Archives and Special Collections

 2. What did you learn from your visit to archives and special collections? What elements of book history are you interested in learning more about?

After going to the archives and special collections in the library I learned a lot more about the different formatted and mediums that people have used over the centuries to write things down. I honestly hadn't really put much thought into realizing that there were more than just three mediums: stone/rock, papyrus, and paper. In the archives and special collections I was able to learn more specifically about the different formats that people have used over the centuries before the modern day book which is called "codex." I found it incredibly interesting to see how people progressed the different formats until modern days, especially the accordion fold. When I was younger I used to see children's book in that accordion fold format, and always thought it was just a different way people wanted to make their children's book look interesting, but now I realize that this format has actually been used for quite a while and before the modern codex. 

Just a side note about something else that I found incredibly interesting is that some people would go to the archives and special collections to request looking at documents that date back to the missions creation in order to find some sort of genealogical link. I wonder how successful they are.

I am interested in learning more about the medium of writing on stone or animal (goat or sheep) skin element of book history. I would like to know what exactly was written on these stones and by whom. For instance, was it for the rich and did it cost a lot for them to write on the stones? I am also interested in the entire process of creating the animal skin correctly in order for it to be used for writing and what exactly about it makes it able to withstand time better than other mediums?

Your Research Excursions Part 2

    The first Antigone research excursion that I looked at was from Cassi about "Ancient Greek Seers and Oracles."  Starting off, I just want to say that I loved how neat and easy to follow Cassi made her neatline. It really helped me navigate and learn much easier. Going into it, I found it incredibly interesting that seers/oracles had such high importance in some cities such as Sparta where there were specific messengers by the king who would be tasked with going to see the oracles on behalf of the king in Sparta. I also found it interesting that oracles sort of became less popular in 499 BC during the Persian Wars and even a bit before that when they wrongly backed up the failed Expedition to Sicily.

    The Second Antigone research excursion that I looked at was an essay from John about The Greek Chorus. I was also curious about the role of the chorus in Antigone, and I too didn't really see the purpose of chorus. Which is why I found John's essay interesting. I didn't know that the chorus were generally respected among the other characters. I also learned that the chorus tends to be a passive voice that never really picks sides within the play setting. Even though they were impartial they were still looked at as almost active members in Antigone and can be seen being drawn into arguments although, not reacting to them.

Overall, I all of the research excursion that I have looked at are incredibly informative and very well done.

Intertextuality Project for mid quarter

 2. Reflection on your Intertextuality Final Project at mid-quarter. Read through the description of the final project posted on Camino. What topic and format are you considering for your final project? Please be as detailed as possible, since Michelle will respond with feedback to all of these prompts to help guide your next steps. You do not need to know what texts you will be working with at this point, only a topic/theme/type of story and/or genre that you can explore across global geographical space and deep historical time.

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After reading the Intertextuality Final Project description, I honestly am not quite sure what exactly I want to explore. I am not quite a hundred percent certain that I will end up using this format, but, after reading what we have to do for our project I think neatline will probably be the best and concise format to use. As for the exact topic I am not quite sure yet. For the short time that I have been thinking about it, I am considering going in a direction where Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie will be my "home text." I liked the idea of having multiple different perspectives to tell a controversial tale or about a specific character. Or the aspect of creating an entire narrative around a character who is seen in the public eye as someone who is a "bad guy" but after, either that very characters perspective, or through someone close to them we are able to see this character through a different character and might even sympathize with them. I am thinking on staying in the fiction route, maybe historical fiction. I am not quite sure if this type of genre spans through historical time, but I believe that I could find some books across geographical space. I am sure that the more thought I give this, the more precise my topic will be. Right now, one story that sort of goes along with this topic would be The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. I know that throughout that story there are multiple perspectives and background given to these characters and then how they all relate and treat this one character, the one the entire novel is about, Pecola Breedlove. I do have a question regarding the project through, how big of a span should the historical time frame vary from (a few hundred years)? And if a book is written in modern times but set in another time period would we base the time frame on the publication date or the historical time setting?

