The Final Blog

Hard to believe its time for the last one ever, but here it goes. This semester seems to have flown by in all respects, and feel as though all-in-all I have done decently in all my classes, just have a couple finals next week and then in a month, we start over. Its kind of sad putting it this way, as if all this work is for nothing, and will soon be forgotten. But hopefully however that is not the case. I hope I can take the lessons I have learned in this class and in my other classes and apply them in the future semesters, and in my life in general. This course has taught me a lot about the importance of community, and how to be more open to foreign ideas and concepts. Whereas before, it never really bothered me that there are people over in Japan thinking and living on their own with their own ideas, now it seems it is my duty to track them down and figure out what they've been doing with their lives. By doing this, I can begin to act in modes of cosmopolitanism and better myself by talking to others. When you strip away everything else, we are all living here on earth to go through our life and develop a personality, and then inevitably die. We might as well spend the time talking and meeting new people, so that we may learn more about ourselves. The readings in this course were interesting, and I also learned some anthropology skills on how to evaluate my surroundings. With the UK project I learned a lot about an area I have spent a lot of time in, and figured out what was wrong with it. I will certainly continue practicing folk ethnography for the rest of my life, and observe what people are doing in my surroundings. As for the people in this class, I enjoyed hearing what all of you had to say about everything, we had an interesting make up of students, and this worked well for the themes of the class we were meant to learn. I spent a great deal of time reading blogs and discussing concepts and thoughts with other people, and in doing so learned a lot. Sadly now the blogs must end and we must all go our separate ways. Thank you all for reading these 34 entries, and may you continue to be a cosmopolitan in your life in order to make the world a better place.

Showcase

Our showcase project is all about Second Life. We have taken all of our old projects and mixed them together more or less, a large power point. This way we can show images from several of the locations, and what sort of interactions one may expect to have there. We also added in some things such as what we think Second Life is all about, a bit of research from the SL website, as well as conclusions and things we've learned from this initial project. This slide show will be looping while we simultaneously have a demo of the game set up. In this way, a person can learn about the experience as well as live it. As for who is in my group, who isn't in my group? A great deal of us are working on this together, and with our combined experiences we should be able to present a good idea of what we learned in this class, and particularly on the SL unit.

Revising UK proj

I have already submitted the first draft of my analysis to Richard and got fairly positive feedback. What I think I will do now is finish up a couple more interviews and add a couple of questions inquiring into scenarios such as "what do you think would happen if you sat down at a table of strangers". I will probably take my analysis portion and paste it directly into my paper, adding background information in the beginning about commons and my personal observations. Then I will get into the analysis and conclusions. I still have no background info, I hope to chat with a librarian tomorrow in between classes, but is has been hard for me to get a chance thus far with my tight schedule. I will post my first draft of the analysis below in case anyone wants to take a look at it and give me any feedback. As far as the showcase goes, looks like we're all going to be working on it together, I think this is a good idea and look forward to see what we will come up with.

Raw Data Analysis
My area of research was the Commons Market Cafeteria area. This on campus location rests between the Kirwain and Blanding dorms, and is a popular spot for evening dining crowds. I hypothesized that this location served as a juncture for people to gather in and eat together, and would then lead to further social interaction. I envisioned people coming together in the need of eating, and then being able to share through these common bonds personal information that could lead to socialization and friendship development.
Through the process of interviewing, I received some varied results. I was correct in stating that numerous people congregate in the Commons Market with the intention of eating, and then eventually lead in to socializing. However, it seems that most people come into the Commons with pre formed groups of friends, and do not break away from these friends. They all eat and talk together, but not with anyone else in the location. I speculate that part of the reason people do not engage with outsiders is due to the implicit social rules set up by the area.
Due to the fact that tables are set up individually and oriented away from each other with a lot of space in between indicates that the tables are to remain separate. Because of this people sit at their own table and don’t interact with other tables. Another rule is that if you are with a group, you sit with that group at your own table; if you are alone, sit at an empty table. I know from personal experience that table orientation and set up can govern the way social interactions take place. I ate at a restaurant in Rome one time, quite close to the Vatican City and Saint Paul’s Cathedral. In this restaurant, food was served up at the front, and then an attendant would come and seat you at a table. The tables were large with several seats on each side, and every table would be filled with people, whether they came in together or not. Save language barriers of this touristy area, I observed increased social interaction at these tables between strangers. It is not that people refuse to talk to strangers; it is just that some situations offer different social behaviors.
If someone at the Commons went so far as to sit at a table with a person they did not know, there are a few outcomes probable. The first outcome is that the stranger will just ignore the outsider, and just continue eating. A second possibility is the stranger will get up and leave. The final outcome is that the stranger will actually accept the approach, and begin a conversation. Although any of these outcomes seem plausible, and have been derived by the people that go to the Commons Market themselves, I feel as though it is highly unlikely for scenario three to occur. Given the atmosphere of the location, and the observed social rules being followed by dozens of people each day, it seems quite unlikely that anyone would go so far as to break this trend. I speculate that much different results, cosmopolitan principles, would be found if the seating area was set up differently. If the tables were pushed together and sitting with strangers was encouraged, people would no longer feel intimidated to walk into the venue without a group of friends, and would make new experiences each time.
It is through this method that people could act in the cosmopolitan principles set forth by Appiah. Appiah’s two fundamental principles of cosmopolitanism (our obligation to others, and our caring for the individual) are principles that cannot be denied by anyone. Appiah states the importance of reaching out to the imaginary stranger, The problem of cross-cultural communication can seem immensely difficult in theory, when we are trying to imagine making sense of a stranger in the abstract. But the great lesson of anthropology is that when the stranger is no longer imaginary, but real and present, sharing a human social life, you may like or dislike him, you may agree or disagree; but, if it is what you both want, you can make sense of each other in the end. By taking a chance and talking to others we can really begin to branch out and make connections with people we wouldn’t do so with otherwise. These connections can be made possible much easier if people engage in an environment in which they feel comfortable. In Anderson’s essay Cosmopolitan Canopy, the way in which people use their environment to help them feel comfortable in cosmopolitanism is explored. It is by this that I believe rearranging the Commons Market could lead to a radically different experience. Moving people together harmoniously would increase the fellowship and inspire an on campus community. In doing this Anderson’s Cosmopolitan Canopy could be created and practice Appiahs principles towards man. The same charming experience I had in Rome could be relived by myself and many of my peers.

