can be ways of history or language to everyone. In the African exhibit we noticed a sculpture that had nails in it, this was a symbol to take away the demons that had possessed the people who came to confession. Also on this sculpture was a mirror box that allowed the people to see the demons that were hiding within them and could be fought away. We also came across sculptures that looked like dragons and dog, which could have been put in a tomb with man to keep the evil away from him. Spears and other sorts of weapons could have been placed within the tomb as well. One thing that stuck out to me was the miniature sized farms and utensils that were placed in ones grave with them to be carried to the next life. If one person were to have great lands and farming, then his land and farm were sent to his grave with him. There are all types of weird concepts, such as the doors with attached knockers. If the knockers were attached, then that place a for sure knowledge that people weren’t allowed in.
We must look upon our ancestors to find out what there was in the past but along with this comes artifacts and ways of art. Once again there are creatures being discovered each day from fossil finding but we must note that every day there are at least twenty-seven species going extinct. I thought about this the other day and wondered how it was possible but then realized there are more creatures out there than I know facts/knowledge about. This kind of moves me into wondering about the religion of human beings. We can look at science and history to put facts and theories together but must realize they are acts that could be changed from scientists to scientists.
As I move away from the history and sciences, our class had the opportunity to sit in on a prayer session at the Islamic Center. Each Islamic person of belief prays five times a day and can come to this facility and practice along with fellow believers. At this time prayer is faced towards the North-East towards Mecca. As for the Holy Quran it’s presumed by the Islam to be much greater than the Bible considering it holds less mistakes and easier to memorize word for word. In this book there are different colors on certain words to symbolize a different sound that must be made by the nose.
2. How do you think art is a reflection of a society's fundamental beliefs and actions? Reference your experience at the Art Institute, the Islamic Center, the Spertus Museum and the DuSable Museum?
Art is a great reflection on society and fundamental beliefs because it must be interpreted. We could sit back all day and watch television and hear politicians criticize one another but if we were to sit back and stare at a painting we may not get the same concept. Pieces of art work symbolize a new beginning to the way of life and how we can express ourselves. It is easy to say that artists from the past have already used art as a symbol of communication but in today’s society there are many different types of art. If you were to ask someone from the early 70s who was their favorite artists or sculptor, their answer would most likely not match the view of someone from today’s era.
In the Art Institute of Chicago there was a modern art selection that included a u-shaped set of ultraviolet lights hovering over broken ground. Many of us, including myself wouldn’t call that art but we still buy and use the same pieces every day. Another example of what I saw in modern world was a selection of chairs. These chairs were made of Iron or strong steel but still had the comfort as a chair with a cushion. Also in the same exhibit was a huge circular chair made of iron or steel but the bottom of the chair where people would sit on was made of rubber from car tires. By looking at different types of chairs and not sitting on them, I would have never guess the steel chair with rubber on seating would be the most comfortable.
We may wonder where this may fit in with the society’s fundamental beliefs or actions, but it is clear and simple. People of the United States are easy to please and if it takes a little bit of extra money most people would pay for it as long as it suited them. The United States is made up of all cultures and beliefs, so it is hard to narrow the lifestyles down but art can put any group of people together. Art is divided into all groups such as; religion, history, art pieces, life, and everything around us. The DuSable Museum is a great point of all of everything we are living for in the United States. It placed us back in history to see where African Americans came about and how different people had changed the world beyond what could be learned in a textbook. We know of all the greats but we never take time to see how their arts could evolve the way we live today. One person that is famous to us all is Martin Luther King Jr. but we must step back and see all the facts on how his speech changed the world. Next time you get the opportunity to look around you, take the time to see the freedoms that are available to us because of the history of such a great man.
Life is being taken advantage of every day because we choose to be lazy. I am one to say that I can’t read art but could see my own personal meanings behind the paintings and sculptures. That is the same for history, I figured all the information from my textbooks covered the main pieces but the main pieces aren’t always the most important. It’s the little things in life that can change the whole perspective on how we view one another and each place we visited while in Chicago gave me personally a different perspective on the way of life. We must note that art is everything around us every day, whether or not it moves it’s a way of expression.
Posted at 11:18 PM by Ryan Burns
Test two
12/13/2009
A. Bunce Island was the largest British slave castle on the Rice Coast of West Africa. One important fact about the island was the fact that the African farmers that were taken to America, made early America very profitable off of rice. United States Independence was negotiated, in part, between Bunce Island’s British owner, Richard Oswald, and his American business agent in South Carolina, Henry Laurens.