Antigone Lecture and Line 572

    After watching the second micro lecture on Antigone something that I have learned was the entire debate centered on this one line: "O dearest Haemon, how your father dishonors you!" I found it interesting that the line is believed to have started off being Ismene's line since, after all, in this point in the play she is having an exchange with Creon that is called stichomythia which is most often between two characters. Which would not make sense for Antigone to intervene for a line. It would be breaking this stichomythia pattern. I read the articles about the debate and never really thought about the makings of these ancient literary texts. Despite all of our knowledge nowadays we can only still speculate about some aspects of Antigone since there was no one piece of this play written in its entirety. Scholars and translators have had to piece together the play from a multitude of different sources that often leads to misinterpretations. After so many different translations it can be hard to fully place together a play, especially since even the pieces of a play that were written down had mistakes and were almost guaranteed to misattribute a line. Being someone who has to translate such an ancient text also leaves you with some creative liberties because there is never really a perfect translation for certain words, especially ones from older languages. It made me realize the importance, when reading ancient writings, of looking through different interpretations of the writings because they all might have some difference and in that difference there could be an entire story just like the one behind line 572.

Aneeka and Antigone

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After reading Antigone, I have noticed a lot of similarities between the character Aneeka in Home Fire and Antigone in Antigone. Right off the bat, I noticed that there was a lot of character and personality similarities. If we were to go more based on the structure of the characters or their role in the play, Aneeka was the one who openly wanted to seek justice for her brother and be able to bury him in London with her mother. Antigone, wanted to properly and ceremoniously bury her brother despite the law prohibiting her from doing it. In both stories these two characters are the ones to go against the law of their times and do what they believed to be right. In both cases neither of the characters backed down. They did everything in their power to get the justice they believed their brother deserved.

    Something that I also notice right away between these two characters, is that they both have this prevailing attitude and strong-willed, willing to do whatever it takes to do what needs to be done in their eyes. Especially, after reading Antigone, it answered my question on Aneeka's own behavior. Without much context on Antigone, I was sort of confused about Aneeka's character. In my eyes at least, she was such an odd character and acted in ways that I never quite have seen, experienced, or read about before. She was emotionally vibrant and reckless yet at the same time she was smart and crafty. I have never quite seen a character woven quite like Aneeka before. After reading Antigone though, I was able to see how Shamsie adapted Antigone's character into a more modern and complex character in Aneeka. 

    Perhaps it is because Antigone and Aneeka are quite different then myself, but just reading about their characters and their motivations have never quite seemed right for me. It's like they were full of blunt talk and action, but I never quite understood their thought process and motivation behind their actions. For instance, Aneeka always talked about how much she loved Parvaiz and after reading her section and her actions, it is understood that she really did care for him deeply, but, perhaps because I can't quite get Aneeka's character, that I never truly felt the emotion behind her actions. It seems obvious that she loved him but to me is seems it was a more selfish love. She made Parvaiz a part of her and, to me at least, she mourned that it was gone more than her brother himself. But that is just my personal opinion about Aneeka. Shamsie does make Aneeka far more relatable and easier to sympathize with then Antigone. Antigone herself I do not quite understand either. I get that her motivation was to do what she believed was right, but it does make me wonder behind her actual emotions she feels for her brother who the entire city called a traitor. There just doesn't seem to have the same emotion backing in the characters motivation that Shamsie added to Aneeka.

Classmates Research Excursions

     The first Research Excursion that I read was Heather's on "Muslim Women's Head Coverings." After watching her narrative slides, I learned that having head coverings did not originate in Muslim culture and was actually used some hundreds of years before in Byzantine empire as a form of status. I find that interesting especially since, at least in more modern times, head covers, to some, are a sign of oppression against women and used more for religious purposes. It seemed to have changed from something secular to something that many people these days use for religious purposes. I also found it interesting that in the Qur'an, there isn't actually a specific mention of Muslim women having to wear a hijab or any head covering really. All it says is that they should protect their modesty and beauty. Over the years it has become a much more political.

