Sunday, November 28, 2010
Kelsey Brooks - Everyday Miracles
In reading a chapter in Bruchko by Bruce Olsen, it talked about miracles. A man was bitten by a poisonous snake and the family was out of anitvenim. However, with prayer the man was able to get healed with God's healing power. We know God is Mighty and Strong and no matter what He will forgive us for our sins. I believe miracles happen everyday. Miracle's are one of God's greatest gifts and we must learn to trust in Him. That particular passage had a big influence on me. We must always believe in miracles no matter what life brings.
Kelsey Brooks- Myths
I am currently conducting research for the research paper. My topic is that myths help form reality. While searching for possible books, I found one that really addresses my topic. the book is called American Anthropologists. It describes that myth can be the formation of reality. I was immediately grasped by this because it completely concluded my paper and solved the issue at topic. Many people might not realize that myths can form reality. However, if we sit back and think about it, how did some values and traditions come about? When comparing this to today, we look at television. I believe today television can shape reality. It provides us with unrealistic statistics especially on crime and can provide false information. We must rely on scholarly books and journals for proper knowledge.
Kelsey Brooks - Love
Some people might not ever get the chance to know what love feels like. However, I am lucky enough to know. In class we have talked about sex and the meaning behind it. I remember someone saying that it does not have a meaning behind it. However, I disagree. I believe sex can have multiple meanings, but it all depends on the person and their relationship. Sex is a form of communication between two romanticized people. It expresses how much they love each other and care for one another. Some people might not look at it in this way, but we must respect people's decisions and listen to their meaning behind it. Love is a strong word and we all must learn how to deal with it. I have been in a relationship for six years. Therefore, I am pretty sure I know what love is and what is meant behind it.
Kelsey Brooks - Holidays
Every year I look forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas because it is when I am able to see my family. Over the Holidays people become more sincere and caring. Why can't people be like that everyday? We wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and A Merry Christmas. We should take these practices and everyday someone should take five minutes out of their time and just have a basic conversation with someone and that could change that person's day. I work at Food Lion and a customer recently came in with Teret's Syndrome. He had little verbal communication because he was so nervous. By using symbols and hand gestures we were able to communicate with him and we made a difference in his life. We should use our knowledge of symbols and hand gestures more often to be able to better communicate with others.
Kelsey Brooks - The Future
I recently had to interpret a quote for my BUSN 440 class. The quote talked about the future and how today was the seed time. This made me think of the Native Americans. They did not know what the future was to hold for them. They lived day by day and managed to live and still keep their heritage. I believe we should learn how to live more like the Native Americans. Instead of worrying about what the future holds, we should sit back and take each day at a time. For we do not know what could happen tomorrow. Life would be so much easier if there were no worries about anything.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Whitney Swaim - Folklife Festival
Blog 1
In October I attended the Newport News Festival of Folklife. As soon as I arrived, I noticed that the whole event was centered around an important topic from class, how indigenous peoples cultivate relationships with their local land. Perhaps the most interesting part of this festival was visiting the various exhibitors. The festival was set up in a walk-through fashion, and there were numerous tents along the path that you could visit. Many of these tents featured local craftsmen and artists who handmade various goods and decorative items. One woman was making rugs out of materials she grew and dyed herself. She was using a simple peddling machine at the festival, continuing to make new products to sell. I was in awe of the detail of these rugs, and I respected the woman greatly for taking so much time to complete each one. This reminded me of primal peoples who are in touch with their local land. The rug woman, as well as many other sellers, took pride in her creations, no matter how simple they appeared. I was glad to see that in such a modernized society there are still indigenous local artisans who share a relationship with the earth.
In October I attended the Newport News Festival of Folklife. As soon as I arrived, I noticed that the whole event was centered around an important topic from class, how indigenous peoples cultivate relationships with their local land. Perhaps the most interesting part of this festival was visiting the various exhibitors. The festival was set up in a walk-through fashion, and there were numerous tents along the path that you could visit. Many of these tents featured local craftsmen and artists who handmade various goods and decorative items. One woman was making rugs out of materials she grew and dyed herself. She was using a simple peddling machine at the festival, continuing to make new products to sell. I was in awe of the detail of these rugs, and I respected the woman greatly for taking so much time to complete each one. This reminded me of primal peoples who are in touch with their local land. The rug woman, as well as many other sellers, took pride in her creations, no matter how simple they appeared. I was glad to see that in such a modernized society there are still indigenous local artisans who share a relationship with the earth.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Kelsey Brooks - Communication
I am involved in many group projects this semester. As we all know group projects involve a lot of communication. Without the invention of technology, my group and I would never be able to communicate properly. I am always amazed at the use of the Internet and texting. A lot of us do not pick up the telephone and call people. We have become an unpersonalized society. We rather do things the easy way out. This includes emailing and texting others. As I have mentioned in previous posts, we would be nowhere without the alphabet. Communication is a big key in society today. We have to provide an effective use or else many of us would be "lost." There are many ways to be "lost" as we have discussed in class. You can interpret it in the way you think it may mean. I believe that many of us need to take a step back and become a more personalized society.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Meridith Berson - Lie to Me*
November 10, 2010
I was watching this TV show that I had never seen before the other night called "Lie to Me.*" I didn't think much of it at first, it had the guy with the British accent calling out people who he thought were lying by studying their reactions, facial expressions, and emotions. Although I admittedly did not think of it then, as I sit here and write this now I am wondering how Primal cultures dealt with lying. Since, as discussed in class, so much of their culture is based orally, where do lies come in? It seems that they would have much more weight then lies today, especially if they were embedded within a story about the culture.