B. The New York-born painter, illustrator and graphic artist Edward Hopper is one of the most recognizable and famous artists. He is considered by most critics to be the most important American Realist of the 20th century. He is perhaps better understood as a painter of ordinary people trying to make the best of life - a condition that necessarily involves a degree of solitude and serenity. Whatever his precise outlook, he remained steadfast in his realist approach, even when the new post-war American Abstraction movement made him appear old fashioned and out of touch. We saw his famous “Nighthawks” at the Chicago Art Museum.
C. Telemann was one of the artists played at the Chicago Symphony.
D.The Kumbha Mela is the largest religious gathering in the world. According to astrologers, the 'Kumbh Fair' takes place when the planet Jupiter enters Aquarius and the Sun enters Aries. The pilgrimage occurs four times every twelve years, once at each of the four locations. Each twelve-year cycle includes the Maha (great) Kumbha Mela at Prayag, attended by millions of people, making it the largest pilgrimage gathering around the world.
E. The Great Rift Valley as originally described extends from Lebanon in the north to Mozambique in the south, and constitutes one of two distinct physiographic provinces of the East African mountains physiographic division. It stretches approximately 6,000 kilometers.
F. A savanna is a flat grassland in tropical or subtropical regions.
G. The Porte de L'Afrique was the port from France to Africa.
H. Three ingenious innovations of the people of MesoAmerica were: grinding corn to make flour, a wood ladder, and the combination of religion, government, and military.
2. At the Art Museum, there are many different forms of art and wide variety of time changes. It was cool that there were different reasons for some of the art, like in the Buddhist exhibit, sculptures were made of wood and in the China exhibit, and everything was found in tombs and made of ceramic. At the Islamic Center, there was not much art except the stone figure that represented which way Muslims were to prey towards. In the Islam religion, men prey directly to God so they do not need a messenger or cross to prey to. At the Spertus Museum, there are many different types of art and represent different beliefs. The top floor is always changing but when our class went, it was called “What does it mean to you”. At the Dusable Museum, I learned that art is a huge reflection of the artist’s society’s fundamental beliefs. Our tour guide told us to read the artist’s name and the art was made. By doing this we can form any reasons why the art might be a sad form or a violent picture.
4. At the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Reza Aslan presented a lot of information that surprised me. He talked about President Obama and how he has a long view of what is going on in Iran and the fact that change can happen. Reza thinks that Obama has too high standards for the Palestinian and Israel conflict and it is going to cause a total freeze in the movement towards peace. Reza informed us on the dividing line between east and west. The east consists of nationalists or islamists and the west consists of transnationalists or jihadists. Islamism is a political philosophy or religious nationalism which is on the rise. Al Qaeda wants control over the whole planet and obviously that is impossible to negotiate with so that is why it is so hard to solve the problem. It seems like Muslims come up with everything first: a constitution, the Koran, a toothbrush etc. Reza compares democracy to a delicious bowl of soup which includes ingredients and if you take one ingredient out the soup fails but if you replace that ingredient with a different ingredient, well maybe then it could work. In Egypt, the ballot said the only candidate and then two boxes that said yes and no.
Posted at 10:58 PM by Sydney Hase
A. Bunce Island was the largest British slave castle on the Rice Coast of West Africa. One important fact about the island was the fact that the African farmers that were taken to America, made early America very profitable off of rice. United States Independence was negotiated, in part, between Bunce Island’s British owner, Richard Oswald, and his American business agent in South Carolina, Henry Laurens.
B. The New York-born painter, illustrator and graphic artist Edward Hopper is one of the most recognizable and famous artists. He is considered by most critics to be the most important American Realist of the 20th century. He is perhaps better understood as a painter of ordinary people trying to make the best of life - a condition that necessarily involves a degree of solitude and serenity. Whatever his precise outlook, he remained steadfast in his realist approach, even when the new post-war American Abstraction movement made him appear old fashioned and out of touch. We saw his famous “Nighthawks” at the Chicago Art Museum.
C. Telemann was one of the artists played at the Chicago Symphony.
D.The Kumbha Mela is the largest religious gathering in the world. According to astrologers, the 'Kumbh Fair' takes place when the planet Jupiter enters Aquarius and the Sun enters Aries. The pilgrimage occurs four times every twelve years, once at each of the four locations. Each twelve-year cycle includes the Maha (great) Kumbha Mela at Prayag, attended by millions of people, making it the largest pilgrimage gathering around the world.
E. The Great Rift Valley as originally described extends from Lebanon in the north to Mozambique in the south, and constitutes one of two distinct physiographic provinces of the East African mountains physiographic division. It stretches approximately 6,000 kilometers.
