Who's seen the movie Avatar... and who should?

Ok, I'm in Germany right now and this morning went out to see the movie Avatar. The scenery is pretty amazing and the film itself is simply beautiful. The plot line however (at least in my opinion) was heavily packed with social commentary. If any of you have seen it and want to share their ideas I would appreciate that. A lot of the things I noticed reminded me of "Season of Migration to the North"

The characters all seemed overly simple, but maybe I was expecting too much. So go out and see it, then share your thoughts.

final words (a little late i know, but i've never been in line with the world)

Hey class of reading:

to be quite honest, this class is amazing. i can honestly say that i found a beautiful thing inside each and everyone one of you :)! also, i wanted to apologize for how i acted on the last day of class.. apparently vodka and i were not on the same team that night, and probably did not help the fact that i was in the hospital a few days prior.. anyways, i just wanted to let you all know that i will never forget you and i hope to see you all sometime again in the future and we can ponder on the memories that took place in that little freezing room on wednesday nights.

- i can also say that i do not have one specific person that i would like to address, but the whole class together, because that's what we were and i felt like we were kind of a wednesday-night family:

this class is unbelievably intelligent (p.s. i stink at spelling so.. sorry!) and very moving in the way that each individual student had a different view and opinion to add to all our discussions. i loved how we did not just talk about what happened in the story, like every other reading class, but we talked about why certain things happened, and we had a chance to act out certain activities pertaining to the stories and authors, just everything was so unlike but so perfect for this class and i can not quite describe how much i will be taking out from this class.

however, i do want to say that i found almost everything Anneva said to be extremely intriguing.. maybe it was the way she said the things or just the matter-of-fact speaking, but it was all so.. true. it made me look at things in different ways, and not necessarily agree with them, but at least made me see alternative views to what i was thinking, which i found really surprising and interesting. i think that the things you said were so important because they made me ingaged in what we were talking about, they were intelligent sayings, but they also were very clear and understandable. this made me realize that there really can be multiple sides to every story and that if we just open our eyes and ears we can see those sides and look at every angel of the book. personally.. the end of the class come upon us too quickly, i wish i could have said goodbye in a different way, but i can not tell everyone how grateful i am that i got to meet you and hopefully will stay friends with for a long time. i have never been a strong reader or interpretor, but this class has helped me improve in so many ways it's kind of a miracle. life is too short to not do crazy, spontaneous, beautiful things, so i hope all of you go places that you want, do something just because you want to, and make all of your wildest dreams come true! you all truly deserve every bit of happiness that comes your way :)

final word - copied from my comments to Anneva in the hope that all of you might read it

So here is my official last act for RRT&F, but I want to attach it to Anneva's posting because I am a huge supporter of the Arts. All of you: Don't work in cubicles if your heart says no; do not be afraid to move outside of what feels normal or comfortable, normal is a trap; do not ever be afraid to speak your minds, follow your gut, admit you were wrong, or stand your ground; each of you revealed something personal by way of this blog, each of you risked something on a personal level in our class - each of you (I am sure of this)were outside of your comfort zones at one point during our class. We have Ben to thank for this in many ways - he led us to the water ... but we drank it down bravely and we took something away that was invaluable and irreplaceable. Look what happened! We met unusual people under unusual circumstances, we made human connections with each other, we looked like fools at various times and for various reasons - and the sky did not fall, no damage was done. In fact looking like fools brought us closer together. We are all so used to living risk-free lives - it is bullshit! I'm not recommending you take some of the risks that I took in life, but I have learned not to regret anything - some really crazy things paid huge life-affirming dividends. Buy my book if you ever see one for sale (presumably, I will have to write one first), if I have any balls at all (sorry ladies - that was sexist), the story will be about taking a lot of risks - some of which brought me back to school with all of you. How could I regret that? GO and LIVE!!! It goes WAY faster than you think it does.

Thank you all for another life - affirming experience - you were all wonderful. And special thanks to our East Coast, Jewish, Culturally elite, activist instructor ... the heart of a lion and the soul of Boal ... keep teaching, you're extraordinarily good at it!

Support Dance!

1) I've been cast in a piece for the U of M dance faculty and student show this Spring! This show consists of 2 faculty pieces: an Afro-Brazilian piece and a modern piece. The rest of the show will be works created by students for the American College Dance Festival Association through a sort of composition/audition process. I'm in the modern piece. Rehearsals don't start until February, but I know it's about fevers...having one, taking care of someone who has one, etc. Anyway, the shows will be on Friday, March 5th at 6pm and 8pm. The show will be in either Rarig or the Barbara Barker Center for Dance (both West bank). You should come!

