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

www.zpub.com/sf/history

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.

Assignment 1b

Although born to the middle class, during the Great Depression Paulo Freire discovered what it was like to suffer hunger. During these formative years he decided to devote his life to pubic service. It was during these years that he saw first hand the plight of the oppressed in third world countries. Because of his "subversive" activities in the early 60's in Brazil he was jailed and then exiled to Chile, where he continued his work. However, it was during his time teaching as a visiting professor at Harvard, where he observed, war protests and racial violence, and a different culture, that he significantly changed his thought process that oppression was limited to third world countries. (http://www3.nl.edu/academics/cas/ace/resources/paulofreire.cfm)



He describes culture as "everything we do in the world" and indicates that we are surrounded by it. Culture is not just a musical symphony by a renown artist, it can be "a ditch dug by a peasant out of necessity". He goes on to say "if we talk about this concept of culture with the common people we can show them that we can change the world which we have not created, we can also change the world we are creating now. . . ." It is his message of hope to those who feel hopeless.

(http://www.youtube.com/) (Paulo Freire (clip by Julio Wainer).



Paulo Freire had specific ideas with regard to the art of teaching. It is just as important for the teacher to have the desire to teach as it is for the student to desire to learn. Teaching flows both ways. Most children are highly motivated to learn, however, due to their cultures, many become lost between the 5th and 7th grades. "The oppressed majority must be taught to imagine a better way so that they can shape their future and thereby become more human." I like that sentence except the last four words. The less fortunate have to be taught to imagine a better life, that they can do better, always to use the words, "I can", to shape their future, however, I don't see them as less human because of their situations. (www.newfoundations.com/gallery/Freire.html)

Assignment 1a

1. What is your first name only (NOT last name)? Lori

2. Why are you taking this class and what do you hope to learn: I am taking the class as a requirement toward my AA degree. It also looked interesting to look at different cultures.

3. How far do you live from SRJC main campus (go to google, maps to get the SPECIFIC answer; for this you type in your address and 1501 Mendocino Ave, Santa Rosa, CA to find the exact mileage. EXAMPLE: 2.6 miles from campus. The goal here is to use new tools available to us. You can always come back to edit this) I live 20.53 miles from the campus.

4. What do you think of when you think "California"? Does this differ from what non-Californians think and if so, how? My initial thought when I think of California is San Francisco, mostly because I love The City. My other thoughts would be great weather, landscape, beauty. When I have heard non-californians think about California, their first thought always seems to be about Hollywood. When traveling and asked where I am from, I have received various responses, like there are strange people who live in California or people who have been here, say how beautiful it is. I think most people who have not traveled to California, think it is a liberal melting pot.

5. Have you created a blog or webpage in the past? No, I tend to be a private person and blogs are for people who share their thoughts.

6. Regarding computers, are you on a mac or a pc? PC

7. What was your January 20th, 2009 like, or what do you remember of this day? I took the first part of the day off work to watch. I felt inspired that change really could come to this country, and if people would heed the words spoken in the speech given by Obama, a difference could be made, and America could get back to the place it once was.