UK Communities Preperations

As we near the end of the UK communities project, I look back on quite a bit of research I have gathered. I think my most useful resource will be found here in my blogs, as I have compiled most of my coherent thoughts in them. I feel as though I have a decent amount of information gathered on my own thoughts and observations, and certainly it will be useful having my interviews to look at, seeing where they agree and disagree with me. Whether or not my location is a cosmopolitan canopy or not is still somewhat up for grabs, I have evidence supporting it in both ways. It seems people do come and socialize, but not necessarily outside of their own groups. I think true cosmopolitanism would be everyone interacting together, but I guess its a start. I feel as though after I write my paper I will be truly prepared for a presentation, as I can compile all of my findings into a power point. This will help me organize my information, as well as provide an opportunity to add in some images and sketches. The only thing I find lacking in my project as of now is the background information of the site. I think we were told to hold off on this research for the time being, but am wondering when we are going to discuss it again. I have had trouble getting anything together on my own. If anyone else has any suggestions as to how to find some good background info, please let me know.

An Interview From an Interesting Angle

On one of my recent interviews, I talked to an interesting person who seemed to feel differently about Common's Market than I had expected, and a different view point then even my other interviewees had. This person seemed to think that the location was not a community, and does not enjoy coming there too much at all. I will post the interview as I find the perspective of it intriguing, as it comes from a person disproving what it is I came to research, the element of community at my site. Let me know what you all gather from this:

Gender: Male
Age: 18
Race: White
School Year: Freshman
Hometown: Franklin, Wisconsin
Do you come from a large Family? Family of four, an older sister also goes to UK
Are you a first generation college student? No, both parents and grandparents attended college at UK as week.
What dorm do you live in? Kirwain Tower

How did you come to discover the commons market? I sighted it while I was moving in on the first day.
What Compelled you to come to the commons market to begin with? Hunger, it was the closest thing to my dorm, so I had to try in eventually.
How often do you come here? Used to go a lot, now very rarely, maybe once every two weeks.
Why the shift in your visiting tendencies? I really don't like the food here that much, the staff seems cold and uninviting to me.
Where do you go instead? I usually go to Ovids or K-lair instead now.
What about these places do you like better? I like the controlled portions they provide, I tend to over eat in the buffet setting. These locations are also cleaner, and smaller.
Why do you like a smaller size better? I feel as though the commons market is too big, these other places set up a more intimate environment to eat in, I just feel more comfortable there.
How long do you stay per visit? Usually about a half hour to fourty-five minutes.
Do you typically sit in the same area? Yes, in the middle section
Do you feel comfortable in this environment? not really, I don't like the food.
Then why come at all? Usually I come while I am in a hurry, its really just a matter of convienience.
Do you usually come alone or in a group? I come with a group, sometimes alone.
Describe the difference in experiences when you are alone versus in a group? When I am with friends, I tend to stay longer since there is conversation. When I am alone, there is no one to talk to, and I only stay long enough to finish my food and then leave.
What is your favorite meal to get? I like the pizza sections garlic bread, also the milk they have here is local and really good. This is one of the things that keeps me coming back.
What is your favorite element of this place? I like the TVs, they provide a level of background entertainment.

What do you see people doing here? Eating and communicating with each other.
What sets this place apart from other areas on campus? The physcial size, this building is a lot bigger than other places to eat, even the student center cafeteria. I prefer a smaller setting.
Do you feel a sense of community here? No, everyone just sticks to their own groups and do not reach out to others.
Do you feel like you are a part of this community? No, everyone seems to keep to themselves, there is not a unified community.
Has an individual ever approached and talked to you? no
Have you ever approached an individual? Yes, I have struck up small talk.
Has this led to any further interaction? No, I have never been in contact with this person again.

More Observations of The Commons Market

One aspect of the Common's Market I was interested in studying was behavior of groups versus individuals. I have already speculated the different seating patterns I have noticed, large groups sit at centrally located areas at large tables, and individuals find small tables out of the way near walls and corners. Perhaps this is a basic assumption, but acting as an anthropologist I will point it out anyway: I do not ever observe an individual sitting at a large table, more than 4 chairs, and do not ever see a large group sitting around each other at separate small tables. It appears as though perhaps it is socially unacceptable for one person to take up too much space, as perhaps they would be offensive to a group of people trying to sit together and unable to find a table. Another observation I have noted about differing behaviors is that people in groups tend to eat at a comfortable, steady pace, and take lots of time to talk and laugh. Individuals seem to eat more hurriedly as to be able to get up and go as soon as they are finished. Some individuals appear nervous, as they will constantly look around, watch TV, look at their phone, look at their watch, read the paper, and repeat. It almost seems as though they have to engage in some sort of external activity other than eating so that they will feel more comfortable about being alone, as if they feel like they are being judged. I find these differing observations interesting and will perhaps try to inquire first hand why people act they way they do in an interview situation.

UK project, Interview Test Drive

I decided to head down to my site the other day and try out the first draft I comprised of my interview questions. I will include an entire interview for my blog right now as the questions are still probably a work in progress and not up to top level yet, but I will share some of the things I learned.

The subject I chose to interview was a freshman male living in the Blanding Tower dorm. I originally suspected that most of the traffic would come from Blanding and Kirwain, but it is too early to yet say. He originally discovered the Common's Market during a visit to campus prior to admissions. Sure enough, he ended up living next to it and now eats at it regularly(2-3 times per week) due to its attractive close proximity. He told me he usually goes with a group of friends, and they stay about a half hour. I asked him if they always sat in the same area, and he confirmed that yes, they usually all sit in the mid section. This fact also goes along with one of my guesses about the environment, that groups sit in the middle and individuals on the edges. He told me that he felt comfortable in the environment because everyone was there for the same reason, to eat. This aspect helps him and others to feel comfortable and accepted in terms of the entire community. They also have several TVs playing music videos, he told me this created an ambient background mood and helped him and his friends to relax. I asked him what sort of observations he made about other people, his observations are similar to my own. The primary activity of other people is eating and conversing. I asked him if he had ever been approached by a stranger, or ever approached a stranger himself, in which he replied, "No I have not ever gone up to an individual I did not know, it is not something I am afraid to do, but do not feel the need to meet other people here as I am already with my friends. Maybe if I came to eat here by myself then I would try to talk to people I didn't know." I found this statement interesting, perhaps if more people just took the initiative to meet new people, the sentiment would spread and cosmopolitanism would easily emerge.

My Uk Community Site

For the UK project, I have chosen to study the Common's Market, the dining area on south campus between Blanding and Kirwain Towers. This area is full of life during the evenings, as many students come to eat food and converse with one another. From my current observations, I have noticed the area is set up in a few regions. One enters the main entry, descends the stairs, and pays to enter the food district. This is another interesting aspect of the location, no entry is permitted without pay. After this barrier is crossed, there are a variety of centrally located buffets with various food changing each day. Apart from this food section is the seating, subdivided by walls or implied walls into 6 seating areas. The largest is aligned with the food region, the others splitting off of this by walls next to it. It seems that large groups and small groups of people congregate in the main area, whereas individuals will move along to the corners of the building outside of the main seating area. I speculate that this is to isolate themselves in a way and not draw attention to their loneness. People who are in groups constantly converse to keep themselves occupied, whereas loners will do other things. They will look at their phone, listen to music, or watch tv. The Commons Market as a whole seems to have a civil neutrality-- in the food area people exercise civil actions to wait there turn and allow other people to get what they want, even strangers. There is not an intimidating atmosphere with pushing or shoving. Outside of this neutral zone, people subdivide into small groups, more intimate zones and sit at different tables in different regions. These people are then effectively split off from the rest of the community in an intimate setting, until they move back into the neutral area again. These are the observations I've thus far regarding social interactions, hopefully many more interesting ones are yet to come.

