New England: Landscape

Last time in class, we spoke of how America was "un-tame" and "wild" when the Englanders first arrived. I like to think about what the colonists perceived when they first arrived to this new land.  In "The Puritan Reading of the New Landscape" I read some interesting paragraphs about their first thoughts.  The most interesting point for me was that two Puritans could regard the New England landscape so differently from one another.  Just as the article states, "William Bradford stepped off the Mayflower into what he described as a 'hideous and desolate wilderness.'"  This portrays New England as a sort of scary, unknown, and hopeless place.  But John Winthrop on the other hand, saw things in a completely different light.  "'There came a smell off the shore like the smell of a garden," he said.  What a promising and nice place he made it sound... I think this shows how each person's perception of landscape can be unique.  What is beautiful to one person, may be hideous to another.  Perhaps landscape's appeal is subjective to every person.

Landscape

I found myself to still be thinking about Stilgoe's article over Landscape in America after reading it.  The idea that landscape evokes certain kind of emotions within people is an interesting thought.  I thought a lot about my own house when I read his piece.  This is because I found so many parallels between my house's landscape and what Stilgoe had to say.  

I know that my mom particularly loves the idea of traditional American landscape (what can I say, she grew up on a farm).  My parents actually built our house the year that I was born, so it was planned precisely how they wanted it.  I live in a small rural town, and my house is a few miles out in the country.  They built our house on a hill 300 yards from the main dirt road.  "The detached house surrounded by land kept in equilibrium remains the spatial epitome of the 'good life'" - This describes my house perfectly.  

Before I left my hometown this year, I asked my mom why she chose to build our house away from the road, people, and town.  Ultimately, she had many different answers such as "not wanting to deal with neighbors" and "keeping road dust away from the house", but her real reason was because she wanted to see the countryside.  After reading Stilgoe's article, this makes sense more than anything.  Americans are fascinated with landscape, and build homes reflecting that, such as my family did.  

my kansas home.

Westerkamp vs. Smith

In addition to the required Westerkamp reading, I also chose the article "Out of Her Place: Anne Hutchinson and the Dislocation of Power in New World Politics" by Cheryl C. Smith.  After reading the two articles regarding Anne Hutchinson, I've thought about the message that each of them were trying to convey.

In Westerkamp's article, she points out the sheer magnitude of Hutchinson's importance to women in colonial New England.  She states that Hutchinson was intelligent, powerful, fascinating, extraordinary, and more.  She takes a position of approval for what Hutchinson was trying to accomplish in colonial New England.  Westerkamp agrees with the 1930's biographies portraying Hutchinson as a "pioneer for civil and religious liberty, crusading against the strictures of Puritan society."  Westerkamp's message is that Anne Hutchinson was a controversial and rare woman of her time.  Hutchinson went against social norms and introduced the importance of women to the church- something that was unheard of in those days.  She was one of the only women in colonial New England to have a controversial voice against the church, and to Westerkamp, that was a great thing.

Smith's interpretation of Hutchinson focuses more on women's issues in general, and the power of women.  According to Smith, women simply cannot obtain power without some sort of sexual appeal or victimization.  In the colonial times of Anne Hutchinson, women were portrayed as the cause of problems for men.  Smith noted that Hutchinson was unable to win public appeal because she was "the quintessential transgressor in colonial America: unwilling to merely chat or babble, incapable of making herself small, and repeatedly framed in terms of monstrosity by her detractors." ...

I would argue that many women in today's society struggle with the same problems that Anne Hutchinson did in colonial times.  Smith showcased how difficult it is for women even nowadays to gain high political offices, and how women are "supposed" to be submissive to men.  I find all of that quite ridiculous.  Women should not be in fear of men's power over them.  Anne Hutchinson shows us sheer courage in being one of the few 17th century women to hold herself equal to men, and for that, I think she can be inspiring to all of us.

Ale-Alejandro

I was told that the fourth blogpost entry for the week does not have to relate at all to American Conversation.  And so, with those words, this blogpost begins:

As some of you may know, I received a pet betta fish last week.  His name is Alejandro.  He's the basically coolest fish on campus and the official corridor mascot of Hoyme 4 South (represent).  I received him as a surprise gift, and it was all kind of overwhelming at first.  I mean, I already had responsibilities of homework and class, and now a fish too?!  Needless to say, I got kind of stressed.  My roommate even bet that Alejandro wouldn't last more than 10 days...(I'll show her!)  But now that Alejandro's going strong on his ninth day, I've figured out that this pet betta fish is essentially the perfect pet for me. Here's a few reasons why:

1- He is low maintenance.
I feed him every other day, change his water once a week.  Piece of cake.

2- He's a conversation starter.
Ever since I posted a sign on my door saying "Come meet my new fish!" I haven't had a problem meeting new people.

3- He's a good distraction from homework.
Don't get me wrong, I get my homework done, but Alejandro is entertaining to watch between pages and pages of reading.  And he's the only other living thing in my room when my roomie is gone.

4- He keeps me company.
I moved here from Kansas knowing just a few people who go to St. Olaf.  Alejandro keeps my mind off of missing my friends and family back home too much.  He's my new buddy.

Although this post was filled with a little sarcasm, there's some seriousness in it as well.  Ever since my roommate made the "10 day bet" I've been determined to win that bet.  So tomorrow, when I wake up and find Alejandro still swimming, I'll be smiling :)

^ My new friend.

 

Puritans, Pilgrims, and Religion

In Friday's readings, I noticed a common theme of Christianity.  When these groups of people came to America, they really put all of their faith and trust in God.  Their religion was almost the factor that tied everything together and helped them stay united.


