Lindsey Pritchett - Man's Need For A Beyond

In class, we discussed man's longing for an awareness of a beyond, or the wanting for there to be more to life than the physical manifestation of it that is experienced through the body. Man longs for more, a relationships with the cosmos, god, or some promise of an afterlife. However, literate societies, as they move away from "qualitative totality," detached man from cosmos. The modern man experiences life through a quantitative viewpoint, extinguishing the desire for a relationship with place. Man becomes homeless and his existence is experienced as meaningless as we move away from valuing the world fully. Civilization, as one Italian Humanist claimed, detaches our minds from out senses. The civilized man begins to want everything in a timely manner, caring less about the quality of the product. He lives in eternal chronos, linear time with no sacredness. It is a reduced existence, as it defines boundaries and rids life of it's mystery. By ridding something of it's mystery, we are objectifying it. Naming it, and thus controlling it. Colson Whitehead's quote capitalizes on this idea: "Isn't it great when you're a kid and the world is full of anonymous things? Everything is bright and mysterious until you know what it is called and then all the light goes out of it... once we knew the name of it, how could we ever come to love it?.. for things had true natures, and they hid behind false names, beneath the skin we gave them."
To me, this quote signifies much of the relationship to the external world that indigenous peoples experience. There is a childlike wonder in everything they experience. The living beings around the individual have power. In the "civilized" world, we name and analyze everything, stripping it of mystery and power. We eradicate the element of surprise from the nature of other beings, animate or otherwise, and, in effect, take on a godlike power that would make Fredreich Neitzsche proud.

Lindsey Pritchett - Ethnotourism as a Means of Encountering the Phenomena and Numina of Place

The twentieth century, in the United States, brought forth the creation of numerous trails that span thousands of miles. Collectively, there are at least four major trails that reach beyond the thousand mile mark. These are, running from North to South, the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail and the recently completed Continental Divide Trial. The American Discovery Trail is one that runs from East to West, spanning the entire length of the U.S.A. It has become increasingly popular for Americans, or people of other nationalities, to travel to these trails and to engage in a form of enthnotourism titled “thruhiking.” The act of thruhiking takes the hiker on a long term journey, lasting anywhere between 3-6 months, sometimes even longer. This form of ethnotourism is to engage in the “culture” of the wild by cutting off from the outside world and the reliance on technology. In doing so, the individual opens themselves up to experiencing the phenomena and numina of a place, such as Native Americans do. Instead of having a primarily aesthetic relationship with place, we build a physical relationship through the struggle of reaching the place. The Appalachian Trail is a prime example of this in that you have to physically carry yourself and your world on your back to reach the sacred mecas dotted along the trail. On the trail, we encountered Laurel Falls. It was majestic and surprising. Also, it was a very private, intimate experience with nature as there were no roads or marks of civilization at the waterfall. It was a prime example of nature left in its own primitive state. Niagara Falls is another waterfall in America, perhaps one of the most grandiose in the world. Yet, the entire place is marked by tourism and gimmicks. The need for “souvenirs” of the experience is seen in the gift shops that line the place and they offer scenic boat tours that take you very near the base. This commercializes and detracts from the power the place holds. The power of the place is diminished to the aesthetic whereas, at Laurel Falls, the waterfall holds power because it is shocking. The sound of the waterfall echoes throughout the trees and there are rocks where you can sit and enjoy the view of this obscure structure. There is a sense of self-empowerment that is felt, too, in standing before the waterfall. Being the first surprise along the trail that we encountered, it seemed to say “there is something special about this place and, while the trails may be difficult, there will continue to be pleasant happenstances that will make the struggle worthwhile.” There is a sense of a “once in a lifetime” experience in standing before a waterfall in the wild whereas, at Niagara Falls, one has the thought that you can easily purchase a bus ticket and return at a later date.

Lindsey Pritchett - Native American Animal Totems

It is a common belief amongst Native Americans that each individual is connected with nine various animals that will act as guide through their life. These nine animals are believed to appear in life at random moments, however there is one that stays with the individual for life. This animal is the individuals "totem animal" which stays with them for life in both the spiritual and physical world.
With this animal, a connection is shared (usually signified by appearance in dreams, favoritism/ interest, or other interaction). The purpose of this animal totem is to offer power and wisdom to the individual when they "communicate" with it. For example, my favorite animal is a panther. It is the animal I am most drawn to and feel most connected with. Native Americans believe the Panther signifies, or means, "protection, hidden emotions, introspection, caution, careful decisions."

To me, the panther is just my favorite animal. I like the way it moves and remains elusive. I like the color of it and the fact that it is a predator. I also like that I usually don't see panthers in the zoo, as I prefer to think of it as free. However, Native Americans believe there is something to be learned from the animal. The animal not only carries meaning but it communicates that meaning by appearing in a person's life. The animal is a very personal entity, not at all objective like we see in the technological world's many zoos and circuses. It is meant to be encountered in the wild.