F. A savanna is a flat grassland in tropical or subtropical regions.
G. The Porte de L'Afrique was the port from France to Africa.
H. Three ingenious innovations of the people of MesoAmerica were: grinding corn to make flour, a wood ladder, and the combination of religion, government, and military.
2. At the Art Museum, there are many different forms of art and wide variety of time changes. It was cool that there were different reasons for some of the art, like in the Buddhist exhibit, sculptures were made of wood and in the China exhibit, and everything was found in tombs and made of ceramic. At the Islamic Center, there was not much art except the stone figure that represented which way Muslims were to prey towards. In the Islam religion, men prey directly to God so they do not need a messenger or cross to prey to. At the Spertus Museum, there are many different types of art and represent different beliefs. The top floor is always changing but when our class went, it was called “What does it mean to you”. At the Dusable Museum, I learned that art is a huge reflection of the artist’s society’s fundamental beliefs. Our tour guide told us to read the artist’s name and the art was made. By doing this we can form any reasons why the art might be a sad form or a violent picture.
4. At the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Reza Aslan presented a lot of information that surprised me. He talked about President Obama and how he has a long view of what is going on in Iran and the fact that change can happen. Reza thinks that Obama has too high standards for the Palestinian and Israel conflict and it is going to cause a total freeze in the movement towards peace. Reza informed us on the dividing line between east and west. The east consists of nationalists or islamists and the west consists of transnationalists or jihadists. Islamism is a political philosophy or religious nationalism which is on the rise. Al Qaeda wants control over the whole planet and obviously that is impossible to negotiate with so that is why it is so hard to solve the problem. It seems like Muslims come up with everything first: a constitution, the Koran, a toothbrush etc. Reza compares democracy to a delicious bowl of soup which includes ingredients and if you take one ingredient out the soup fails but if you replace that ingredient with a different ingredient, well maybe then it could work. In Egypt, the ballot said the only candidate and then two boxes that said yes and no.
Posted at 10:58 PM by Sydney Hase
Chicago Test
12/13/2009
A. What was the importance (or infamy) of Bunce Island?
Bunce Island was home to a British slave castle. The slave castle was one of the largest in West Africa. The castle exported many Africans to America. Africans from the Bunce Island slave castle had a lot of experience in growing rice. Most of these Africans were taken to the southern colonies of America for their rice growing abilities.
B. Who was Edward Hopper and why was he important?
Edward Hopper is one of the most famous realist painters in America. Hopper influenced many artists through his work. He is most famous for his painting entitled Nighthawks. Many of his paintings including this one represent loneliness.
C. Who was Telemann?
Telemann is a composer of one of the pieces we heard at the symphony. He was known as one of the greatest German composers of all time. People would travel from all over Europe just to hear his work and this was during a time when most would not travel far from their homes for anything.
D. What was India's Great Kumbha Mela Pilgrimage?
The Kumbha Mela Pilgrimage is a mass Hindu gathering that takes place four times every twelve years. It is the largest gathering in the world. At the gathering the people participate in a ritual bathing in the river near the city in which it takes place.
E. What is the Great Rift?
The Great Rift is located in East Africa. The land is eroding and could eventually break away from the continent of Africa. This intrigues scientists to find answers about climate change and human evolution.
F. What's a savanna?
A savanna is a warm grassland region. They are usually located in between a desert and a rainforest area. In Africa, the savanna is located between the Sahara desert and the Congo jungle.
G. What is Porte de L'Afrique?
Marseille, France is known as the Porte de L’Afrique. Porte de L’Afrique is Door of the Africa in French and that is exactly what Marseille is. Marseille is a port city in France and ships go back and forth between there and Africa.
H. Identify 3 ingenius innovations of the people of MesoAmerica.
1.Glyphs (form of writing)
2.Roadways and Canals
3.Terraces for agriculture
Question 2
Art can have a direct link to a society’s fundamental beliefs and actions. At the Art institute I saw many links between art and societal beliefs. In the Islamic art section I noticed that there were not any images of Muhammad or Allah. This also held true in the Islamic Center. This principle is a part of the Islamic beliefs that there should be no depictions of their God. When viewing the East African art at the Art Institute there were numerous depictions of Mary and other notable people of the Bible. East Africa was influenced by Christianity during the time the Art work was made. In the Christian faith, there are many pictures depictions from the bible. Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper is one example of an artwork from the Christian faith.