2) Pilobolus is coming to Northrop on February 12 and 13! And because you are U of M students your tickets are only $10! You know them. Here's a reminder!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elWf8nI6ivw

Or this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiX-DW8Qk4w

Also, I'm going to miss you guys :( If you want to keep in touch you should find me on facebook :) Merry Christmas!

Anneva

Exit stage (very) left...

Everybody:

What an amazing experience it has been working with all of you! There is no doubt in my mind that between Ben's talent for getting students excited about class and the energy all of you brought, I will always remember you. Each one of you contributed to the class with your energy and your intelligence and I am proud to say I was one of the group. Thanks to every one of you.

Sean:

I'm going to direct my last written assignment toward you for a number of reasons, most of which are about reading and writing, but one of which is the very human tendency to try to file people into neat categories for the sake of convenience. I believe that the tendency is called stereotyping. Let's start there.

During our first class sessions, being my first time in a classroom in (many) years, I went through the same exercise I did during high school, plugging each person in the room into some category or another. By week two I thought I had it all figured out; by this week I know that I was wrong about basically everyone. But I was most wrong about you. High school and several more attempts at college taught me (I thought) which place to file the jocks - I'm sure I don't need to be overly explicit here. You and everyone else know what I mean. You dispelled my preconceived notions very quickly.

While I am unable to quote specific things you said during our class sessions, I can say that every time you spoke I was reminded of how wrong I was to pigeonhole an athlete into a less than dazzling intellectual classification. You said and wrote some really inspired things and I am really quite impressed by your depth in this class.

In particular, your blog posting of 11/29/2009 was inspiring for me. It was that posting that led me to select Wrinkle for my final paper, and your portrayal of evil had a direct impact on the arguments I made the: evil analogous to unquestioning conformity. You wrote "The evil of this story is made up of the people opposing the acceptance of differences which includes IT and to a lesser degree of evil the principal" [I specifically referenced the principal in my paper]. But, coincidentally, it is this text that ties most closely to the point I am trying to make: categorizing based on unfounded assumptions isconformity without questioning.

Prison requires and reinforces a host of negative ideological changes in its inhabitants, one of which includes a LOT of stereotyping. This habit became overly ingrained in me over time, reading your writing and listening to your participation in our class reminded me that I used to be less likely to generalize and that I ought to return to that perspective. Thanks dude.

Final Post

Christina,

I wasn’t in class when you said this, but the next class I attended I heard about what you said. It was something about how the students at Hailsham are similar to us at the University of Minnesota because we are both being prepared to go out when we graduate and work in jobs to better the rest of society. So many times in this class someone says something that I would never have thought of on my own, but this statement is especially insightful. I really wish I was in class when you guys were discussing (it was the snowstorm day) this book because I am sure I would have more to say about it.

Anyway, I’ll start out by saying what a brilliant comparison! Like always, it’s something I never would have thought of, but I agree with you to a point. There are many reasons why your statement shows the similarities between us and Hailsham. It is true that we are being trained to go out and get a career, and it is true that these careers are designed to help keep the world turning. Our professors are providing us with knowledge and helping us learn and discover things on our own. We are creating works of art just like the students at Hailsham. Although our art comes in the form of papers, presentations, blog posts and other various writing and reading assignments, I believe that the assignments we create are still art.

I see some ways this theory doesn’t match up perfectly with the students from Hailsham. For one, the work that we are creating not only proves we have a soul but it also proves we have a brain. The guardians at Hailsham had no intention or desire to prove if their students had brains; they wouldn’t need those to donate organs. Another important thing is that we have all chosen to come here, and not to mention we all pay a lot to be here. None of the students at Hailsham had any decision about attending; they were simply created and sent there. We also know what our future holds to some extent, unlike the students that were told nothing about what was in store for them. At least we have the ability to make choices about our future; we have freedom while they have no choice. Finally, we are not being lied to by our teachers. The guardians at Hailsham are keeping the secret from the students (maybe in attempt to keep them happy, maybe so they will keep producing artwork and not get depressed, who knows why), but our professors at the U of M are trying to give us as much information as possible for the world ahead of us. While they don’t know exactly where we will go with our life, they are not withholding any information (hopefully).

