Blog #25

During the first quarter of the 19^th century was the beginning of the modern social thought. The people living during this period were called Utopian Socialist, a term Karl Marx came up with to describe the modern socialist. Marxism and Leninism are two other branches of Utopian Socialism. Karl Marx created Marxism which is the political philosophy and economic based upon a “materialist” explanation of history. Leninism was created by Vladimir Llyich Lenin. His theories and practices were based on dictatorship of the proletariat. Marxism would be the best theory to describe the society they lived in during the 19^th century up until today.

            Marxism is ideas that use more of scientific approach to describe socialist thought. During the 19^th century more technology and science was being used to get a clearer view of the world. Marx’s views were appropriate during this time. There are three primary aspects of Marxism: The dialectical and materialist concept of history, the critique of capitalism, and advocacy of proletarian revolution. Also Marx’s theories are known for the materialist interpretation of Utopianism. Then and now we live in a materialistic society. Based on how much money, property, and education a person has determines how much power he or she may have. Karl Marx was known to be one of the most powerful critics of the new capitalist world order. Marx’s and Friedrich Engels wrote the Communist Manifesto which analyze history in terms of class struggle.

            Leninism focuses more on placing politics over economics. Lenin believed that capitalism can be over thrown only by revolution. The opposite of what Marx’s believed. Marx’s thought capitalism and industrialization could bring an end to poverty with the new science, machines, and factories. During the Industrial Revolution food surplus allowed the population to growth for workers and profits to invest in industry. On the other hand, Leninist saw it as a continuation of imperialism, in developed-country capitalist exploit the working class of under-developed and developed countries with low wages, long workdays, and intensive working conditions. Mass production has ended poverty in many countries; Marxism has been effective in many ways. Also if to much focus is put on politics the economy starts to crumble and revolts take place. The working class that Marx’s describe helps give the economy more structure and help keep the economy stabilized. For example: The English Civil War between the parliament and King Charles I. The king focuses more on political power then the economy and his people revolted against him.

            Compared to Utopian Socialism, Marxism is the best way to describe the society then and now. Utopian socialism leaves out many concerns political, social, and economic perspectives. To understand the society we live in a general understanding or framework is needed. By putting people into social class we can get an idea about certain groups of people. Marx’s explains social classes and class struggle the Communist Manifesto. For example: In Robert B. Marks book The Origin of the Modern World he puts humans in social classes to have some type of framework.

            Even though there are a lot of critics that disagree with Karl Marx idea he was one of the first people to test the modern socialist. Marx’s brought up many key points that help shape the society we live in today. Since the world from the first quarter of the 19^th century and on is more industrialized many of his capitalist theories helped benefit our future. A poem that represents this would be Mother to Son by Langston Hughes.

Blog #26

Blog #26

For this last blog I want to talk about myself since I haven’t posted one blog about my life in depth. All my other blogs have focused on other people or other things besides me. Some of them only brings up a few or couple things about myself. So in the next paragraphs will be about Ashley Norman.

            Well I am from Aliquippa, P.A. a small town outside of Pittsburgh, P.A. There isn’t anything at all to do there so people don’t go there to vacation just to see relatives. Majority of the population are senior citizen. So there are many activities that take place for the older people. After I finish school Aliquippa is not a place I want to move back too. In this town I was born and raised. Never anything to do maybe that is why the beginning years of my life was boring. As I grew older I started to venture away from my town to experience something new.

            My adventure to different places is what made me not want to return home. Virginia Beach was the first place I went to outside of P.A. I t was lovely I love that beach there is always something to do. Walks down the board walk, amusement parks all around, millions of places to shop, and full of beautiful sites. One of my favorite trips was to New York because there was store every where and maybe chances to meet famous people because that’s where they hang out. Also I have been to Canada, but its to cold in the Winter. The Niagara Fall was a nice site to see. Detroit was another place I visited which remind me of home, so I didn’t enjoy that to much. Delaware was to peaceful and Baltimore to wild. Of all places I enjoyed Miami the most but was only there for a couple of days so I wasn’t able to experience somethings. But of all places I loved Virginia Beach the most. The poem by Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken reminds me of my story.