At the DuSable Museum, the first artwork we viewed was a large hand carved mural of the history of African Americans over the years. The work showed a reflection on each major influence to African Americans from the time of the slave trade to the present day. The guide at the DuSable mentioned that there are keys to finding meaning within a piece of art. The two major keys I remember are to look at the name and the date. By seeing these two things, it can tell someone a lot about what the meaning truly is. I did a search on the Nighthawks painting and found that it may have been painted right after the attacks on Pearl Harbor. If someone knows this information you might think that the people inside the restaurant are thinking to themselves about what has happened and what it all means. Nobody would notice this without the date of the painting.
The Spertus Museum contained numerous amounts of religious meanings in their forms of art. One of the first forms we were introduced to was the boxes that held the Torah. The art was different in each country that the box was made in. Another source of faith in art that I noticed was the Menorah. There were many different types of and art on the Menorahs that we saw.
Question 4
Reza Aslan felt that the problems in the Middle East are extremely complex and I whole heartedly agree. Aslan felt that Barack Obama was doing an outstanding job in Iran, but he stated that he is doing absolutely terrible in Palestine. Obviously terrorism is one of the main problems in the Middle East. Aslan felt that they way we are trying to diminish terrorism was all wrong. He stated that there are different types of terrorists. The ones that pose the biggest threat are the transnationalists. These are the terrorists that want global domination and will stop at nothing to get it. The other group is known as religious nationalists who feel that their religion is the best and that is all they care about. He felt that if we knew these things we could stop the biggest threats toward us.
Another major point Aslan made was how to stop these nations that are filled with terrorists. He felt they needed democracy. Democracy would solve all of the problems in these countries. He mentioned that these countries needed to learn to fail. They need to learn to vote for the correct leaders and if it takes them failing then so be it. After a few elections they will eventually learn. I like the idea of this, but it also poses a problem and thankfully someone asked the question during the session. The question posed was about democracy and how the lack of education in these countries would affect that. Aslan responded by saying that the transnationalists are actually very intelligent. They are the ones who want to take over the world.
Since then I have been thinking about the subject. What about the other terrorists, aren’t they a problem too? I also think it is important that the uneducated populations of these countries have a say in the voting process, not just the transnationalists. I agree with Aslan on many of these ideas, but I believe one of the main characteristics of a democracy is an educated population. All that needs done is for these people to gain primary education: one of the Millennium Goals of the United Nations.
Posted at 8:11 PM by Daniel Roth
A. What was the importance (or infamy) of Bunce Island?
Bunce Island was home to a British slave castle. The slave castle was one of the largest in West Africa. The castle exported many Africans to America. Africans from the Bunce Island slave castle had a lot of experience in growing rice. Most of these Africans were taken to the southern colonies of America for their rice growing abilities.
B. Who was Edward Hopper and why was he important?
Edward Hopper is one of the most famous realist painters in America. Hopper influenced many artists through his work. He is most famous for his painting entitled Nighthawks. Many of his paintings including this one represent loneliness.
C. Who was Telemann?
Telemann is a composer of one of the pieces we heard at the symphony. He was known as one of the greatest German composers of all time. People would travel from all over Europe just to hear his work and this was during a time when most would not travel far from their homes for anything.
D. What was India's Great Kumbha Mela Pilgrimage?
The Kumbha Mela Pilgrimage is a mass Hindu gathering that takes place four times every twelve years. It is the largest gathering in the world. At the gathering the people participate in a ritual bathing in the river near the city in which it takes place.
E. What is the Great Rift?
The Great Rift is located in East Africa. The land is eroding and could eventually break away from the continent of Africa. This intrigues scientists to find answers about climate change and human evolution.
F. What's a savanna?
A savanna is a warm grassland region. They are usually located in between a desert and a rainforest area. In Africa, the savanna is located between the Sahara desert and the Congo jungle.
G. What is Porte de L'Afrique?
Marseille, France is known as the Porte de L’Afrique. Porte de L’Afrique is Door of the Africa in French and that is exactly what Marseille is. Marseille is a port city in France and ships go back and forth between there and Africa.
H. Identify 3 ingenius innovations of the people of MesoAmerica.
1.Glyphs (form of writing)
2.Roadways and Canals
3.Terraces for agriculture
Question 2
Art can have a direct link to a society’s fundamental beliefs and actions. At the Art institute I saw many links between art and societal beliefs. In the Islamic art section I noticed that there were not any images of Muhammad or Allah. This also held true in the Islamic Center. This principle is a part of the Islamic beliefs that there should be no depictions of their God. When viewing the East African art at the Art Institute there were numerous depictions of Mary and other notable people of the Bible. East Africa was influenced by Christianity during the time the Art work was made. In the Christian faith, there are many pictures depictions from the bible. Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper is one example of an artwork from the Christian faith.