I am sure they had their white lies too that were less of an issue, but without any type of written truth that could be used to verify information, a lie would stick and possibly change the course, or the remembered past, of a culture. It seems dangerous to me to have so much depend on oral traditions and makes me wonder how embedded lies are in both oral and written traditions.
I was watching this TV show that I had never seen before the other night called "Lie to Me.*" I didn't think much of it at first, it had the guy with the British accent calling out people who he thought were lying by studying their reactions, facial expressions, and emotions. Although I admittedly did not think of it then, as I sit here and write this now I am wondering how Primal cultures dealt with lying. Since, as discussed in class, so much of their culture is based orally, where do lies come in? It seems that they would have much more weight then lies today, especially if they were embedded within a story about the culture.
I am sure they had their white lies too that were less of an issue, but without any type of written truth that could be used to verify information, a lie would stick and possibly change the course, or the remembered past, of a culture. It seems dangerous to me to have so much depend on oral traditions and makes me wonder how embedded lies are in both oral and written traditions.
Meridith Berson - Chinese Privacy
November 10, 2010
I was reading an article on the difference between Chinese Privacy and American Privacy and it reminded me of our class discussions today on privacy. Dr. Redick mentioned how much the conceptions of privacy have changed since he was in middle school and I thought it might be interesting to explore the topic a little more in depth. In the article it points out that privacy in America includes doctor-patient privacy that the Chinese do not recognize. What we see as a sacred confidentiality they usually have friends and family with them during the diagnosis.
I know in the Primal religious cultures privacy was not usually paramount, especially since they shared teepee's and would have sex in front of people if they happened to be in tent with them. But it makes me wonder when in the timeline between them and now we became so protective of our privacy. I certainly don't personally mind it, I like the idea that I can choose who knows what about me, but if the Chinese still observe a different sense of privacy then Americans, I wonder why people differ so much in their views of privacy and what causes it to happen.
work cited:
Fang, Chen. "Chinese and American Views on Privacy." US-China Foreign Language 5.4
(2007): n. pag. Web. 10 Nov 2010.
I was reading an article on the difference between Chinese Privacy and American Privacy and it reminded me of our class discussions today on privacy. Dr. Redick mentioned how much the conceptions of privacy have changed since he was in middle school and I thought it might be interesting to explore the topic a little more in depth. In the article it points out that privacy in America includes doctor-patient privacy that the Chinese do not recognize. What we see as a sacred confidentiality they usually have friends and family with them during the diagnosis.
I know in the Primal religious cultures privacy was not usually paramount, especially since they shared teepee's and would have sex in front of people if they happened to be in tent with them. But it makes me wonder when in the timeline between them and now we became so protective of our privacy. I certainly don't personally mind it, I like the idea that I can choose who knows what about me, but if the Chinese still observe a different sense of privacy then Americans, I wonder why people differ so much in their views of privacy and what causes it to happen.
work cited:
Fang, Chen. "Chinese and American Views on Privacy." US-China Foreign Language 5.4
(2007): n. pag. Web. 10 Nov 2010.
Meridith Berson - Bruchko
November 10, 2010
I was reading the prologue of the class reading, Bruchko, trying to get an idea of what the book was about. It explains the nine months of captivity of the Christian Missionary Bruce Olsen and how in times of sickness he would imagine himself outside of his physical body to escape the pain that was so common in the jungle where he was. This made me think of two points. One, that the strength of his will must have been unbreakable to be able to separate himself like that. Two, when I think of primal religions I seems oddly stuck in an American primal view. I cease to imagine the tribes in the dense jungles of Columbia (where the book takes place) or the freezing environments of Canada (like we discussed in class today.) To have to deal with illness on a regular basis would dictate life in the tribe. Death seems so much more of a reality as well as the daunting idea that you will not be able to hunt (thus eat) if you are always sick. Religion would also take a front seat as it usually does when humans feel powerless. I think understanding their reality helps us understand their ways of life so much better.