Final Reflective Paper

Ashley Norman

Professor Harrison

Humanities Literature

December 08, 2009

Reflective Paper Number Two

           Reflective paper number two for my Humanities Literature will be similar to the first reflective paper but with a few small changes. Each of these assignments had to be written at different times in the semester which is the main difference between them.  One paper was due at the beginning of the course and the other at the end. The few changes between the assignments are in the paragraphs below.

            At the beginning of the semester I was a little worried about going through with this class. There was a lot of work through at us as soon as we had walk through the door. The first day when we look over the syllabus, the work load seemed overwhelming. Then I begin to think to myself should I drop this class. But something made me stay. What made me stay because it seemed like this class could turn out to be an interesting. His teaching style is very different from the past teachers. In this class we learned from our and others experiences instead of just taking everything straight out of a book. From discussing these experiences I learned more about myself.  Often the teacher would make us get in groups facing one another and have group discussions, this help me to understand the students around me more. In many of the classes I barely knew what the people look like around me and every day I would see them. This helped me built a closer relationship with my classmates. With the overwhelming work load taught me how to manage my time better. Above are majority of the good experiences I had in this class.

            All though there was a lot of thing that benefited me there was some that was not. Pop-quizzes were the main thing that wasn’t to appealing to me. For many of the quizzes my grades were zeros and I had studied. Also another assignment that I didn’t like to do was poems and blogs. If we had to do one poem and blog entry every week instead of three it would have been better. There was just too many to keep up with. From Humanities Literature we have learned more about ourselves from teaching and many of our readings. Also we are allowed to give a lot of input on the subject thats brought up in class. So we are learning from other students not just the teacher. Learning from teachers is what I have been faced with my years as being a student, this gives us a chance to spread our knowledge. This is something that doesn’t happen in classrooms through-out the world. Most students are just supposes to be taught and that’s it. In this Humanities Literature we are able to express ourselves and understand our place as a student.There were just a few things that were not enjoyable.

            Overall this class has benefited me in many ways. If I was to rate this class from one to ten, one being the poorest and ten being the greatest, this class would receive an eight. At the beginning of the semester I did not know what to think. But one thing that can be said is that this class was worth the struggle.

Poems 29-31

Poem #29

(Free Verse)

The year nine-teen ninety seven

The year my brother went to heaven

Each day missing him more and more

Asking God what did he take his life for

Looking for you in the sky

Praying and praying asking God Why

It hurts my heart even until this day

How could another man take his life away

So young , at the age of twenty one

Life without u is not fun

It hurts to talk about it, so I am done

Poem #30

(Free Verse)

Looking at myself

Looking at myself

Still not understanding who I am

Who is this person inside of me

The way I live was this planed

Or was I dealt a bad hand

Still finding myself in this world

When will I know who I am

Poem # 25/31?

(free verse)

My life is full of ups and downs

But sometimes u need to hit the ground

To see what up is

Life is like a roller coaster

Who knows which way it will turn

Only way to learn is through experience

Blogs and Poems November

Blogs and Poems November

Blog #24 and Blog #28

Poems #26, 27, and 28

 

Poem #26

(free verse)

Only believe in people who believe

Hard working people willing to achieve

Never giving up on their self

Trust themselves if no one else

So believe in yourself and I’ll believe

If you believe I’ll help you achieve

 

Blog #24

The author of the book, The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh: A Woman in World History is a woman whose name is Linda Colley. She was a Native of the United Kingdom. Linda is a well known British historian. In her writing and teachings she examines Britain’s past in a broader European, imperial, and global context. Colley graduated with first class honors from Bristol University, she got her PhD at Cambridge University, and both degrees are in history. She was a professor at Yale University then after she accepted a Senior Leverhulme Research Professorship in History at London School of Economics. With the award she spent five years researching British history. Then she returned to the U.S. to accept a high rank position at Princeton University. Also she was appointed commander of order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2009. With all her education and background she was able to write many great books. Linda wrote about three topics: British identity, global emperors, and modern era.