At the DuSable Museum, the first artwork we viewed was a large hand carved mural of the history of African Americans over the years. The work showed a reflection on each major influence to African Americans from the time of the slave trade to the present day. The guide at the DuSable mentioned that there are keys to finding meaning within a piece of art. The two major keys I remember are to look at the name and the date. By seeing these two things, it can tell someone a lot about what the meaning truly is. I did a search on the Nighthawks painting and found that it may have been painted right after the attacks on Pearl Harbor. If someone knows this information you might think that the people inside the restaurant are thinking to themselves about what has happened and what it all means. Nobody would notice this without the date of the painting.
The Spertus Museum contained numerous amounts of religious meanings in their forms of art. One of the first forms we were introduced to was the boxes that held the Torah. The art was different in each country that the box was made in. Another source of faith in art that I noticed was the Menorah. There were many different types of and art on the Menorahs that we saw.
Question 4
Reza Aslan felt that the problems in the Middle East are extremely complex and I whole heartedly agree. Aslan felt that Barack Obama was doing an outstanding job in Iran, but he stated that he is doing absolutely terrible in Palestine. Obviously terrorism is one of the main problems in the Middle East. Aslan felt that they way we are trying to diminish terrorism was all wrong. He stated that there are different types of terrorists. The ones that pose the biggest threat are the transnationalists. These are the terrorists that want global domination and will stop at nothing to get it. The other group is known as religious nationalists who feel that their religion is the best and that is all they care about. He felt that if we knew these things we could stop the biggest threats toward us.
Another major point Aslan made was how to stop these nations that are filled with terrorists. He felt they needed democracy. Democracy would solve all of the problems in these countries. He mentioned that these countries needed to learn to fail. They need to learn to vote for the correct leaders and if it takes them failing then so be it. After a few elections they will eventually learn. I like the idea of this, but it also poses a problem and thankfully someone asked the question during the session. The question posed was about democracy and how the lack of education in these countries would affect that. Aslan responded by saying that the transnationalists are actually very intelligent. They are the ones who want to take over the world.
Since then I have been thinking about the subject. What about the other terrorists, aren’t they a problem too? I also think it is important that the uneducated populations of these countries have a say in the voting process, not just the transnationalists. I agree with Aslan on many of these ideas, but I believe one of the main characteristics of a democracy is an educated population. All that needs done is for these people to gain primary education: one of the Millennium Goals of the United Nations.
Posted at 8:11 PM by Daniel Roth
Questions
12/13/2009
1. How are pharmacies, and those who have the ability to save lives, more concerned with personal income and what they can gain from doing anything? when the whole reason they are put in those postions to make a difference is because they are or suppose to be the few that can make a difference in the world.
2. Why does islam stand for peace and hold their women in such high regard in their religion, yet they allow those that do not set a good image on their culture continue to commit horibble hate crimes and diplay the exact opposite for what they stand for?
3. Why does the United States of America look outside our own society for the next great artist, inventor, and educator? when we have the most diverse population in the world and have all the tools, talents and requirements to be the standard.
Posted at 6:24 PM by Michael Bailey
1. How are pharmacies, and those who have the ability to save lives, more concerned with personal income and what they can gain from doing anything? when the whole reason they are put in those postions to make a difference is because they are or suppose to be the few that can make a difference in the world.
2. Why does islam stand for peace and hold their women in such high regard in their religion, yet they allow those that do not set a good image on their culture continue to commit horibble hate crimes and diplay the exact opposite for what they stand for?
3. Why does the United States of America look outside our own society for the next great artist, inventor, and educator? when we have the most diverse population in the world and have all the tools, talents and requirements to be the standard.
Posted at 6:24 PM by Michael Bailey
Chicago Reflections
12/13/2009
A. Bunce Island is infamous for its role in the African slave market. It is considered to be the most important historic site in Africa for the United States. Bunce Island was a British slave castle that was used by slave traders to imprison slaves before they were loaded onto the ships and sent to America. Thousands of slaves were sent from Bunce Island to the plantation owners in the Southern Colonies during the 1700s.
B. Edward Hopper was an artist that had a career in commercial illustration and print making. Even though he won critical acclaim for his print making, he is most famous for his paintings of American life depicting the loneliness and struggle of city living. His pictures portrayed loneliness and desolation by either emptiness or the presence of anonymous non-communicating characters. His paintings portrayed the chilling truth of the hopelessness of the Great Depression. (While at the Art Institute of Chicago we could see his painting Nighthawks.)