Open Ended Blog I, My Role in The Community

So I was searching for blogs of my classmates in order to write this one, but did not see that anyone had done it yet, so I guess I will be the first. This next series of blogs appear to be very open ended, which is fun as it leaves room for exploration, but could also be challenging due to the lack of guidelines. To start off for the day, I don't think I will talk much of my site for the UK project, but more of the way I fit in to the UK culture in general.

As a student here at UK, I obviously spend much of my time going to class, and then working on the assignments and homework for those classes. This seems very basic, and is probably assumed to be true by most people, it is simply the nature of a student. However, the college experience is much more than simply continuing studies from an academic stand point. Social interactions and engagements will inevtiably shift in a new direction during college from what they were in highschool and previous years. The fact that we now all come from different backgrounds and are living together in close proximity is a new and exciting trend. Instead of going to school and interacting with friends and then going home and being alone with family like in primary school, social interactions are continuos in college. Key differences and reasons for this change is that now not everybody's schedule lines up identically, and when we return to our dwellings, we do so together. It is unavoidable to encounter peers outside of class and around residence halls and common areas when not planned, and the way these engagements move on from there are unique. These interactions shape our new social personalities and change the way we communicate with each other. Also moving into a community with many more people than we were used to before, there are now a seemingly limitless number of strangers around us. My highschool had over 2,000 kids in it, I saw faces of different people everyday I did not know, and did not know the names of my 500 peers in my graduating class. However, here at UK, this feeling is even larger. The number of strangers I encounter daily is highly increased, and most of these people I will never get the chance to interact with. This is the thought that blows my mind, attempting be a cosmopolitan, one should interact with strangers, however, it is impossible to meet all strangers. Because of this, I have to speculate what would happen if I met one person versus another? Say I approach person A, I ask them what they are doing, I do not know them. Say they are not interested in my company, and tell me they are busy and walk away. During this time person B is walking around us in the background and pass by in the few moments of my interaction with person A. I have to wonder what would have happened had I engaged with person B versus person A? A whole new series of events could have transpired on a parallel timeline. Perhaps me and person B would have hit it off, and made a great friendship. Because I missed the oppurtunity to meet this person, I can now never know what would have happened. With the large pool of strangers at UK, it is impossible to tell which people to interact with, I guess I should take it upon myself to engage with as many as possible, and then to get lucky. I feel as thought the true spirit of cosmopolitanism is interacting with others, and seeing what happens from there.

Mystery of the Atwood Cover

What are your first impressions of this novel? No peaking at Spark Notes! By looking at the cover and nothing elase, what do you think Atwood's novel is about?

This is a somewhat difficult question to answer since I have read a portion of the book thus far, however, I will answer the question acting ignorant to the story and not pretend to make inferences from what I have already confirmed to be fact from the text. It appears in the cover that two women(based on their body shape) wearing a similar uniform have just made an exchange of something, or have just conversed about something, or had some sort of interaction. The woman in the lower corner appears to already be walking away from the first woman, who seems to be more immobile as if to be looking for something in the shadows. They are surrounded by this large brick structure, indicating possibly some sort of entrapment. The first woman is holding an empty basket, I wonder what is supposed to go inside?

Handmaid's Tales I

"This is a book about what happens when certain casually held attitudes about women are taken to their logical conclusions. For example, I explore a number of conservative opinions still held by many--such as a woman's place is in the home. And also certain feminist pronouncements--women prefer the company of other women, for example. Take these beliefs to their logical ends and see what happens."

From what I've read of this text so far, this statement seems to hold very true. The setting of the book is an obscure society in which women seem to be held hostage. The women have very few rights and are treated more as property than individuals. They live in a society dominated by men, serving to the "commander". To further de-individualize the women they are assigned different solid colors to wear to represent their "roles" in society. This is to say that an individual is only thought of as that role, such as a handmaid, and will never amount to anything else. This type of society sounds terrible. I have never really thought of taking these stereotypes to a logical level, or to implement them fully in society. Women have these sort of preconceived roles from history, but modern society is trying to break away them. It is not reassuring to read this text which has effectively stripped everything we are working to break away from in modern day. The course title, between shadow and light would fit well for this book. I interpret this to mean the shadow is the ideals or stereotypes we view women as following, and the light is the actual implementation of their roles in society. I think in the real world, the shadow is dying down, and the light is allowing women more and more equality. In this book however, the shadow is strong, it is ALL women can be, and the light takes these values to the extreme.

Appiah ~~ Anderson

Appiah has taken some serious thought and strides in order to convey to us what the meaning of Cosmopolitan is. He begins by defining two universal truths that all people follow, our obligations to others and our caring for the individual. He uses these two integral pillars to then begin meticulously defining how we should interact with one another to form a better world. Appiah states how we should all remain open minded, ready to hear what others have to say, whatever that may be. He stresses the subjectivity of values, how what I value is totally wrong with what you value, and how that does not even matter. Appiah's main point is that we need to interact with strangers, or people in the sense that we would never get to know them unless we take steps forward to interact with them. When we decided to listen to the values of another, even when in direct confliction with our own beliefs, we are in fact broadening our minds and becoming more unified as a world in general. I have taken all of these lessons to heart when reading Anderson's thoughts. I believe that a cosmopolitan canopy is just that: a large domain (or "canopy") in which cosmopolitanism is observed and practiced by many people. In these areas, it is easy to interact with one another, and as Reecie Foxtrot states in her blog, it is easy to communicate because people feel comfortable enough to let their guards down. Everyone has secrets they keep to themselves, in order to maintain their self image. But in these canopy environments, self disclosure becomes frequent and valuable, and allows people to connect on an intimate social level. More of us should seek these types of areas, and attempt to steer clear of the neutral or impersonal districts of our lives.

Cosmo Canopy

First off, I am glad to see some continuity in our reading assignments, and that this oh so important idea of cosmopolitanism has not been laid to rest. With that being said, Anderson takes the importance of cosmopolitanism and expresses the importance of people setting up these situations in everyday life. For example, he provides the situation of people interacting in a place called the Reading Terminal. This atmosphere is a market place of sorts, with a cafe like place in the center. It is a massive attraction for people to come to, eating food and sharing stories with friends. People are also able to shop in the various markets, absorbing culture of others and being served by enthusiastic people. Imaginary strangers walk about, but they begin to interact, and then the mysterious veil vanishes and people become friends, sharing beliefs and debating differences. They are able to learn from one another, and then re-evaluate some of their own opinions or values. These societies are critically important, everyone should have a place that they are able to go to connect with others. If it were not for self-disclosure, and the exchanging of ideas, then none of us would ever be able to learn more about the world. I personally am seeking a cosmopolitan canopy in my life, a place where I can go and exchange information, regardless of race, sex, or any stereotypes. In this world, I could certainly learn a lot of things.

