Day 2: Deep Meanings

My class notes

We started class at 9 AM, as usual, with Professor Lamas, Professor Nairn, and the graduate students Julia, Nicole, and Meghna. Professor Lamas told us about a new note taking strategy that has proved to be quite beneficial in other countries. It is a note taking strategy that requires more drawing of the notes than writing them as words. He suggested that we try it, so I did.

We went over our assigned readings, which were Voltaire's Candide, "When Adam Delved and Eve Span" by Mark O'Brien, and "Ways of Seeing" by John Berger.

For Voltaire's Candide we went over the quote by the character Pangloss which is, "Man lives in the best of all possible worlds." The class discussed whether they agreed with the statement or not, and who they had heard these types of statements from before. We realized that this statement is used frequently, but said in different ways. For example Margaret Thatcher, who said "There is no alternative." Or any politician of any country or state who claims they are the best. All of these statements are implying what Pangloss said. This high level of optimism and unrealistic view of the world can prevent people from changing it.

For "When Adam Delved and Eve Span" by Mark O'Brien we talked about the book's information, which was about the Peasant's Revolt of the late fourteenth century. Then we moved on to talking about the Adam and Eve story. After hearing the story most people know about Adam and Eve, Lamas showed us an article that told of the other Biblical beginning of our existence. There is the Adam and Eve story, but there is also the Adam and Lilith story. If you are unfamiliar with this story you can read the article here: http://jwa.org/sites/jwa.org/files/golearn/golearnsep07-excerpt.pdf . We analyzed the story and focused on God's part in it. All of this had me questioning a lot of what I've learned and have always believed.

The class board

For "Ways of Seeing" by John Berger, we all split into our same groups with different group leaders. Our group leader today was Meghna. We all chose quotes from the book that we found interesting and talked about them. We went over the relationship between men and women, and how they are both sexualized and viewed in the society and the media. Something I had not realized before was that men are sexualized the same amount as women. There is a lot of talk about women's place in society and how they are constantly seen as sexual objects. While I do agree that women are capable of a lot more than they are recognized for, I also believe that men can also be seen as sexual objects. Men are equally sexualized, but are recognized for other aspects, which I believe has been the difference between men and women in the history of our society. Everyone in my group views the world in different ways, and I like how their views help me to see things in a different way as well.

I like that this class is forcing me to think analytically, and how it nurtures my intellectual potential without the added stress of achieving a certain grade or standing.