Fall Reflection

Shanzabeh, Timurid School Painting 1410-1420, National Library of Iran, Folio 18-Verso

Fall Quarter: Websites, Translations, and So Much Reading!

I wasn't expecting Humanities Core to be easy, but I was also in no way prepared for the new challenges I was going to face throughout my first quarter alone. From medieval animal bestiaries to website creation to Persian literature, this first quarter pushed me further out of my comfort zone than I could have prepared for. The website project itself forced me to present my learning through a medium I had never before used in my academic career. The process of gathering information, writing according to the prompts, and having to make it all into a cohesive and aesthetically pleasing website was an unanticipated challenge -- and so much fun! What I loved most about the website project was the creative freedom we were given to make each prompt and website page entirely our own.

As Humanities Core content exposed me to brand new stories and concepts, through the website project I was able to tie them back to aspects of my life and previous education that are close to me. I'd never even heard of a bestiary before Humanities Core, so being able to write about my favorite mythical creature of all time - the siren - made it infinitely easier and more interesting to engage with an idea that was brand new to me. A Midsummer Night's dream was a play I've adored since middle school, and yet literary analysis has never been a strong suit of mine. Combining a concept I'm extensively knowledgeable about, theatre, with a brand new writing technique was so liberating and challenging in all the best ways. When we finally reached the section of the course on Persian literature, the texts were so rich, so complicated, and so incredibly new. But, once again, I was allowed space to interweave the learning I was doing in HumCore with a lifelong passion of mine, activism. I'm so grateful to have been able to explore so many new facets and methods of education by way of the website project, and I look forward to delving even deeper in the Winter and Spring. See you then!