Elizabeth Dean- Outside Reading Reflection

Upon doing research for my paper, I came across an article on a website about herbology, and different healing practices among Native Americans, anmd nonliterate traditions. I am intrigued by their pracrtices, because their healing practices are soo much cimpler than ours, and ;less complicated but seem to be just as, if not more effective. I think we again, have become overcome with modern technology, and higher education that we lose track of simple, heakling practices that could be present in our lives. Native AMericnas put a big emhpasis on religious healing, and perofrm rituals calling on higher powers to heal the sick. Sometimes, I think if we were to move away from technology and modern medicine we could be just as well off.

Elizabeth Dean - Panic Reflection

Have you ever been hopelessly, miserably lost? I had this experience just yesterday. I unexpectedly found myself driving through D.C. wasting time as I waited to pick up my cousins who were going through the mall. Suddenly, I realized that I had no idea where I was. In my panic, my reason went out the window. I felt as though there was nowhere to stop, mean drivers were honking at me, and I had no idea what to do. To top it all off, my cell phone died as I was trying to get directions. My panic turned to tears -- likely provoked by my lack of sleep during finals week. Finally, I pulled over at some random gas station in Arlington where I used a pay phone and eventually my cousins and sister came to find me in a taxi. What did I learn from this? First, when in a city, four right turns equal a circle and will usually return you to your original location. Second, charge your cell phone. Third, carry change for a pay phone.

Elizabeth Dean - Harry Potter

Ok, so first I'd like to state that one of my favorite things, in regards to Harry Potter, is their accent I can do it perfectly...please approach me and I shall demonstrate. Now on to bigger and deeper topics. The books are wonderful. They are meant for children but can pull even the oldest, intelect into a world that I wish I could visit and be a part of. A world with wizards, witches, flying brooms, spells, potions...all the creativity it took to create a world that is so different then our own! I can't believe all that went into these books. And although they don't mention any religion the foundations for most religions are apparent in the words. They show you how love for one another can beat even the strongest, evilest creatures in the world. In most religions, being a good person will grant you an eternity in 'their version' of heaven. In the end, Harry Potter has all he needs.

Elizabeth Dean-Inersubjectivity

Intersubjectivity emphasizes that shared cognition and consensus is essential in the shaping of our ideas and relations. This is very true and seen throughout time; the best organization/companies/governments are horizontal and allow innovation and ideas to flow freely. I think we all are influenced by our friends and family, because we have a shared trust.The idea of intersubjectivity is exemplified, again, in Martin Buber's I-it, I-thou again. It is the place between objectivity, and subjectivity. This relates back to the I-thou relationship because it is the sharing of two individuals. They are not acting on each other but with each other. I notice these kinds of relationships in serious relationships. Like married couples, etc., In my parents they are in a relationship, and experience intersubjectivity, and they act and make decisions together, and are in engaged in a genuine relationship concerned with each other as opposed to concerned with outside circumstances.

Elizabeth Dean - Religion Reflection

Catholicism-

I don't know much...but my cousin and I had a discussion regarding our religious beliefs. I was raised Methodist and she Catholic. Here is what I grasped:

They follow 10 commandments that seem like a no brainer to most, i.e. Thou shall not kill, thou shall not steal, thou shall have only one god, etc. The few that shocked me (but still a no brainer) include: thou shall obey their mother and fathe (keeping your kids in line), thou shall not covet their neighbors wife (adultury), thou shall honor the holy sabbath day (Sunday). They must go to confession and express their sins. This not only seems scary to me but confusing...how can a priest release you from your sins and offer you forgiveness?? The whole point in religion is to honor thy father (god) and only he can forgive you? Is putting yourself in a tiny room and telling your 'sins' to a man what god wants from us all?

Elizabeth Dean - Euro

Does a single currency stand a chance? With profligate debtor states owing their ability to continued operations to zee Germans: Is it possible for sovereign nations with disparate economic, social, political and religious beliefs to assimilate enough to ensure a single currency long term? 8 years in and one long and deep recession paints a bleak picture of its chances. Will one more bailout drive the germans back to the mark? Likely.

Elizabeth Dean- outside reading reflection

After reading, Little Women, written by, unknown, it helped me to understand what an influence my family has been in my life. My mother is a strong woman, that has spent my life teaching and molding me in ways that weren't always clear to me. My father has been surrounded by three (very strong) women...that in itself tells you a lot about him. My sister and I are best friends, we can tell each other anything (and believe me, we do) and never pass judgement on one another. We all play an important role and we all are very different... but our differences and our roles help mold our family into a beautiful rock solid foundation. I know I can go to my mother (or father) with any problem, story, event and get the understanding, laugh, advice, that I need.

Elizabeth Dean

Matin Buber's main proposition in his I-thou research is that we may address existence in two ways. The first being of the "I," towards an "it," towards an object that is separate in itself which we either use on experience,; and that of the "I," towards "Thou," in which we move into existence in a relationship without bonds. One of the major themes of the book is that humanlife finds its meaningfulness in relationships. All of our relationships, Buber contends, bring us ultimately into relationship with God, who is the Eternal Thou. Reading all about Buber's theories made me take a deeper look at the relationships I have in my own life. To engage in an "I-Thou," relationship, one is completely, fully, and genuinely committed in the relationship, and the "I," does not objectify the "it," but rather acknowledges a living relationship instead. I think I'd like to make an effort in my life, and in my relationships to engage in more I-Thou relationships, and move away from I-It. I want to fully engage with the second party. In an I-it relationship the subject is focused on superficial things that make the person as opposed to fully engage with them.

Elizabeth Dean

Alas, direct democracy does not work. Our representatives are charged with looking after constituents best interests yet our california brethren do not afford their reps the opportunity. The dichotomy of wanting a world class eduction system and then amending the constitution to disallow municipalities funding said objective is exactly why the 8th largest economy will be looking upon the top 10 from the periphery.

Corollary, why did Prop 19 fail? Much needed tax revenue? Probably.

Elizabeth Dean - Technology Reflection

Walking through the city and observing the people around me, I cannot help but wonder if technology is helping the crazy people around me blend in better. Years ago if you were to walk down the street and see someone talking to themselves, you could not help but wonder if that person was a little off their rocker. Now, with the popularity of bluetooth, the first assumption is that the person is just on the phone. So good for technology helping everyone appear a little more 'normal.'

Martin Bretzin #15

What is religion? In 2006, I had no idea how to define this topic. Originally, when I thought of religious studies, my mind immediately jumped to Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism. I thought religion was a term used to describe mass consensus of beliefs held by individuals of a particular organization. Today, I still don't think I understand what religion is. I've completed 4 religious studies courses at CNU, two of which were introductory to the field in general. As a result of completing these course, my understanding of religion is a centered around the idea that it is some sort of a series of personal beliefs an individual develops regarding his or her environment, social standing, interpersonal values, intrapersonal values, potential spiritual understandings/values and the interactions that occur between and within each. This is a bit of a long-winded definition and I'm still not sure it's accurate. If I remember correctly, I was taught that religion is simply a "binding." I'm unsure as to whether is is in reference to the individual and his or her thoughts and perceptions, or if it can be relevant to my own personal definition. Overall, I see little importance in properly defining religion as a construct. But, the fact that I still don't feel confident in defining it disturbs me.

Martin Bretzin #14

How does one decide what path they want to take following traditional institutional training? College is one example of such training and is meant to provide discipline, insight, and potential routes for usually career-based life choices. I came to CNU in hopes that when I am to leave, I will have an advantage in the job market over others. Since attending school, I have discovered, that I have very little confidence in knowing what I actually want to do with my life. More importantly, I have only a few guesses as what I want to start doing following college. These concerns worry me every day and become more and more important as the days go by. I fear that the impending inevitability of my age will occur sooner than I'm ready for to really get what I want out of life. Many nights I stay up late worrying that I'll wake up and I'll be 35, with no passion about my niche and a body that continues to degrade and slow down robbing me of so many joys that I remember having as a child. I realize now that I fear the process of aging, and am almost entirely dissatisfied with the current course of my life choices.

Martin Bretzin #13

The old library in the Sean Connery/Christian Slater movie we watched was pretty confusing. The library was essentially a huge labyrinth of texts handwritten by men of the Church. The symbolic use of the labyrinth showed how when looking for answers the men of the Church were required to disorient themselves. This showed that without the answers they sought, the were essentially lost. This was illustrated by the complexity of the labyrinth and its existence as a library. However, what confused me most was why the library was actually built that way. Was this a common architectural design in that era? Did it serve some other purpose, like hiding sacred documents from enemies? Or was it simply a fictional building used to demonstrate a philosophical connection between gaining knowledge and concepts of orientation?

Martin Bretzin #12

Conflicting Cosmoses:
It's always interesting to observe the interactions two very distinct cultures have with one another. In history, it's suggested that when this occurs, the probability for there to be physical violence is very high. Individuals in their societies see the World in a particular way, with particular rules that are often considered to be sacred. While most tribes probably don't have a word for, or a generalized Western concept on the term "sacred," they would probably understand it to be something like "the important things, people or places that MUST do what what they are supposed to do." With this general and somewhat vague description of global practices, understanding why the prevalence of inter tribal conflict is so high. When one sacred belief of one tribes interacts and conflicts with another tribe's sacred belief, physical violence to ensure the "proper" belief occurs, will likely be a result of the interaction.