More Second Life Lessons

I looked to the blog prompt for today, realizing it was the same as the last one, I was puzzled at first, hoping I hadn't answered all of the questions already. Then I saw an element I had not yet spoken of, my personality assesment. As I looked back to a previous blog of mine, I recalled that I have an introverted personality. This means that I typically lay low behind the scenes and wait for the action to start before I jump into a conversation. I found that in second life that this element of personality was doomed to fail. Had I waited around forever, I probably never would have gotten the chance to ask people questions about the island or find out what was going on. I found myself becoming more extroverted, dominating conversations and steering them in the direction I needed them to go to get the answers to my questions. I am not sure if this was in fact the only approach that would have worked, but I found that it did indeed work nicely for me. It will be interesting to see if the extrovered elements will transfer to my real life, but I feel as though they will not. Perhaps as we move into new projects such as the UK study, I will find myself re-entering an extroverted personality for the sake of my studies.

Our Second Life Project

I feel as though I have learned a lot about community through my explorations of second life and by listening to the observations of my peers. Our island of study may have been unique to some others as far as we had no large heirarchial building such as a church for users to revolve around and did not have a strict social order like the community at Bogart's. Our community seemed to be pretty casual, people could go where they wanted, and do what they wanted to do. Nobody was confined to a strict area to interact in or forced to follow a strict set of rules governing a single area. There were only a few publicized rules on our island, they seemed be things along the lines of no nudity and no violence. These seem to be pretty commonly accepted rules, altough I guess celebrated nudists would have a tough time assimilating here. Because of the very few rules, our island community differs greatly than the communites of bafa bafa. In that environment, there were two sets of communities with incredibly different out looks and customs of doing things. This made it very hard for one culture to understand the other. However, I feel as though because our island has so few rules and mandatory customs that practically anyone can come and instantly fit in on it. The people seem to accept outsiders immediately, and accept their values and beliefs(as long as they don't go against the rules). I also feel as though the people of our island our cosmopoltians because of this. I did not ever observe anyone ejecting anyone due to conflicts of interests, or any other dispute. In fact I never witnessed any disputes at all. It seems that everyone comes here to have a good time, nobody argues, and everyone can learn from one another.

More Life Lessons From Our Beloved Reading, Cosmopolitanism

The akyiwade is, as we've seen, thickly enmeshed in all sorts of customs and factual beliefs, and one response to such alien values is just to dimiss them as primitive and irrational. But if that is what they are, then the primitive and the irrational are pervasive here, too. Indeed, the affect, the sense of repugnance, that underlies akyiwade is surely universal: that's one reason it's not difficult to grasp.

This passage actually becomes quite lengthy and begins to discuss the logical reasons why we would not want to eat cats, even though some others would find it perfectly normal. We think eating cats would be gross, reason enough for us to not do it. But as we can see, other cultures consume them without any distaste or disgust and get pleasure out of doing so. They do not make them sick, as they are probably just as healthy as any of the things we eat. Besides all of this, this passage can be related to interaction at UK. We may look at others around campus and see them as different, they dress different, act different, hang out with a different peer group. We may even label these people as "weird". But the fact of the matter is, nothing they are doing is wrong, they get enjoyment out of dressing as they do, acting as they do, and socializing with those they do. This does not mean they are in the wrong, or that you are in the right. We just need to accept that different people are into different things, hold different values. We should never let barriers such as this that appear alien to us stand in the way of us meeting new people. If anything, these differences should in fact entice us to befriend someone who is not exactly like ourselves. This is the most effective way to branch out, and to again learn new things about the world, new beliefs, and new customs.

Cosmopolitanism in Real Life

From the chapter "Imaginary Strangers" page 99:

The problem of cross-cultural communication can seem immensely difficult in theory, when we are trying to imagine making sense of a stranger in the abstract. But the great lesson of anthropology is that when the stranger is no longer imaginary, but real and present, sharing a human social life, you may like or dislike him, you may agree or disagree; but, if it is what you both want, you can make sense of each other in the end.

I think this passage very well sums up a lot of the the social interaction here at UK. This is because as being a first year student, there are many strangers around me each and every day. Part of my experience here has been getting to know people, some of them become friends, some of them do not. However, when we each take the time to converse, the stranger is no longer imaginary, and becomes concrete and sensible. And just as the passage states, "if it is what you both want, you make sense of each other in the end." So as each of us enters this new phase of our lives together, we should all be open to meeting new people and getting a chance to connect with them to share ideas and philosophies.

More Second Life Notes

This week in second life, I got the privilege of taking part in some of the islands scheduled events. These are the times when there seems to be the most activity taking place as far as user interaction. The events generally take place at 8pm second life (about 11pm in real life), which shows that the users like to get on to play at night time. The event I attended was trivia night. I arrived a bit early, just to see what was going on. There were several people dancing out on the main dance floor, socializing with one another and having a good time. When 8 rolled around, we headed over to the club for some trivia fun. Everyone seemed to enjoy answering the general knowledge questions, some of them were pretty tough. I also observed people playing some of the games positioned about, there seemed to be some video games and things people could play. All in all everyone got along really well and seemed to enjoy each other's company. I like the way the people in this land can come together to have a good time, despite the various looks of the avatars. It seems that there are no outcasts here, everyone just wants to have a good time. I also noticed that this place seems to be more of an active place than a place to relax. Perhaps during non-scheduled event time, people will take a rest and relax by the pool, but during this time, everyone seemed to be actively engaged in socializing and dancing. I look forward to the final observations to make about this place that will come in the next week.

Cosmopolitanism, The End(CH 10)

Basic human rights are the understandable rights that should be followed and not violated by every culture across the world. These are things such as free speech, the right to own a home, a family, get married, etc. To follow up on my last blog, I stated that there should be a point of intervention when to stop a culture from committing a heinous act(in our eyes at least). I stated that I did not know where to draw this line, the line between respecting cultural values and preventing harm of individuals. Well it is now much more clear as to where to draw this line- if a right is violated form the UN declaration of rights, then we must intervene. This is because these are the universally accepted rights, and they are not subject to being violated. When this happens, cultural differences must be ignored and intervention must take place to protect the individual. This is the obligation we have to others, one that cares for them. I am glad that this document has been brought to my attention, as I now feel much better about the line of intervention. Whereas before, I felt as though individuals would be harmed and their feelings dismissed as "cultural differences", now I am assured that there is a global boundary already laid out, to assure that this doesn't happen.