Furthermore, when we encountered the bear on the Appalachian Trail, we did not see the animal as a symbol of being the "guardian of the world." If we had been of Native American culture and we were familiar with the symbolism and power of each, we would know and associate the bear instead with it's characteristics. Ironically, these characteristics are numerous and as follows: "Industrious, instinctive, healing, power, sovereignty, guardian of the world, watcher, courage, will power, self-preservation, introspection, and great strength." Many of these characteristics, I feel, were applicable to the place and time period the bear appeared.

Lindsey Pritchett - Eyes on the Skies

As long as humans have been around, we have been fascinated with the skies. Whether the culture is indigenous or technological, there has been a deep and profound obsession with the cosmos. People have expressed their interest in what lies in the beyond through art, science, and writing. This fascination has carried over in to the current era, especially in the fields of cosmology, astronomy, and physics. In indigenous traditions, the people rely on myths and stories to explain what is in the sky. The relationship the people build with the cosmos is much more personal, as well. In America, we tend to approach the sky from a more objective view. We seek explanations on what is in our universe, how it got there and what will happen to it as time progresses. Technology such as the Hubble Telescope allow for deep space observations to be held. Now, with the use of modern technology, we can see (literally) across the universe. Our observations span space and time, itself. We can even see beyond our galaxy and our solar system. Recently, National Geographic released a special edition magazine on the newest discoveries in our universe titled: "The New Universe." This title befits, because our understanding of the expanse of life and the various phenomenon in our universe is constantly evolving. Furthermore, it is fascinating that we are limited to mere observation as formulating an appropriate explanation of the events and phenomenon is nigh on impossible.

Colleen Cook-painting

Dr. Redick gave us the question of how painting can be another way to connect to one's Holy. I thought about it and it is definitely a different way as opposed to reading scriptures which contain letters/words. Both are powerful and have background meaning but can have different explanations, they do have different explanations, for why they paint what they do. painting is more of an action like we talked about in class which I think can also help the group members connect with one another, kind of bond in a way. Reading scriptures is more repetitive and could lose depth of meaning if just read over and over again. We talked about how painting can maintain relationships which can be could for communities. The value can be bigger for painting because they are all different and made personally by each person which I think can make the connection between them and a Holy much stronger.

Stephanie Whitehead - Blogging

I find it ironic that we have to write blogs for our class on orality. While I was thinking about it I discovered an answer to a question I had been asking myself for a long time: Why can't I keep a journal? At first glance it has nothing to do with class but after a few leading thoughts it made me think only of this class. I've always wanted to keep a journal like my friends do so I can remember things that happen because my memory is horrible. I curse not journaling proper when I went to the UK. I can barely remember anything I did anymore. The problem is that I can't journal. I used to think it was because I was impatient but the truth is that I merely don't want to miss out on anything. I want to spend my time experiencing instead of writing down my every move. When I was in the UK I was very good about journaling my first few days but I stoped because I felt that it detracted from my trip. It meant spending time away from the actual surroundings and I was removing myself from the area and situations that I was trying to be part of. The act of writing forced me to separate myself from my surroundings and I hated it. The entire point of being there was to submerge into the culture and my surroundings. So instead of focusing on writing every moment of my time there so I could remember the past at a point in the distant future, I enjoyed the moment and lived it. That concept struck me as a pretty decent sum of what we are getting at in class. Writing removes ourselves from the situation instead of living the situation. While it may be only a momentary experience, it was at least experienced instead of sitting on the sidelines observing so later generations can know what happened.

Stephanie Whitehead -Impracticality

The lovely new green in the middle of campus is highly aesthetic and reminds us greatly of the ancient Roman forums connecting us to our history and making us think of great knowledge and politics. While this is all well and good, I find that it lacks a certain something. While it is highly aesthetic and nice too look at leading up to the new McMurran hall, the emptiness of it is resounding. I watch everyday as hundreds of students swarm around the green and walk on the sidewalks surrounding it. It is as if the lawn is marked off limits or taboo. To watch students milling everywhere but ON the green you would think that to do so would be worth severe punishment. This is a tragedy. This is a place where students can have a place to interact on a daily basis in the open air and enjoy the day while they are not in class. Instead is has been turned into a space of aesthetic qualities to impress people visiting our campus. At first glance you might presume that students on campus just simply don't spend time outside simply enjoying the day. However that is not true. There are students on York lawn, Potomac lawn, James River lawn and even the lawn by the fountain between the library and Wingfield not twenty yard from the green in the center of our campus. Every other place on campus where there can be communion between the students and the out of doors is being used as such. Why then is this new great lawn not being utilized? Before the change on campus students would spend time basking in the sun much preferring to study there than indoors. What is the difference that causes us to avoid the great lawn now? I see no edicts demanding that this lawn much be a space of aesthetic value and beauty and no students should be seen walking across it or laying on it. In fact, I think it would be more aesthetically pleasing to see students using it and giving it a sense of place and interacting with outside world while going about their daily lives.