Martin Bretzin #11

Local ecosystems perplex me when I study ancient tribes. I understand that many people used their local environments to form their habitats. I don't know whether this practice was done for its convenience, or if a special relationship truly did develop between the individuals and their environments. I look at evidence, showing that some people traveled very far distances with encumbering materials in order to build/maintain their habitats. These practices are obviously not immediately convenient and must serve some specific purpose. However, I cannot say whether this purpose was to develop stronger ties with their particular resources, or whether it was done to serve primarily some utility of the resources themselves. In order to find out more about this, my best bet is to read more about this topic, and to be perfectly honest, this topic is difficult for me to get absorbed in.

Martin Bretzin #10

Reciprocity is an interesting idea. My understanding, now of reciprocity, is that it involves a relationship between two forms. This relationship is characterized by some sort of verbal or non-verbal dialogue in which the forms act upon each other. In class, we attempted to brainstorm how a human could develop a reciprocal relationship with a device or object. No one was able to provide an accurate guess, without the teacher revealing the process to us. In order to engage in an "I thou" dialogue with an object, the relationship is entirely dependent on the attitude the person has in regard to the situation. The person needs to be aware of both his effect on the object and the objects effect on him. These thoughts do not have to occur at the same time, but ideally sequentially, or very close together, as the person forms his or her understanding of the connection. Redick illustrated this procedure by describing how he would do so with a piece of talk. After that lecture, I came to the decision that I do not need or at least do not desire to form constant "I thou" relationships with objects in my environment. Rather, I'm more interested in using this attitude to improve my relationships with other individuals, so that the conversations I have with others can be less utility and function based, and more sensation based.

Martin Bretzin #9

The power of words. When we examined the difference between power in words between oral words and literate words, many people seemed to ignore important arguments. We discussed that the power of oral words are coupled with a sound, smell, touch and dynamic movements that elicit sight senses, all which manipulate energy in a room to evoke a response in either others or an individual. Class argued that oral words contain more power than written words. Some based this argument by saying oral words have power and written words do not. This was most likely thought as oral words have an immediate observable effect on their audiences, whether the audience is the speaker or people that can observe him or her. I got a little frustrated with this, as it ignores entirely, the affect that books have on their audiences. If written communication isn't meant to have any effect on its readers, why would anyone ever read anything for entertainment? Isn't a main characteristic of entertainment its ability to evoke a response in the reader? Written words do have power. They are very different from that of spoken words, in concept, and their ability to socially connect individuals, but they must contain a level of power.

Martin Bretzin #8

Power is an interesting construct. Power has been seen as the consequence of someone or thing's actions. It has been seen as the recognition of a relatively profound effect. It has been seen as an evil and danger to its victims. In this class, we discussed power mostly as an identifiable effect. After watching the Icelandic film, we discussed the "power" that the figure in the film possessed. It's effect was so great on the people of the film, that the possessor of the power was considered to be a threat so great, that the utterance of its name was capable of bringing the misuse of the power, resulting in very undesirable circumstances. The possessor of the power ended up being a bear, who the people successfully hunted. After the bear was slain, the man who inflicted the killing blow was temporarily exiled from the people with the belief that he had acquired the power of the bear in the process of ending the bear's life. This power was thought to be too dangerous to have among the people and needed to exit the man in some way. These beliefs may sound silly, but were most likely reinforced by past events where the power became a problem. In class, we also talked about how words can and still do have some sort of power. We also discussed that Oral words tend to have a more immediate and often larger effect on the audience than literary words do. This was shown through the use of the word "BANG" first yelled, then written largely.

Martin Bretzin #7

The circle drum made accessing the state of mind "flow" an immediate inevitability. When I say the word, inevitability, I do not mean it in a negative sense, however, it felt impossible for the participants in the drum circle, according to their reactions, not to have experienced this state. After various points in the drum circle's events, it looked obvious that nearly and possibly everyone there was experiencing some sensation described as "absolutely fun" or completely connected with one another. The connection was interesting, while there was a feeling of being connected to each other, it felt less personal or intimate. It felt more like our actions were connected to each other, rather than each of us directly and intimating developing any real connections. I found this to be the only downside to the experience. However, if these events were to occur more frequently with the same people, it may be possibly to develop real connections with others rather than just their actions. In retrospect to other instances in my life where I experienced flow, I find that in all of these cases, I may have attributed more positive attitudes towards my peers, I don't think the connection caused any revelation of social intimacy, just an action and consequence-based comradeship.

Martin Bretzin #6

Flow is sooo cool! Flow is by far the coolest concept I got to learn about this semester. Just this past... January(?), I spoke with my ex girlfriend's step dad, Robert about his brother's black belt in Karate exam. Supposedly, the man had been learning Karate for a really long time. Interestingly, the gym that he trained at used a more traditional method for administering belt progression. According to Robert, the only way a student could receive a black belt at that gym was to maintain a state of perfect reflexive defenses to a skilled opponent's attacks. This is only achieved through a great deal of practice, and an eventual conscious state of heightened situational awareness. This state must be maintained for minimum period of time, during which a superior opponent is administering attacks. Robert labeled this state as being "in the zone." I recognized his description of state of consciousness immediately, as with my travel soccer team in high school, I had, on several occasions, experienced this feeling of heightened awareness coupled with a sense of euphoria. Ever since that conversation, I've thought often about trying to rediscover that sense of being "in the zone."

Martin Bretzin #5

Martin Buber's arguments on social interactions peaked my interest in class. I used a bit of his arguments, or at least themes discussed in class, for writing my final paper. I ended up citing on of his main works regarding the topic of "I and thou" to avoid citing "class notes" for everything. However, I feel like I was missing out in do so, because I failed to read the majority of the work I cited. I sort of just used a very small sample to support my paper. According to Buber's biography, his work was considered to be very interesting. I realize that anyone who writes a biography will try to label the subject as interesting, but based on the stimulating ideas of the "I thou"/ "I it" argument alone, I would like to see what else Buber has to offer in his work. It shows that Buber is a lesser known historical philosopher, so many of his ideas came from the perspective of someone who lived in an entirely different culture than that of today's. This cultural difference could additionally provide projective information concerning everyday life in Martin Buber's time.

Martin Bretzin #4

Poor study habits have me vexed. I find that alllll throughout this semester, I have shown very few instances of academic responsibility. Additionally, I have shown very little behavior-based interest in proper monetary budgeting, physical health maintenance and general self-control. I've yet to discover as to whether or not these problems are self-sustaining, through "downward spiral" cognitive esteem-based processes, a result of traumatic event(s), "just a phase" or just the new sort of person I am growing to be. These questions most likely cannot be answered, but the behaviors are a definite cause of concern. I have (hopefully)one semester left at CNU and would like to end on a good note. If the pattern that's developed continues to 2011, life may become problematic. In order to start to potentially change this new trend, I've started by pooling from ideas in class to help form better relationships with friends. In that, I'm referencing the "I thou" discussion, in order to develop more reciprocal relationships with my peers. I hope that in doing this, I will gain the benefit of having a strong social network of peers who can get on my case for making poor life decisions, or not making decisions at all. This will be a start...

Martin Bretzin #3

It's the end of 2010 and I'm attempting to personally reflect on what new insights I have gained as a result of CNU's classes. I've been enrolled in 5 classes, and finished the semester for 4 of them. The various topics I studied were German, Psychological Systems in Learning, Religious Studies of the Oral Tradition, Gender Differences in Psychology, and Psychological Tests and Measurements. I ended up dropping Gender Psych., as it ended up being a relatively demanding class with no obvious academic relevance. Overall, I'm pretty disappointed in my class choices this semester. Only 2 of the 5 classes seemed relatively memorable. They were my RSTD and Tests and Measurements courses. I found that both of these courses provided me with reflective insight regarding how I should possibly make changes to my everyday perception when encountering various situations and rhetoric. My biggest criticism of these courses, however is lack of time spent in each. I would have liked the RSTD course to be a MWF course, and the Test & Measurements course let out earlier nearly every class, in a significant amount. Had those changes occurred however, my current attitude may have switched. I found it particularly hard to be a good student this semester for various personal reasons. Given the opportunity, I would like to be able to go back to the beginning of the semester with better emotional health and an absence of everything I learned in these courses, to start all over properly.

Martin Bretzin #2

The Sacred Lands of the Navajo people is a very interesting topic. According to the film we watched in class, the Navajo people of America are still fighting over land rites today (or, at least whenever the film took place). The film discussed primarily the site known as Devil's Tower, or Mato Tipila (Bear's Tower). I found it interesting that the rock climbers trying to use the mountain actually sounded like they believed the mountain was sacred to them. I was a little disgusted with the human ego after witnessing this, because I truly believe the some of the climbers have honestly convinced themselves that the mountain has become sacred to them. Is it right that I'm disgusted? I have no idea. I just feel that in order for the climbers to learn this association with the land, they must have initially not felt that way until after they disrespected the natives. It is very likely that if they were unaware of the fact that they were walking all over someone else's sacred ground, that they didn't truly think of the mountain as a sacred place, until after it couldn't be theirs. It reveals an ugly side of human nature, where the relationship people develop with their landmarks manifest from the a blatant disregard for others' beliefs and an inherent exploitation of belief systems in general to achieve personal gain. I understand that this conflict may have occurred as a result of "pure" intentions, but I cannot find a legitimate reason to support the invading climbers' argument.