A cosmopolitan at UK is anyone who understands the two fundamental principles of cosmopolitanism, the obligation to others, and the care for the individual. A cosmopolitan here would have to feel obliged not only to those here at UK, but to others in surrounding areas and across the globe. This goes back to the local versus global. It is good to make an impact in your own community, reaching out to strangers and discussing ideas, but one can only be a true cosmopolitan when they expand to a global level. This is when we truly interact with imaginary strangers. Here at UK, even if we see strangers, they are not that strange. After all, we are roughly the same age, live in the same state, and go to the same school. To be a cosmopolitan, we would need to explore people with much different backgrounds and experiences. Nevertheless, people can still act in the cosmopolitan mindset in the local setting, as long as they pay attention to the needs of others, and attempt to listen to their values, even if they differ from their own. Acting towards others in this way could really make our community come together and become more unified, or not, depending on the values we decide to pursue.

Cosmo Chapter 9

A cosmopolitan at UK looks just like you or I, that is the problem, it could be anyone of us, and one can not distinguish who is an counter-cosmopolitan until it is too late. A counter-cosmopolitan is one who appears open to acceptance, seems to want harmony among all individuals, and wants to connect with strangers. What a great person you say, it sounds as though they are trying quite hard to bridge the gaps between social interaction. But this is a fallacy, although they are eager to converse, they are in reality trying to convert their acquaintances to share the same beliefs as them. This is quite a blow to cosmopolitanism, because instead of being open to discuss beliefs of others, they are immediately in the mind set of proving the opposition wrong right from the get go. It is important to be aware of these people and their manipulations in the real world, maybe it is ok to listen to what they are saying, but one should also get the chance to respond with their own thoughts.

This next issue, the one that "people don't matter" is a tough one. We have spoke of this in class before, the question of "when is a cultural practice just too much to bear?". On one hand, we don't want to ruin their beliefs, but on the other, if we disagree with those beliefs, we feel as though they should be stopped. There is a line drawn between these judgments, and I'm not certain of where that line stands. One must really reflect and think about what should be universally important, such as the suffering of an individual. I for one think this is never ok, and if in theory(or maybe in practice) there is a culture out there that ritualistically tortures people, I think this should be stopped. Just because it is their custom doesn't make it right. However, one could flip this on its end, and say that maybe I am not right...who knows, it all comes down to subjectivity and what you believe in. On one end, we might say it is not our place to interfere, but on another, the one that obliges itself to the feelings of other people, we say that practices must be stopped.

More SL Findings(an interview)

After having an interview with Baddie Boucher, I learned some valuable information. It seems that the large mansion in the corner of the island isn't part of the Atlantic Waves district, it just belongs to someone who owns that portion of the land. This seems to mean that there isn't a large heirarchial view in the community, but simply that someone has decided to live here because they liked it so much. Concerning the market place with mature content, it seems that these places have just been rented out to anyone willing to buy them. I asked Baddie if this threatened the safety of the islanders, but he assured me that no one has ever acted violently thus far. I talked to Baddie in a large club, currently undergoing rennovations for a halloween maze. There weren't a whole lot of people around currently, but he gave me a schedule of events for the month that should alert me as to when more people should come. He also informed me that Sue Saintlouis is the creator of the island, I will certainly attempt to speak to her in the future. Here is a portion of the actual interview for my records:

You: can you tell me more about this place?[18:28]
Baddie Boucher: this maze or Atlantic Waves?[18:28]
You: both I suppose[18:28]
Baddie Boucher: well Atlantic Waves is a club where people gather for events[18:28]
Baddie Boucher: usually theres alot of dancing in themed contests[18:29]
Baddie Boucher: and sometimes there are horse races and innertube races[18:29]
You: really?[18:29]
You: sounds exciting[18:29]
Baddie Boucher: this maze is for halloween but we havent decided what else do with it yet other than to make it a maze lol[18:30]
You: so when do more people usually show up?[18:30]
Baddie Boucher: Sue just recently added a games area to the dance club[18:30]
You: neat[18:30]
Baddie Boucher: well not today but here let me give you a schedule[18:30]
You: great thanks[18:30]
Baddie Boucher gave you Atlantic Waves Schedule of Events for October 2008.[18:30]
Baddie Boucher: we sometimes have concerts here too[18:31]
Baddie Boucher: the October schedule isnt fully complete until Sue can confirm dates for when they show up[18:31]
Baddie Boucher: this place is usually packed for the concerts[18:31]
You: ok great[18:32]
Baddie Boucher: trivias every wednesday[18:32]
You: can you tell me who lives in that big house?[18:32]
Baddie Boucher: what big house?[18:32]
You: theres a big mansions thing[18:32]
Baddie Boucher: oh i know, thats not part of Atlantic Waves[18:32]
You: really?[18:32] Baddie Boucher: thats just some people who decided to live there[18:32] You: what IS part of it then?[18:33]
Baddie Boucher: hmm....pretty much everything except that house lol[18:33]
You: even that market that sells drugs and weapons?[18:33]
Baddie Boucher: probably[18:33]
Baddie Boucher: is it a small house?[18:33]
Baddie Boucher: i mean a small store[18:33]
You: yes[18:34]
Baddie Boucher: yea Sue offered space for sale for people to set up shops[18:34]
You: ook[18:34]
You: I was wondering though[18:34]
Baddie Boucher: Sue Saintlous is the person in charge of all this[18:34]
Baddie Boucher: Saintlouis*[18:34]
You: doesnt the selling of guns and drugs kinda make the relaxing feel go away?[18:35]
Baddie Boucher: as long as no one rezzes them and starts shooting then everything should be fine lol[18:35]
You: but still, isnt it a little strange?[18:35]
Baddie Boucher: one thing I really appreciate about this club, is that there is never any drama[18:35]
Baddie Boucher: i've been coming here since April and never once cause a bad vibe from anyone
















Me and Baddie Boucher inside the club













Also, after getting a tour of the island, I learned that it is divided into a few regions, there is the club, the main dance foor, the mall, the games area(pool, darts, greedy, word) and bumper cars. These seem to attract a lot of attention

Second Life Observations I (A Second Life Ethnography)

Naturalistic Feel

This site is highly aesthetic with its sandy landscapes dominated by waterfalls, pools, and palm trees. The landscape is mostly flat, which goes along with the beach feel. The environment is open and relaxing in places, and slightly overwhelming in others due to large amounts of things to interact with. Both of these areas will have their own uses depending on if one wants to relax, or to socialize. The region is incredibly inviting, with its slew of activities ranging from just sitting or relaxing by the pool, racing around in the bumper cars, or browsing the wide range of shops in the market district. Some of the shops are simple and humble, others appear to be more mature selling items like tattoos, drugs, and weapons. It is a bit strange to me to see these things appearing on an island that seems to be intended for a relaxing stay. I will be interested to see if the relaxing side of the island is ever interrupted by a drug war with guns and violence...this is sure to scare away potential island goers, which brings me to wonder what kind of people will in fact come to this place. It is quite unique that this island can contain both these inviting and off-putting elements, although I suppose it all comes down to the value systems which one believes in. Most of the areas seem public and sociable, including places to dance, pools to swim in, and markets to browse together. However, there does seem to be a large mansion on one of the corners of the island, I wonder who it is intended to be used for? Could perhaps the creator of the land live in here? I will certainly pursue this question.

