Microlecture 2

    Growing up in the Bay Area, it was really interesting to hear about the history of the Santa Clara mission and Native American tribes close to where I grew up. I've been to Mission San Juan Bautista and learned extensively about the California missions, but it was still nice to learn more about the history of Mission Santa Clara. Likewise, I've heard about the Ohlone as well and actually took a field trip to learn more about their culture. Despite all of this background knowledge, I still learned a lot from the microlecture.

    I don't know about anyone else, but I thought it was so cool that under normal conditions, we have access to all of these old and primary documents. I really wished we could be at SCU in order to see all of these texts in person. I know that we can still look at some of these sources online, but there's something about seeing these artifacts in-person that's really cool.

    I thought the section about the shellfish mounds was especially heartbreaking. There used to be over 400 mounds and now there is only a memorial to one. It's sad to think that all of these sacred places were destroyed because white settlers thought that these piles of shells were trash, not seeing the tremendous cultural importance of these spots. Unfortunately, it feels like Europeans not really understanding Native American culture was a theme throughout all three lectures, and the destruction of the shell mounds is an example of the consequences.

    

Microlecture 1 Part B

    I think the topic of literary mediums and printing history is a fascinating one that I have never really had the chance to look into. Western literature has been fairly straightforward, starting with Mesopotamian writing in clay, before evolving to Egyptian papyrus, and eventually becoming the paper made from wood pulp that we still use today. This was sharply contrasted by Native Americans, who used a diverse range of methods to transcribe stories and information. These included writing on animal hides, using different lengths of thread, and using clam shells as means of communication. While I normally think of indigenous literature being mostly oral, this was a good reminder that these Native Americans used many mediums to pass along ideas. It's easy to look at these pieces of literature and think of them as crude or simple, but as was discussed in the lecture, there is a lot more than meets the eye. One example of this was the Hiawatha Belt, which described a peace treaty between 5 different tribes. If I just saw the belt in a museum, I would have thought it was a cool design or a piece of art instead of an important historical document.

    The other thing mentioned in the microlecture was medicine bundles, which is a group of objects that individuals collected. This was a subject that was mentioned in There There, which I didn't really understand reading over the first time. This microlecture helped me better understand what a medicine bundle is and see what the significance was in Native American culture.

Microlecture 1 Part A

    I thought this first microlecture was very interesting. Overall, Native American history is a significant gap in my historical knowledge. We had one unit about California tribes, and then we briefly discussed them throughout the course of my US history course. Still, I really didn't learn much about indigenous culture or spend an extensive period of time focused on Native Americans.

    I think this lack of knowledge was revealed when the Microlecture discussed the "John Smith Problem," or that European settlers really didn't know what they were seeing. This is best exemplified through the story of Pocahontas, which the European completely misinterpreted. This was rather surprising for me, because I had grown up watching the Disney movie and it was low-key traumatizing to hear that this movie I grew up watching didn't really happen. I think this problem still happens today, as a lot of the causes of this issue seemed very familiar in our modern context. Americans still have these preconceived notions about Native people, stereotypes that Tommy Orange seems to address in his novel There There. I do think this problem is getting better, as the celebration of Indigenous People Day allowed Native Americans to express their own stories and cultures.

    Another part of the microlecture that was intriguing to me was the existence of one or two possible large Native cities. I think most of us had this idea that indigenous people lived in teepees or wood cabins, so I was surprised to hear that sprawling, sophisticated cities like Cahokia existed. Overall, I think this microlecture and There There are seriously challenging my earlier notions of Native American culture.

My Guilty Pleasure TV Show: Game of Thrones

    So at the beginning of quarantine I tried to watch some classic movies that I hadn't seen yet. I got to see Titanic, Goodfellas, and the Shawshank Redemption, among others. Eventually, I couldn't think of any more movies and decided I would give Game of Thrones a shot. I'd heard good things about it, but had never really had the time to watch an episode. Given the explicit nature of the show, my parents would never let me see it, so I thought I would watch an episode before I went to bed. 

    Well that one episode turned into four, and I think I watched all 8 seasons in 2-3 weeks, which is especially concerning given that are 73 episodes that are about an hour each. I think the thing I liked most about the series is the characters, and I think all of the casting was very well done. What impressed me most was the slow development of characters, sometimes taking the full 8 seasons to complete their arc. One example of this is Jamie Lannister, who I hated at the start of the series. In the first episode, he is caught in an incestuous relationship and pushes a child out of a tower, and it really seems like he has no redeeming qualities. Over the course of many seasons, I grew to like him, as he slowly showed that he was both honorable and compassionate. This is reflective of most of the characters, who are all very complex, as are people in real life. What really surprised me was how much I cared about all of the central figures in the show, internally rejoicing at some people's demise and sitting in a shock after one of my favorite characters got killed off. It felt like none of the characters had plot armor, which kept me in suspense with regards to what would happen next.

    The last season was disappointing, finishing a great show with one of the worst characters as king. They also rushed some of the development, and overall, Season 8 seemed much more lazy than I was accustomed to Besides that, I would recommend anyone who hasn't seen GOT to try it out. It is not for the faint of heart, but it brings a lot of really great and unique elements to the table.

