Hello All,
We are getting closer to our first out-of-class essay.
For Friday, read "Making Sense of It All: Reading, Interpreting, and Understanding Difficult Lyrics." (The essay is also linked at the class webpage under "Essay #1: Lyric Analysis").
Then, list the song you plan on analyzing as well as three symbols/archetypes you could use in that analysis.
For example, if I were going to write about Tom Waits's song "Whistling Past the Graveyard," I could analyze the symbols/archetypes of . . .
1. Persona
2. Light vs. Darkness
3. Movement vs. Stasis
As a final note, if your song is a love song, the archetype of the Syzygy is probably at work . . .
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Post for Wednesday, September 29
Hello All,
For today's post, write a paragraph analysis of one of Thomas Allen's photographs at the Foley Gallery. In this analysis, use at least one each of the following:
Simple sentence
Compound sentence
Complex sentence
Compound-complex sentence
For today's post, write a paragraph analysis of one of Thomas Allen's photographs at the Foley Gallery. In this analysis, use at least one each of the following:
Simple sentence
Compound sentence
Complex sentence
Compound-complex sentence
Friday, September 24, 2010
Post for Monday, September 27
Hello All,
For this weekend's post, I want you to do the same thing you did in class on Friday; write one sentence that uses the third method of introducting quotes in an analysis of Tom Waits's song "I Don't Wanna Grow Up."
In other words, construct a sentence that uses this format:
Tom Waits's use of the symbol of ___________ signifies _____________ (Stevens, 1998, p. ).
The first blank should be filled with an image or quote from the song; the second blank should be filled with a quote from Stevens with the relevant page number.
For this weekend's post, I want you to do the same thing you did in class on Friday; write one sentence that uses the third method of introducting quotes in an analysis of Tom Waits's song "I Don't Wanna Grow Up."
In other words, construct a sentence that uses this format:
Tom Waits's use of the symbol of ___________ signifies _____________ (Stevens, 1998, p. ).
The first blank should be filled with an image or quote from the song; the second blank should be filled with a quote from Stevens with the relevant page number.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Post #3
Hello All.
Archetypes are by definition universal; that is, their meaning transcends any one given time or place. Thus, although it is difficult (if not impossible) to translate ancient languages (such as the Incan quipu), we can immediately recognize images of fertility in Incan sculptures. In this way, archetypal images convey a meaning we can immediately recognize, even though these images were created in a dramatically different cultural context.
However, not every symbol has a deeper meaning or substance. Think, for example, of the stop sign. This is a clear symbol that indicates to us that we need to stop our cars, but no one would stop and meditate on the idea of "stopping." That person would be crazy . . .
However, other symbols inspire us to do just that; we actually use these symbols to give meaning to moments in our lives (if not our life story itself).
As Anthony Stevens writes, "The vitality of a symbol depends on the conscious attitude with which it is received. In themselves, images are meaningless; they acquire energy-with-meaning only when we grant it to them, by laying ourselves open to their influence" (p. 81).
Because of this power, religions use and exhibit this symbolim. To continue the roadway motif, think of bumperstickers or rear windows with either the "Jesus fish" or "Darwin fish." In each case, a driver has made the conscious choice to align him or herself with this particular symbol. By itself, the image of fish would not mean much; however, when we use this image to project meaning, it achieves, as Stevens would say, "energy."
For this post, describe one symbol that has "energy" for you.
I'll give you an example from my own car. I have a license plate frame with a quote from the poet William Blake: "Improvement makes strait roads, but the crooked roads without improvement are roads of genius." In my own case, I choose to give "energy" to the symbol of the crooked road because my own philosophy is that life is meant to be a meandering series of detours. We should be inspired by our distractions and not be so fixated on any single goal that we become blinded to all that life has to offer. (Or maybe I'm just rationalizing my own lack of concentration). In any case, the symbol of the crooked road is one with which I choose to align myself.
Describe one symbol with which you choose to align yourself.
