Thesis Project

Thesis Project

 

Thesis statement and paragraph description

A thesis statement will be composed of a single sentence, an assertion of which you will attempt to convince reader in the body of the paper.  This statement introduces the reader to both your topic and your point of view concerning that topic.  In crafting a thesis statement you will be articulating your point of view on a topic and addressing a central question or problem that your topic raises.  One process that might help you craft a thesis statement is to start with a short paragraph that describes your topic of interest and then raises some important questions that are relevant.  Brain storm and start writing a paragraph on your choice of topic. You will have to craft that paragraph so that your choice of language highlights a topic that will peak a reader’s interest, and at the same time you will choose questions that further draw that reader into your project.  After crafting this paragraph, distill the content into a single sentence that conveys the point you want to argue. That is, look for the central point you are trying to make. It may be that your idea for a thesis changes slightly after you have worked through the paragraph and it distillation.

After you craft the thesis statement, write out the thesis in a separate sentence and label it as a thesis. Then rewrite the paragraph as a clear description of your project.

 

Due on September 24.

Valerie Fliss - Personal Myths and Ecstasy

I was reading Ms. Rowe's posting on her reaction to Zoltan's visit and ecstasy, and it struck me that what she was saying was very similar to something that I had just read in G.K. Chesterton's book, "Heretics." Mr. Chesterton was discussing the temperance movement in America, which believed that alcohol should not be drunk for pleasure and only for health reason, and was saying that this stance was a dangerous and even immoral thing, stating, "If a man drinks wine in order to obtain pleasure, he is trying to obtain something exceptional...But if a man drinks wine in order to obtain health, he is trying to get something natural; something, that is, that he ought not to be without."

Wine (or alcohol in general) is often compared in literature to ecstasty - like in Rumi's poetry, drinking wine is a symbol of trying to attain a higher state of being. Mr. Chesterton's quote makes a very good point, one that I think ties into this idea of religious/artistic ecstasy and humanity; religion, or myths, can serve as both a source of pleasure, in which way they become a way to ecstasy, but if humanity seeks out religion or myths as a way to obtain something that they think they have to have, that they do not have in life, it will not lead to ecstasy. Also, though, in using these religions or myths in such a way almost corrupts the religion or myths - they become mundane and lack mysticism, and ground us in the material world all the more.

Seeking ecstasy because you feel that you are missing it will not bring you ecstasy, or give you that higher mindset; but if you look at something or do something because you genuinely want to do that thing for its sake, then you will find ecstasy. So for Ms. Rowe, if she really wants to go out and take a long walk like Zoltan did, then go for it! Participate, enjoy, and you shall find ecstasy! And just as Zoltan came and shared his myth ('myth' being his experience with that sort of ecstasy that comes with the contact of ultimate pleasure and triumph) to inspire us, hopefully you too shall inspire others to discover ecstasy!

Kristen Rowe - Ecstasy

9/16/2009

This blog refers to a couple weeks ago when Zoltan came to speak to our class, however long ago it has been, I still feel as if I should blog about it. When Zoltan first came into our class, I was wondering what he was going to speak to us about, and when he explained it was about his hikes, I was instantly intrigued. When he started to talk about his journeys on the Appalachian Trail and across Spain, I couldn't believe that he was actually here to speak to us about this because I feel like this was something you'd normally see on t.v. When he said he'd first started walking, he didn't know why exactly he was walking these trails, and then later he reached the Sacred Places that were at the end of these trails, he knew then. To be able to just choose to do something, without any reason of knowing why you did it, until you complete the task, is so amazing to me. I feel like we spend the majority of our lives, paying bills, and working ourselves to death, and we rarely get the chance to do something we actually wanted to do. Zoltan has achieved that twice already, and I don't think he'll stop at just that. I feel that if I were to have walked both of those trails from beginning to end, I would feel a sense of ecstasy. That I would literally be standing outside of myself and so filled with joy that I couldn't believe that I had just done that. One day, I hope to feel the same as Zoltan has when he completed his journeys because him speaking was truly inspiring.

Amanda DeSalme-Music as "Demolishing"

When I first read Van der Leeuw's last chapter of "Sacred and Profane Beauty: The Holy in Art," I was baffled by his description of how music fit into theology. Where dance is associated with rhythm, the word with speaking, and the image with forming, music is associated (according to Van der Leeuw) with demolishing. Music is the eschatology branch of theology, or the doctrine concerning ultimate or final things such as the 2nd coming or the Last Judgement, or all that craziness you read about in Revelations. I was so confused because I always felt music was healing, not demolishing. But when I think about the "Last Judgement," I don't consider it to be all fire and brimstone. Of course, I don't really ascribe to any religion in particular, but I do believe there is some kind of powerful being or spirit of sorts. But this isn't supposed to be about my personal beliefs. His description makes sense as he goes on to explain it, but I still would not have chosen the word "demolishing." In class Mr. Redick mentioned something about how music is the most abstract of the art forms, since it goes beyond language to express something words cannot. In this sense it can come the closest to portraying that absolute truth, or so it seems. And I guess we would experience this revelation of absolute truth in the end of days, at the final judgement, at death, whatever you would like to call it. So Music, if it is associated with death, could be said to be "demolishing" of life, but I would rather see it as the pathway to a new start, because who knows what happens after death? No one can say for sure. Yes, some people have incredible faith about afterlives, and these people might be thinking that music should have a more hopeful word associated with it as well. I suppose it demolishes our ignorance, our facade that we are accustomed to, so the truth can be revealed to us at last. Yes, that is how I will think of it. I had no aim originally to this post but to try to come to understand this association of music with the word "demolishing" and it seems that through my incoherent babbling I have come to something that works for me. I still feel that the best word to describe music is "healing" because it has that affect on my soul, but I can see how this word "demolishing" can be associated with it as well. Music demolishes boundaries. Music breaks through into unknown realms.