Tommy Orange Decameron Story

So far I have really enjoyed Tommy Orange's writing. Both There There and The Team explore very relevant and real issues that a lot of readers deal with. In the short story, Orange explores many of the familiar issues that COVID has brought to our daily lives. One of the recurring themes throughout the text is the idea of an upper-case Team, which is juxtaposed with the lower case version. The author starts the story by describing this running team that the main character is on. This person has a negative experience on this team, even struggling to understand why they joined it in the first place. Eventually this team is replaced by the Team, which includes different members that get introduced as the story progresses. Music, the character's body, family, and frontline workers are all included in this category. As I read, I reflected about who was on my own Team during quarantine. I was reminded about everything and everyone who had supported me, whether that was something small like bringing lunch or something bigger like planning a vacation. On a less personal scale, there have been a wealth of people who have put their own health on the line in order to help others. I am tremendously thankful for all of the doctors, nurses, and the other essential workers that have kept working in spite of the pandemic. All of these people are a part of the collective Team, which I thought of as society. It really doesn't help if some or even most of people are following the guidelines and trying to combat the spread of COVID. Unfortunately, it feels like the disregard of some people has spoiled all of effort and suffering that the rest of us have endured. To truly fight the virus, it feels like everyone has to band together and look at interests besides our own. 

There There Context Links

    I thought all of the context links provided were interesting and informative. Just looking at the map, I was reminded how this whole continent was once inhabited by indigenous people. While I really have only learned about a couple tribes, it was surprising to see the huge and diverse range of communities that once existed, even around the Bay Area. I have heard of course, about the Ohlone and how the Santa Clara campus is built on the land they lived on, but there was a large number of groups that were unfamiliar. Really, it was sobering to see that all of these flourishing communities have been destroyed by European colonizers, and that a large number have been largely forgotten. 

    The article on Gertrude Stein's quote was also intriguing. While I have heard the quote before, I hadn't heard the context in which it was said until I read that article. Unfortunately, I think that this happens too often, where people choose certain quotes without considering the circumstances in which it was said. Being from the Bay Area, I am definitely aware of the huge changes that this area has had over the past century. This used to be an agricultural area, and now-cities used to be sprawling farmland, serving as some of the main producers of certain products like pistachios and garlic. 

    Overall, I think both of these links made me think about all of the history, both in the US as a whole and locally, that surrounds us. Thinking about There There, Tommy Orange makes a point to expose the inaccuracies in mainstream American history and media. I think it's extremely important to ensure that people have an accurate understanding of history, even when that history is painful. Otherwise, we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes.

Decameron Stories

     I think that the thing that struck me as I was reading both of these stories is the similarities despite the authors being from South America, especially in A Time of Death, the Death of Time. The authority figures' handling of the pandemic in the story were reminiscent of Trump and his government's handling of the virus, displaying a lack of empathy for the people that were suffering. I think that another part of this story that I related to was the encounter between the main character and their parents. The author very subtly describes their attitude as calm and ignorant of the dangers the virus poses to them. Unfortunately, I have had a similar response from my grandparents, who believe that COVID isn't a real threat. In general, this seems to represent the political divide between the generations, with older generations tending to oppose the restrictions despite their increased risk.

    Screen Time dealt more with the technology aspect of the pandemic, causing the reader to reflect on their own screen time during the pandemic. The parents take a very reserved approach to technology, possibly as a result of their own unhealthy experiences with television. Thinking about my own screen time during the pandemic, it feels like I am always looking at a screen. School is all online, so that time that was mostly devoid of technology is now filled with it. While I might have spent free time hanging out with friends or playing sports, now it feels like video games or TV are the only available forms of entertainment. Overall, some of the actions the writers describe in their stories were eerily similar to my own experiences in quarantine.

Final Project Ideas

     How are finals already here? It feels like I was taking and failing :( midterms just a couple of days ago. But this is college, where everything moves incredibly fast, so I guess this shouldn't surprise me. Full disclosure, I hadn't even looked at the assignment before writing this, so these are just my initial thoughts and ideas.

    Just thinking about some multi-cultural connections I have seen while reading, I might consider looking at romantic tragedies across many cultures. The first three examples that come to mind are Antigone, which would be my home text, the comparing that to Romeo and Juliet and Layla and Majnun. This would provide stories from a diverse array of cultures and time periods, and I think I would research plays or novels that fit this description from Central or South America, and then either Africa or East Asia. I would not describe myself as a romantic, so this topic would be out of my comfort zone. However, I think it's good to push yourself, and this was just the first idea that I had when thinking about connections between literature we have read. 

    Another potential topic is government, which I have already looked at throughout the quarter. I would likely use Antigone or Home Fire as my home text, looking at either the role of literature or theater in government and political ideology. While I focused more on the authority figures in my midterm project, I think putting an emphasis on the medium of expression would provide adequate differentiation. The disadvantage is that I'm really not sure what texts I would use, although I'm sure I can find those through research.