Martin Bretzin #1

I'm a bit confused on the lecture about using the words "explain" versus "reveal." I don't fully understand why the term "explain" is not valid when trying to account for behaviors in rituals, myths and other religious practices. I can understand how it is problematic to use the term explain in reference to myths, as I see now that myths do not necessarily explain how religious individuals truly view their cosmos. This was made apparent when I learned that the majority of religious practitioners do not really believe that their myths are truth. However, I also don't see how this reveals anything other than possibly illustrating a symbolic connection with one and their environment(World).

Nathan Bloom - Pilgrimage- Class Reading #1

10 December 2010

I find pilgrimage to be a fascinating concept. It is so widely practiced among so many faiths, religions and cultures and has been for so long. In the Introduction to Turner and Turner's book, Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture, they bring up the point that no one really knows the true origin of pilgrimage. Where did it really begin? They say some pilgrimages start and are based off of other religions but then where did those other religions start there tradition of pilgrimage? I guess it is just one of those things that has to be accepted as having always been around and I dont the origin is all that important to those who take pilgrimages anyway.

Elizabeth Dean, Orality and Literacy- SItuational Thinking

Ong discusses the idea of "situational thinking," in Orality and Literacy as a type of thought process that oral people use to problem solve, and a characteristic of the way they think, in contrast to the way we do. Situational thinking refers to the mind seeing a situation, or any question and analyzing it in terms of real life situations. When oral people were given certain questions in the interview-like setting with Dr. Luria, instead of answering simple questions simply, like we would do, they answered them in strict terms of real life situations. They were given 3 objects and said to categorize them, and while we put them all in a "tools," category they described the use of the tools, and how they could be used in relation to each other in a real life setting. I like this way of thinking because its what brings oral people so close to the human lifeworld, and our responses to the questions are what distances us from the lifeworld. We were taught how to answer these questions through our education

Elizabeth Dean- Orality and Literacy Categorizing Objects

Reading my assigned portion of Ong's Orality and Literacy, brought up some interesting reflections about thinking and more specifically thinking processes among oral people, in contrast to our thinking processes. Ong discusses A.R.Luria's research he described in his book; "Cognitive Development: Cultural and Social Foundations." He gathered his research on oral thought through interview like settings, where he interviewed subjects. He had 5 main observations in regards to oral though including the way in which they categorize objects, and the way in which they define objects among other things. I found it really intriguing that oral people recognize a simple shape such as a circle, and call it a tangible object, such as a moon or a plate as opposed to a cirlce. Its odd to think that they dont even know what the word circle means.I think it is interesting, because I don't necessarily think its a bad thing, they way they think and it make syou wonder if the categories of shapes that weve been taught since kindergarden is really even that necessary. I suppose in an amount of areas the categorical names of shapes may come in handy, but honestly I don't think they are quite as necessary as they appear to be.

procrastination- Corey Maiden

Why do people procrastinate? The act of putting an undesirable activity off until the last possible moment is the art of procrastination. I guess that each person has their own reasons but how did this come to be a relatively common human behavior? One would think that the people who procrastinate would have a distinct disadvantage in natural selection, and yet it seems that more people procrastinate each year. Exam week at any college is a great time to see the magnitude of this epidemic. I have not slept in 2 days because I have put off so much work until the end of the semester and now I am wondering why I ever thought that it was the best way to handle things. I think that if I could change one thing about myself it would be my overwhelming urge to procrastinate. But I guess I can’t really help it, after all it is human nature.

outside reading # 2 - Kim Robinson

2. Once again I’m going back to talk about readings from my anthropology class. Along with studying Hmong shamanism, we also learned about the Lost Boys of Sudan, the Dinka. These men were once youngboys targeted to become kid soldiers and their entire family and village could and were attacked by northern forces. These boys fled from their homeland of Sudan to Ethiopia and then Kenya on a 5 year journey and now many still live in the Kakuma refugee camp. So what do these boys have to do with our class? While living in Africa many southern Sudanese were members of small nomadic groups that practiced forms of animism, even though they also believed in the God, Nhialic. Animism is a common form of primal religions in which the animals are sacred to the people, and in this case their sacred animal is a cow. The Dinka herd and take care of their cows and often sacrifice the cows in ritual ceremonies for various reasons. Even though the sacrifice their beloved animal the treat the remains with respect and use every aspect of the cow. Cows are common figures of worship in animistic religions. Also in the book rituals of Dinka rites of passage are discussed and about how these rituals are fading away. Although the book doesn’t go into explicit detail about the ritual, one aspect of it is the boys enduring pain while having a sharp object pierce they’re forehead. This ritual is going through the same thing many other rituals and myths from many different religions and cultures are going through, the fading of tradtion. Being away from their homelands and not being able to live the life they once lived the Dinka have had to adapt and certain aspects of their culture have began to completely fade away. Many other people have to go through the same thing too. With modernization and globalization, older features of small cultures have begun to disappear.

class reading # 3 - Kim Robinson

3. This semester one of our readings came from Victor Turner’s The Ritual Process. I had read excerpts from this book many of times throughout my college career between the classes I’ve had with Dr. Redick and other papers I’ve done for anthropology classes. One of the main arguments in the book is that people go through three stages when participating in rites of passage. He notes how during these rituals the participant goes through separation, transition, and reincorporation. One of the main and most interesting stages of the process is transition, or as Turner calls in liminality. In this stage the participant is no longer apart of the society he belonged to and is in an in between stage. This process is important when discussing primal religions because rites of passage are common features within them. Often these religions use rites of passage to mark a certain age or certain transition into another part of life. These stages are also important to me because during my time in study abroad classes with Dr. Redick I got to experience this stage. On both the Camino and the AT we had to remove ourselves from everything and everyone we knew and partake in things we had never done, experience things that we wouldn’t be able to experience in everyday life. It’s interesting to see how themes like these, themes that I read about in books and that have been studied many times over by religious scholars and anthropologist alike appears in our everyday life. Something that is studied so intricately also occurs in my life at certain points. Also it’s cool to think that I’ve experienced something that many others will never get the opportunity to feel and experience.

personal choice #2 - kim Robinson

This semester in the class I got to participate in something I have never done, a drum circle. I’ve been at many drum circles before but never was I part of the beat making music occur. It was a cool experience to have to see how 20 something rhythmically challenged students were able to make something that was oddly good. Although we had our moments where nothing seemed to be going together and we all had opposing sounds and beats coming out. However, every once every awhile everything would flow together and a rhythm would begin and continue. I’ve never been that good at any music. I mean the most I ever played was a clarinet in 6th band class. For me it was cool to a part of something that sounded so good and something that was fun doing. Also, during the session you could feel the beats in your body, in your blood. It was like listening to really loud music right next to you, but this came through the ground, through your instruments we were holding. Hopefully someday soon I’ll be able to participate in another drum circle, and not just watch but actually participate.

personal choice # 1- Kim Robinson

This semester I am trying to finish up the classes I need for my major. One of those classes I’m taking is called the “Refugee Experience” and is an anthropology class studying the culture of refugees coming into the U.S. One group of people we studied this semester were the Hmong (formerly of China) who have been driven out of their country and even neighboring ones. So what does the Hmong have to do with primal religions? The Hmong are a very spiritual people and many practice shamanism. In class we watched a movie about a Hmong shaman living in the United States and above all else he could worry about, the thing he was afraid of most was losing is shamanic ways and not being able to pass down the tradition and rituals that go along with their religion. The Hmong use shamanism for many aspects of life from being sick, to protecting the house, to burying the dead. We also read a book about the Hmong people and a sick Hmong girl with a severe form of epilepsy. Throughout the book the father took his daughter to many different shamans in hopes of being able to release the demon that he believed possessed her. Although there was no way to know whether western medicine or the rituals preformed by the various shamans was working best. However at the end of the book, the little girl had one last major seizure and became brain dead. To the doctors she was not alive anymore, even though her heart was beating, she would never be a functioning person again and they expected her to die shortly after leaving the hospital. When her parents took her home another shaman came to the house a preformed a ritual of rubbing herbs on the child and as of 2003 she is still living. Do the rituals that are performed by shamans and medicine men work like western medicine does, just in different ways. There needs to be a merging of both kinds of medicines in the US so that families who do believe it the healing powers of shamanism know that everything that could be done, is being done. If nothing else, it becomes a way of preserving shamanistic rituals so that these beliefs don’t fade away.

outside readings # 1

1. Currently I’m taking another religious studies class to finish up my minor and have a relaxed class to balance out my schedule. RSTD 212 or Religions of the West is about exactly that, religions in the western world, mainly the three Abrahamic religions. However, at the beginning of the class we did look over what he called indigenous religions. Of course throughout the time we were studying this section I kept comparing it to this class, comparing the themes each stressed throughout the course. One mututal theme from each was the connection these religions have with nature. “To say that nature is full of spirits can be a way of affirming the presence of both a universal life force and an essential, underlying sacredness (pg. 41).” Another common feature discussed in both classes was the focus on their origins and passing on their traditions. All religions have some sort of creation story of where the people came from. Also, with the stories of origins comes the tradition of passing down stories through ritual or myth. In class we watched Australia’s twilight of dreamtime in which one scene showed a father showing his son how to paint his hand on the cave wall. Within the Aboriginal culture and religions, cave paintings have been a way of passing on tradition and history . And obviously the most common feature discussed in each class was the use of myth and ritual in everyday life. Whole books and collections are written on the function and examples of myths and rituals throughout various primal or indigenous religions. It’s nice to see how classes can overlap and how features discussed In different classes are coherent with one another. There are classes where two different teachers will teach and emphasis different aspects of a thing so drastically different.

