Category: LIL120

QCQ #1

“In our time, science and technology cannot play an integrating role, precisely because of the infinite richness of knowledge and the speed of its evolution, which have led to specialization and its obscurities”

“But literature has been, and will continue to be, as long as it exists, one of the common denominators of human experience through which human beings may recognize themselves and converse with each other”

I wanted to include two quotations that disagree fairly blatantly with one another and are placed right after eachother as well, because I think they both play a role in the value of literature. The first one states that technology and science cannot play an integrating role due to its evolution, which I agree with. Technology evolves so quickly, especially now it’s very hard for older generations to keep up with the current, but they can always talk about books and literature. Just the fact that the internet itself was created less than 40 years ago and already we have access to the internet, a camera, calculator, telephone, and messaging service in our pockets – is mind blowing. This is why generations are so split with the understanding of technology. We have some who are born knowing it, then others who were alive during its creation and have to adapt to a completely new world. However my question would be regarding the second quote: Wouldn’t utilizing technology (iPad or Laptop) to analyze and read text and literature – even writing – be considered integration of technology?

QCQ #2

“A person who does not read, or reads little, or reads only trash, is a person with an impediment: he can speak much but he will say little, because his vocabulary is deficient in the means for self-expression. This is not only a verbal limitation. It represents also a limitation in intellect and in imagination”

This statement is one that I personally disagree with, especially with a large chunk of my generation not reading as much as old ones due to the uprising of a plethora of modern pastimes. I don’t read many books. I truly enjoy creative writing, and enjoy reading novels that I’m interested in, but don’t very often. However I also do know how to read and write therefore am not a true representative to challenge this statement. I think that it is ludicrous to say that knowledge of literature limits expression and imagination. Expression can be described as feelings that you show and feelings can be described with words, but they don’t have to be. Many artists – for example Chella Man – produce extremely imaginative and expressive work, but are hindered by disabilities that can stunt or slow their literary understanding. Elvis Presley didn’t know how to read music, but could create it extremely captivatingly. In my opinion knowledge of literature is a vocally expressive impediment and one that regards vocabulary, but not creativity. My question would be: what is the explanation of visual artists that are dyslexic or don’t read literature creating expressive art? 

“They feel artistic value is not so intrinsic in the work as much as a function of when the stance of a certain artistic approach is introduced to the public. A brown painting exhibited today could appear to derive from an obsolete concern to everyone, but, if shown tomorrow, it could be called fresh and new”. 

I think that this quote pulled from the Exhibiting section of the article is very true to how genres of art change today. When in the past (1800’s – 2000’s) art genres that were popular would be almost set in stone, especially in the older eras where art was at its peak evolution. For example in the 1850’s during the revolution against romanticism, realism was created and was extremely popular during this time. Whereas today, so many styles of art exist and we kind of draw from the old ways in my opinion. The ancient eras of art can be drawn from for inspiration, but today’s “genre” is such an amalgam of techniques and styles that constantly change with trends. One year acrylic pouring could be trending and the next impressionism or abstract painting. 

Why do you think in today’s society this flurry of styles came to be, were these trends a byproduct of social media and the internet? 

“There has been futile debate about whether photography, film, television, advertising, or industrial design are complete arts or not.”

This quote from the Fabrication section of the article is just a very good conversation point when it comes to the age-old question, “What is Art”? I ask myself and friends this question often because I am someone who does personally view photography as a form of art in some ways. Composition and rules of photography make it more difficult to do perfectly and to master in my opinion. Of course there is a huge grey area, and the reason this argument exists is rooted in history that dates back to the invention of the camera itself. In 1888, when the first camera was invented, realism painters now had to compete with a machine to capture reality. This sparked the first argument of many, and created this issue of whether a photo is “real art”. I personally view both hyper-realism and photography lower than most genres of art because I enjoy viewing an artist’s unique view or vision on a subject when painting, sculpting, etc. When copying reality what makes you different from a camera? Sure technique is there and it can be difficult and time consuming, but most pieces made this way lack flair in my opinion. 

What is your personal opinion on this age-old argument, and how can you justify your opinion? Why or why not are these forms of media considered art in your opinion?

One of my short-term personal goals this semester/ year is to meet more new people on campus. This doesn’t mean ‘make friends’ with everyone on campus, but instead get to know the names of more of my peers and get to know them, which could in turn lead to friendship. I think this is a very important goal because especially for me last year, going to a smaller school during the pandemic; it was extremely difficult to meet a lot of people (I was mainly restricted by the schools population). A related passage from “Why do we need the Liberal Arts” in Scheuers’ article states “The overall goal is to foster vibrant and prosperous communities with broad and deep participation , in public conversations marked by fairness, inclusion, and (where critical thinking comes in) intellectual rigor”. This small quote is actually one of the reasons I picked UNE to transfer to. I enjoy small inclusive communities, but still want there to be a more diverse population than my old school, which I feel like UNE stands for in some ways.

One of my short term goals that could be considered long term is to learn how to utilize academic knowledge that I learn at UNE in the “real world” after college. I feel that in High School this isn’t as focused on, usually leading to students asking questions like “Well how can I use this math equation in my life after school?” and most of the time teachers can’t answer them. I feel that now we are following a looser curriculum and taking classes that we choose, this is much more important not just from a professional standpoint, but from one for the sake of learning itself, as well. The quote I chose is from the UNE Core Handbook under section III, “Created to provide a foundation in the liberal arts, the core reflects the values of the college and is designed to prepare students for living informed, thoughtful, and active lives in a complex and changing society”. This quote reassures me that we will be learning how to apply out academics learned at UNE, to the outside world and beyond. 

“ Expand students’ ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing as well as through creative expression. “

This excerpt from Section IV Core Curriculum Objectives, of the UNE CORE Handbook definitely sums up most of my classes this semester in many ways. With one of my classes being in seminar style, we are expressing and contributing orally every class. A few of my classes this semester also have regular “Class Reflections”, at the end of each class period therefore allowing students to practice their writing skills and communication. Finally, as an Art & Design Media major I am utilizing creative expression probably the most out of these three aspects. Overall I think this style of curriculum allows students to become more well rounded academically by challenging them in different ways. 

1. Section II talks about “extra-curricular activities that reinforce core themes”, what are some of these activities? 

2. Section III talks about 4 themes. I was wondering how/if in some ways “Environmental Awareness” and “Social and Global Awareness” could go hand in hand or relate?