I'm Definitely Panicking!!! Blog 5

This test coming up on Friday has me stressed out enough, but when I think about the upcoming interdisciplinary essay, I question why I wanted to come back to school. Whose idea was this? Seriously though, I don’t feel like I completely understand what is expected of me as far as writing the essay goes. Establishing a thesis, answering a question, comparing cultures, tying all of this in with the music and the art, etc. I am honestly lost! I understand that doing all of the blog prompts and reading questions and music analysis is all to prepare us for the analysis of the material as a whole, but I can’t help but wonder why we couldn’t just have a multiple choice test and listen to the music clip and have to identify it with a culture. I really like this class, but at the same time, I hate it.


On a different note, I really do like this class. I don’t have a lot of appreciation for music, I mean, I like Pitbull and Lady Gaga, so there’s not a whole lot to appreciate other than a catchy tune, but I am learning to appreciate music a little more thanks to this class. I will say that while I am whining about what is expected of us as far as the interdisciplinary essay is concerned, I am actually learning to appreciate the music and art in relation to the literature and the time period. For example, today we learned that the Romans used music to express power and intimidation, and I could totally see how they achieved that. Relating that concept to that of the Star Wars theme songs helped me to identity these expressions of power and intimidation even more. Listening to the clips today, I wasn’t intimidated by the music but I think that was 1. Because it wasn’t meant to intimidate me and 2. Because I knew that. I knew there weren’t any Roman soldiers and musicians waiting outside out building waiting to take over our lives but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t able to put my head into a mindset to understand the possibility of power and intimidation.

Word Count: 363

Judaism- Synagogue

When I am learning about different religions and different cultures, I try to be open-minded because I understand that my religion and culture is probably very different and hard to understand to people of a different faith or culture. Going into the Synagogue, I had a very vague idea of what the Jewish faith was, but I didn’t realize how different it was from my own faith, Christianity. I do not want to get into a Christian debate, but I was surprised to learn that they do not believe Jesus to be the Messiah, or the Christ. They’re still waiting.

It was also interesting to hear the Rabbi talk about slavery and being delivered from Egypt. The Rabbi spoke about how they’re not free until everyone is free. That was a very interesting point to me, because it is true. We here in America are a free country; free to do and say as we think and feel, but there are so many in this nation and in the world who are either under the control of another or have to hide what they believe just to be allowed to live.

I was very impressed with the scrolls and his ability to speak and read Hebrew. Honestly, it just looks like chicken scratch to me and I don’t understand how people can use that in a way to communicate. My dad is a pastor and knows many Hebrew words and phrases, but that was nothing compared to this man’s ability to speak and read it on a daily basis. I also thought that the scrolls were kind of a neat concept. They’re something special to that congregation that they keep in a special place in addition to the Tanakh. The work that goes into the copies of scrolls is amazing and adds to the idea of how special they really are.

Word count: 311

This is late, I realize, but I somehow got mixed up and thought it wasn't due until this Friday.

Classical Greece Analysis- Socrates

In the beginning of this piece, Socrates is told that there is no man wiser than himself, and his reaction, to me, is a bit unpredictable: he believes he can find someone wiser. Perhaps it is the difference in the times, but it seems as though if a man is told he is he wisest of them all, he doesn't choose not to believe it or disprove it, he becomes smug, arrogant and walks around believing he is the wisest of them all. Not Socrates. Instead, Socrates goes on a mission to find some man who is wiser than himself. He goes to the politicians and the poets thinking certainly there is a man among those groups who holds more wisdom than himself. What he finds, though, is that because of their own ignorance at not realizing they are the not the wisest, they are not wiser than him. That is what sets Socrates apart; the fact that he knows his limitations. Being the wisest doesn't mean being the smartest, it means knowing better. Socrates knows better than to speak of things he doesn't know anything about. He knows better than to believe some oracle about himself without testing to see if it is true. He knows doesn't know everything, he just knows better. That, in itself, is what makes Socrates the wisest of them all.

The more I wrote about the piece, the more I understood the assignment and what was expected of me. This probably isn't that great, but it did get me thinking about what makes wisdom wisdom and why Socrates has the most. To me, wisdom comes from experience and choosing to learn rather than thinking you know all the answers, but before this I had never really put a lot of thought into it.