I was reading the prologue of the class reading, Bruchko, trying to get an idea of what the book was about. It explains the nine months of captivity of the Christian Missionary Bruce Olsen and how in times of sickness he would imagine himself outside of his physical body to escape the pain that was so common in the jungle where he was. This made me think of two points. One, that the strength of his will must have been unbreakable to be able to separate himself like that. Two, when I think of primal religions I seems oddly stuck in an American primal view. I cease to imagine the tribes in the dense jungles of Columbia (where the book takes place) or the freezing environments of Canada (like we discussed in class today.) To have to deal with illness on a regular basis would dictate life in the tribe. Death seems so much more of a reality as well as the daunting idea that you will not be able to hunt (thus eat) if you are always sick. Religion would also take a front seat as it usually does when humans feel powerless. I think understanding their reality helps us understand their ways of life so much better.
Meridith Berson - Lack of a Line
November 10, 2010
I was doing some reading to try to think of something to write for this blog and I ran across something that pointed out that in primal religions there is not a distinct line between the physical and the spiritual, as there is in our everyday lives. I don't know if this would be an advantage or a disadvantage. It seems obvious and easy to say that it would be better to be united with our souls in the physical state. But I want to argue the opposite. The physical is not always a place and in the attempt to perfect a soul, I think the ability to shield it from the physical helps it. I am not saying to completely never let the spiritual side (which I am calling the soul) come into the physical, for it seems it must. I am arguing that sometimes we need to go about the physical, the boring, the repetitive and not let our souls fall victim to our bodily chores. The soul should sour, to bring it into the physical seems to handicap it.
On the other side, uniting the two allows for the mundane to become more than mundane. I'm afraid that there will always be mundane chores though, so I must agree with my previous argument.
work cited:
Hoare PhD., Timothy D. "Some Basic Concepts in Primal Religion." Johnson County Community College, n.d. Web. 10 Nov 2010..
I was doing some reading to try to think of something to write for this blog and I ran across something that pointed out that in primal religions there is not a distinct line between the physical and the spiritual, as there is in our everyday lives. I don't know if this would be an advantage or a disadvantage. It seems obvious and easy to say that it would be better to be united with our souls in the physical state. But I want to argue the opposite. The physical is not always a place and in the attempt to perfect a soul, I think the ability to shield it from the physical helps it. I am not saying to completely never let the spiritual side (which I am calling the soul) come into the physical, for it seems it must. I am arguing that sometimes we need to go about the physical, the boring, the repetitive and not let our souls fall victim to our bodily chores. The soul should sour, to bring it into the physical seems to handicap it.
On the other side, uniting the two allows for the mundane to become more than mundane. I'm afraid that there will always be mundane chores though, so I must agree with my previous argument.
work cited:
Hoare PhD., Timothy D. "Some Basic Concepts in Primal Religion." Johnson County Community College, n.d. Web. 10 Nov 2010.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Meridith Berson - Hopi Conceptions
November 9, 2010
My roommate came home from an English class the other day claiming that the Hopi tribes do not use any type of numbers. I was curious about this so I went ahead and did a little more research and found out from the book Cultural Anthropology: the Human Challenge, that they do use numbers for things such as counting but not to conceptualize things like time. To say that there are 3 apples is something that they use, but to say that three weeks ago you exercised for thirty minutes is completely foreign to them. The past does not matter and therefore the present and physical is what is important.
I think its important to use numbers in the way that we do because conceptualizing something so widely I feel, expands our horizons of what we are able to conceptualize. It seems like we are taught time at such a young age that we are better able to grasp the metaphysical and other things that will eventually come into use later on in life.
work cited:
Haviland, William A, and Harold E.L. Prins. Cultural Anthropology: the Human
Challenge. Cengage Learning, 2007. 113. Print.
My roommate came home from an English class the other day claiming that the Hopi tribes do not use any type of numbers. I was curious about this so I went ahead and did a little more research and found out from the book Cultural Anthropology: the Human Challenge, that they do use numbers for things such as counting but not to conceptualize things like time. To say that there are 3 apples is something that they use, but to say that three weeks ago you exercised for thirty minutes is completely foreign to them. The past does not matter and therefore the present and physical is what is important.
I think its important to use numbers in the way that we do because conceptualizing something so widely I feel, expands our horizons of what we are able to conceptualize. It seems like we are taught time at such a young age that we are better able to grasp the metaphysical and other things that will eventually come into use later on in life.
work cited:
Haviland, William A, and Harold E.L. Prins. Cultural Anthropology: the Human
Challenge. Cengage Learning, 2007. 113. Print.
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