C. Georg Philipp Telemann was one of the greatest German composers of his time. He is considered to be unusually prolific and versatile because he could write in many styles of music and composed hundreds of pieces of music. Telemann was friends with both Bach and Handel. Bach even named one of his children after him. The Chicago history played music by both Handel and Bach during its first year but waited 62 seasons before performing any of Telemann’s music. (We heard selections from Telemann’s Tafelmusic, II at the Chicago Symphony.)
D. Kumbha Mela has gained international fame for being the most massive act of faith. It is the largest pilgrimage gathering in the world with millions of people attending. This pilgrimage occurs four times every twelve years. The next one is scheduled to occur in 2010. Pilgrims line up to take a dip in the sacred Ganges River. It is believed that simply bathing in the Ganges River will cleanse one from past sins.
E. The Great Rift Valley is the name given to the continuous geographic trench that runs from northern Syria in Southwest Asia to Mozambique in East Africa. It is more than 3700 miles long. The Rift Valley is continuously moving and in a few millions years will probably result in eastern Africa being split off to form a new land mass. (We saw this in the African exhibit at the Field Museum.)
F. A savanna is land covered with grass and scattered trees or an open canopy of trees. The absence of canopy allows the light to reach the ground and the grass to grow. A savanna is considered to be a transitional place between dessert and forest. Approximately 20% of the Earth (not including the oceans) is covered by savanna, with the largest amount of savanna in Africa.
G. Porte de L’Afrique can be translated to Gateway to Africa. There is a famous vintage French travel poster by Roger Broders that was published around 1930 which shows the Port of Marseille, France and the steamer ships in the water. The Port of Marseille, France is the Port to Africa.
H. Three ingenious ideas of the MesoAmerica:
1. State Power Triad
Military
Economy
Religion
2. Architecture – They made scale models out of rock before building.
3. Grinding corn with rocks to make flour
Question 2:
The tour guide at the DuSable Museum suggested that when looking at art we first look at the artist’s name, the date it was made, when during the artist’s life was it made (college, mid-life, etc), what was society like during the time it was made and finally look at the piece of art. By following the steps you will have a better appreciation of what the art is trying to portray. The artist’s name will help if you know them and some of their other work. The date it was made and the artist’s land of origin will help you reflect on what society was like and what was going on in that country at that time. (For example, Africa, Asia, America, etc. were all in different sections of the Art Institute to create a cohesive story.) These items with an understanding of the artist’s age group will help you to understand what people of that same age group were feeling at that point in history. One good American example from a previous question is Edward Hopper. Edward Hopper was in his working years during the creation of Nighthawks. This painting depicted the isolation and hopelessness felt by many other working class individuals during the Great Depression. African Art in the Art Institute, the DuSable Museum and the Field Museum had African statues with nails in them. These nails represented people’s religious beliefs because they were driven into the statue by people in the community to obtain specific results. For example, at the Art Institute the nails were put into that statue to do justice to enemies. At the Spertus Museum, there were four pieces of art by a Jewish artist that had the common features of being dark and angry with one red dot on the creature. One possible explanation is that as a Jew, the artist always felt angry and targeted. The collection of art and artifacts is an important part of preserving our history. The feelings and beliefs of the artist comes out of the art and helps explain the human side of the story for that time in history in the area depicted.
Question 3:
Today in Africa there are many forms of wildlife nearing extinction due to hunting and harvesting of animals. For example the slaying of elephants to harvest the ivory tusks. In addition, the cutting down of trees is threatening the forests. In order to regain and preserve Africa, conversation measures must be taken. Wangari Maathai is one African starting to take such measures. She founded the Green Belt Movement focused on planting trees and environmental conservation. The Great Rift and its lakes are home to many forms of wildlife including fish, amphibians, elephants, gorillas, hippos, etc. The Great Rift Valley and Lakes are also at risk due to pollution, deforestation, etc. World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has targeted the Great Rift as one of its priority ecoregions of the world and is currently channeling funds towards the development of wildlife preserves and conservation in that area. At the Field Museum, I found that to preserve the wildlife in Africa, conservationists formed the Serengeti National Park in 1940. In addition to the environment and wildlife, the human population is also at risk in Africa due to AIDS, political unrest, etc. From 1948 to 1994, Africa was under the rule of apartheid which was racial segregation. Racial segregation caused much unrest and violence in the country resulting in many violent acts and deaths. It took the assistance of many strong political leaders, such as Nelson Mandela, to end apartheid and begin the rebuilding of one unified nation. Nelson Mandela has also been instrumental in the fight against AIDS, especially since his political retirement. AIDS is currently the leading cause of death in Africa. In summary, Africa is faced with many challenges. It will take dedication and support from many organizations and countries to be successful.
