Skipped

Today in class, Professor Sexson went around the room and told everyone in the class how much of a treat it was to have them here this semester - except for Jen Pursell and me. So I would like to take a moment to say Jen, it has been an honor to sit behind you each day in class and I thoroughly enjoyed your presentations as well as your blogs. I'm really sorry you did not make it into the graphic design program, but maybe this will just give you the opportunity to find something that you enjoy even more so than art.

That is all. Have a nice finals week, everyone.

The Last Blog

It's a wee bit late, but this will be my final blog. This class has proven to be the most exciting and rewarding class that I took all semester. In fact, I enjoyed it so much, I am taking Professor Sexson's Mythologies class in the fall. Coming to this class each day, I know I was going to look at whatever topic we were discussing from a different perspective by the end of the hour, or I was going to learn something new either about myself or about a work of literature. I was also impressed by how intelligent all of my peers were. Everyone seemed to know quite a bit about literature before coming to this Intro. To Lit class. This class was a breath of fresh air compared to all of my science classes and I hope that my Mythologies class this fall will be just as beneficial.

Just a little something

I don't expect this to count as an actual blog entry, but I thought it was humorous take on a not-so-humorous play. Enjoy!

South Park

In class, it was mentioned that the part of the episode of South Park we watched was similar to a plot in a Greek tragedy. While this may be true, when I watched South Park, I can't help but think back to Joyce Carol Oates. She wrote the story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" after reading about the Pied Piper of Tuscon and all the horrific murders he Chalrles Schmid committed. Anyone who keeps up with the television show South Park knows that their episodes are very topical and up-to-date with what is happening in mass media (i.e. the Tiger Woods sex scandal, the Terri Schiavo case, Al Gore's advocacy for global warming, etc.). I've seen interviews with Trey Parker and Matt Stone (the creators) where they have been asked if after 14 seasons they ever feel like they're going to run out of ideas; and the answer is no. Every story is just a retelling of a previous story and when these news stories are broadcast to the public, it creates the perfect timing to portray that story in a different way.

I think Oates and the creators of South Park do exactly what Emily Dickinson once advised: Tell the truth, but tell it slant.

Jungian Psychology

A concept that I was introduced to that I found extremely interesting was Carl Jung's theory on psychology - or analytical psychology. In fact, I find his "shadow" theory to be more plausible than Freud's (not that I don't think Freud was an intelligent man). The idea that we all possess this unconscious complex of repressed feelings that represent our "darker" self is so fascinating and so undeniably true. At least for me anyway. According to Wikipedia's page on Carl Jung, each individual handles their shadow in four different ways: denial, projection, integration and/or transmutation. Overall, I would say that I perfectly fit the description of the "introvert" - I'm quiet in class, hate drawing attention to myself, and would much rather sit on the sidelines and watch that participate in all the hullabaloo.

The reason I thought Yevgenii's paper on the shadow archetype was so interesting is because I often feel like I possess the repressed, darker feelings in my subconscious. I feel like we all seem pretty nice on the outside and appear to have good intentions, but deep down I don't think there is any denying that we all have a Fyodor Karamazov hidden beneath the surface. Have you ever had an experience where someone was rude to you and you wanted to say something incredibly harsh and vile to them but choose not to because it is so beyond your persona and would break the social norms? I think that perfectly sums up the repressing of one's dark self. Any "acting out" I've ever done is completely passive-aggressive and typically goes unnoticed by everyone else. I'm more of a only-think-mean-thoughts-rather-than-say-them kind of person who represses her shadow, I guess.

Really?

This is a short and pointless blog, but it has to be said: the cattiness is unnecessary. I don't see why we all need to start calling each other "unintelligent" and bashing the presentations of our peers. Constructive criticism is wonderful, but throughout the past few days, I think it is pretty obvious that everyone worked hard on their presentations and don't deserve to be put down for what they said in class. And I apologize to any of my classmates if they were unhappy or bored with the fact that we had a "pre-planned speech" - having notecards was not intended to make us seem uninteresting.

Anxiety of Influence

Aw jeez. I really hate presentations. Not watching them, of course, but being in them. It makes my stomach turn, it makes my heart race, it increases my rate of respiration. For as long as I can remember, presenting in front of a group of people has been my biggest fear and college is really forcing me to get over this fear, but it's been a rough process.

All of the presentations in class have been so wonderful, it makes me anxious about our group's presentation. I think we've concocted a pretty creative idea and it's not that I don't have faith in the people in my group, it's just when it comes my turn to speak in front of the class, I'm sincerely hoping I don't flop.

I walked in late on the first group presenting on Monday (the one that was a debate) but I think both sides made some pretty interesting points. I would never write someone off as uninteresting because they've never or rarely read books. I think listening to people's experiences is very intriguing. But hearing someone's opinion's or thoughts on a book and how is relates to their own life almost makes for richer conversation. Analyzing themes of a novel forces you to think outside of your own experiences, outside of your own box. While going outside and living life is always a plus, there are some experiences that one can only get from reading a really profound book. But then again, I don't want to spend my entire life on the side lines, reading, while my life is passing me by. I think it's healthy to have large quantities of living and reading.