Both the Pilgrims and Puritans were so devoted to their God.  In today's society, it's hard to believe that religion could ever be that prevalent and thriving- especially in a "government document" such as the Mayflower Compact!  The Mayflower Compact and the Model of Christian Charity both begin with strong statements stating their loyalty to God.  The first line of the Mayflower Compact: "In the name of God, Amen." The first line of A Model of Christian Charity: "GOD ALMIGHTY in His most holy and wise providence, hath so disposed of the condition of mankind, as in all times some must be rich, some poor, some high and eminent in power and dignity; others mean and in submission."


Statements such as these would be so extreme nowadays.  I wonder if the Pilgrims and Puritans were considered to be extremists of their time?

Perhaps this is what the Pilgrims had in mind all along?

PS- This was a LOT of information to read through and I had a very hard time choosing what to write about.  I hope that my interpretation was in some sort of correlation to what I should be gathering mentally after reading these articles. - Liza

Reading Takaki

After reading Takaki, I thought he brought up a lot of good points.  One being that American History teaches mainly only about European immigration and it's influence on American culture.  Because he is an Asian American, he noticed how little attention was given to Asian Americans in the development of the United States.  I agree that it is an unfair assumption when seeing a person of an obviously different race that they are not from the United States.  Just because someone does not have white skin, light eyes and hair, does not mean that they are any less American.  Textbooks written about American History unfortunately only give little knowledge on any countries other than European countries.  This is really ridiculous, just as Takaki has stated, because people of European descent aren't even the majority.  

When meeting someone from a different culture than yourself in the United States, I think that it is crucial to not place a judgement based on what only your eyes can see.  I must remind myself that the Europeans were not the first to come to America, and they are no more "American" than essentially any other immigrants from around the world. 

I found an excellent quote by Lyndon B. Johnson that I felt fit Takaki's message well: 

"[The United States is] not merely a nation but a nation of nations."

Learning to Love Olaf

Me and my partner Sarah began this poem together, but each finished it differently.  Here's the result of my product:

because it has something for everyone

because we say "Um Ya Ya!"
because we smell the Malt-O-Meal
and because we live on the hill

because it is a community

because we are in Minnesota
because we are not at Carleton
because we like snow "dont'cha know?"

because we strive for a better future

because the windmill is a guide point
because we're all about sustainability
and because we recycle

because I have homework every night
because I am paying serious money
because I'm too far away to go home.

Analyzing Poetry

I wanted to analyze Barbara Ras's poem "A Wife Explains Why She Likes Country" because it was the easiest one for me to relate to.  I grew up in a small Kansas town where the majority of the people consider themselves to be "country folk".  I also thought Ras did an excellent job sharing her interpretation of country life, and there was a lot of truth in it.

I thought the diction of this poem fit well with the context, because it used both simple words that cut straight to the point and words that could be considered "country slang".  When she begins her poem, she describes the colors of the cows, the grass... emphasizing simplicity.  I love the slang that she uses- hubbub, smarty-pants, fixin'... Her choice of words is great because it sets the mood for the entire poem.
I found that the rhythm of this poem uses some iambic language but I had a hard time deciphering the type of foot... The first lines of the poem: Because those cows in the bottomland are black and white, colors anyone can understand.
When I read this poem, I especially noticed the imagery that was being used.   A LOT of visual: "Cows in the bottomland are black and white... Even against the green of the grass... Hair bigger" Auditory: "The sounds of mealworms and leeches" (Yuck!) and, and even Tactile: "My people come from dirt" (I could feel the dirt in my hands at this point.) Figures of speech were also used; I love the line about the slide guitar "melting".

This poem brought me to a place where I could picture and feel the country life around me.  I enjoyed reading it because I could see the farmlands, the people who stick to their guns and religion, the women with big hair who love to dance and listen to sad country songs when they are heartbroken, the trailer parks and ponds in backyards, and a place where life is content.

What is The American Dream?

After reading Cullen's introduction to The American Dream and re-reading Foner's introduction, the idea that struck me to be the most similar between the two was the fact that America's dreams and freedoms are always changing.  Freedom is a collection of ideas from many, many Americans over hundreds of years.  The idea itself gives hope and dreams to people, just as Foner stated.  As Foner said, "Freedom is both an idea and a practice."  This, to me, directly relates to the idea of positive and negative freedom.  In my opinion, negative freedom is the "idea" and positive freedom is the "practice".  This idea of American freedom is to be able to do whatever I please, and the practice is to have the control...
I'm most curious to hear what other people's idea of The American Dream is.  In Cullen's introduction, he talked about the change of The American Dream throughout history.  When I think of The American Dream, I think of Cullen's latest accounts of it:  The big home ownership, family, successful job, and even fame.  But I think that everyone's interpretation is different just as both authors have stated.  Many Americans' dreams are full of equality and I'm interested to hear what my fellow classmates have to say about their idea of The American Dream.

Free Speech and Disagreement

Today, I really enjoyed our class discussion about the readings.  My favorite part of the conversation was being able to connect each reading with the other two.  It really helped me understand how they related to one another and helped me to focus on the “bigger picture”.  

I found it to be especially interesting when Athena shared her insight of Chinese culture with the rest of the class.  In many Americans opinions, Chinese government’s control of the internet is a terrible thing- taking away an essential freedom… When she pointed out that she does not view it as a bad thing because it’s keeping their people from being afraid or scared, it gave me a better understanding of their culture.

Overall, my favorite reading/listening assignment was the podcast on “The Great Textbook Wars”.  I found this to be the most relevant to me because I’ve grown up hearing about what is “right” or “wrong” to be taught in schools.  In my home state of Kansas, there was a big controversy over whether or not evolution should be taught in public schools just a few years ago.  In my opinion, the most important thing is having a wide and diverse selection of authors to choose from because this will cultivate the best learning environment for students.