            One of the well known woman travelers in the 1700’s is a lady by the name of Elizabeth Marsh. Few women were allowed to travel during this time period but she had the opportunity to travel to the hotspots. She went on journey’s from her homeland Jamaica, to places like the Caribbean, England, Mederiaterren, Morocco, India, and then to America. These places were where most of trade was taking place. The reason she was able to take able to go off on these trips is because she was born into a wealthy family. Her father and many other men in her family were shipbuilders, mariners, and makers of charts and maps. This helped link her to the Royal Navy. George Marsh, Elizabeth’s uncle had a government job and was able to help her and Milbourne Marsh (her father) to get across the Mederiaterren. James Crisp, her husband a merchant who engaged in both legal and illicit long-distance trade. He traded with two of the biggest empires at the time Spain and Britain. Elizabeth mother is unknown but is said to be of African descent because she was conceived in Jamaica. These family members were also the main characters in the book, The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh. Another character that played a major role is a Moroccan ruler who held her captive when the French invaded Europe while she was visiting. All these people helped Elizabeth Marsh to become a successful woman in history.

This book gives a different view of the world in the 1700’s. It helps show the European environment from a women perspective, someone who I can relate to more. Elizabeth in the story talks about he sexual experiences she had when she was held captive by Sulton, Sidi Muhammad. A man wouldn’t be able to tell about how a female feels when being put in that situation. A woman could tell it better. History books now are changing because of many points that Colley brings up in her books. Her books are accurate with all things she refers to about it living in a European World. The Origins of the World is a book by another author that has done research and brings up many points mentioned in the Colley’s book. Linda Colley has created a book with her education and experiences that will help shape the future. She was able to get a lot of her information from a great resource, a woman. Since Elizabeth wrote down her experiences Linda was able to pull out valuable information. A poem that reminds me of this book is, The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus.

 

Poem #27

(free verse)

My life is a battle

Its full of ups and downs

Like a globe spinning around

Which do I go, who know?

Should I follow that road

The good turn in to bad

The ugly into pretty

Life is like a circle

Around and around I go

 

 

Blog #25

My venture through IKEA was a new experience. Since never having a place of my own I rarely go to furniture stores. IKEA is set up different from other stores of its kind. When entering the parking lot the first thing I notice was a big bright blue building with their yellow logo located near the roof. Its appearance makes it distinguishable from the rest. Before entering through the doors there was a sign that showed a special they were having on there breakfast foods. After seeing that sign I was confused, usually furniture stores don’t have a dining area. Then when walking through the doors to the right was a stair case; at the top of it was level one and below was level two. IKEA brings to mind a two floor Wal-Mart but a furniture store version. When entering the actual part where the display models of their products are located was like being at the start of a maze.         

The actual furniture itself was different than others I’ve seen. There was a wide variety of different colors, shapes, sizes, and styles of furniture. Most of their products are up to date on fashion. A lot of there things had loud, bright colors which are popular. For example, like bright reds, oranges, hot pinks, and lime greens which help their items stand out. I notice that many of the other stores usually only have darker colored furniture, such as: dark brown, black, tan, and darker shades of blue. These would be standard colors. Many of the others also have big bulky furniture that would not fit into smaller places. Style and shape of IKEA’s furniture is different from other stores as well. A lot of IKEA’s products are made of plastics and metals which makes it easier for them to shape and style their things to almost look any particular way they desire, that’s what makes them unique. By them building there products this way makes it faster to return there custom made pieces. Also it makes products are easier to assemble on your own. This is why majority of the furniture is made so that customers can put it together their selves and don’t have to pay to get it assembled. This helps make their products cheaper then others.  The other stores coaches, tables, and etc., majority of the time made out of wood and cloth materials which make it hard for customers to assemble on their own. This makes its prices higher because the furniture stores have to pay workers to put pieces together.