Interpretive Significance

A major symbol of the region is a rotating sign called "The Bong Zone". This area seems to encompass the shops dedicated to mature things. Here one can purchase drugs, guns, and tattoos. It still seems strange that this area would exist, but at least this sign distinguishes it as different than the rest of the island. This symbol represents a darker side to the people who created the environment, as this region greatly contrasts the vibe given by the rest of the island. It shows that the creators intended to give people choices on the island, whether they want to relax, or whether they want to purchase their malicious items. Perhaps this is a scheme to make money, or perhaps there is some sort of hidden motive behind it. I would like to explore why this area was created. It is hard at this juncture to say what the values of this community are, by the looks of "The Bong Zone", I feel as though the community is malevolent. However, judging by the rest of the island, I feel as the community just wants to have fun and be socially interactive. Once I am able to observe a larger amount of avatars, hopefully their values will become more clear.

Cosmo 7-8

CH 7, question 1) Culturual Imperisalism seems to be the way in which one culture dominates another or is supreme in its own rite. I believe that this can not be, as each culture is different, and they all have something to offer. By studying cultures, we can learn from them, no culture needs to feel like they are obliged to dominate.

2) The Golden Rule is "I am human, nothing human is alien to me". This definition means that humans can all relate to each other on at least some base level. We are all human, and we all live on this earth, therefore, we should all be able to connect.

3) Cultural purity is an oxymoron. This claim has a lot of truth to it. This entire book is about the way values are formed and interpreted by cultures and individuals. For a culture to be "pure", it needs to satisfy the values in which the culture believes in. This would mean that this culture saw their society as pure and moral. However, what I think is pure may not be what you think is pure. It is for this reason that purity is subjective, and that one culture can never be "pure" in everybody's eyes.

CH 8
1) Art is cosmopolitan because it can easily be moved between local and global. Art is always created on the local scene, there is a lot of art that is important to the community in which is was created in. However, art can also be respected on a global basis, people can view different art from all over the world created in communites unlike their own and learn from the art by viewing it. Different artists will represent different things, then we can look at and analyze these new things.

I agree with Appiah when he says we must make sense of strangers. This is the only way to learn new information and view points about the world. Trying to speak to strangers and learn more about them might be tough, but it is important to remember that as humans there is common ground that we all share between us. By identifying in this common ground, we can then bridge the gap into thicker issues, ones we may not agree on, but certainly should discuss. In fact, if we never made an effort to talk to strangers none of us would have any friends. Part of life just happens to be meeting new people and learning about their personality and thoughts.

An instance where I was able to connect with another despite our differences at UK came pretty early in the semester. One night, me and my roommate were relaxing in our room, tired from the days activites, it was the evening, not too late, but late enough to be tired and in the mood to rest. During this time, a few clearly inebriated girls showed up on our floor, banging on doors and causing a stir. This was quite disruptive to our rest, as it was to many others. We went outside to investigate, and then saw that another guy was bothered in the same way we were. We didn't know this kid, he was from a different state from us and was a total outsider, however, we were then able to connect about this incident and have now become pretty good friends. Maybe it isn't the best story, but it allowed us to bridge the gap to another human and interact with him.

Golden Rule

The "Golden Rule" does not cut much ice due to the variety of ways in which it could be construed. First off, it could be interpreted as doing something to others as you'd like done to yourself. Or, in contrast, not doing something to others what you wouldn't want them to do to you. Even if this part is understood by both parties, there is still too much room for conflict. In most of this text leading up to this point Appiah talks about values of different cultures. What I value and perceive as moral or immoral could go completely against the beliefs of a person from another culture. It is because of this that the golden rule can not work- maybe others would not appreciate the same things I would appreciate.

The example given in the book was dealing with Jehovah's witnesses. If one was in need of a blood transfusion, and a doctor would save their life, he would think this is good, as it is the way he would like to be treated. However, in reality, it is against the religion of the recipient to receive a transfusion, and they would literally rather be dead.

Cosmo Chapter V-VI

To me, shared horizons of meaning means the same basic understanding of a topic that can be universally accepted. For instance, chapter 5 talked a lot of controversial issues such as abortion. I think that everybody can share the horizon of information as to what abortion is, and what it affects, and can probably even understand the two arguments of both pro choice and pro life. However, what varies is the interpretation as to which side of the argument to fall on. This is where the horizon fades, and disputes occur. We can all agree on what it is, but may not all be able to agree on what is ethical, or what the best solution is to be.

Race, culture, gender, upbringing, etc can all play large factors on shaping a horizon. Many beliefs of ours are first given to us by our parents, and then may be changed later in life based on own experiences. However, the values we are first taught in life remain true until we take the oppurtunity to challenge them. And because of this, cultural upbringing plays a role on decision making and value shaping.

Agreeing on values is nearly impossible as shown by the previous evidence about values that came from all of the preceding readings. However, by debating about one another’s values, and what one believes in, we are likely to open up new doors and insights into values. If everyone in the world believed the exact same things, there would emerge a very bland Unitarian society, one in which free ideas could not be expressed. However, that is not the case and we can talk across boundaries in order to learn new things about ourselves and others.

Appiah uses the phrase “imaginary stranger” as a means to describe a foreign person who seems too different to ever connect. However, once one physically interacts with the person, they begin to find similar shared traits or characteristics that all humans can share. They don’t necessarily have to be universally shared interests, they could even be just shared personal interests. But the point is, once you connect with a person, the imaginary fades and they begin to become a real, and understandable friend. This is the stranger in the other sense, one that you may not be entirely familiar with, but have begun to connect with on some sort of human level.

Additionally, in chapter 6, appiah reminded me a lot of wendell berry. He was talking about returning home, and how he felt as though he belonged, but did not belong at the same time. He said how things were the same, but things had changed as well. Berry said some of the same things, you can always go back home, but it can never the same as it was before. Appiah seems to be bothered to bring people back gifts from America now, a nuisance he would not have had to deal with before he left.

Another SL Blog

Second life is going well thus far. As far as skill sets, I'm pretty sure I've mastered most everything in the first two levels as outlined on the syllabus and am probably going to leave it at that. I don't have much of a reason to edit scripts for my purposes here, or to learn the mechanics of SL, but I do know a bit of java, so that's always fun. However I am a master of moving, flying, running, dancing, etc. and can also navigate the pie charts and inventories and what have you. The group I am in is ECSL(exploring cultures in Second Life) and we have chosen Bogart's Jazz Club as the site to study. I think it looks to be a pretty interesting location, with some shops and some larger complexes. My role in the group is to pursue and study my topic of interest- Why do people choose to come to this location rather than others? I want to pinpoint what it is that is interesting about this place to make people come here to play instead of elsewhere. I think this will make a good premise to study.

