Remember, plagiarism is bad, m'kay? Use this stuff for ideas or references.
Winter 2012
Gandhi in the Age of Terror
Gandhi & Terrorism: Tackling the "Mad Idea"
With globalization being so popular an idea these days, we often seem to forget that nations do have sovereignty over their own territory. That sovereignty comes with the ability to live in ways that don't necessarily agree with our own values, expectations or religion and to create law systems that have a foundation on something other than a mirror of our (US) constitution. One example that comes to mind right away is the shocked reaction that everyone had when Egyptians decided they wanted to replace Mubarak's tyranny with a government based on Islamic values.
I mention sovereignty because it seems to me that most of the world's problems come from unrealistic expectations that ones' own way is not only the best way, but the only way. If anyone doesn't want our way, we use it as an excuse to force it on them for their own good while exploiting them for economic gain. In India, that behavior led to a revolution that, thankfully, wound up being more peaceful than it would have been due to the hard work of a man named Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the Mahatma. In the Middle East, Western meddling planted the seeds that would eventually grow into global terrorism on a grand scale.
Tying Gandhi's philosophy of non-violent non-cooperation into modern day problems with terrorism was the focus of a class I took over Winter Session. It was 3 weeks of class, 4 hours a day, 4 days a week, that culminated in an oral presentation and a 10 page paper after having read 3 books on Gandhi's philosophy and 1 on the rise of religious terrorism. It was difficult, but educational. Looking at the paper now, I wish I'd had more time to directly compare Gandhi's goals with bin Laden's goals, and to compare their use of religion as a tool to achieve an end. Instead, I tried to explain the mentality of religious violence and how meeting that violence with more violence only perpetuates the cycle and, even worse, justifies and empowers the terrorist ideology of hatred. In a way, meeting violence with violence is cooperating with the terrorists, and after you read this you might have a better understanding of why.
This essay received the mark: (I don't know, but I got an A for the course.)
Fall 2011
Middle East Under Islam
Faith and Unity: The 'Ummah' as the New Kinship Group
This paper deals with the reorganization of Arabian society from pre-Islamic tribal groups into a single faith-based community by examining the causes and effects of the Hijjra. It also touches on the problems faced by the dismantling of the ghazu raiding system in the Arabian peninsula, as a result of becoming one community, and what that meant for the Middle East as a whole.
This essay received the mark: 15/15
English & Composition: What is Europe?
Al-Andalus: From Convivencia to Limieza de Sangre
This essay explores some of the conditions of Christians and Jews under Muslim rule in Iberia (Arabic al-Andalus) compared to earlier Visigoth rule, as well as the Muslim and Jewish treatment under later Christian rule. It is by no means all-inclusive or definitive, but is rather an attempt to start studying the topic and digging deeper into the available material. The essay addresses the relief of the Jews at the removal of Visigothic rule, dhimmitude and legal status of Christians and Jews under Muslim rule, the Christian martyrs in Cordoba and finally Ferdinand II and Isabella I's expulsion of the Jews in 1492 and their descendants' later expulsion of the Muslims in 1609.
This essay received the mark: A. (It could use a little cleaning up here and there, but the material is good.)
Colbert's 1664 Memorandum on Trade: Analysis
In 1664, Jean-Baptiste Colbert sent a letter to the King of France, Louis XIV, to appeal for economic reforms that would bring greater prosperity to the French people. This letter, now known as “Memorandum on Trade, 1664,” reveals the depths of the problems France faced, and Colbert’s desperation to find solutions. While writing his letter, Colbert understood that economic issues were not something the king would likely be interested in. Instead of simply listing France’s deficiencies, he presented his arguments in a way that made the economic problems of France a personal reflection of King Louis XIV’s ability to rule.
This essay received the mark: A
"The Discovery of Brazil," by Pero Vas de Caminha, Analysis
The following is an analysis of a letter written to the king of Portugal by Pero Vas de Caminha, relating the 'discovery' of Brazil. The majority of the full text of the letter this is based on can be found here, though the book isn't in the public domain, so two pages of it are missing from the Google Books preview. Also, there is no preview in Google Books for "Portuguese Voyages: 1498-1663," the source I used for the letter, so the link above goes to another book that also contains the document. In the book linked to above, the letter is the first chapter. I mention this, because the page numbers in the text below won't correspond to the page numbers in the linked book.
This essay received the mark: A
The Human Condition, Ch. 5 "Action", Analysis
If you've never heard of Hannah Arendt, well, I wouldn't be all that surprised. I'd never heard of her and her writing is very, very dense. Quite a few weeks ago I was given a writing assignment, to write an analysis of a piece of writing. We had a set of options, and I thought I wanted a challenge. I guess I was feeling brave that day, or maybe I just really wanted to try to figure out what it is that Hannah Arendt was trying to say in Chapter 5 of The Human Condition. Her ideas, once you can figure them out, or at least make an interpretation of them, are pretty fascinating. I just don't care for the density of the language. I've always been more inclined to use clear, direct language. Even then, I swear people misunderstand what I'm trying to say half the time. But, everyone interprets things differently.
Anyway, by the time I got through my paper, I realized that what I'd done wasn't an analysis; it was more of an exploratory writing where I wrote out my understanding of what she said, rather than discussing how she said it. There's a fine difference, and I suppose I wouldn't have realized it without all the great instruction I'm getting in the class I'm taking. I was a little anxious to see what my grade would be, and sure enough, it wasn't an A like I was used to. Also, it had the comment I expected, that it was too much summary. I also got a comment about being a little "long-winded" in some areas. Between the composition grade and the content grade I wound up with a B. Lowest grade so far, but hey, I decided to try to challenge myself, and it was definitely a learning experience.
