During class, after putting ourselves in order based on our last names and then first names, we were instructed to walk around outside and try to find different archives. My group immediately went to the ISC where we found many science archives-old bones, rocks and even a timeline. While doing this activity, it reminded me of the reading in Interdisciplinary titled “Literature and History”. This section starts on page 114 and talks about how things are organized. Moran states that no matter the subject, they all have one thing in common, “courses tend to focus on the most up-to-date scholarship, with the assumption that the history of the discipline is merely a long prelude to a contemporary state of enlightenment. Even today, though, when issue- or theme-based modules are increasingly prevalent on English degrees, most courses organize themselves in terms of periods and make some attempt at chronological coverage” (Moran, 115). An archive is an example of one of these forms that is organized by time periods. These forms (paper, paintings, sculptures, tombstones) of art come together to form one discipline. We, as students of a college that was built a long time ago, are lucky enough to have archives all around us. Everything is an archive, including buildings, cemeteries, art and even us. Something important to note when looking at an archive is that if you are not careful with them, they can be easily destroyed. Some special archives are kept in cases or boxes so that people do not touch and wreck them. However, other archives are out in the open for anyone to touch and unfortunately wreck. In the books that we have read, archives have played an important role and often times, the reader does not notice or pay attention to the fact that things such as a cemetery, books or letters are in fact archives.
Expectations of the Mother Ion
The effects of being introduced to the concept of Interdisciplinarity are best defined as haunting revolutions. The thrill that is experienced when I notice the obvious interaction between two seemingly polar fields permeates my mind and truly allows me to embrace the subject with a newly found appreciation knowing it depends on another field for its own foundation. These connections between subjects can sometimes be noticed easily, but what about when subjects converse with social and cultural realities? I found myself questioning the interdisciplinary relationship the world has with different fields of study through how the interpretations and implications that ordinary tasks (like conjugating a verb, understanding a scientific theory or ambiguous metaphors hidden in a text) converse with the world around us. This was the beginning of how an organic chemistry class taught me about motherhood. Continue reading “Expectations of the Mother Ion”
Zulus and Biology
After going over Zulus in class today, it was fascinating to learn briefly about Percival Everett’s background. It was interesting that despite being a philosophy major in his undergraduate work, he was still well-read on other topics, such as but not limited to the sciences and biology. However this was not surprising to me, as philosophy literally translates to “love of wisdom”.
Tackling Professor McCoy’s “Wordiness” Edit
After speaking with Professor McCoy in regards to her comments on my first essay, she asked that I blog about where I learned how to be “wordy.” I was quite confused by what she meant by “wordy” but then again that is how I was previously trained – and to think that being “wordy” is bad makes me a little more conscious of how I am writing. Similar to the interdisciplinarity we might find looking into the pages and structure of a dictionary, the way in which we craft our own pieces of writing depend on our interdisciplinary realm that has shaped the way in which we do everyday tasks. Continue reading “Tackling Professor McCoy’s “Wordiness” Edit”
The Difference Between “Sad” and “Scarred”
The class today (Wednesday the 9th) is different from any other class that we have ever had before. While the reading usually stimulates our emotions, today it is our emotions that stimulates the way that we read. Continue reading “The Difference Between “Sad” and “Scarred””
The Role of Knowledge and Power Textually and in Reality
The texts we’ve been reading throughout the semester, while occupying different places in history, all share some noteworthy common themes. Topics such as an overreaching government, reproductive rights, and women’s autonomy in general have all been magnified for us. One lesson that can surely be taken away from Cane, Meridian, and Zulus is that many women are a long way off from taking this autonomy for granted. The dialogue on equality is an ongoing one that unfortunately continues being debated instead of being quashed once and for all. Continue reading “The Role of Knowledge and Power Textually and in Reality”
Bedford: More than Meets the Eye
The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms, a book of terms, what’s so special about that? Continue reading “Bedford: More than Meets the Eye”
Light bulb
Percival Everett’s, Zulu, has been one of the most interesting books that I have read so far since arriving at this college. I had never before read a book with these seemingly irrelevant, but most certainly important chapter titles. Reading all the names from various time periods and various stretches of life makes one think about where he or she first learned of them. Reading names such as Plato, Solomon, Napoleon, Hades, etc. made me stop in my train of thought and go, “Oh I know this person” and, “I read about so-and-so or read so-and-so’s work.” It was like a little Continue reading “Light bulb”
Archives and Interdisciplinarity
Throughout the semester, our Reader and Text class has continued to come back to the importance of interdisciplinarity. Being aware of your world in an interdisciplinary sense means being able to connect what you are seeing, learning, or doing to fields that might not seem immediately relevant. In class on November 2, we were asked to look for archives around campus and, as a class, discuss what such archives might mean. People came back and talked about the science building, art building, bars off campus, and many other locations that have their own unique histories. Being able to connect locations that seem so different and are utilized very differently (the IB is definitely used differently from the ISC) to an English class discussion made me think about what it means to study something in a way that is interdisciplinary. Having the ability to pay attention to the way the world is interconnected helps me to have a better understanding of what each of these locations mean – not only to me, but what they could mean to others. The archives I found through sculptures in Brodie that I hadn’t noticed before, or the map I found in the ISC, forced me to think about how aware I am of my surroundings. I now realize that even though I’m not a science or art major, I can still appreciate different aspects of the places chemistry and art history majors call home.
The Bedford: “Abecedarian”, Arbitrary or Extraordinary?
On November 2nd 2016, we participated in a class experiment dealing with alphabetical or an “abecedarian” approach to organization. It was interesting to really think about this, as it has always seemed just widely accepted that this is typically how archives and books such as the Bedford Glossary are organized.
Continue reading “The Bedford: “Abecedarian”, Arbitrary or Extraordinary?”