Posted at 5:44 PM by Amanda Hanlin
A. Bunce Island is infamous for its role in the African slave market. It is considered to be the most important historic site in Africa for the United States. Bunce Island was a British slave castle that was used by slave traders to imprison slaves before they were loaded onto the ships and sent to America. Thousands of slaves were sent from Bunce Island to the plantation owners in the Southern Colonies during the 1700s.
B. Edward Hopper was an artist that had a career in commercial illustration and print making. Even though he won critical acclaim for his print making, he is most famous for his paintings of American life depicting the loneliness and struggle of city living. His pictures portrayed loneliness and desolation by either emptiness or the presence of anonymous non-communicating characters. His paintings portrayed the chilling truth of the hopelessness of the Great Depression. (While at the Art Institute of Chicago we could see his painting Nighthawks.)
C. Georg Philipp Telemann was one of the greatest German composers of his time. He is considered to be unusually prolific and versatile because he could write in many styles of music and composed hundreds of pieces of music. Telemann was friends with both Bach and Handel. Bach even named one of his children after him. The Chicago history played music by both Handel and Bach during its first year but waited 62 seasons before performing any of Telemann’s music. (We heard selections from Telemann’s Tafelmusic, II at the Chicago Symphony.)
D. Kumbha Mela has gained international fame for being the most massive act of faith. It is the largest pilgrimage gathering in the world with millions of people attending. This pilgrimage occurs four times every twelve years. The next one is scheduled to occur in 2010. Pilgrims line up to take a dip in the sacred Ganges River. It is believed that simply bathing in the Ganges River will cleanse one from past sins.
E. The Great Rift Valley is the name given to the continuous geographic trench that runs from northern Syria in Southwest Asia to Mozambique in East Africa. It is more than 3700 miles long. The Rift Valley is continuously moving and in a few millions years will probably result in eastern Africa being split off to form a new land mass. (We saw this in the African exhibit at the Field Museum.)
F. A savanna is land covered with grass and scattered trees or an open canopy of trees. The absence of canopy allows the light to reach the ground and the grass to grow. A savanna is considered to be a transitional place between dessert and forest. Approximately 20% of the Earth (not including the oceans) is covered by savanna, with the largest amount of savanna in Africa.
G. Porte de L’Afrique can be translated to Gateway to Africa. There is a famous vintage French travel poster by Roger Broders that was published around 1930 which shows the Port of Marseille, France and the steamer ships in the water. The Port of Marseille, France is the Port to Africa.
H. Three ingenious ideas of the MesoAmerica:
1. State Power Triad
Military
Economy
Religion
2. Architecture – They made scale models out of rock before building.
3. Grinding corn with rocks to make flour
Question 2:
The tour guide at the DuSable Museum suggested that when looking at art we first look at the artist’s name, the date it was made, when during the artist’s life was it made (college, mid-life, etc), what was society like during the time it was made and finally look at the piece of art. By following the steps you will have a better appreciation of what the art is trying to portray. The artist’s name will help if you know them and some of their other work. The date it was made and the artist’s land of origin will help you reflect on what society was like and what was going on in that country at that time. (For example, Africa, Asia, America, etc. were all in different sections of the Art Institute to create a cohesive story.) These items with an understanding of the artist’s age group will help you to understand what people of that same age group were feeling at that point in history. One good American example from a previous question is Edward Hopper. Edward Hopper was in his working years during the creation of Nighthawks. This painting depicted the isolation and hopelessness felt by many other working class individuals during the Great Depression. African Art in the Art Institute, the DuSable Museum and the Field Museum had African statues with nails in them. These nails represented people’s religious beliefs because they were driven into the statue by people in the community to obtain specific results. For example, at the Art Institute the nails were put into that statue to do justice to enemies. At the Spertus Museum, there were four pieces of art by a Jewish artist that had the common features of being dark and angry with one red dot on the creature. One possible explanation is that as a Jew, the artist always felt angry and targeted. The collection of art and artifacts is an important part of preserving our history. The feelings and beliefs of the artist comes out of the art and helps explain the human side of the story for that time in history in the area depicted.