class readings # 1 - Kim robinson

For our class assignment I read pages 110 to 114 and in this section dealt with “learned languags” as he calls it, or languages like latin which faded out in everyday speech thousands of years ago. Instead of latin appealing to the masses across the empire, individual local forms of language were formed, what we call the romance languages, such as Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian. He continues on to say how latin has become the language of academia, or learned language. “ Latin had become Learned Latin, a language completely controlled by writing whereas the new romance vernaculars had developed out of Latin as languages had always developed, orally (p. 111).” All over the world, languages have died out and new ones developed in their place. Especially to Americans some of these languages that have died out over time but were pivotal parts of history are unknown to most. Languages like Arabic, even though it’s still popular over seas and to those who speak the language, most americans probably couldn’t tell you a single word in the language. It’s sad in a way that these great languages that were so influential in the development of the world today and how cultures got their start, whether they were direct branchings from the ancient ways, or newer cultures that are still effected by those in the past. A large section of the world began out of the fertile crescent with Sanskrit, Sumerian, Arabic, and Aramaic and few people know anything about them. Even languages that are more common to westerners like ancient Greek and Latin are still given little thought. Latin has been intertwined into our American culture with phrases being placed on such common items as our currency or government buildings and used as mottos for multiple companies and organizations. More attention needs to be brought to these died out languages so that our upcoming generations don’t let the languages just fade out.

class readings #2 - Kim Robinson

After read Walter Ong’s Orality and Literacy I began to think about how dependent on words we truly are. Not that I’ll actually ever do it, but it would be interesting to see how many words (both spoken and written) I use in a day. By the end of the day we all probably use thousands of words a day. However, being a college student I am very dependent on the written word. For this class alone we’ve read at least part of three different books, not to mention any hand out or book that Kip read to the class. Without books, we wouldn’t be able to sit in a classroom, learn information, and then return home and be able to re-read the information, or for some they may not remember much at all of the class. Without seeing and being able to read words I wonder if our society and culture would be as large and powerful as it is today. I myself couldn’t imagine learning all the words I know today without being able to see them and write them, not to mention remember rituals or certain scripted actions. But there are cultures that are able to survive and flourish without the use of written language. In America we have a culture like that, one that was able to help the U.S during times of war. The Navajo Indians have their own language however it was not a written one. Before the war and the settling of the west, the Navajo Indians had great power across the land and controlled most of the area around what we know as the 4 corners of southwest U.S. It wasn’t until the war that they even thought of writing it down in any way. Since the language was never written, Japanese forces were unable to break our codes and commands. The government employed “wind-talkers” (made famous by the movie) to relay codes to forces across the sea. It’s event like these in history that make me wonder how much a written language is needed at times.

Responsibility- Corey Maiden

Some friends and I got into a heated debate today about the concept of responsibility, and how some one’s understanding of this concept will be the basis of their moral and political views. Responsibilities are often explained to youths as things that you HAVE to do. . My attitude toward this oversimplified explanation is that it does not fully explain the concept of what a person is responsible for. I think that living in a roommate situation makes me respect the fact that everyone has to do their part more, because I know the feeling of having to pick up the slack, but almost as soon as I finished this thought I considered the responsibilities that I was referring to as “slack”. While I share my apartment with my roommates, the place is not devided into thirds. Each of us has to clean and take care of the entire place working as a whole. The kitchen is still my kitchen even when the dishes covering it are not mine, and vice versa. I think that this principle can be applied in a political sense to what people consider their responsibilities to their society. This realization may come with maturity, but I feel like I would have listened if someone had explained this to me at a younger age. If no one is willing to cover any more than his own share, the first time someone has to take a sick day, the entire business collapses. My point is that responsibilities are not imposed on us by anyone. They are the things that MUST be taken care of, and we cannot be reliant on anyone else to any slack created by ourselves. At the same time we must realize that if responsibilities are not taken care of they become problems. Problems take more time and effort to solve than responsibilities.

Brittany Wallace, Devil's Tower

I found the debate over Devil's Tower in Wyoming to be very interesting. Who does this piece of the land belong to and how can there even be a debate regarding who has ownership over something in nature. Nonetheless I do respect the Americans Indian claim to the rock, and find it interesting that so many climbers respect the Native American clame as well. Personally i feel like everyone's spiritual connection to something is different and to want to inhibit any one person's spiritual experience is wrong. If a climber has some sort of spiritual connection to the Tower then who is tell them that their connection isn't warranted.

Brittany Wallace, After College

Since I was 6 years old in Bodo Norway, I’ve been riding horses. Even once I moved to the states, horse riding continued to be a integral part of my life. When I look back I’ve been riding for over 16 years. For over half of my life horse riding/training/competing has been a constant. After graduation I’m planning on moving to Los Angeles and going to the police academy (LAPD). The one component of my life that has always remained continuous, even through college, will abruptly come to a close in less than six months. Obviously there aren’t many places to house a stable in the middle of downtown Los Angeles. After going home for thanksgiving and doing a once over of my room and seeing all the pictures, ribbons and medals decorating my walls it’s became almost eerie to consider a life absent from horses. Through high school and college riding offered an outlet, so what outlet will can I turn to in the overpopulated crime ridden city of Los Angeles.
“There is nothing better for the insides of a man then the outside of a horse” –Ronald
Reagan.
So as my final fall semester comes to a close the looming ore of change remains in the foreseeable future.

Brittany Wallace, Ireland and Religion

Ireland has been a strong topic of international politics since the 1970s. Northern Ireland arguably operates in a “not-war-not peace” state. It has been over ten years since the peace process of Ireland was instituted, yet the tensions regarding ethnic identification remains. Religious affiliation is the single most significant social characteristic when determining one’s place in Irish society; taking precedence over gender and social class. Despite Ireland’s best peace efforts, they are and will be partitioned for the foreseeable future. Since the 1970s ethnically based parties have captured more than 80% of the votes in all Northern Ireland elections, For the people if Ireland, national party and religion are far more important determinants of party allegiance. While majority of Irish people would prefer to operate under peaceful conditions over conflict, the greater society cannot seem to move past their loathing of the country’s past tragedies. Its difficult to comprehend a society where religious affliatin is so monumntally important. I've always considered our society very accepting of one's reliious or lack of religious affiliation. Obviously Irleand is only one of many countries taht lack relgious aceptance but in 2010 this relgious bias is still going strong. I wonder if or when acceptance will ever set in.

Brittany Wallace, Politcal and Mystical Power

I came across this reading while researching for an anthropology class and found it interesting on a political and anthropological view point. The article how dead bodies animate the study of politics. While slightly morbid, t was still interesting nonetheless. Dead bodies are good vehicles in developing meaningful dimensions through complex symbolic processes. Political bodies help people to see past political transformations as something that’s not just a technical process. Dead bodies introduce less technical meanings with the instilment of feelings, ideas of morality and the non rational. All things dead, to include, bones and corpse, coffins and cremation urns are all material objects. Because dead bodies are material and not merely notions, such as patriotism or civil society, corpses can be moved displayed and strategically located in specific places. Dead bodies transcend time; they have the ability to make things past the present concern of many. Nonetheless it isn’t about the concreteness of dead bodies that make them so integral to politics but rather what makes them so effective is how people think about them. Dead bodies are meaningful through the way a specific dead person’s importance is construed. Manipulating bodies can offer symbol of political transformation (i.e. cutting off the head of the king). Dead bodies may be concrete but they embody more than one meaning and are open to many different interpretations. You can even rewrite history wth these symbols since they lack the ability of speech. I never considered the true symbolic power of a "dead body" in mystification of a group.

Brittany Wallace, Westboro Baptist Church

Based out of Topeka Kansas, The Westboro Baptist Church has been circulating news headlines. For some, the outlandish activities of the Westboro Baptist Church members labels their organization a hate group, for others, a religious extremist groups and for even more they are simply Americans exercising their first amendment rights. The struggle to truly comprehend this particular freedom of expression involves one to understand where these people come from, what exactly their ideals are, where they stem from, as well as looking into arguments for both sides of the political fence regarding The Westboro Baptist Church and their fight for their first amendment rights.
Obviously the message of the West Borrow Baptist Church is unpopular among Americans and the world wide. Nonetheless West Borrow Baptist Church members insist that they are simply exercising their constitutional right as protected under the first amendment . In response to the public unrest resulted from the church’s pickets and public demonstrations elected officials have stepped up to pass new laws to deter and control their behavior. The federal government and about 40 American states have enacted laws in an attempt to curtail the churches pickets. While each law varies in detail, most involve limiting the times, locations, distances of the pickets as well as establishing some kind of buffer zone surrounding the location of the memorial service and/or funeral. But the federal government and state laws are being met with much criticism and claims that they are infringing upon this group’s freedom of speech. So where is the line drawn? At what point, if any, can government, “prohibit or restrict speech that is extremely offensive in a particular setting”? All these questions are circulating the desks of government officials today.