So after reading this, what do you think? Do you still have the same opinion? I am not trying to argue for or against your opinion, like I stated, I think it is both similar and different to our time here at the U of M. I am just wondering what you think about how I interpreted your statement. Is this kind of what you were thinking, or am I way off? Since I wasn’t in class the day you said it, I would really like to hear more about it from you.

I am going to remember everyone from this class for a long time (especially the last day lol :) ). I am going to take with me the skills I have learned about reading books and interpreting them in other classes I take at the U. I am also going to take with me the new found ability to look at both sides of something and look into the context of the writing. I will remember it is important to take a step back and look at the whole picture. I have already started to read a new book, and I found myself asking, “What would the people in my Lit class say about this?” I think that shows the significance you all have had on my learning. I really enjoyed all the discussions we had together, they were all really great and we all had so much to add to the conversation. I’m going to miss you guys! Merry Christmas, and good luck next semester. Good luck graduates!!

goodbye

Dear Rodney,

This didn’t necessarily happen in class, but shortly prior. I
would hope that is okay for this assignment. What you said really had
nothing to do with class specifically, but I couldn’t help but relate it.
John, Christina, and I were sitting in John’s bedroom about an hour
before class. Thinking it would be just us three, John’s phone rang. It
was you. One of the first things you said when you walked in is what made
me ponder everything we’ve done, said, and learned in this literature
class. You said something along the lines of, “I know, I don’t seem
like the type of guy to do this kind of thing” (this thing being
pre-gaming before class). My first thought was “totally, I did not expect
you at all.” Then I started to consider why it did surprise me so much
that it was you. I suppose it was mostly based upon the fact that I
generally saw you as one of the more quiet people in the class. This led me
to think about everyone in the class, and the judgments I had made simply
based upon how much someone had or hadn’t talked during the class.
I guess it really made me reconsider how my views about the people
in our class changed. Not like I really ever had negative thoughts about
the people in the class, I had just created these images for each student
and noticed that at first, I had rarely let them alter.
I related this to Never Let Me Go, and the conversation our class
has had about whether or not the clones can even be considered human. After
you said “I don’t seem like the type of guy to do this thing,” I
thought about the clones. I felt deeply saddened, thinking how they had
such a specific life-plan, how they were all expected to do everything in
life extremely similarly. Regardless of those expectations, every one of
those clones had their own story. It’s so depressing to think that the
“normals” could overgeneralize, and oversimplify, the complex feelings,
experiences, relationships, etc. that each of the clones actually
possessed. It just made me find yet another somewhat hidden connection
between Never Let Me Go and reality as we know it.
What you said that night helped sum up the most important thing
that I have learned and will take away from this class: to not be afraid.
Cliché, I know, but those first few Wednesday nights I was scared out of
my mind. I felt like I was the only freshman in the class, assumed I was
probably the only one that hadn’t read a book in months, I didn’t even
know how the class was going to be run. I would sit and hope that Ben
didn’t call on me, even if I really wanted to say something. I think I
learned how to be comfortable in the class, to accept all of the
differences in the class, and embrace those differences to strengthen my
knowledge. By having a small class and being able to discuss whatever crazy
thoughts shot into our heads…I learned more than just how to analyze a
book, but how to relate with others and discuss opinions, even if they are
different. Learning to understand that everyone does have their own story
has made me more comfortable in my own skin. Along with this, I can get to
know a person more easily, rather than focusing on that outer image.
We’ve all been taught to “not stereotype,” but I think what
I’ve learned goes deeper than this. It’s recognizing that there is a
lot more to someone like you, for example, than just a quiet person
that’s in my class.

I feel extremely privileged to have shared this class with so many thoughtful, intelligent individuals.