Explicit Religious Art

Jennifer Byerly

Art affects us in both explicit and implicit ways. There is art that stirs emotion within you almost immediately, that shocks and startles you as seen as you’ve seen it. It sends your mind racing – like it’ shouting at you to see it, to understand it, to feel it. Not always in a good way, but there’s something to be said for things that move you, whether beautiful or not.

I started thinking about this when professor Redick talked in class about the Campina and how some art was very subtle, the beauty of the pilgrimage itself, the scenery and small momentos people left behind, while others were more explicit. Hispanic religious art is a good example of this I think… There is a kind of starkness to Hispanic religious art that I find outstandingly beautiful, and even a little startling. Even looking at some of the images Dr. Redick showed during the slideshow of pictures he’d taken during his pilgrimage reminded me of this. Little pieces of art in chapels and large crosses… The subject matter alone is just so interesting.
Demons and angels, and skeletons, lots of depictions of Jesus crucified, or crying blood – take for example one of the most quintessential pieces of art in Hispanic (and namely, Mexican) culture: the sacred heart. If one weren’t to know any connotations behind the art at all, one would simply see a heart, encircled by barbed wire, on fire, with a cross stuck inside it coming out of the top. That’s kind of intense.

And yet it’s a symbol of something good, and pure, and loving, without negative connotations, despite its somewhat gory appearance. It’s a beautiful and simple depiction of a complex series of beliefs and histories – and it stirs emotion in us almost immediately. It made me think; is God to be found or better reflected upon in simple and muted scenes and songs and colors? Or rather bright and terrifying depictions that aren’t always comfortable. I’m beginning to lean towards the latter, god is awesome. And not always in a good way. Awesome as in awe-inspiring. Humbling. It’s a scary thing to feel so overwhelmed and little, and that is something God inspires in people everywhere. It’s like what the Beavers said in Lewis’ novel. When asked if Aslan (A lion/analogy for God) was safe, the beavers replied, “Of course He isn’t safe; but He’s good.”

Artistic Therapy: Rhythm and Harmony

By Jennifer Byerly

In class last week we talked about how rhythm and harmony make up all art. In “Poetics” Aristotle lays out the basic framework for his philosophy that rhythm and harmony, in different combinations, are the foundations for all of art. This isn’t so bizarre a concept when thinking about something like music, where the harmonies and rhythms are audible and obvious. But for instance think of sculpture; definitely a form of art, and yet… So silent and still – could there be unperceivable motions and sounds running through the world like some kind of inaudible and untouchable artistic current?

“Just as form and colour are used as means by some, who (whether by art or constant practice) imitate and portray many things by their aid, and the voice is used by others; so also in the above-mentioned group of arts, the means with them as a whole are rhythm, language, and harmony —used, however, either singly or in certain combinations. A combination of rhythm and harmony alone is the means in flute-playing and lyre-playing, and any other arts there may be of the same description, e.g. imitative piping. Rhythm alone, without harmony, is the means in the dancer’s imitations; for even he, by the rhythms of his attitudes, may represent men’s characters, as well as what they do and suffer. There is further an art which imitates by language alone, without harmony, in prose or in verse, and if in verse, either in some one or in a plurality of metres “ (http://www.authorama.com/the-poetics-2.html).

If art is an imitation of life, then dance and painting and drama all reflect on the beauty and pattern of the natural world. This means the world itself is composed of multitudes of rhythms and harmonies. The weirdest part of this concept to me is that it is one that spans all different times and places and is a reoccurring belief in multiple cultures. Take for instance, the Confucian prescriptions for ritual and everyday conduct. The Chinese believed there was a delicate balance and order to life that ought to be observed by certain rituals and prayers. A failure to do these things would disrupt the delicate balance and harmony of the world – these patterns could even be found in traditional art and music (http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/CHPHIL/CONF.HTM).

Having an off week? Feeling out of the loop, like everything is going wrong? Maybe all you need is to restore that imperceptible balance and natural harmony the world is keeping around you. I know there have been times when it’s been a terrible week and I’m in a bad mood and all that makes me feel human again is sitting down and concentrating on painting or writing. Maybe this unintelligible harmony and rhythm the world works so hard to keep us in line is perceived through our minds or our hearts. Maybe this connection with the rhythm and harmony is one as essential as food or water or sleep.

art: spotlight on life

Kelsey Garegnani

I thought it was very interesting when we talked the other day about CS Lewis's toy garden.  It really simplified how some times a reflection of real life can can affect us more powerfully than the real deal.  When we are in life we fail to notice the subtle beauty and lessons it has to offer but reflections of these things in art highlight them to us.  By focusing on one aspect of beauty or emotion art let us stop being bombarde with all the messages we're in taking everyday and let ourselves be hit by one in particular.  One way I saw this recently was through the movie 500 Days of Summer.  It might be debatable if movies are art but i think cinematography is so ill still use it as an example.  The movie tells of a love story  where you feel apart of the relationship and feel that its perfect.  When it ends, you, as a viewer, are crushed!  You feel like its not fair and you thought that it was going to be happily ever after.  But then as it keeps going you start to see the guy moving on and in the ends he meets another girl...and even though you don't know what happens it ends in hope.  While it sounds like a depressing movie I think it showed the intricacy and emotion of a relationship and a break up because you feel apart of it.  The movie makes you go through all the emotion of the guy in the movie, wanting the relationship, thinking its perfect, thinking its not fair that it ended... and then the hope of something better.  This happens every day in our lives and the lives of others but we don't stop to notice or learn anything from it.  The movie, though, put you in such a position that the message and the emotion draws you into what it wants to show you so that you can see something in a new way.