In order for IKEA to sell in the United States they would have to switch their style to adjust. In U.S. fashion we like to make fashion statements and stand out. We like odd shapes and bright colors to make us unique. Over in Scandinavia where IKEA originated a lot of their buildings and furniture is historic, with a lot of the same fashion. Many of its furniture stuck to the original designs until Scandinavians adapted to the American culture. The Tropics in New York by Claude Mckay would be the poem that describes my story.

 

Poem  #28

Life is beautiful

It can blossom like a flower

From a small seed to a mighty tree

It’s beautiful just watch and see

I’m a hero

Yes  me trust and believe

Your one to just watch and see

We all are in a adventure we call life

We have to save and be saved

Yes life is a hero’s journey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blog #22

Blog #22

My final project I am still undecided on what I plan on doing but I have gave it some thought. For our final paper we have to consider our reaction to and ideas about the literature and themes of this course and create some kind of project (video, artwork, poster, game, performance). I would like to perform either a video or do artwork. Right not the group I’ve been working with is the one I want to work with is the one I want to work with for my final project.

Blog #20 & Poem #24

Blog  #20

            Master of both worlds in my own life is when I am able to balance my school work and a relationship. When crossing the threshold into college I was scared I was going to be able to have a relationship and stay in school. After awhile I was able to able to balance.

            Master of both worlds is a stage in the monomythic journey when a person/hero realize nothing separate home from the new world. Also this is when the hero recognize the differences also. Noticing the changes in my relationship at home and in school, I was still able to realize our relationship stay the same.

            In the book and movie Celie was able to master both worlds toward the end of the journry. She was able to keep some of the old people and new in her life. But she was able to notice the difference in her relationship with Shug and Mr. Albert. A poem that reflect this reflect this stage would be Mending Well by Robert Frost.

 

Poem #24

(free verse)

One world this hand one world in the other

A little of this and a bit of that

Not knowing how to hold all this

Right now just full of bliss

One hand leans the down other is up

Put them both to the niddle

Both now are in balance

Finally they’ll all come together

Poem #23

Poem #23

(free verse)

Alone in a world, this world

Finally able to live in my own home

Alone in this new world

Hope Shug comes back to me

Money out of the ass

Hoping Nettie and children pass

Put my money to work

Open up a pants shop

Life just won’t stop

Everyone start coming back in life

Shug, Nettie, and children even Mr.

First time I feel good

Finally living like I should

Blog #19

Blog #19

Crossing Return Threshold

            Celie in The Color Purple movie and book goes through a lot of trails. She goes through the monomythic stages of a hero’s journey. The one we focus on today will her crossing the last threshold.

            She crosses her last threshold when she inherited money from her father and received the house. At first she didn’t know how to handle her life without Shug and Mr. Albert. After awhile she was able to handle living in her house and able to run her own store. And she was able to finally live with her children in peace and become with Mr. Albert.

            Crossing her last threshold in a monomythic hero’s journey means something that separate the old and new world her dads house  but with less problems. A poem that reflects this movie or book would be Dreams by Langston Hughes.

 

Quiz 11 due 10-31-09

1.

The first video represents my call to adventure. Located in stage one of the monomythic jounery. This was the stage in my life that I realized that working a job at Wendy’s wasn’t going to pay to the bills. At this point I decided to take an adventure to college.

2.

The second music video would describe me crossing my first threshold. The new experience of college was different then living at home. Realizing the new atmosphere of college and living with out my parents.

3.

The third video represent the initiation the second stage of the monomyth. This is when I go through my trails that come with living without the person that you love. But this is the point when you have to make it for not only you but the people you love.

4.

The fourth video represents my encouter with the temptress or temptation from my the true path. My boyfriend thats back at home come some times distract me from focusing on my number one goal.

5.

The fifth video show the third stage of the monomyth, the return. This would be the magic flight when I return home to visit. I have to stay away from certain people that don’t like me because I made it out of my neighborhood and they are still there.