Cosmopolitanism(intro-IV)

Introduction:
When first beginning the book, I wondered to myself, "what does cosmopolitanism mean?". So I will begin by clarifying that for myself. In earlier times, a citizen, or polites, belonged to a polis(city). The cosmos referred to the world in the sense of the universe. The word rejected the conventional view that every civilized person belonged to a community among communities.
Now that that is out of the way, I'll begin with the guided questions. Appiah suggests that the two foundational principles of cosmopolitanism are the way in which we feel obligated to others, obligation beyond those we are related to. And the second element is taking an interest in particular human lives, learning about their interests and their culture. These two elements are important as the cosmopolitan knows that people are different. It is important to analyze what we find is worth studying in another culture, while simultaneously fulfilling whatever obligations we have to people. Sometimes these two concepts can clash in practice, but it goes a long with the paradoxical nature of the world "cosmopolitanism" to begin with.

Chapter 1:
Point of view is a very important component of observing other cultures. It is necessary to see something through one's own eyes to make an observation about it, but this point of view also needs to be compared to the view coming first hand from the people being observed. In the text, Burton is a man who has devoted much of his time to learning about all various sorts of religious activites and cultures from many different regions. It is even said that he is an agnostic with an equal view on all of the relgions he has studied. Because of this, and by not having one relgion he favors over another, he is able to see each religion for what it is, and not have to judge it against his own beliefs. For example, if a Christian were to study ideals represented by a Jewish culture, the findings would be much different than if the culture was studied by someone with no native religion. Altough it is difficult, remaining unbiased is the best way to examine an area.

Chapter 2:
It is also important to remember when studying a culture the difference in fact and opinion. Facts are a universal truth that everyone can agree on in any culture in the world. An opinion is a subjective statement believed in by one's own philosophies. Morals are an opinion of what is right, not a fact set in stone. Different people may govern their lives based on the words of different Gods or Deities, but other cultures will still disagree with these. Therefore, it is true that all morals are relative to a culture. Something I believe is right based on the word of my God could completely conflict with a moral you have based on the word of your God. It all depends on what one is taught to believe, and chooses to follow. It is impossible for mankind to ever agree on a single set of rules to be governed by, if this were the case, life would be much different.

Chapter 3:
Whether or not one believes in something is governed by whether or not they believe in the facts regarding the subject. For example, if I were to believe in the values of witchcraft, I would first have to believe in the logic behind it to see if it was even possible. If I did not conceive witchcraft as a real, possible study, then there is no way that I could even consider the values regarding it. If the facts I attached to the subject were facts of logic and truth, then I could then and only then begin to forumlate opinions of morality on it.

Chapter 4:
Appiah means that terms of agreement are "open textured" and "contestable" because these words are often times subjective. For example, what is good to me could differ greatly from what is good to you. It is difficult to use these terms in a context in which they all have the same level of meaning. These adjetives can be construed to different degrees of meaning, and in essence entirely change the tone of a conversation depending on how interpreted. The best way to have discussions is to use terms that are non subjective, and that everybody can universally agree on the meaning of, or intensity of meaning.

Relations to Real World

Ideas in this book are very relevant to the bafa bafa game. Things such as morals or values, and aspects of life are all topics mentioned in the appiah book. He talks a lot about viewing things from perspective, and how biases can cloud one's vision. This was very relevant in the bafa bafa game. Each individual had ideas pre-conceived from their own culture, and when it was time to switch cultures, people were confused at the customs and rituals performed by the foreign culture. They wanted to relate the new culture to their own, and make it function in the same way, but this simply can not be done. It is essential that one steps back and observes another culture from an unbiased view before trying to make assumptions about it.

I do not know that I've seen any cosmopolitans in second life, although I would like to become one myself. I feel that by surveying others and posing questions about everything I see, I can get the most out of the game and try to learn many new things. I look forward to observing a foreign culture and analyzing the attributes that make it both similar, and different, from the real world I am used to.

Operation Chicken

7:49 pm: This blog is not relevant to class, but it's the first blogworthy cause I've had since the school year began. So effective 7pm previously this evening, I am fasting all food and drink until tomorrow night at 10 pm. This is for the cause hereby known as operation chicken. Apple Bee's is currently having an "endless chicken" promotion, in which one can order chicken and get infinite refills. The goal is, me and a band of other brave champions are to eat as much chicken as possible in hopes of exhausting the supply of chicken on location. To do this most effectively, I have decided to not eat til then. I will update my levels of hunger, etc, and you all can cheer me on with words of encouragement. Either that, or tell me how eating chicken is wrong or something. Whatever generates a conversation. I guess I can also say I'm fasting for world peace or something, might as well throw in a couple of other crazy causes, cause it isn't often I get the chance to support them. And with that, I take my leave, doomed to an empty stomach for 27 hours.

Hour 24 without food: Starting to feel it, salvation is near...or so I hope

11:52 pm: When the clock struck 9(we went an hour early), myself and 12 other champions entered the arena. Everyone knew what they wanted of course, the chicken. So after a few minutes they brought it out, 6 large strips per plate, some fries on the side. We knew the fries were merely a diversion to make us full, so we paid them no attention. Round one went by smoothly, this wouldn't be so tough, the waiter automatically asked if we wanted more, natuarlly we said yes. So in a few more minutes 3 giant trays of chicken appeared, to be split amongst us all. We fought through this round with a bit more caution, but made it through ok. Afterwards, the waiter came back and asked if we wanted the check. Our response was "chicken". He kinda laughed, but honored our request. The battle waged on, the process repeated. He was beginning to wonder how much we could handle. We then revealed our plan to deplete all of the chicken resources. He told us they had just gotten in 4 cases from another applebee's location, and there were 500 strips in a case. This seemed a very unreasonable goal, 2000 was just too much to handle. But even still, we could not give up. So we ate and ate til we could not eat anymore...and then we ate one more. At the verge of explosion, it was too much. The global total of our efforts was 233 strips of chicken, 20 for myself. I suppose we did not accomplish our goal, but we still made some personal victories. The price of the meal was 10 bucks, which meant we spent a total of $120. However, if you configure the total price of the chicken eaten, it comes to roughly $388. So I guess we did our fair share, but nothing glorious to show for it. At the least I was hoping for our pictures on the wall, whether it be recognizing our accomplishment, or containing a caption reading "do not serve these people here". Either way, I wanted something, but at least I got this story out of it. I learned a valuable lesson, I'm not sure what that is, but maybe I'll figure it out tomorrow, when I'm less full of chicken...