A Happy Ending and A Fond Farewell

The comment that I am going to use actually works out very well for the ending of this class. When discussing a Wrinkle in Time in class, Anneva was asked to describe her blog post, and why she said that the end of Wrinkle in Time wasn’t actually a happy ending. Thanks to having the blog as a reference, I know her what her arguments are; Anneva believed that the family was ignoring evil; after they had rescued their father and saved Charles Wallace, they did nothing anymore to try and destroy the Black Thing. It made me react in two very different ways.
I first reacted by wanting to fiercely defend the “Happy Ending” that is the final scene. I am a firm supporter of fairy tales, of the typical ending of “... and they all live happily ever after.” And, after sympathizing with Meg and Calvin and the entire family the whole book because of the fact that they are talked about, they are outcasts of the town, and that their family is missing an important person, a father, I wanted them to have the happy reunion, the ever-after. Why shouldn’t a family who has suffered as they have be deprived of a little joy? I just remember, in that immediate moment, I wanted to defend the scene do the grave.
But, and the reason I am writing this now, is that I have been stewing it over in my head for a while now, maybe you were right Anneva. Maybe they shouldn’t be celebrating so early. Even though we now they that continue to fight the Black Thing in later books, it’s still makes me wonder if they were celebrating too early, because they didn’t accomplish what the Mrs.’s wanted them to entirely. Charles Wallace even fell prey to what they warned him about. So, should there really have been a happy ending when nothing substantial was defeated?
As of right now, I am still completely undecided as to what Anneva’s argument makes me feel. At heart, I am a diehard fairy tale girl, and on the other hand, this class has taught me so much about seeing things from a million different perspectives. But I would like to thank you, Anneva, for making me question the quintessential Happy Ending. And you obviously got to me, because I have still been wondering about it even now.
And this post also allows me to connect with how I will leave this class. I will be able to leave with the knowledge that no matter what book or what discussion, there are always a million new ways to see something if you only listen to those around you. Every time we discussed, I heard something thought provoking, something that made me question my understanding, and things that delved deeper into reading, writing, telling and feeling than any other class I have taken yet in college. By the end of this semester, I definitely saw “us” as more of a book club rather than a class, which I think always made late night class go a little easier. Thank you all for such a fabulous semester in the one class I enjoyed to attend every Wednesday. I hope you all have an amazing holiday season!

so long and thanks for all the fish

Jason, thank you for showing genuine interest in what other people thought. Like they say in Fight Club, “when people think you're dying they really listen instead of just waiting for their turn to talk” Ok, slightly hyperbolic I know. I hope others don't take this the wrong way. A lot of the people in class showed the same degree of patience and curiosity for the thought of their classmates. I wanted to tell you this because of the way you seem to listen, think and then answer. I think it was during our reading of Strauss and Adler, you said that class discussion fundamentally changed how you look at texts. Being somewhat of a wiseass, I've always taken what I read or hear or learn or see with a serious grain of salt.

From the first day of class we had our moments, sitting outside waiting for things to get going, during the break or while we were moving tables around. You told me about your dad and how much you admire his intellect. From a few of the things you said I could tell we had some rather divergent viewpoints on the topics people have been using to divide the country for the past few years. At the same time you tried to keep your arguments and ideas clear and well structured without stepping on anyone's toes. You can't really say the same thing about me. I blurted out a number of rather off color statements (not all of which were meant purely to fuel the fire a bit)

I think you could say this is one of the things I hope to take away from the class. When a question is asked, it's not always necessary to blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. You showed me that it is completely acceptable to think for a second and give a well formulated answer to the best of your knowledge. Something else struck me in this class and it ties in to what I said earlier about divergent viewpoints. The texts we read could all be seen in a political light but we managed to stay civil in class. It seems like that huge rift in this country that the talking heads are trying to convince us of is something of an artificially created and over hyped phenomenon. Otherwise I don't think the two of us would have been able to be in the same room together, let alone engage in share ideas and learn from each other.

final blog:(

Quite honestly I cannot remember much from one specific person or a specific instance. I want to concentrate on the class as a whole. The class isn't something that I normally come in contact with. There was only one instance where there were so many people with so many different decisions and we didn't rip each others heads off. I want to stress everyone in class not just one person and commend you all for a great semester of class. We actually cared about each other, when someone had oppinions to share everyone listened and respected the speakers view. I remember having multiple conversations with Jim where he would shed more light on the readings for me, so many people were willing to help each other out on class material. When people needed help they had a plethra of people that were willing to help out. What I will take out of this is a bunch of friends that are dedicated to the sake of learning as well as being good friends. I will also take away from the different learning styles that everyone has presented in class. I will think outside of the box and think of new ways to tackle my homework. I also would like to continue the blog if people are interested, just as a forum for keeping in touch and sharing what we are learning in class to continue stretching our minds.


P.S. I had talked about in the context presentation of L'Engle that she was an armenian. Correction, She in the christian community would be considered heretical. See both calvinists and armenianists both believe that there is one way to get to Heaven and that would be to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and christianity is the only way to Heaven. L'Engle would argue that that doesn't need to happen that no matter what you believe in all religions lead to God and Heaven.