Brittany Wallace, Religious or Spiritual

Webster’s dictionary defines religion as, “the service and worship of God or the supernatural commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance”. Spirituality is defined as, “of or relating to supernatural beings or phenomena; of, relating to, or involving spiritualism”. What does it truly mean to be spiritual versus being religious? The lines between both have become increasingly blurred through the years to the point that today they are used interchangeably. Many Americans today, regard spirituality as a mere construct of religion. However despite the blurred understanding between the two, spirituality and religion are not the same. One can be a spiritual person but not a religious one.
Essentially spirituality came first. Before legitimized established religions took flight, people were spiritual beings that believed in something bigger than life and death. This notion of something more is what spirituality is all about. Spirituality implies a broader sense of freedom. Religion knows boundaries, while spirituality does not. When defining spirituality it includes everything from the environment, relationships, astrology, animals- pretty much every and anything except for God. For many self declared scientifically focused people, spirituality means walking to work one day and encountering a serendipitous event.
Because of spirituality’s ability to transcend boundaries and invoke a more individual practice many criticize it. Unlike religion one can practice spirituality in the comfort of their own home, there is no pressured groups, meetings, mass, or worship to attend. Furthermore this leads a less socialized person and someone more focused inwardly instead of outwardly, according to critics. However its not about ones connection with others but rather it’s about one’s connection to life and their definition of happiness. One’s religious life is more obvious to an outsider than one’s spirituality. Religion is almost worn around, but spirituality is much less detectable and leaves room for individual interpretation. When one thinks about a Catholic it’s hard to not simply fall victim to the social stereotypes of what it means to be a catholic.

Brittany Wallace, Harry Potter and Religion

I tried to resist the fanaticism that was Harry Potter. I really did. Everyone was talking about it and reading it and I thought a few stories on a wizard and his buddies sounded cute, but why waste my time reading it? At fourteen years old I had more interesting things that I could spend my time doing, like going to the mall and seeing movies on the weekends. But when the summertime hit and all of my friends were on vacations with their families, I could only take so much daytime television. So I picked up the fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I had attempted to read the first three books when I was eleven, but I could never finish any of them. But the story got me this time. I was officially hooked. I quickly read the fifth story, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix only a few days later. Then I went back and read the first three stories a few days after that. I couldn’t stop. I officially was a Harry Potter fanatic and I loved the feeling. Imagine the shock I felt when, wanting to talk about my newfound love, I come to find no less than three of my closest friends weren’t even allowed to read these wonderfully addicting stories. Stories of magic and adolescents in dangerous situations could lead to nothing good apparently. I came to find out from one of these friends that magic is a method employed by the devil, according to her mother at least. I came to realize all of these friends of mine were forbidden to read the stories for the same reason: it was against their Christian beliefs: Wizardry and other forms of magic go against the natural order that God has created in the world, and in her books, J.K. Rowling makes it appear as though such magical practices are everyday happenings. Thinking that there must have been some mistake, I’ve always wanted to look further into the idea.

Marijuana Bryce Evason

Marijuana is a hot topic in American society today. There are good points raised by both sides and it is hard to disagree with both but the side that is against the legalization of marijuana has some other things that they need to fix before they can justify the points that they are making. Cigarettes have been a legal government owned product for a very long time in America. Marijuana is not obviously a legal substance that is owned by the government. The effects of cigarettes then have been proven to be ten times worse than the effects of marijuana but the later remains the substance that is illegal. Also the issue of alcohol is a big deal as well since the long term effects of alcohol also out way the long term effects of marijuana, and again the later is the substance that is illegal. The system seems a little messed up to me. If the government would legalize marijuana it would stimulate the economy because it could be a government owned business like cigarettes that would make the country money.

God in many ways: Bryce Evason

The mountain that was God Tahoma is a weird idea that is hard to wrap my head around. The idea seems primitive and weird to modern minds but really the idea is not that far off from other religious ideas. The thinkers from those times did the exact same thing as people do today that is to believe in something that is supposedly above the clouds and out of this world. Those ancient thinkers just picked something that was even more believable, a huge volcano. The power of a volcano is hard to argue with. People can see the heat and hear the roars that it lets out and have no possible way to disagree with the obvious power that it holds. In modern religions there is no proof that something higher has any power other than word of mouth. The ancient religious figures were primitive in there lifestyle and primitive in there belief system as well. Religion is a hard subject to discuss because it is important to people but it is sometimes hard to just believe in something that has no proof of being real.

Sacred landscape: Bryce Evason

In the Landscape book the author talks about a thunderstorm and the power that it can have. Last summer me and my friends were outside on a walk because we were tired of sitting in the house and out of no where it began to rain. The rain started slowly and progressively got worse and worse until we were standing in the middle of a full fledged thunder and lightning storm. I had been inside for tons of storms before that and had thought about the splender of thunder and lightning but it was completely different being outside. The night was warm so the cool rain was actually a nice change in temperature and the lightning was unbelievable to watch. The power of the storm left me no choice but to think about where such a thing could come from. The noise and lights were enough to shake the very ground. Soon after we realized that the storm was getting pretty bad we decided to go back inside but the experience was life altering and put the idea of power into perspective.

Outside reading1: Bryce Evason

The piece in the book I am reading is set two hours north of Winnipeg Manitoba Canada for this section of the book. This is right in the middle of the prairies where the land is so flat that you can see over the horizon for hundreds of miles. My father was born about three hours north of this place in a small town called Flin Flon Manitoba. My mother was born in Brandon Manitoba and they met in Brandon when they both went to high school there. My family has a summer home on a lake in Riding Mountain National Park which is two hours and thirty minutes away from Winipeg. We go back to the lake house every summer for three months and Winnipeg is an important city to our family because it is the closest place that has an airport to our house so we fly into there every summer. When I read that the book was talking about Winnipeg it made me miss the lake house a whole lot.

Thanksgiving-Meghan Herrity

This Thanksgiving my family, all eight of us went to St. Mary's river to have Thanksgiving with my father's family. My uncle's house where we had dinner, is build on a lot of land with a lot of woods. It was late afternoon and the adults were cooking dinner, so the kids(yes even at my age I am still a kid) went outside to play hide in go seek in the woods. We had played a few rounds and then as the sun began to go down we played our last round. After everyone was found we began to walk back up to the house, when we realized.....that my 10 year old brother was still hiding. We panicked it was almost dark and had no clue where he was. We all went out in separate directions searching for him. After about 5 minutes of searching I realized that I didn't know which direction I had come from and that it was dark. I was in complete and totally solitude, alone, in the dark woods. I for a moment panicked, then I heard voices and followed them. I made my way safety back to find my whole family including my brother. This experience though terrifying gave me insight to how some of the hikers on these trail must feel at times, hiking there own hikes, alone at times, the unknown. It is terrifying, and heart-racing at the same time. Hiking=adrenaline rush

Ritual and Family- Meghan Herrity

In film Cold Fever, Japanese business man, Hirata, goes on a journey to Iceland to perform a burial ritual for his parent that pasted ten years ago. Though Hirata was hesitant at first he learns through the obstacles and the experiences that the meaning of ritual and place are very important. In the end when Hirata reaches the burial ground of his parents and performs this ritual he has an overwhelming since of sacred place and through this develops closure and inspiration. This movie taught me that not only does family have great meaning but that place has meaning as well. The memories, good and bad, are what draw people to revisit and what ultimately drive people to travel.

-december 3rd

Sleep - Alexandra Brown

The other day a friend said to me, "Sleep is overrated." This was said after I told them that I had slept 4 hours within the past 60 hours. And I had been awake for about 36 hours at this point. I seriously wanted to slap them. I'm sure that's probably because I was so tired, because the one and only time i've slapped someone, I felt horrible afterwards (and they seriously deserved it). Anyway, sleep is definitely very important. I read somewhere that at 18 hours without sleep, a person's ability to react is the same as being legally drunk. So obviously sleep is very important. And apparently you need somewhere between 6-8 hours a night. But I began to wonder, were primal people able to get that much sleep? So many things needed to get done, so how did they find the time to sleep? And if they didn't, then how were they able to get everything done while being "legally drunk"? Have our bodies and lifestyles changed so much that nowadays we need more sleep to get by? I cannot imagine that our lifestyles today are more tiring than theirs back then. Primal people's lifestyles HAD to have been more energy consuming. We have so many inventions that allow us to save energy and time. So did primal people sleep more?

Technology - Alexandra Brown

Technology today has gotten out of control. Okay...it's great for us sometimes. I mean, certain inventions (such as the refrigerator) are awesome! But then you have things like "wireless chargers". I heard about this new invention that allows you to slip a cover on any electronic device (cell phones, ipods, etc.), and then this pad would charge up the battery. Obviously the battery needs to be rechargeable...but whatever happened to good old power cords? It's not that difficult to find an outlet and plug it in. I think society has gotten so lazy that they want to be able to just put their phone or ipod down and not have to think about the complications of finding an outlet. What does that say about us? We're even lucky we have communication abilities that don't involve running to the next village with a verbal message. And texting...it's great sometimes, but really. Some people take it way too far. I've had times where i've received a text, but instead of texting back, I call them because the answer required a little more explanation than can be put in a text. And what happens? They don't pick up. Then they text me back (as soon as I hang up), "What's up?" Seriously?!?! Why can't they just pick up the phone? Anyway, my entire point here is that technology is awesome, but it can be taken to a whole new level that is just ridiculous and unnecessary.