SL Home Point

I decided to set my home point as the UK Island. This is the location where I acquainted myself with the mechanics of the game, and feel as though it is my true home, seeing as how I originated there. I like the serenity of the place, and how it is isolated to only our classmates(most of the time at least). It should be thought of as a nice place for classmates to meet and socialize, and just to take care of any other managing of your character's appearance etc.

The topic I would like to study in Second Life is Arts and Culture. I think of myself as a fairly artistic person, and would like to analyze things like why a piece of art is important to a culture. Or what aspects of a culture are represented through their art work. Other general things I would like to analyze are just the way cultures interact internally on their own islands, and if there are large differences of cultural interactions on other islands. I think this project should be interesting to say the least, and hopefully reveal some important things about the structure of virtual communities.

Second Life Avatar

I decided to physically warp my avatar into a creation that is somewhat unorthodox. He is grossly out of proportion, with toothpick thin legs and an enormously heavy upper body teaming with body fat. His face is warped, almost beyond recognition, and his head is mostly bald with some messy strips of hair sporadically growing. I wanted to make a unique avatar, as I believe most people who play this game are trying to escape their problems in the real world, and would probably make a physically perfect avatar to control in a new world. However, I want to take my own approach to see how my hideous creature is to be judged in this world where perfect bodies are free to obtain. Already in my limited experience of the game, one of my classmates made the comment that I looked like I came out of a cave. I think I will switch my appearance back and forth between a normal looking guy to my anamorphic blob. This way I can compare how I am judged as an average looking guy, and then judged as a hideous being. I believe this will be an interesting aspect of the game to study.

of Wendell Berry

Wendell Berry's readings were quite interesting to me, being as he is a native from Kentucky, such as myself, and clearly expresses an avid respect and understanding to nature.  I can relate to these values of respect as well, being as I am an eagle scout and have enjoyed exploring nature my entire life.  Berry personifies the values of nature in his work A Native Hill.  All of his descriptions of his home town and the sights around it come across as quite poetic, which conveys a deep meaning of the environment to him.  A moment in the essay that comes to mind is the part when Berry describes himself learning how to hunt as a boy.  He was taught by a negro who worked in his area, and learned the art with great precision and patience.  Berry became a natural at the sport, but soon had to question what he was doing.  He did not feel comfortable killing creatures he did not intend to eat.  This was simply disruptive to the environment, so he decided to cease hunting.

The way Berry describes community is interesting.  He describes home as a place where one is born and raised, and like it or not, they can not change that place.  They grow up learning their surroundings, and the way the people there live and interact with one another.  When Berry decided to leave home and travel to new areas such as Europe and New York, it was then that he began to make realizations as to what home really was.  In these new areas, he would observe the evils of society with a sort of curiosity about them, because after all, he was only going to stay temporarily.  But in one's own home community, they are responsible for all of the evils that occur, and they can not escape those.  It is one's own doing to shape their society, and be held accountable for the way the rest of the world views that society.  But away from the possible negative aspects, one can only have a single home.  To return there is sacred, as you understand and connect with the people like the native in which one is.  This sentiment can not be taken away, and the true happiness of returning home should be lived and enjoyed.

In That Distant Land, Berry describes what his grandfather meant to him, and the events that transpired up until his demise.  Much how Berry expressed the importance of his home land in A Native Hill, Berry described the importance of his grandfather in this reading.  Berry describes how his grandfather would always assist him and aid him in anyway possible while he was a child.  Berry returns this helpfulness to his grandfather in anyway possible during his time of ill health.  He would take painstaking care to get anything he needed, to spend the night with him, and allow him to be as comfortable as possible.  Berry expresses the willingness of his grandfather to accept his help, he is not too proud to accept it.  He explains how this embodies a kind of companionship that each member takes an equal part of.  I believe this is a very important aspect of a community.  Everyone involved in a community should take equal part, and contribute whatever it is they can contribute in order for the entire community to thrive as a whole.  If there is even one weak link in a strong metal chain, the chain will break, compromising even the strong links.  For a community to truly prosper, everyone must communicate and express what it is that needs to be accomplished to succeed.

All of these values should be implemented to have the most successful community possible here at UK.  Everyone should take pride in their new community, and convey and express ideas with one another in order to accurately target a common goal.  Apart from this, everyone should individually look for aspects in a community they are most enthusiastic about.  For example, it is clear that Wendell Berry has a true passion for nature.  Berry strides to make sure all of the aspects of nature are preserved in his native home community.  Each one of us should find what it is that we respect in our community, and try hard to retain and preserve that aspect by personal attempts along with help from each other.  What about our community is truly important to you? 

Autobiography

My life:

I was born in 1990, here locally in Lexington, Kentucky. I lived in the same house my entire life, up until a few weeks ago when my family moved to Nicholasville. I have a sister who lives in Nashville, getting an MD PHD at Vanderbilt as a med student. One of my activites while growing up here was being involved in the scouting program. I earned my Eagle Scout rank in 2006 and am the 7th one in two generations of my family to do so. One of this highlights of my experiences was a 2 week backpacking trip to a reserve in New Mexico. Here, me and my crew hiked near 100 miles. I have traveled to New York, Las Vegas, Washington D.C, Mexico, and Europe.(France, England, and Italy all this summer). In highschool, I won the State Championship with my high school drumline 3 out of my 4 years, and got to play in the 2007 Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. My general interests include playing drums, photography, and just taking it easy.

In college, I am majoring in architecture. The program is fun and helps mold individuals into the people necessary to complete the work needed out in the real world. This program also seems to consume the majority of my time, as we have many projects and things that need to be worked on outside of class. So I would say most of my current interests revolve around architecture, although I hope not to let my musical skills dwindle in the process.

As for my personality, I scored INFJ on the assesment, or "Introversion, Intuition, Feeling, Judging". As far as a learning preference, I prefer hands on activites or visual aids to learn most effectively. So far in the DSP course, I enjoyed the simulated cultures event we did. It was difficult to transfer from the trade oriented, fun loving Betan culture to the sinister, government obsessed people of the Alphan culture. Well maybe I'm a tad biased, but it was interesting to discuss the differing views of each culture.

Feel free to comment on my life, I would say I'd make changes, but unlike a blog background, it's pretty much gotta stay the same.

Cosmopolitanism 1- The Shattered Mirror

Decided to do some light reading this morning after math class, so figured I would start out this book. The first character described in this book, Richard Burton, is an interesting man who has obviously dedicated much of his life to studying cultures not native to his own. I find it fascinating that he took it upon himself to study so many languages, and even different religions. In this chapter, Burton states how it is impossible for man-kind to agree on the threads of morality. Why is this so difficult? Why can't man-kind simply agree on one divine law, or book to get all of the answers on ethics from?

On a side note, this section briefly encounters the term "Zoroastrianism" I remember studying this in world history class in highschool. So for those of you who do not know, the religion originated in Iran, and is based on a monotheistic principle, and has many similarities to Christianity.