Good luck to everyone during finals and I hope we can all stay in touch and utilize this blog.

Final Writings!!

My blog is in the comment section..I couldnt copy and paste and I wrote it in Word first! Sorry!

My final finale!

Well - I'm going to write down some final thoughts about the class, seeing as though I am now officially done with my college career. (and I know that Ben won't fail me!) But I just wanted to thank all of you, it was a great semester. To be honest, there is a reason why I saved my lit requirement until my last semester, I hate to read. However, I do like dissecting books and getting into theoretical arguments over my thoughts, yes I know I am stubborn! It was enlightening to see things from a different perspective from the Carlson way of life. I had mentioned this to Ben on Wednesday, but I was truly honored to be in a class with all of you, it opened my eyes for the first time in three years.

So - I will give you an update on how you all have inspired me. Yesterday, I got a phone call pretty much telling me that the job offer that I had accepted in November was not going to be available - in other words my job got rescinded...sweet. However they told me that they had another job available in Ohio - for less pay - and sitting behind a desk calling doctors all day - can anyone see me doing that??? Doubtful, so inspired by all of you and your free spirits, I have decided to say fuck corporate America and find a different job here, close to my family and friends. Being with all of you this semester made me realize that life isn't really what Carlson portrays - you don't have to have the perfect job upon graduation to have a successful and happy life. Though this concept is still hard for me, I'm working on being okay with it.

Soooooo, thanks to all of you! I hope to be hearing from you! Facebook me :)

Kaitlin

life's a bitch and then you die

Christina,
A few classes ago, when we were discussing Never Let Me Go, you compared us as a class to the students in Hailsham. I distinctly remember you asking the class “Aren’t we all just like students at Hailsham?” I’m not quite sure if it was the question of the way you asked it that stuck with me. In your voice there was a sort of matter of fact quality, as if it was obvious that this was the case. Maybe that’s why it affected me, because I didn’t think it was that obvious.

Regardless of whatever it was, it made me think about the book in a different context: our own. For me, this was important because often times I find it difficult to compare literature to everyday life. I focus too much on the story itself and what’s going on with the characters that I forget to step back from it. In this case specifically, I think it hit me harder because of its implications, which I hadn’t considered. If we are just like students at Hailsham, then we are just being created and molded to fit into our respective places in society. It does not matter what we study, how we study or what we do in our free time. Our education is just an exercise to prepare us for our positions. While I don’t believe this is the case, the idea of it does freak me out. Without purpose there’s no responsibility and no consequences. It would be chaos. But then there’s the whole Matrix idea that reality is just all in our heads and none of this shit really exists.

At the end of the class, I can’t say I really have the answer to this question or many of the questions I’ve had. I have however, because of comments like yours, been able to challenge my own perspectives. I’ve been able to step outside of myself and look at things in a different way. While I think that some people would argue that not having the answers means that you didn’t really learn anything, I don’t agree. If anything, I think that me still having questions is better, because having answers means the end of discussion. Although I don’t think we’ve finished our discussions in this class, I think that’s the point. Throughout the semester I’ve learned how to think critically, challenge myself, and keep questioning things. If I can continue to do that, then I think that we’ve been successful.

Final Blog

Sean, that was a really fun and interesting interpretation presentation you, Erik, and Joey had created for the class when you three acted as the gods, gave me a pizza, and let me decide what to do with it. During the facilitation/discussion part of your group’s presentation the thing you asked that stuck with me for quite a while was, “How did that make you feel? Didn’t you feel powerful?” During the activity I definitely felt like I was given some sort of power and I still find it interesting to reflect upon how I acted with it. The whole activity reminds me of a famous quote by Abraham Lincoln that goes, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” Looking back on it, I feel like I learned a lot about myself. For instance, I never would have thought that I would find abusing power to be fun, but it I thought it was kind of funny to start eating a piece in front of everyone before giving any of it away. Another thing I started wondering is if great amounts of power is something that I would want to have. I mean, it definitely seems to be the things natural go as many strive to become better than others and having major influences on others, but with all of power comes the burdens of responsibility. From what I’ve experienced, whenever something went wrong at work, all the bosses and managers had to stay late and fix everything while I just sit in a menial position and watch them deal with all the stress. What’s weird though is that I still decided to become a supervisor at the place I work at a while ago. I think it’s kind of fun to feel important, call all the shots, be in charge of people and everything, I don’t really enjoy knowing that my employees were only listening to me, being nice, and laughing at all of my shitty jokes because they were afraid of getting fired or trying to advance themselves. I’m not totally sure on how I feel about having power, but the activity gave me a better idea of how I might end up dealing with it.