Archetypes are by definition universal; that is, their meaning transcends any one given time or place. Thus, although it is difficult (if not impossible) to translate ancient languages (such as the Incan quipu), we can immediately recognize images of fertility in Incan sculptures. In this way, archetypal images convey a meaning we can immediately recognize, even though these images were created in a dramatically different cultural context.
However, not every symbol has a deeper meaning or substance. Think, for example, of the stop sign. This is a clear symbol that indicates to us that we need to stop our cars, but no one would stop and meditate on the idea of "stopping." That person would be crazy . . .
However, other symbols inspire us to do just that; we actually use these symbols to give meaning to moments in our lives (if not our life story itself).
As Anthony Stevens writes, "The vitality of a symbol depends on the conscious attitude with which it is received. In themselves, images are meaningless; they acquire energy-with-meaning only when we grant it to them, by laying ourselves open to their influence" (p. 81).
Because of this power, religions use and exhibit this symbolim. To continue the roadway motif, think of bumperstickers or rear windows with either the "Jesus fish" or "Darwin fish." In each case, a driver has made the conscious choice to align him or herself with this particular symbol. By itself, the image of fish would not mean much; however, when we use this image to project meaning, it achieves, as Stevens would say, "energy."
For this post, describe one symbol that has "energy" for you.
I'll give you an example from my own car. I have a license plate frame with a quote from the poet William Blake: "Improvement makes strait roads, but the crooked roads without improvement are roads of genius." In my own case, I choose to give "energy" to the symbol of the crooked road because my own philosophy is that life is meant to be a meandering series of detours. We should be inspired by our distractions and not be so fixated on any single goal that we become blinded to all that life has to offer. (Or maybe I'm just rationalizing my own lack of concentration). In any case, the symbol of the crooked road is one with which I choose to align myself.
Describe one symbol with which you choose to align yourself.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Post for September 17
Hello All,
I hope you're not too confused with our readings . . .
Don't fixate on all of the allusions (references to gods and religions); what is important are the ideas and concepts themselves.
On that note, on page 42, Anthony Stevens illustrates one root cause of our need for symbols and archetypes:
"Many of the symbolic rituals divised by our ancestors arose out of the anxieties that inevitably afflicted human beings living in the environmental circumstances in which our species evolved and lived for most of its existence [...] Our capacity to find symbolical means of dealing with these fears is one of the most striking characteristics of humankind When in need, we seek symbolical expression as well as practical fulfilment of those needs."
1. Reread pages 42-44.
2. Describe a symbol or symbolic ritual that you use to promote good luck (or blessings) or ward off bad luck (or evil).
I'll give you an example:
I have many good luck charms that I use depending on the situation. When I travel, I try to keep a St. Christopher's medal with me, and when I'm at home and feel like I'm caught in a rut (of depression or bad luck), I will burn some white sage to clean the air. Also, I have a nazar in my office, my car, and at home to ward off "the evil eye." I'm still alive, so these symbols must be working . . .
I hope you're not too confused with our readings . . .
Don't fixate on all of the allusions (references to gods and religions); what is important are the ideas and concepts themselves.
On that note, on page 42, Anthony Stevens illustrates one root cause of our need for symbols and archetypes:
"Many of the symbolic rituals divised by our ancestors arose out of the anxieties that inevitably afflicted human beings living in the environmental circumstances in which our species evolved and lived for most of its existence [...] Our capacity to find symbolical means of dealing with these fears is one of the most striking characteristics of humankind When in need, we seek symbolical expression as well as practical fulfilment of those needs."
1. Reread pages 42-44.
2. Describe a symbol or symbolic ritual that you use to promote good luck (or blessings) or ward off bad luck (or evil).
I'll give you an example:
I have many good luck charms that I use depending on the situation. When I travel, I try to keep a St. Christopher's medal with me, and when I'm at home and feel like I'm caught in a rut (of depression or bad luck), I will burn some white sage to clean the air. Also, I have a nazar in my office, my car, and at home to ward off "the evil eye." I'm still alive, so these symbols must be working . . .
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Introductions, September 13, 2010
Hello All,
For today's blog, we are going to play a little game called Truths and a Lie.