Animals - Alexandra Brown

Previously I mentioned that I just got a dog. He's super sweet, but everyone keeps treating him like he's a dumb animal. That really bugs me. As humans, we may have a higher intelligence, but just because we can't understand animal speech or even understand why they do some of the things they do, that doesn't mean that they're dumb. Brain size may dictate just how complex their thinking is, but THAT doesn't indicate intelligence. I treat animals as if they were humans in a different shape. When they're in pain, I feel their pain as if it were happening to me, and I sympathize because I know that, although they can't tell us just how they feel, they probably feel the way we would. Dogs are intelligent enough to get jealous, and to learn their names, and to follow commands. Granted, dogs have much bigger brains that a lot of animals. But how many humans do you know that can follow commands? I know, that seems like a really stupid question...and I might be disproving my point here, but i'm going to charge ahead. Humans only follow commands when they can see what's in it for them. When we do our homework, we see that it will give us a good grade, which will raise our GPA, which will get us into a good school, which will give us a good education, which will allow us to get a good job. And THAT is why we do our homework. Most people would say that's because we're more intelligent and we can SEE what's in it for us. But I think that's false. We may be able to have that complex thought pattern, true. But that doesn't necessarily define intelligence. I guess my question here is, what would you say defines intelligence? So many people have so many answers, but none of them seem satisfactory. The closest I can get is having common sense, and being able to apply what knowledge you own using that common sense. I'm entirely happy with that, but it's definitely better than "being smart".

Birthdays - Alexandra Brown

Birthdays are very important times of the year for us. We always make big productions out of them. We throw big parties, get presents, have cake, and sometimes get completely wasted (if you're over 21, and most definitely at your 21st). But in oral cultures, birthdays didn't seem all that important. Throughout my readings, I never once found anything written about birthdays. They just weren't that important. Everything was covered through the life passage rituals. Being born, entering adulthood, getting married, and finally dying. So why do we make such a big deal about it now? Yeah, we have laws (like drinking, and driving, and smoking) which dictate when we can or cannot do something, but is that the only reason we keep track of how old we are? Or is it just an excuse to get presents and be the center of attention at a social gathering? Or is there some other obscure reason I can't think of?

Divination - Alexandra Brown

Divination...I never thought i'd hear/read/see this term outside of Harry Potter. But when I was doing research for my paper, I came across an article which mentioned how shamans use divination as a physical medicine. I always considered divination to be a way of telling the future, but never as a way of diagnosing illness. Divination is about discovering the unknown through mystical means. And to the Nharo bushmen, illness is most definitely part of the unknown. I really should've put it together much sooner as I was researching how shamans act as spiritualists, which happens most often when they're healing. So Harry Potter is wrong! Divination isn't just about reading crystal balls and tea leaves to tell the future...it is about finding what needs to be known (which does pertain to the future, but includes much more than that). Perhaps J.K. Rowling intended the Divination class to be structured that way, but from my impression it was not. And it seems completely ironic that the practices and beliefs of an oral culture has proven a written text wrong.

Barnard, Alan. "Nharo Bushman Medicine and Medicine Men." Africa. 49.1 (1979): 68-80. Print.

Dialogue - Alexandra Brown

When we were in class discussing I-Thou and I-It, I had a thought. I wondered why those specific words were used to describe that mentality. Thou seemed like such a traditional word. One that I haven't heard in anything but Shakespeare plays. But then I thought that the traditional sound of Thou might be exactly what is needed. Thou hasn't been used in everyday speech for over a hundred years (and probably longer, but I don't want to say just how long because I honestly don't know). Thou was used back in a time where everything had meaning. Everything that was said, was meant in earnest. There was a dialogue occurring between the speaker and "thou". It was up close and personal, and there was no jest. Nowadays, there are too many "just kidding" comments. And half the time, those comments are only made after the listener protests in some way (either verbally, or through their expression, etc.). There is no personal connection being made. The speaker doesn't consider his/her audience, until it is sometimes too late. Then they have to correct what they've said by saying "just kidding". There no longer is a "thou".

Snapshot - Alexandra Brown

During my reading for my presentation, I came across a passage which talked about how sound has no equivalent of a snapshot, and the absence of sound doesn't equate to the absence of any other sense. Ong mentions that vision favors the absence of motion, for that allows you to examine objects more closely. For sound, in the absence of noise, there is nothing to examine. It is very rare that there is no noise, and in the rare case that there is no noise, the only things to examine are thoughts on the other senses (i.e. something you see, smell, taste, or feel). Ong makes it seem like this ONLY happens with sound, but I think it can also happen with smell, taste, and touch. There are rare occasions that this might happen, but I can only imagine that in the absence of those senses, there isn't much to ponder. In my opinion, the only sense that can be effective when there is an absence of it is sight. In the absence of motion, there are still things to observe. But when there is no odor, then there is nothing. And when there is no taste, then there is again nothing. And no touch, is just nothingness. I think that Ong is wrong, and that the absence of sound isn't quite so unique.

Ong, Walter. Orality and Literacy. Padstow, Cornwall: T.J. Press Ltd., 1982. Print.

Right Rites - Alexandra Brown

So, again, while I was doing some research for my paper, I came across some of the rituals performed for the rites of passage into adulthood. Mostly they focused on male rituals, and one of them I found very interesting. In Carmody, they talked about the ritual of circumcision. As you can imagine, this must be incredibly painful. Part of the reason they do circumcisions at birth is because a baby isn't as sensitive to the pain, and will not remember it. But at 15-20 years old...you'd definitely remember THAT. In this passage, Carmody wrote, "The word for the circumcision rite translates to 'tossing.' In tossing away the foreskin, the individual was tossing away childhood, entering upon manhood," (p 80). They also said that a subincision was also performed, and that the males did this in order to associate with female fertility. "The subincised penis could be imagined to resemble the vulva, while the blood produced by the subincising could be likened to menstrual blood," (p 80). I found it interesting that the males wanted to mimic the female condition, which starts when girls "enter" womanhood. Women's fertility begins when her menstrual period beings, thus beginning her ability to procreate. And the symbolism behind men wanting to mimic that shows that they recognize the importance behind women's fertility, and that they want to enhance that by re-enacting it at their own passage rights.

Carmody, Denise, and John Carmody. Original Visions: The Religions of Oral Peoples. New York City, NY: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1993. Print.

Doggies - Alexandra Brown

This may not seem profound, but I find it pretty profound. For the past 15 or so years of my life, I have been terrified of dogs. I had a really horrible experience when I was a child. I decided to go play out in the backyard by myself. We had this little kitchenette set over by the tree that we shared with out neighbors. Well, unfortunately for me, their dog was chained to the tree. And while I was playing, he decided to run around the tree, pinning me to it. And since I was a small child, the chain ran across my neck, effectively choking me. I can't even remember how I got out of that situation. The next thing I remember is being in the hospital with my parents and having a really bad sore throat. Needless to say, i've been terrified of dogs since. But, since the beginning of my relationship with Steven, i've been a lot less terrified. Steven's roommate has a dog. The first time I met him...I was so scared. His name is Rusty, and he is quite possibly one the sweetest dogs ever. So for the past 3.5 months, Rusty's been shoved into my life. And he's definitely found a place in my heart. Now, i'm not scared of dogs anymore, and Steven and I even got our own dog recently. I thought that I would terrified of dogs for forever. No matter how much I tried, or how many times I put myself into situations where I knew i'd be scared, I couldn't get over my fear of dogs. And then this one little dog from the VA Beach pound cured me. I don't know what it was about him, but he changed my life.

A Hippos Tale - Alexandra Brown

One of my favorite parts of reading Carmody was when they told the tale about how the hippo's tail became short. I never before considered that oral peoples would have humor like ours. I've always enjoyed reading tall tales, and especially the "how the (insert animal)..." tales. As I was reading the story, it was amusing, but very much like the other stories i've read. And then came the part where the elephant pulled out a knife and cut off the hippos tail. I can't even describe just how shocked I was. Here's a story i'm assuming is told to children to amuse them, and they have an elephant just chopping off a part of the hippos body. My first thought was, "These people are seriously bloodthirsty," and then my next thought was, "OR they have some great humor." 1-elephants can't hold knives because of their lack of opposable thumbs. 2-I seriously doubt elephants get that angry. 3-the elephant definitely would've won the tug-o-war, hands down. So my final conclusion is: oral people have a wicked sense of humor, with a touch of morbidity. Something I can definitely appreciate.

Carmody, Denise, and John Carmody. Original Visions: The Religions of Oral Peoples. New York City, NY: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1993. Print.