On a side note, I had gotten a feeling that your group was looking for someone in particular to give the pizza to because I was nowhere in any of your lines of vision when all of a sudden Erik spins around quickly and picks me for the activity. Just thought that was kind of funny.

final post

To Jim and Jason,

there was an example Jim made previously in this class that made me think a lot. it was during the debate about the good person of Szechwan when we were talking about what defines a good person, while we were all debating, you gave an example of the Target CEO making a huge amount of money annualy and he donated certain amount of his income to charity, therefore he is a good person. however later in class, someone argue back that if he wans't able to help EVERY poor people in the world then he is a bad person. Jason also made a good argument about being a good person also requires "ability", he said that it's impossible to help every beggar you see in this world since you might ran out of money if you do so. which makes me doubt that if there's a real definition about good person.
thinking about the definition of a good person also makes me think that what defines a bad person, because i think people do something bad for a purpose, what if their purpose is to help someone in need? for example i was talking about the very same issue in blog 8, i gave an example about the Sandman in the movie The Spiderman 3 in case you haven't watched that movie, part of the story was about a guy robbed money from the bank and everyone judge that he's a bad person. but in fact his action was because he needed money to save his daughter who has a serious illness and couldn't afford the doctor's fee.

To Jim, you always make some really good points in class and also you know how to appreciate others opinion. i also feel like you are a good leader, throughout the semester i had couple chance to see you leading others while we were having some group activities. I'm a person who is totally oposite of you, therefore i feel like i have a lot to learn from you if someone would want to become a good leader.

To Jason, i think you are a person who also makes very good points during classes and also you are a great close reader and you notice something that others can't notice. for example, during the last class when we were looking at the picture of "heaven, earth and hell" you discover so many things that i would have never notice. like how mother Mary was presented in the picture.
i would like to thank you for teaching me and giving me so much to learn.

Final Post

Kaitlin,

When we were reading House Work the class was discussing Willy and you made a point that struck me. You spoke on how Monica views her father. The class saw Willy as being this bad guy but you said something about Monica not viewing him that way. That to Monica Willy could be her hero. Willy was able to bring her mother back and to Monica Willy could be the world.

This view on Willy and Monica really made me think. What I found so interesting about your comment was the way you looked at Willy. I could not find any redeeming qualities to Willy. He killed a baby and was a mean man. There was nothing that would make Willy be anything but a monster to me, until you made me think from Monica’s point of view. Willy is her father and no matter what he does he will always be an important person to her. What you said made me not just see Willy as a monster. It forced me to look at Willy not just from my eyes but from many different angles. I would have missed out on a lot if I had not been able to set aside my thoughts and take in a different view point. My own personal views shade how I read; but I should not let it keep me from see all the sides. Willy was not just a murder but a father. He made not have been an ideal father but he is the only one Monica has. After hearing your comment it made me try to look at things more from a neutral stand point.

I am glad that I took this course because it has taught me to look beyond the surface and not just take the author words at face value. I should read between them and question why those particular words were chosen. It is alright to question and I should fully engage in the books I’m reading. The best part to me was Ben saying that there is no teacher edition to these books. I should look at these books from different angles. Also it could be beneficial to know who the publishers of the book are. I am also always curious to know how and who determines the book covers. Sometimes I just do not see why they choose those pictures. The choice of book covers always perplexes me. I will take from this class a new way of thinking. I should not just look at books through my view point but multiple views. Kaitlin thanks for showing me that I need to go beyond my views in order to fully engage in my readings. Everyone in class has improved my reading technique and I am thankful. I will leave this course knowing that is alright to ask questions and that I should ask questions.

FINAL BLOG. a little sad..

Dear (in the words of Christina 'reading') class,

I had such a hard time deciding on one person from this class--because, I seriously saw this class as a whole. Therefore, I am breaking the rules and writing to all of you in general but, a few specifically for examples.(Ben, I hope you are not upset by my choice to write to the class as a whole!)

Every individual in this class aided in creating this great group for talking, laughing, debating, acting, drawing, elaborating, more laughing, even eating. This all lead to the ultimate educational goal of learning--but, in a wonderful atmosphere in which we learned from each other. I saw in this class the ability for strangers from completely different backgrounds to join together and form a bond--outside of say a mutual interest group.

