10/2: Elie Wiesel quote:

“The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.”

9/29: See art attached below ("early culture art"). On the front of the notecard: Describe what you see: the “plot,” objects, people, expressions, positions, relationships, color, details you see, etc. Look at the description (size, material, date) – write that down and write about what ideas the new information gives you. On the back of the notecard: reflect – what does the art piece tell you about the culture? Its concerns? Its worldview? How does this connect with what we have been studying? What is surprising?

9/27: The longer assessment for Gilgamesh is attached below. You can find the David Brooks essay here or attached below ("Startling Adult Friendships").

9/24: Assessment (due Tuesday): I want to see how well you can synthesize what we’ve been studying – Cave Art, myth (and particularly our functioning definitions of myth), “Adapa” and Gilgamesh – with what a growing body of scientific knowledge is saying about an aspect of what it means to be human. To that end, we are going to listen to an NPR piece about “dignity therapy” – it’s about “the stories we tell ourselves at the end of our lives…” and what those stories have to tell us about man’s relationship to life and especially with death. Here’s what I want you to do – as you listen, take notes about what you hear. Be listening for ideas and phrases that strike you as particularly meaningful and important (especially given our discussions). Show me that you are listening carefully and critically by taking good notes (worth up to 40 points). After you've listened, reflect on what we’ve studied so far through the lens of this radio piece. Use what you find compelling in what you heard as a springboard for writing about how this view into what it means to be human is reflected in what we’ve studied. Use at least three specific examples from at least two of the pieces (bolded above) that we’ve studied so far. Make sure you are clear and specific about your examples and the connections you are making. Each example (based on accuracy to he text and appropriateness of argument) is worth 10 points. Each explanation (analysis) of the example in terms of making connection to the radio piece and what it means to be human is worth 10 points. I reserve the right to deduct up to 10 points for grammatical issues that get in the way of understanding.

If you cannot access the radio piece through the link, here's the url: http://www.npr.org/2011/09/12/140336146/for-the-dying-a-chance-to-rewrite-life.

9/23: In class: What is the state of the ending of Gilgamesh? What did you make of it? What has Gilgamesh learned and how? What do you make of the old man’s shrug (that speaks what we cannot)? What does this story tell us about what it means to be human, about loss, about wisdom? Write for 5 minutes (at least a blue book page). Divide a blue book page into three columns. We are breaking down Armstrong's quote in order to get a handle on the "heart of great silence" that Gilgamesh looks into. Label one column unknown, one extremity and one indescribable. In each column, brainstorm words you associate with the Armstrong word (strive for abstract nouns like: love, loyalty, death, darkness, etc.). Star words that you think are most important to the myth.

Homework: take one of your starred words and look back over the poem and find evidence connected to that ideal. Look for quotes, for specific plot points, etc. Make a list in the blue book. Fill the page.

9/16: For Friday: Your task now is to close read three sections in an effort to come to a better, more nuanced understanding of your group’s topic (and its larger role in the myth). Choose three sections to close read (2 from the reading we have already done, and 1 from the reading for Friday). A close reading section should be about a page long. As you read, bullet in your blue book words, phrases, ideas expressed about your topic in the section (pay careful attention to word choice, as you did with the poetry). If you have chosen a good section, your list should be long. Then, after close reading, reflect about WHY what you discovered matters (what insights it gives you into your topic, what traits you see developing in character, how your close reading informs your understanding of the role of your topic in the myth, etc. This reflection should be about a page long.Team David – Gilgamesh’s character , Team Moses – Enkidu’s character, Team Adam and Eve – the view of women, Team Daniel – dreams and prophesies, Team Noah – violence and destruction , Team Joseph – journeys and quests

9/15: In class - group discussions about what we saw in Gilgamesh. Epic conventions. Work on poems of antiquity. Read through Book II tonight. See "Clarifying the Quotes (Armstrong +)" and "Enheduanna poetry" below.

9/14: Gilgamesh - Use the opening of Gilgamesh to explore two out of the three questions below on your notecard (one on each side – due Tuesday):What does the opening of the poem have to say about man’s relationship to/with: boredom, nature/natural world, fear

Here’s our reading schedule: through page 35 for Tuesday, finish Book II for Wednesday, through page 68 for Friday, through 80 for Monday, finish for Wednesday.

9/11: HOMEWORK: See "Adapa and the quotes" below.

9/10: Working with "Adapa" Find two - three close reading sections to help you more deeply understand your topic (bulleted ideas on one side of the notecard): A. Ea's character, B. Anu's character, C. Adapa's character, D. The world of the divine, E. What the myth says about what it means to be human.

9/9: We watched a portion of How Art Made the World today so we could actually see cave art in the caves, so we could see modeled for us the sorts of lines of inquiry historians, anthropologists and others use to better understand the past, and to get a sense of the human timeline (as we understand it now) and where the impulse to create fits on that timeline. You can watch the video here (we watched the first 18 minutes). FOR HOMEWORK: read "Adapa' (attached below) and complete the Adapa bullets (also attached below).

9/2: Cave art blue book assignment attached below. Classwork: in your journals, describe what you see in the Washington Crosses the Delaware painting below. Describe plot, characters, setting, objects, relationships,color, light, dark, etc. Describe rather than analyze. Write for 4 minutes. Then, go back and read what you wrote and find 3 description details you could analyze. Underline and number these, then below, present analysis for each detail (number the analysis to correspond with the details). For example, if your detail is "There is ice in the water" then your analysis would say something like: "The ice in the water suggests to me that…"