Life Journeys - Alexandra Brown

I read a passage in The Ritual Process. It said, "It is only when the symbolic path from the unknown to the known is complete that we can look back and comprehend its final form," (p 20). Something about this quote struck me. I have no idea if i'm interpreting this correctly, but to me, this meant that while you're on a journey, you may not know the purpose of it. It is only when it is complete that you can look back and see WHY you traveled down that path. I struggled with this a lot recently. At the beginning of the semester, I started dating my ex-boyfriend from high school. Long story short, we dated...I broke up with him for stupid reasons...we talked on and off, but it wasn't that much. Then recently (over the course of the summer), we started talking a lot (multiple times a day). We hit it off, and started dating at the end of August. Well...my end to my journey may not be "known", but now that I look back on everything I've been through since we first dated, I can see WHY it all happened. In high school we were young, and very dumb. I let my best friend break us apart, and obviously I wasn't ready for something serious. I mean, come on...we were in 10th grade. But since then, i've learned so much about being in a healthy relationship, and now...it's pretty amazing. I know my experience is nothing like a ritual, and I think that quote was talking about the preparations for a ritual, or possible the ritual itself, but I like to think that it does pertain to my situation. It's only NOW that I can look back and see just how good those 6 years were for the both of us.

Turner, Victor. The Ritual Process. New York City, NY: Aldine De Gruyter, 1969. Print.

Birth - Alexandra Brown

Well, I just posted a blog on death, so I thought I should talk about something happy, and what is greater than the birth of a child? I read a passage in Carmody that discussed how shamans name children. They cast mites or read the stars. At first this seemed like such a bad way to name children. What if a child ended up with a bad name, like Fabio (not that they would name a child that...but just saying)? But when I looked at it, to those cultures, reading the stars or casting mites would be THE way to decide. It's just like what parents do nowadays. They may come up with names beforehand, and sometimes they stick with whatever name they pick. But sometimes they see their child for the first time, and it just comes to them. My aunt and uncle just had a baby girl, and they are of the previous opinion (they decided on a name LONG before she was born). But I like to think that I will be of the later persuasion. Of course i'll come up with names, but I feel that I won't really know until I see him/her. This will be when I "read the stars". I'll find my sign.

Carmody, Denise, and John Carmody. Original Visions: The Religions of Oral Peoples. New York City, NY: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1993. Print.

Death - Alexandra Brown

So last night I found out that a friend of mine died. Talk about a shocker. At first I sort of just smiled and nodded. Then I went into the bathroom...and completely lost it. And I didn't stop for so long. Death is one of those things that you don't ever really think about until it happens to someone you're close to. It was a rough night for me, and today was even hard to get through. I was in a kind of trance. I usually really hate confronting death, but I recently did a bunch of research on the topic for my paper. I was thinking...whenever someone dies, the shaman acts as a psychopomp and goes into a trance to help guide the soul to the spirit world. I felt, after I found out about my friend, that I sort of went into a trance, and while I was thinking about my friend, I hoped that he was at peace wherever he was, and that he wasn't in pain before he died. I have no idea if my thoughts helped to "guide" him to his afterlife, but I like to think that it might, and that I was HIS shaman.

Wright, Robin M. "Guardians of the Cosmos: Baniwa Shamans and Prophets, Part I." History of Religions. 32.1 (1992): 32-58. Print.

Nolan Trail – Brian Dessimoz

This was my first time going on the Noland trail, despite this being my second year here at CNU. It was a warm day with a cool breeze, a perfect day for heading out on the trail. It offered me a time to get familiar with the nature that surrounds this campus that I have been missing out on. Although it was but a short distance away and not to long of a walk I was able to regain a glimpse of what it means to be in touch with nature. This walk reminded me of the times I would go camping in my youth as part of the Boy Scouts of America, especially of the time where I backpacked along the Shenandoah canal. The waters of Lake Maury were calm, sitting underneath the clear skies. The fall leaves gave off a warm glow, reflected in the still water. I saw a crane soaring just above the water, its wings almost grazing the surface. It was a peaceful scene to start off the hike. The trail was winding along the lake and provided for a varying difficulty in terrain. The light whispered through the high canopy. The trail danced wildly along the sporadic trail, against the waters edge. The suns heat pounded down on me, time was tight. I unfortunately had to end my travels on the trail to go to my economics class, and was left yearning for a blissful journey along the trail, free of worries.

Lindsey Pritchett - Waka Flocka Flame

Waka Flocka Flame is a rising rap artist that often uses his name as a background vocal to the lines that he is performing. This varies from what many of the other rappers have done in the sense that Waka Flocka Flame repeats the three various names in a manner that almost serves as an extra beat. This is odd because it is a custom for the rapper to announce his/her name in the song (sort of like a tag is used in graffiti, so you know the rapper is responsible for the lyrics) however it is very rare that the name will be repeated throughout the entire song for majority of a rappers discography. Waka Flocka Flame often says "WAKA" as a form of punctuation for some of his lyrics and, in one song, he begins by announcing his name, pausing between the three words for emphasis. While most other rap songs where the artist merely announces his name in the beginning, it feels like Waka Flocka Flame is imbedding a portion of his identity in the music. It is like he is saying "this song is part of my identity and I am part of this song. When you hear it, remember. This is me."

Lindsey Pritchett - Urban Dictionary

Urban dictionary is, perhaps, one of my favorite tools to use in my free time. In terms of satire, it's a great device for entertainment. Also, it's fascinating because it collects the variations in slang that circulate throughout my generation as the word become popular. Also, it offers the "youthful" perspective on places. For example, when looking up "Newport News" on Urban Dictionary, the individual will see that the slang term "bad newz" is listed in the definition, a term that is often used to describe this place. Most of the students at CNU refer to Newport News as "bad newz" merely because of the alleged crime rate. If you look up "Morgantown" the site offers a thorough description of what it is like to attend the university as a student, all the way down to the specifics of listing individuals who have broken their cellphones in inopportune happenstances. Furthermore, Urban Dictionary funded a project, a book, that is aimed at speakers of foreign languages. The book is a directory to curse words and all the various ways Americans implement curse words in the form of slang, or a deviation from the word's intended/original meaning.

Lindsey Pritchett - Life and Death

In my senior seminar class, our topic is masculinity, we were discussing diunitologic in terms of African American culture. Diunitologic is a thought process where the community believes in both instead of one OR the other. An example was life and death. When someone dies, they are both living and dead, not merely dead. This idea plagued me all semester: how is this possible? To be both living and dead is a thought that sounds highly illogical, directly contradicting the concept of realism and consistency. A binary such as life/ death, thinking of it terms of both, is paradoxical. Yet, it makes sense. When someone dies, the memories you have of them live on in you. In that, they remain alive so long as they are remembered. Even if the body is dead, the person that existed is immortalized in the memories that loved ones share.

Stephanie Whitehead – Osmosis

I wish osmosis applied to humans and knowledge. I know many people joke about being able to merely touch a book and know everything it holds within but I feel as though it would be wonderful to understand more easily the things I am told to comprehend in life. I actually have taken to putting books I’m reading for papers on my head, open, when I am feeling stressed about the paper or I have been sitting for hours absorbing information from sources. I hadn’t noticed until one weekend my mom stopped walking past and looked at me and asked if I was attempting osmosis because that couldn’t really be helping me finish my paper seeing as I was just staring at my laptop holding the book on my head in exasperation. As the weeks progressed and I had more and more papers due, I noticed that when I got exasperated at the source and paper I would put the book on my head and sit there. I think somewhere along the line I took one of those jokes about osmosis and humans and books too literally. However, somehow, it does tend to help me refocus and get back in writing mode so I don’t begrudge myself this activity if it occurs as bizarre and strange as it is. I merely wish the book actually would impart its knowledge and intellect into my brain while it was sitting on my head.

Stephanie Whitehead – Words or Colours?

This class has been very fascinating for me. I didn’t think twice when I signed up for the class but after a few classes I realized the irony of my taking this class. It was all about words and their use and how people use them. As for myself I have no words at all and it is difficult for me to put my thoughts into words, which frustrated me many times in class when I tried to enter the discussion. I “have” what is called synesthesia. It is, to put it simply, the convergence of the senses. They are not separated. There are five different kinds and I have 4, including the most rare (of course). The rare one, associating things with color, is in fact my strongest form of synesthesia. I think in colours. Everything in existence, be it thought, emotion or object, is associated with a colour. Words are associated with colours because each letter has a very specific colour. These blend together to give the words a colour. But a word is merely a word and the theory behind the word, or the object it is symbolizing, can have a completely different colour. Thus, my mind at times has difficulty expressing my thoughts and opinions on things because, essentially, I have to translate colour into “object” into words. Often there are objects and thoughts that are very close in colour and are merely shades of difference and this causes quite a lot of issues. Some of my friends have gotten very good at interpreting what I mean or just understanding my way of expressing things. At times I am so lost for the word that I have to gesture the concept or create an image of the object with my hands. As a result, I believe you can now see the irony of me taking this class (which I enjoyed very much despite all of the issues). And that’s only one kind of synesthesia, mind you.