Whether you spoke out often and immediately after every point Ben made such as John, who I believe made a lot of valid 'thesis like' points tying things together before I had the chance to process the question being asked.--quite impressive! or less so, everyone had such good view points.

I think that someone else already said this in their blogging--but, Jamie you always had such thoughtful points about books when you spoke. Working with you on the Salih interpretation presentation gave me a chance to see those thoughts even more. In particular I remember a conversation we had about your idea that Mustafa was actually getting darker physically in the novel based on descriptions being made. Or your thoughts towards the cover of the "Never Let Me Go." I think that sometimes I can get so caught up in a story and figuring out the ending that I lose parts of the journey on the way and I felt that you really picked up on the bits that would have normally fell in the cracks for me. Thanks for those insights.

Anneva, I enjoyed that early on you were always quick to say that you didn't agree with something. I specifically remember a discussion about literature and art in general and the relevance of knowing the background of the author or the artist. I knew then and still believe that I enjoy something more if I know the background on where it comes from. Whereas, you disagreed you felt that you didn't need that but that you could appreciate the book or the art for what it simply was. Which I can appreciate. I loved that you continued to question peoples thoughts up until even the last day of class--I think you called John out on the architecture of the Jewish Memorial. :)

These different personalities of disagreements and picked up pieces and everyone working together and feeling comfortable with each other--is exactly as I imagine a Reading, Writing, Telling, Feeling class should be. The greatest thing I have learned through this semester is the power of community and the ability to learn even more when you are able to fully communicate with those around you and connect with them. Because, even if we all didn't talk as much as someone else or didn't listen as much as someone else--we were having a silent conversation of agreeing with those around us or learning from their thoughts.

I could honestly go through and list a memory about all of you--but, that would become very long. So, I will say to all of you---thank you, thank you, thank you for a wonderful semester. For making a Wednesday night class not only tolerable, but enjoyable. I am very glad I added this class at the last minute--it was a wise choice on my part. Feel free to email me, I would love to keep in touch with you all! Best to you all in this next year and have a wonderful break. -Whitney

Final Assignment

Dear Yerbol,

During the first class in which we discussed Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, and prior to the break and our interpretation presentation, the class had been discussing how passive and utterly resigned the donors were to their fates (tangent: opposite of Oedipus. Is Never Let Me Go an Aristotilean tragedy? Do the donors have a tragic flaw???). As Ben announced the break, which I wasn't ready for, I turned to you and said something about how the Hailsham students were not educated in a way that would support critical thinking or the questioning of their role in society. Example: at Hailsham there was "good art" and "bad art," and to create "bad art" was to be ridiculed by the other students, as was the case for Tommy. If the students' artwork was so important, as implied by the existence of Madame's Gallery, and the students never questioned what made "good art" or "bad art," what does that tell us about their education? Furthermore, the Gallery, as important as it was, was so much of a secret that even the guardian Lucy honestly believed Tommy's "lack of creativity" was nothing to worry about! The point is, the Hailsham students weren't brought up to question the System because they were repeatedly "told and not told," what the System was (81).

It was in this context, Yerbol, while everyone else was filing out the door, that you mentioned your own education in a communist country, how you were left-handed as a child, but you were struck on your left hand to make sure you learned to write with your right, which is how you write today.

I've been thinking about what you said ever since. Most days I consider myself to be a mover who thinks, rather than a thinker who moves. It is because of this, I believe, that what you said hit me as hard as it did. The manipulation of the physical body by authority, such as being forced to write with your non-dominant hand or jumping rope/bouncing balls in rhythm, is something that makes me extremely uncomfortable. Our bodies were created from unique genetic codes that are specific to the individual. It is one thing to manipulate someone's mind (easily accomplished I believe) and another thing to change the way a person's body functions in space. Communism, you could say, altered a behavior patterned by your own DNA. As a mover who thinks, that's a really scary thought.

I find myself in awe of the power of oppression, thinking about how the characters in all the books we've read this semester were altered by authority. To what extent were their identities changed? Were they ever able to fully escape their oppression? I have to say, the most oppressive thing I’m dealing with right now is finals, and that’s nothing. Other people are fighting truly oppressive situations every day.