My Election Experience

    The days following November 3rd time was at a standstill. I kept refreshing the election map, over and over, hoping that there would be some important update. It felt like I checked every 15 minutes, regardless if I was in class or work. In fact, I even used it as an incentive, allowing myself to check after I completed a math problem or did 15 minutes of studying. Saturday morning came the long-awaited announcement: Joe Biden had won the presidential election. After seeing Michigan and Wisconsin go blue, I knew in all likelihood that the race was over, but some nagging part of me kept saying "what if," leaving me in a state of perpetual anxiety.

    This election has been hard because I know people on both sides of the aisles, who feel very passionate about their position. Both sides seem so convinced that they are entirely correct that they are unwilling to have a civilized conversation and understand someone else's point of view. The reality is that both candidates have redeeming qualities despite their many flaws, and for me it came down to picking the lesser of two evils, which I decided was Joe Biden. Response to COVID was at the top of my list of issues and I feel like Biden, as a moderate, has a much better shot at uniting America that Trump, who has only increased the levels of partisanship over the past four years.

    I do have to come clean and admit that I have spent an excessive amount of time scrolling through the Fox News comments section on Instagram, especially as it became more apparent that Trump was losing. I've got to give some people props for their creativity, managing to grasp at the thinnest of straws and blow it into a widely-believed conspiracy.

Sinatra Artist-in-Residence Experience

   I attended Monday's section with Francesco Turrisi, which compared music and noise. Just looking through the list, this topic sparked my eye because I never considered what actually was defined as music.  Personally, I have played clarinet and my own experience with music was very structured. Music involved sheet music, where I produce a series of notes that together make a harmonious sound. I would classify that as music, but the whole band playing different things together is definitely music. It's safe to say that the more I thought about what music was, the more confused I got.

    Turrisi gave a much more ambiguous answer than I anticipated, talking about how subjective the very definition of music is. For one person, making an everyday sound like stomping their feet could be music while another person could require a series of notes together to be music. Really, it is up to the individual to create their own definition of music, and their own experiences and circumstances shape those definitions. In the end, I didn't leave with a clear line drawn between sound and music, but instead felt like it was up to me to determine the difference. Despite this, I thoroughly enjoyed the session and I felt like I learned a lot, helping reform my own thoughts on what constitutes music along the way.

  

Imagery in Hayy Ibn Yaqzan

    As I was reading Hayy Ibn Yaqzan, I saw numerous examples of imagery pop up, including descriptions of the sky, fire, and dirt/earth. The images that I am going to focus on are of anatomy, specifically the heart. In his journey to acquire knowledge, Hayy seeks to better understand the workings of the body. To accomplish this, he captures a doe and dissects it. The speaker describes, "Cutting into the heart, he saw the chamber filled with a steamy gas, like white mist. He poked in his finger-it was so hot it nearly burnt him" (117). In order to understand what Ibn Tufayl is doing through his descriptions, it's important to know the context that he is writing in. This was a time period where there was a lot of advancement in fields of philosophy, science, and mathematics. The book itself is an excellent representation of this, as it contains each of these elements. Given this, it is likely that advancements in anatomy and a comprehension of how the body works was among these new discoveries. Earlier in the book, the author provides a detailed description of how Hayy could have been created, providing a detailed anatomical description. One thing that Hayy seems particularly keen on learning is what provides life, describing this white, hot mist inside the heart that seems to sustain the doe. He also explores this idea that there is almost this "fire of life" that lives within the heart. Overall, the author seems to take a very philosophical approach to anatomy, seeking to understand what life is and how life happens, leading to Hayy's musing about a higher being.

I Drove Six Hours for Chicken Tenders

    This post is going to be about an experience I had right at the beginning of the pandemic. It started with, what in hindsight, was a really bad idea. The plan was to go to a basketball game that featured the Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans. My friends and I wanted to watch rookie sensation Zion Williamson play and tickets at the Warriors new stadium were too expensive. The problem was that Sacramento is 3 hours away from where I live, the game started at 7:30 PM, and it was a school night.

    The game was in the middle of March, when the threat of lockdown loomed over my daily life. I had a feeling that sports events would get shut down, so I spent the days leading up to the game constantly checking the state guidelines, hoping some new regulation wouldn't prevent my attendance. The day came, and it looked like the game was still a go, so my friend and I loaded into my 2001 Honda Odyssey (minivan gang) and started the long trip to Sacramento.

    We finally got there after getting lost on the confusing streets of the capital, and made our way to Golden 1 Center. We got there about an hour early, and went to get some dinner after finding our seats. We settled on some chicken tenders, which cost about $20. As I sat down to eat my crappy chicken tenders, I saw the players start to leave the floor in the middle of warmups. I checked my phone and, to my dismay, saw that Rudy Gobert had tested positive for COVID. I knew that the game was canceled but hearing the news over the PA system hurt anyway. The crowd gave one loud, collective boo before starting to file out of the arena.

    The car ride back was quiet, as we were both understandably disappointed about the game. Looking back, it was pretty irresponsible to even go to the game, but I really didn't understand the threat the virus posed at the time. Still, it makes for an interesting if depressing story, and there aren't a lot of people that can say they drove 6 hours for bad chicken tenders.