Stephanie Whitehead – Drum Circles

I used to attend weekly drum circles in Norfolk until I realized how expensive the gas was and because the owner and I had a few… issues that he could not see past and I no longer felt welcome. I found it truly fascinating and liberating. I often had great amounts of energy built up within myself and I loved to harness it, however, I had nothing to channel it into. Drum circle was a perfect place for me to do just that. The whole goal was that everyone there would build up enough energy that there would essentially be a column of energy just sitting in the middle of the circle of drums and dancers and then the man in charge would utilize it for some purpose (I believe he was wiccan and used it for some spell or other to aid people in health or something similar). It was a great experience because everyone was so excepting of others and we were all united with a single cause and purpose. I enjoyed watching others harness their energy and the energy around them in the world as much as I enjoyed participating. People truly were happy when they were letting go of themselves and allowing their bodies to be used as instruments of this world. I found it fascinating that people would be able to just jump into the circle and start drumming and everyone would easily fall into a rhythm and harmony together and that harmony would change and everyone would change their drumming at the same time and then laugh. It was a wonderful experience that brought strangers together as one and truly allowed people to express themselves. I miss it a lot and having drum circle in class was a wonderful reminder of how great it had been.

Stephanie Whitehead – Discontent

Many people conform to the popular opinions and strive to fit into society despite whether or not that means following their dreams. Many people stifle their true wants and desires in search for making money and finding a good solid job. They feel this is a necessity that must be achieved and they can only be happy once they have successfully accomplished this goal. Unfortunately once they do they find that they are still miserable and they don’t understand why. This can be explained by the fact that their entire lives have been spent striving for money and material gain instead of following their dreams and doing what they are passionate about. They have forgotten themselves and opted to become the drone of society. I believe a person should strive to achieve personal, internal peace and enjoyment. They aught to do things they get pleasure out of and put their heart into it entirely. If you are unwilling to put your heart into something then it is not necessarily right for you to do. A person should surrender to their petty whims and desires. If they want to go somewhere, then they aught. If they want to eat a certain food, then they should feel free to and not be worried about what others will say and if hey will fit into culturally acceptable norms.

Stephanie Whitehead – Herodotus

As a classics major I have read many classical authors including Herodotus the “Father of History.” He was given this title because he was the first to write a documentation of history (the Persian War in particular). The manner in which he detailed and elaborated on the histories of his life was to tell stories. This speaks very clearly to his oral culture in which he grew up. One such story that stands out is how the Persians chose their method of governing. There were three men who offered three suggestions, oligarchy, democracy, and monarchy. The three put forth their ideas and defended them before the rest of their peers and the latter won, this being the choice that Darius put forth. So then everyone had to decide on a king and they decided to have a contest. He tells of how Darius rigged the competition so that he won. This not only explained the kind of government that the Persians had and the “origin” but also gave a look at the personality that Darius was believed to have. There are many such anecdotes through out his novel. This is the manner in which he tells the history of the Persian War. Many, especially Thucydides who wrote after him, say this is a bad way because he has no proof and it is not largely honest and factual.

Stephanie Whitehead – Being Lost

One thing I notice as I plow through my senior year of college is that some people know where they are going and plug on towards their goals and dreams and others, the vast majority of the people I know, really don’t know what they want. These people make me think about how we talked in class about the concept of being “lost.” One person in particular strikes me as being lost. She has always been an over achiever, a grade ahead of her age, excels at everything she attempts, takes 7-9 classes a semester and has three jobs. She has always had a goal and always known what she wants and where she was planning on going after college. However, lately she has been unhappy. While she still talks about going to Washington D.C. after college and getting a job in the government (for she has made connections that could help her) she sounds less convinced and less enthusiastic. She was going to go to graduate school for her masters and possibly her doctorate and yet in the past month she has decided that she really has no desire to do this. She wants to be with her family in the mountains and fall back into her high school days with her large group of friends and enjoy things as they have always been. Now that her friends are not coming home for breaks and truly “leaving the nest” to find their places in this world, she finds herself alone and she is confused. She is utterly disoriented and has no idea what is happening and as she scrambles to re assert her cosmos out of this chaos she flounders.

Stephanie Whitehead – Movie Two

I found the second movie we had to watch in class on Wednesday fascinating. I liked how it showed the contrasting points of views on the various religious locations. I found it interesting how some people appreciated that the places were religious locals for the Native Americans and respected their wishes entirely, how others saw their points in absolutely no manner at all and resented them, and yet a third action understood their views but still held to their own and made compromises. I had great respect for the Indians who also understood the others points of view and were willing to compromise. There was however one faction of Native Americans which I didn’t respect as much. It might have been there desperation that caused this disharmony but I was put off by the fact that they wanted other to make concessions for them and yet they were not willing to do the same for others. It was the final tribe who wanted their spring to be left alone and the ski resort not to be built. I understood their requests for quite and respect for the place however I thought it horribly hypocritical of them to say that no other religious faction should be allowed out there. The one woman asked why they couldn’t go to another mountain because there were lots of mountains and why they had to pick this one particular one. This really bothered me because of all religions I expected theirs to understand when people are draw to a particular location. She should have understood that this was a location that they felt tied to as well and, while it wasn’t to her perfect liking, she could have compromised to share the space for religious purposes for they do not own the land, as they well know, because no one can truly own the land. It must be shared.

Stephanie Whitehead – I-Thou Relationships

One of the things that we talked bout in class is the I-Thou relationship Bouber talks about. One of the things that we touched on in particular in respect to this is conversation with other people and how people demean others to “It”s. In an I-Thou relationship people communicate in a manner in which they are focused and intent of sharing their thoughts and ideas. However I find quite often that people don’t understand how to have a proper conversation with other people because they focus so inwardly on themselves that they ignore the other person and don’t really care about what the other person ahs to say. They predict or assume they know what the other person has to say and how they will react to things which is not allowing the other person to think for themselves which demeans them to the level of an “It” and the other person talks at them and doesn’t really communicate with them. They eliminate the other person from the discussion and they are essentially speaking to themselves and their own thoughts for that is what they are projecting on to the other person, which is demeaned to an inanimate object.

Stephanie Whitehead - Aristotle’s “The Art of Rheotric”

One of the books I was reading for my paper for this class was Aristotle’s “The Art of Rhetoric”. This was considered a “handbook” in Ancient Greece, one of the two manners in which to teach Rhetoric (the other being imitation). In this handbook Aristotle, the student of Plato, outlines how to properly write a decent rhetorical speech after explaining the differences between the three forms and their purposes. As I was reading “The Art of Rhetoric” I found it peculiar how Aristotle used the basic outline formula to write his handbook. We talked in class about how oral cultures used stories and examples to explain and tell other peoples certain things and to communicate and how in modern days in the literate cultures we like to make lists to describe and explain. However, Aristotle forms his book in an outline manner and within his sections he lists examples such as when he is explaining how to properly provide a characterization or evoke a certain emotion. He lists the descriptions, which is very uncharacteristic for a oral culture, which Greece was not long past. In fact Plato was the one who first wrote on philosophy denouncing writing as a technology that was going to destroy the human mind and memory. His teacher was Socrates who didn’t even write anything. Thus I find it odd that Aristotle, coming from such lineage of philosophers, was listing in his literature.

Paige Lussier - Monogamy

I recently have had a few experiences where monogamy has been in question. A friend of mine told me he wanted to cheat on his girlfriend, and that he had never wanted to before, but there was something about this other girl, who we shall call Sarah, that he couldn't get out of his head. He has had some rocky times with his current girlfriend, and things aren't looking better, but he insists that he wants to work things out with her, instead of just breaking it off. He continues to try and hook up with Sarah, but she hasn't given in yet, knowing he has a girlfriend. What is worse is that he says he likes Sarah too. This has made me question if humans are suppose to be in monogamous relationships, or if it goes against our nature. Very few other animals are monogamous, penguins being the first that comes to mind. Is it really in our nature to be monogamous, or is it just something we go along with because society has told us that's how it should be. I think it's a combination of both. I don't think it is wrong to not be monogamous, but I also think that is something that people need to feel; they need to feel special and loved. And it is the need for these feelings that propels it.

Stephanie Whitehead – Morality in Arguing Both Sides

I found it intriguing while I was doing my research for my paper that George A. Kennedy cited Sophism as the true advocate for rhetoric in politics in his book A New History of Classical Rhetoric. He pointed out that, while other philosophers taught rhetoric and its uses and wrote handbooks on the subject, Sophists were the first to bring it into the political arena. The other philosophers felt that it was okay to argue both sides of an argument in a philosophical sense and as a past time but to do so in court was to not search for the truth. This they felt was truly against the point of court politics. People viewed using rhetoric in courts as dressing up lies and making the weaker argument the stronger. This was not searching for the truth of the matter, which most at the time felt was the true purpose and goal of politics, especially in court. Sophists however believed that there was no truth and as such people had every right to argue both sides of a topic.

Stephanie Whitehead- Textualism

Ong talks about various literary response theories in his book and one that caught my eye was textualism. Textualism believes that there is no direct correlation between the greater cosmos, speech and text. They believe that one cannot pipeline information from one to the other because the other can’t “know” what the former knew. They believe that you cannot impart direct knowledge from one to another. They feel that the text exists only in the moment, in and of itself and nothing else, and is not symbolic but actual. Ong shows that this is the most text bound ideology because it focuses on the text alone. Without knowing the background and the history/origin of the text, I agree with Ong that you cannot fully comprehend what is written. Without know the original purposes and story told that related to it and how they originated then you cannot fully comprehend the nuances and hidden intentions that are littered through out a text. Most texts refer to other stories that are known to be related. You cannot simply say that a text is a closed system and only of itself and by itself. To do so is to discredit a great amount of symbolism and meaning in a text.