With the end of this class, I am thankful for your participation in discussion and the unique perspective you brought. I look forward to reading (for leisure!) with the ideas that you and others have brought to my attention. I will continue to examine the politics, explicit and implicit, behind what I read...and dance, etc., and consider how these politics present themselves in my life. No more passive book reading for me. Reading without close reading seems so incredibly boring now. Anyway, thank you for changing the way I read a book!

Merry Christmas!

last and final post

Jamie,
Throughout the duration of this course there were many times when I found myself struck by your comments. This is completely in a good way. I would really like to acknowledge your comments and ideas and questions that you brought up in class. What was amazing to me during the classes is that although you did not say much, when you did you made some of the most interesting points and came up with some of the best questions. I would have to say that you were the one that got me thinking more creatively not only in class but outside of class as well.
Unfortunately, I wish I could have remembered what you said during discussions that made me think so deeply about some of the readings and ideas, I should have written them down because I felt as though I was thinking the same way as you I just did not know how to put it in words. I really liked the comments that you made during our debate about whether or not it can be possible to be a good person and still live in a capitalistic environment. Unfortunately, I wish I could have been on the side that supported this thought, but I remember when you spoke it made the most sense to me than hearing what everyone else was saying. You made very good arguments in The Good Person of Szechwan about the old couple being good people and being able to survive in the village. I enjoy the comments about the old couple helping Shen Teh with the money as well as being very honest about the piece of clothing that Shen Teh tried on.
It seemed to me throughout the entire length of the class that you are a deep silent thinker. You did not say much during class but when you did say something it was very deep and very important and I certainly listened. To be honest, I wish you would have said much more during the discussions (coming from a person who didn't talk at all) because I was always waiting to hear what you had to say and when you raised your hand I knew you were about to give us another interesting discussion to talk about.
What I will take away from this class is your interesting comments and the way you got me to think more clearly. When you spoke or answered a question that I wanted answered, you made me understand in not only a way for me to completely comprehend, but made me think about it more deeply and in many different ways. Not only in the classroom did I start thinking more clearly about subjects, but outside I also started thinking differently about situations. I really enjoyed being in this class (more of an observer) and sharing the different and creative information that I will take with me every time I begin to read a book or someone asks me how to translate a piece of text, which I believe I have gotten much better at executing. Thanks for your insights and great experiences I have gotten to go along with.

Dreaming and Thinking

Jamie,
The class before the last class, the class was talking about what the students in Never Let Me Go wanted to be when they were older. Some wanted to be actors and some wanted to work at supermarkets. But Miss Lucy told them, “Your lives are set out for you. You’ll become adults, then before you’re old, before you’re even middle-aged, you’ll start to donate your vital organs. That’s what each of you was created to do,” (Ishiguro 81). Someone then raised the question why they were thinking of become these things when they knew they were going to die, and you said something along the lines, “People always dream of doing something even though it is most likely impossible. I dream of being the world’s richest woman but it probably won’t happen. Even though people dream of impossible things, they still do it.” I thought about this after you said it and I agree with you. I started to think of why people dream of things that are most likely impossible. My first thoughts were that it helps people set goals in life and it gives them hope. But it wasn’t until the final minutes of our final class when I was talking with Jason and telling him what I got out of taking this course when I thought of probably the best reason why people may dream of things that are improbable.
What I got out of taking this class that I think is most important is to THINK about everything that is presented to you. Things may have more than one meaning behind it and that if you look deeper into things past what is visible or obvious, there may be more important, hidden, and new messages. When people dream of things that may be impossible, they are thinking of something that is usually difficult to obtain but may be achievable by certain methods. These methods could be common or the person may be THINKING of new methods to reach an improbable dream. They may be thinking outside of the box to obtain that dream, and I think this ties directly to what we did in this course, which is to think outside the box with certain texts, look more in depth at things, and be creative. Thinking outside the box and thinking of new ideas is what progresses the world’s technology and helps the world become a better place. Thinking outside the box to obtain unlikeable dreams, even though plenty have been obtained, teaches people to think critically about everything and to think about everything more in depth. By looking at things more critically and more in depth, it definitely teaches people to be more open about people’s own ideas and to understand how and/or why someone reached a conclusion that you may not have thought. By doing this, you may start to think of other possible conclusions and how to arrive to those conclusions by a different thought process. In the end, you may even think that this new conclusion is better than your original conclusion. In conclusion, THINKING develops new things, allows a person to understand others’ points of view, and allows a person to see things more in depth.