Let's Roll Up Our Sleeves and Deconstruct!!!

The time has come for us to hunch over our laptops, food and caffiene at hand, and write another assignment!!! At least that's my method. My room also gets very clean the few nights before the assignments due... stress relievers we went over in class. I feel as though this assignment might not be so stressful as the last for myself. The last assignment I really didn't grasp the structuralist view when I sat down to write the assignment. Having a clearer understanding of deconstruction I feel far more confident writing this assignment. But still, like anything else, Scott is great at challenging us. I may resent it now, but like after ever other assignment, I do actually learn something. Raising the expectations has definatly makes me work harder, and has even changed my habit of throwing something together the night before expecting to get an A. The struggle i might have is leaving the end of the assignment open ended... I guess that gives me a Humanist characteristic? Becuase I do love my when assignment sums up just right!!! Oh well, I will see how it goes!

FINALLY!

Finally, I understand structuralism. Kind of late I suppose. I was very frustrated leaving class on Tuesday after handing in my assignment. After discussion I felt awful about the product I had handed it because I felt like I had tried so hard to put into a structuralist view that at the time I didn't exactly understand, and I lost sight of the main picture. I guess Scott Pound was right though, my continuous frustration led to me learning something! Sadly, mark wise, I learned it a little too late, but better late than never!!! I realized I grasped this concept today when we were reviewing the topic and I, like another girl in the class, was like, "Whats the difference between structuralism and deconstruction?" That's what did it for me. I closed that gap and the review turned repetitive for me as I was awaiting the meaning of deconstruction. My mood has flipped in this class, because as much as I struggled early in the week with the challenge, I feel as though I did learn something and I have progressed. I can only hope that I progress IN TIME next time, haha so I can do well on my assignment. It's all another challenge for another day!!! :):):)

How Will I Awake the Meaning Behind the Mythical Sleeping Giant?

When we recieved our second assignment regarding the story of the Sleeping Giant, I was very excited! I do not know about any of you, but I personally grew up camping annually with my family at Sibley, and by doing so heard many different stories involving the Giant and Silver Ilet. In fact, I biked and hiked the Giant himself, which I find connects me to the assignment when I've stood on it. Also, Silver Ilet is one of my favourite Thunder Bay tourists spots! (I've enclosed a picture of my friends and I making our annual trip there: hence the gorgeous lake background)On a hot summer day, the water sparkles a miraculous green colour. If you have not been to this local spot, I suggest you do so. For my description really does not justify it's beauty. Now enough of my outdoors rant, the topic is exciting however I feel like it will also be very challenging. Normally I'm used to taking general idea's, and narrowing them down, whereas this assignment is quite opposite. It will be difficult to take a particular idea and expand it on a general level. Though I am up for the challenge. I actually recieved a useful message in my church service last sunday that I'm applying to this, where we talked about how being "comfortable" can be a bad thing. It is when you make yourself "uncomfortable" that you test yourself, and that that is when you achieve success, outside that "comfort" zone. So although the task of this assignment makes me "uncomfortable" it's a great thing!!! That's all for now, see you all in class!!!

Some Jar, In which Field?

I think my highlight of Tuesday's class was definatly the Random Acts of Poetry!!! I loved it!! I think it's awesome that people go out on their own time and do such things! It's displaying a true love for literature, one that I think is completely self rewarding. Further more, the class discussion was also good, however I must say, I feel as though it's a difficult poem to conclude about (Shown in my post title). I mean really, the only way to know for sure is to sit Wallace Steven's down for coffee and ask him, imagine?! That would be pretty cool. But for the mean time, it's really an open ended answer. Maybe that's the beauty of it? Maybe some things are just better left unknown? But then again, being the structured human's we've come to be, we search for endlessly for meanings. I myself like answers, but now and then if I can not find one, I'm content with smiling, appreciating something for what it is, and moving on. I guess what I'm getting at here is that this is the type of poem where each person takes what this wish to from it. Which ever way you spin it, the poem turns into your own mental work, which makes Wallace Steven's look pretty clever. That's all for now!

Am I Homo Seriosus or Homo Rhetoricus?

I hope everyone enjoy todays class as much as myself. I found it to be an interesting lesson, however what was learned was questionable. Yes, I definatly learned something though I may often look like I'm day dreaming away in class, though I feel like a lot of the topic is open ended? Some very logical views were brought up when we were asked to categorize ourselves as either homo seriosus (H.S) or homo rhetoicus (H.R), for as much as a consider myself a H.R, its not to say that I do not fall under the H.S category at all. I took a feminist route of steering away from the H.S group because as a woman why would I put myself in a category that discrimminates myself? And frankly does not apply to me on a GENDER level, little own logical level. However, I do not feel that I entirely fall under H.R on a logical level because I don't consider myself a "bullshitter". Someone in class seperated the two by referring to H.S as "I think therefor I am" and H.R as "I feel therefore I am", I greatly admired this comment in class, though now my opinion on it is that, isn't thinking, and feeling both major contributors to being human? One can not say they act 100% on what they think, because emotions and feelings are incorporated into our thought. Therefore I feel like that two have quite the invisible line between them, yes there are noticeable differences, but really don't people who are "people" apply to both? I'd love to hear some opinions!!!