Question 3:
Today in Africa there are many forms of wildlife nearing extinction due to hunting and harvesting of animals. For example the slaying of elephants to harvest the ivory tusks. In addition, the cutting down of trees is threatening the forests. In order to regain and preserve Africa, conversation measures must be taken. Wangari Maathai is one African starting to take such measures. She founded the Green Belt Movement focused on planting trees and environmental conservation. The Great Rift and its lakes are home to many forms of wildlife including fish, amphibians, elephants, gorillas, hippos, etc. The Great Rift Valley and Lakes are also at risk due to pollution, deforestation, etc. World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has targeted the Great Rift as one of its priority ecoregions of the world and is currently channeling funds towards the development of wildlife preserves and conservation in that area. At the Field Museum, I found that to preserve the wildlife in Africa, conservationists formed the Serengeti National Park in 1940. In addition to the environment and wildlife, the human population is also at risk in Africa due to AIDS, political unrest, etc. From 1948 to 1994, Africa was under the rule of apartheid which was racial segregation. Racial segregation caused much unrest and violence in the country resulting in many violent acts and deaths. It took the assistance of many strong political leaders, such as Nelson Mandela, to end apartheid and begin the rebuilding of one unified nation. Nelson Mandela has also been instrumental in the fight against AIDS, especially since his political retirement. AIDS is currently the leading cause of death in Africa. In summary, Africa is faced with many challenges. It will take dedication and support from many organizations and countries to be successful.
Posted at 5:44 PM by Amanda Hanlin
My view
12/12/2009
The hurly burly of Chicago, the frigid temperatures did not keep this intrepid group of Culver-Stockton students from experiencing a plethora of intellectual/cultural experiences ranging from one of the five daily Muslim prayers to the urgently needed message of Reza Aslan to the incredible collection of the world's art at the Chicago Art Institute to the stirring strains of Mozart, Haydn, Telemann and Strauss in an evening at the Chicago Symphony. (I think the young people were completely entranced!) That in itself could have soothed a weary traveler, but remember: we are an intrepid few looking for more questions and perhaps an occasional flight of "maybe we should try this on for a solution!"
Fred, our docent at the Spertus Museum, is an American Jew who stubbornly kept asking us: "What does this mean to you?" Leading us through an impressive array of Judaica, Fred reminded us of Reinhold Niebuhr's cry: "First they came for_______ and I did nothing>' Once again, a heartfelt plea for us to recognize our responsibilities as world citizens. A stunning reminder from an 80 year old survivor of the Holocaust.
Our day at the Art Institute began with the Chinese Buddha (very "buff" and intellectual) and proceeded through an understanding of the Japanese boatsu (Buddhist gods) to the head of Bodhisatton to the Hyber Pass to the Buddha Shakyamuni Meditating on the Indrashala Cave and Buddha Dipankara. We compared the Buddha of India and China with that of other Buddhist areas of the world and arrived at Vishnu Measuring the Universe in Three Strides!
Observations of Japanese and Chinese culture to Southeast Asian Khmer Kingdom (600 years...Angkor Wat) was much too short as we moved on to the French Impressionists and an Art Search in the new Modern American Gallery where students identified some of their favorites!
Time is running short on this computer so I will simply say that this has been a wonderfully inspiring trip; I am so very proud of this group of Culver students and look forward to more thinking.
Posted at 10:00 AM by Terry Sherer
The hurly burly of Chicago, the frigid temperatures did not keep this intrepid group of Culver-Stockton students from experiencing a plethora of intellectual/cultural experiences ranging from one of the five daily Muslim prayers to the urgently needed message of Reza Aslan to the incredible collection of the world's art at the Chicago Art Institute to the stirring strains of Mozart, Haydn, Telemann and Strauss in an evening at the Chicago Symphony. (I think the young people were completely entranced!) That in itself could have soothed a weary traveler, but remember: we are an intrepid few looking for more questions and perhaps an occasional flight of "maybe we should try this on for a solution!"
Fred, our docent at the Spertus Museum, is an American Jew who stubbornly kept asking us: "What does this mean to you?" Leading us through an impressive array of Judaica, Fred reminded us of Reinhold Niebuhr's cry: "First they came for_______ and I did nothing>' Once again, a heartfelt plea for us to recognize our responsibilities as world citizens. A stunning reminder from an 80 year old survivor of the Holocaust.
Our day at the Art Institute began with the Chinese Buddha (very "buff" and intellectual) and proceeded through an understanding of the Japanese boatsu (Buddhist gods) to the head of Bodhisatton to the Hyber Pass to the Buddha Shakyamuni Meditating on the Indrashala Cave and Buddha Dipankara. We compared the Buddha of India and China with that of other Buddhist areas of the world and arrived at Vishnu Measuring the Universe in Three Strides!
Observations of Japanese and Chinese culture to Southeast Asian Khmer Kingdom (600 years...Angkor Wat) was much too short as we moved on to the French Impressionists and an Art Search in the new Modern American Gallery where students identified some of their favorites!
Time is running short on this computer so I will simply say that this has been a wonderfully inspiring trip; I am so very proud of this group of Culver students and look forward to more thinking.
Posted at 10:00 AM by Terry Sherer
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