You need to introduce yourselves: tell us your major, your intended future occupation, your favorite novels, etc. Within this introduction, you need to embed one lie.
Once you've finished your introductions, you need to read others' introductions and see if you can spot the lie.
I'll start:
My name is Matthew Woodman, and I've been teaching at CSUB for ten years. I bought my first car with money I earned from raising pigs in a little town called Springville, and in high school my friends and I would go to the mountains to see if we couldn't find Bigfoot (we never did find him). I went to college on a Basketball scholarship, and I now have a one-year-old son named Bulut (which means "Cloud" in Turkish; my wife is Turkish). I decided to teach English because of my love for the written word and my desire to help others reach their potential.
For today's blog, we are going to play a little game called Truths and a Lie.
You need to introduce yourselves: tell us your major, your intended future occupation, your favorite novels, etc. Within this introduction, you need to embed one lie.
Once you've finished your introductions, you need to read others' introductions and see if you can spot the lie.
I'll start:
My name is Matthew Woodman, and I've been teaching at CSUB for ten years. I bought my first car with money I earned from raising pigs in a little town called Springville, and in high school my friends and I would go to the mountains to see if we couldn't find Bigfoot (we never did find him). I went to college on a Basketball scholarship, and I now have a one-year-old son named Bulut (which means "Cloud" in Turkish; my wife is Turkish). I decided to teach English because of my love for the written word and my desire to help others reach their potential.
Monday, May 24, 2010
In-Class Blog for May 24
Hello All,
Through reading Stevens and Eliade, we have seen how archetypes function on both the social and individual level, and in writing our analyses, we have explored how popular culture uses these universal symbols to entertain and help us find meaning in the world.
Our last text --The Hero and the Outlaw-- takes a different approach, one that definitely permeates our lives, whether we like it or not. In this text, Mark and Pearson (2001) argue that advertising uses these same archteypes to help "people to experience meaning in ordinary life" and "ennoble life by highlighting its meaning" (p. 21). Of course, this isn't done out of any sense of altruism; rather, the profit motive is the guiding principle. We could perhaps more accurately replace "highlighting" with "manipulating" with regards to advertisers and their relationship to these archetypal truths.
Regardless of our feelings regarding capitalism and our commercial-driven culture, we can still objectively evaluate whether or not a given advertisement may be effective. On page 13, Mark and Pearson divide and classify archetypal figures into twelve categories, each of which becomes the basis of a chapter.
Your assignment is this:
1. Get into groups of two;
2. Choose a commercial (the ones you posted will work);
3. Critique its use of archetypes (both from Mark & Pearson and Stevens or Eliade if they apply);
4. Use at least one quote from Mark & Pearson.
This critique should be a decent-sized paragraph (six-ten sentences).
Through reading Stevens and Eliade, we have seen how archetypes function on both the social and individual level, and in writing our analyses, we have explored how popular culture uses these universal symbols to entertain and help us find meaning in the world.
Our last text --The Hero and the Outlaw-- takes a different approach, one that definitely permeates our lives, whether we like it or not. In this text, Mark and Pearson (2001) argue that advertising uses these same archteypes to help "people to experience meaning in ordinary life" and "ennoble life by highlighting its meaning" (p. 21). Of course, this isn't done out of any sense of altruism; rather, the profit motive is the guiding principle. We could perhaps more accurately replace "highlighting" with "manipulating" with regards to advertisers and their relationship to these archetypal truths.
Regardless of our feelings regarding capitalism and our commercial-driven culture, we can still objectively evaluate whether or not a given advertisement may be effective. On page 13, Mark and Pearson divide and classify archetypal figures into twelve categories, each of which becomes the basis of a chapter.
Your assignment is this:
1. Get into groups of two;
2. Choose a commercial (the ones you posted will work);
3. Critique its use of archetypes (both from Mark & Pearson and Stevens or Eliade if they apply);
4. Use at least one quote from Mark & Pearson.
This critique should be a decent-sized paragraph (six-ten sentences).
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