This essay received the mark: B
Traditional Civilizations of India
Samskara: How to Bury an Un-Brahminical Brahmin
The following is a book review I had to write for a history course titled, "Traditional Civilizations of India." The book is fictional, but deals with issues that helped to explain and give a starting point for research into the Vedic religion of India. Essentially, a very un-religious person dies in a very religious village, and no one knows quite what to do with him. The book focuses on the conflict between religious obligations and temptation and how to navigate between the two to do what's right. In the end, it leads to a spiritual awakening for the main character, going out into the world and seeing first-hand how the people actually live, which is somewhat reminiscent of what happened to Siddhārtha Gautama, the Buddha. I have no idea what my grade was for this paper, because it was turned in on the last day of class, but my final grade for the course was an A+.
Summer 2011
Speech Foundations
The Effects of "Strange Fruit"
This is a main outline for a speech I wrote for my Speech Foundations class. The information presented is true and includes a works cited section at the end of the blog post. However, the information was presented in a fictional setting, with myself as a Professor of History at UGA speaking at the Jazz Education Network annual conference, which is a real conference. Three other people presented speeches on the social impact of Jazz, besides myself. The first person talked about the birth of Jazz in New Orleans. The second person talked about the Harlem Renaissance. I gave my speech, and then the last person spoke about how Jazz has spread to other countries, and about how it’s empowering. The purpose of the assignment was to determine our ability to give an informative speech, but I’m glad I had the opportunity to do this research and presentation. It gave me a new appreciation of Jazz music.
This speech outline received the mark: 25/30 (Note: Instructor requested we write the main outline in MLA format, then took off points (on all students' papers) for using MLA parenthetical citations, instead of spelling everything out in the text. She also took off points for not having a transition, and wrote it right under the transition, which is clearly marked. The speech is good. The instructor just graded it poorly.)
World Civilizations 1:
The Chicago Assyrian Dictionary: Opening a New Door on History
This is a writing assignment I did for World Civ 101, on the Assyrian Dictionary that was recently compiled by the University of Chicago.
This essay received the mark: A
The Power of Religious Texts in History
This is something I wrote for a World Civilizations: Pre-History to 1500 (101) class. The task was to pick a piece of literature, from religious texts to epic poems to economic records found at archaeological sites, and then describe how that work affected history. I suppose you could say I took the easy way out and chose to write about the Bible and how it has affected history. Footnotes are appended to the bottom of the post, along with the bibliography.
This essay received the mark: A
Spring 2011
American Government and Politics:
When Is It Ok To Limit Free Speech?
This paper was written for a 100 level American Government and Politics class. The exact criteria for the paper are listed in the post, but it mainly dealt with arguing whether or not it's ok to limit free speech and to provide evidence in the form of Supreme Court rulings to justify the position you took.
This essay received the mark: "Well Done, A"
Anthropology:
Culture Clash: Small-Town American vs. Somalian Immigrant Culture
This is a paper I wrote for my 100 level Anthropology class. It deals primarily with an incident that occurred in Lewiston, PA, between the residents and a massive influx of Muslim Somali immigrant refugees, and the reactions of both sides. The paper was written along specific guidelines, as well as from an anthropological and cultural perspective. The purpose of the paper is notto debate whether or not it was ‘right’ for the Somalis to be in the town, or to have been admitted to the country. It was, instead, to discuss how culture affects relations between people from different areas, what cultural concepts are being demonstrated, and possible accommodations or solutions that could be offered.
This essay received the mark: (was never graded, but got an A as a final course grade)
Art History:
The "Three-Headed Male Figure"--African Art (Kuyu)
This paper was written for a 100 level Art History course. The assignment was to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, find either a Greek, Egyptian, Indian or Sub-Saharan African sculpture and then write an essay on its formed, based on a set of guidelines provided by the instructor. The piece I chose to write my essay on is called the "Three-Headed Male Figure", though in reality it only has one head and three faces. The post contains the guidelines that paper was written under.
This essay received the mark: 5/5 (100%)
Art Comparison: Qu'ran Manuscript and The Angel Gabriel
This is the second paper I wrote for my Art History 100 class. We were tasked with finding two art pieces in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and then writing a paper that compares and contrasts them based on form and content. Our choices were restricted to certain art periods from specific locations, like French Gothic or Italian Renaissance. I chose the following two pieces because I found them particularly interesting on a personal level, as well as being easy to write about.
This essay received the mark: (never saw grade, but got an A final course grade)
World Humanities:
Significance and Consequences of 'Xenia' in The Odyssey
This is a paper I wrote for a 100 level World Humanities class. Xenia is 'hospitality' and it's a running theme in The Odyssey, with good xenia being rewarded and bad xenia being punished, like when Odysseus finally returns home and slays all the suitors in his house. Xenia is a pretty important concept in ancient Greek culture. This paper details two instances of good xenia, one of bad, and the importance xenia may have played in ancient Greek culture. It also has some nifty pictures that I added for the benefit of making the blog version a bit more visually appealing.
This paper received the mark: A
(Professor noted that rather than citing "Homer", Fitzgerald (the translator) should have been used in in-text citations, and events from the work should have been presented in the present tense, rather than the past tense.)
Where Does Fate End and Free Will Begin?
This paper was written for a 100 level World Humanities class. It discusses free will vs fate in Macbeth, Oedipus the King and the creation story in Genesis. Each work approaches the subject in a different way, which is what I tried to prove in the paper.
This paper received the mark: (never saw grade, but got an A+ final course grade)
