Monday, February 16, 2009

2b - Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum & Planetarium


















Observation: What did you choose? What do you see or hear or feel or think of in the choice you made? What is the subject of the work? If you chose a 'thing' what is the work made of and what techniques (colors, lines, shapes, textures)does the creator use? Be specific in your description. If you chose a place, be specific in your description of what you see or hear. Talk to your reader as though they cannot see the item but somehow must draw a painting of what you see or hear. 1 point





The museum that I chose is The Rosicrucian Eqyptian Museum and Planetarium located in San Jose. When someone thinks of museums in the Bay Area it is not one that quickly comes to mind, yet it is a fascinating place to visit. The museum contains the largest display of egyptian artifacts in the western United States. The current building opened in 1966 and it is modeled after the Temple of Ammon, Karnak. The museum is divided into four galleries, The Afterlife, Daily Life and Trade, Kingship and Religion and Shrines. It also has a full scale tomb replica. The artifacts include human and animal mummies, jewerly, pottery, and sculptures.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PXIgzRe_AY (Museum Pieces)


Interpretation: What is your choice about? Give specific examples to support this statement in 2 sentences; do so in a way that teaches us something about your choice. Make Paulo Freire proud! .75 point





I found ancient history fascinating. To look at artifacts and see a way of life that is foreign to the present, makes us see how far we have progressed through the wisdom of our forefathers.







Judgment: What led you to your choice? What do you think or feel about this choice? Why do you feel this way? Support your thoughts with specific observations. .5 point








This museum is not well known and I feel that there is a lot of history and information here. It is very interesting to see these artifacts and imagine life at that time.








Questioning: What else would you like to know about this choice? When completing the question section, lead your audience into the question by stating a fact you do know, yet you still have the related question. This way, both your audience and you will have an educational experience. Example: I learned that John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath was based on his personal experience working with farm workers. I would like to know if the characters he used in that book are fictitious or are they people he met? .5 point





In researching the museum, I found that it was started by the Rosicrucian Order - AMORC (Ancient and Mystical Order Rosae Crucis). Their motto is "The key to Universal Wisdom, Discover how extraordinary you really are". The questions of this order relate to the Master of Life - Who am I, What is my purpose - It is not a religious group, in fact, they have no religious connection and people from all faiths join the order. I would like to learn more about the order and how they teach people to achieve a "happier and healthier existence".








Although I chose the Rosicrucian Museum for its history and artifacts, after reading about the Rosicrucian order, I felt a closer link to the humanities program with its relation to philosophy as well as non western culture. The order through its Mastery of Life Program is "a school of practical mysticism, which encourages you to be open-minded, questioning, and to test the value of the principles you are learning by actively using them in your daily life." This is what Paulo Freire taught - to question ourselves daily.









5. Using your classmates work from last week, tell us one thing you learned from 1 student. Is this one thing some common experience you share or some experience that is completely different than what you experienced? Is this one thing related to our class theoretical foundation and if so, how? Is that one thing related to historical or cultural context of this country or a different one? Link that persons blog to this entry (eg cut paste that blog entry here) . .5 point

I learned from Monica B's blog that during the 1950's in San Francisco, the coffeehouse culture was established and it played an important role in social movements of the 60's. Although I lived in San Francisco in the 60's I was too young to know what was going on. It would be very interesting to learn more about that exciting time in its history. This is very much related to the cultural context of this country. The social activists that came together during that time, had a profound impact on the future.






http://humanities7mon.blogspot.com/



http://www.egyptianmuseum.org/


http://www.rosicrucian.org/

2a San Francisco



The City of San Francisco is a vital link to the history of California and relates to Humanities because of this history. People from every nationality can be found here, most continuing with traditions from their cultures, even if they were born in America. In traveling some of the neighborhoods of San Francisco, i.e. Chinatown, a person could think they were actually in a foreign city instead of a district within a city.



Observation: What did you choose? What do you see or hear or feel or think of in the choice you made? What is the subject of the work? If you chose a 'thing' what is the work made of and what techniques (colors, lines, shapes, textures)does the creator use? Be specific in your description. If you chose a place, be specific in your description of what you see or hear. Talk to your reader as though they cannot see the item but somehow must draw a painting of what you see or hear. 1 point





I chose the City of San Francisco, aka, The City, or The City by the Bay. I was born there and lived there for over twenty years. Since I live so close, I go there frequently. When I think of San Francisco, I can feel the damp ocean air coming off the bay, I can hear the fog horn in the distance and the clanking of the bells from the cable cars. In Fisherman's Wharf, I can smell the fresh fish. I feel life, when I think of San Francisco. It is a City that is alive. The City has something for everyone from sports to theatre. There are people from all walks of life and districts to match.



Interpretation: What is your choice about? Give specific examples to support this statement in 2 sentences; do so in a way that teaches us something about your choice. Make Paulo Freire proud! .75 point




I grew up in San Francisco then moved to a small town to raise my children. I miss the city and all it has to offer. Anyone can find something to do there, from sitting on the beach to visiting a museum, it is a cultural heaven.







Judgment: What led you to your choice? What do you think or feel about this choice? Why do you feel this way? Support your thoughts with specific observations. .5 points




Actually San Francisco wasn't my first choice, it was Lake Shasta. However, this class is about culture and San Francisco has it. I love the city, and coming through the Waldo Tunnel and seeing the skyline takes my breath away to this day. I feel like I'm going home.







Questioning: What else would you like to know about this choice? When completing the question section, lead your audience into the question by stating a fact you do know, yet you still have the related question. This way, both your audience and you will have an educational experience. Example: I learned that John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath was based on his personal experience working with farm workers. I would like to know if the characters he used in that book are fictitious or are they people he met? .5 point




Although it isn't exactly in San Francisco, Angel Island is in the San Francisco Bay. I know it was once an immigration station. I have never been there (I missed that 3rd grade field trip) and I would like to know more about its history.





5. Using your classmates work from last week, tell us one thing you learned from 1 student. Is this one thing some common experience you share or some experience that is completely different than what you experienced? Is this one thing related to our class theoretical foundation and if so, how? Is that one thing related to historical or cultural context of this country or a different one? Link that persons blog to this entry (eg cut paste that blog entry here) . .5 point




In Jennifers' blog she states that "Our culture is such a diverse community that we can learn something different from every single person. With that being said, we will learn from each other in this class and learn different aspects of assignments that may have been overlooked before".


I absolutely agree with her, although I am not a fan of this type of learning (blogging) (yet) - it is interesting to see something through someone else's eyes. http://jennifer-humanities7.blogspot.com/2009/02/2a-uc-berkley.html





Monday, February 9, 2009

Assignment 1C

Kendra is the mother of four and wants to transfer to UC Davis to major in Psychology.
Jennifer is in her first year at the JC and plans to transfer to UC Irvine.

From Kendra I learned that by using Paulo's theories, 300 sugarcane workers were taught to read in 45 days and that he brought literacy programs to thousands. In Jennifer's work, I learned that he orginally studied to be a lawyer and before completing his first case, left the law profession to become an educator. Also, it was his views of the oppressed people of Brazil that led him to marxism.

Humanites is about the differences in culture. By looking at each others blogs, we come to see how other people are learning and understanding.