    I also watched Jalen's excursion on "Islam and The Bosnian War." While watching his presentation I learned that the Bosnian people are actually three separate groups and only outsiders/other countries are the ones that refer to these different groups as Bosnians. I also found it really interesting how the three groups were almost in agreement to break out peacefully but how all that changed when the U.S. got involved. Even when the United States got involved they withheld support and when they eventually brought it, it just seemed to amount to even more bloodshed.

    The third excursion that I watched was by Audrey  and was called "Gender Dynamic in Islam and Home Fire." I personally, have never quite put as much thought into the different gender roles in Islam, and it does make sense that the roles depend largely on who is doing the interpretation and at what time in history they made them. It was interesting to learn that some women were killed in "honor" killing as a way to put them "in line" and how some women were even killed if they were raped. Those who are raped are the victims yet in some places they are even killed for actions that were forced upon them and unwanted. 

    Overall, all the research excursions that I have watched were very informational and I was better to understand some of the culture and history behind some of the events that happened in Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie. 

Parvaiz and Terrorism

    The theme that I chose to work with is terrorism. After reading the entire novel Home Fire by Kamala Shamsie, I've personally gained a deeper understanding of what might happen in the minds of those who are slowly indoctrinated into joining terrorist organizations. Overall, I believe that the novel by Shamsie is trying to broaden our perspective on how we, as a society, perceive terrorism. As much as we, as a society, like to believe that those who join terrorists organizations are horrible people in general who essentially, as the saying goes, "want to watch the world burn," there, like many things in life, is no cut and dry way to categorize these people. Home Fire demonstrates this ambiguity through one of the protagonists Parvaiz. At first, we see, through Isma's already biased eyes, Parvaiz as the betrayer to the family for joining a terrorist organization, knowing how badly it would hurt his family through what happened to their own father. It is through Isma's perspective that we see just how angry her sister is, and partially how an outsider might see this situation. It isn't until we reach Parvaiz's perspective that we begin to see how Parvaiz was able to come to the decision and action of becoming a terrorist. We got an inside perspective to how Parvaiz was slowly manipulated into believing that this group of terrorists were essentially fighting for a good cause. Farooq used Parvaiz's limited knowledge and desire to know who is father was, as a way to get Parvaiz into the organization. Parvaiz was so in search of a father figure that he went all in to the one person who offered to be that for him, and did everything without much question, as a child would do with their father. By the time Parvaiz was a member of the terrorist organization, he realized the mistake that he made, and desperately wanted a way out. In the end though, he was killed by the same terrorist organization that claimed he could leave at any time. Despite being indoctrinated into the terrorist organization, and being barely an adult at 19, the world still saw Parvaiz as a full blown terrorist who wanted to destroy their British society. They didn't think of him or consider how this young adult became a terrorist. 

    My understanding of terrorism in the novel is that, in then end, it is just a constant cycle of violence that seems to have no purpose other than breeding more violence and destruction. After everything, Parvaiz being indoctrinated into terrorism, Parvaiz's death at the hands of terrorists, Aneeka's profound grief for her twin, the terrorism still continued their path of destruction, chaos, and death. In the end, Aneeka and Eamonn became victims of terrorism themselves.  

Neatline First Impressions

    At first glace, I thought Neatline would only be good for projects that involved both time and locations, but, after receiving the entire lesson about Neatline, I am beginning to see how I'll be able to use it in different scenarios as long as locations play some type of role in the project. I am glad that Colin Justine was able to show us the basics of Neatline in a pretty straightforward way. Without his instructions I don't think that I would have been able to figure it all out for myself or be able to think of different projects that would fit nicely with Neatline. I found it really interesting that you can create default modes for each of your different records so when someone clicks on it, they would be able to get a much better idea of what you are trying to show the audience. The one thing that I did not particularly like about Neatline was that there was no option to just search up locations, you had to give it your best shot and go looking for them. It is a little annoying searching through different areas for an exact location, especially if you have never been there yourself.

    Although, one thing that I am excited about Neatline, is being able, too mark and show the different locations a book takes place to grasp a better understanding of the story. I have always glossed over the exact locations where a character's story might take place because I am just never quite able to grasp how location fits into everything. If I use Neatline though I believe that it will help me see the grand importance of different locations, if there is one, and be able to look at a book through a different lens.