Journal Assignment 1 (Part Deux)

Here we go...

ITALY

  

 

Italian horn - "il malocchio" or "the evil eye"; It is a protector from evil and from anyone who wishes harm upon you. 

Yessss :-)

 Blood oranges = symbol of Sicily

"Rice balls" - Every Christmas, we make rice balls as a family.  It's an all-day event that involves everyone in the family.  We make about 400 and ship about 1/3 of them to family in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida.  Sooo good.  

M.I.A.

• The artist known as M.I.A. is my personal hero and idol.  She is the daughter of a Sri Lankan Tamil rebel and political activist.  Because of the conflict, the first years of her life were marked by displacement.  As the civil war in Sri Lanka escalated, her family fled to Chennai, India.   Eventually her family moved to London as refugees of the conflict.  She learned English and graduated from Central Saint Martins School of Art & Design.  She now lives in Brooklyn. 
  
• Her music screams for the empowerment of the developing world, human rights, and combatting poverty.
• She came to OSU last spring and it was one of the best experiences of my life.

 

1968

• My favorite year ever is 1968: The Year the World Rocked
• There was war abroad, riots at home, fallen leaders, and the lunar landing.
• In the year of riots and rebellion, even the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games became a tumultuous arena of dissent, violence, and discord with the massacre of students by the then dictatorship just days before the Games.
• The Soviets invaded Czechoslovakia in retaliation to liberalism.
• The French government was brought to its knees and nearly collapsed.
• North Korea captured the USS Pueblo.
• The Tet Offensive in Vietnam.
• Martin Luther King was assassinated --> race riots.
• Andy Warhol was shot.
• Police crackdown on anti-war demonstrators at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
• And the list goes on...

Democratic National Convention, Chicago, 1968

 

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 1968

Paris, France 1968

Vietnam 1968

Mexico City Olympic Games, Mexico 1968

FILMS

• La Meglio Gioventú
• Life Aquatic
• Batman: The Dark Knight
• Tropa de Elite
• James Bond: Casino Royale

SONGS

• The Animals - House of Rising Sun
• Cat Stevens - Where do the Children Play?
• Rod Stewart - Maggie May
• The Cure - Just Like Heaven
• The Doors - Light My Fire

WORDS I LIVE BY

"Pride goeth before destruction."

"Everything is impossible until somebody does it."

"Be a Realist, demand the impossible." - 1968 Slogan

"People shouldn't fear their governments, governments should fear their people."

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." - President Lincoln

"We declare our right on this earth...to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence by any means necessary." - Malcolm X

"The ignorance, contempt, or neglect of the rights of man are the sole cause of public calamities and of the corruption of governments." - The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, 1789

"The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns; the pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious of the rose." - Khalil Gibran

"There is madness in love, but there is reason in madness."

THE BOTTOM LINE

Journal Assignment #1 (Part 1)

Readings!

The readings for week one illustrated a completely different perspective of Jerusalem.  I always assumed Jerusalem was a sensitive issue, but the readings added so much more complexity and headache.  The first reading, "Researching East Jerusalem", made my head spin when they were debating how to represent the festival.  I understand the urge to not offend either party (Israelis or Palestinians), but seriously.  I always have viewed Jerusalem as everyone's city and no one's city.  Shouldn't that be how the city is represented? 

Expectations!

I think this course is pretty unorthodox and tests the boundaries of academia = AWESOME.  Also, I've never been a fan of conformity, so I am pretty optimistic for this course.  I sincerely hope that we as a class can maintain some sort of humor and informality during class discussions and lectures.  I intend to bring this aspect to the class whenever possible. 

Baggage!

The moment I know you all have been waiting for...

I'm just going to write a few lines that will try to illustrate my own personal bias.  My reasoning behind this madness is that everyone has a bias.  Therefore, if we are going to have scholarly fun with one of the most controversial topics (Jerusalem!), then I think we should be transparent with our own biases in order to maximize mutual understandings and to minimize cross-cultural conflict whose origins are in miscommunication.

Media sources, for example, are charged with presenting a story accurately to the public.  They gain journalistic integrity and credibility on the basis of being "fair and balanced" (Fox) or "the most reliable name in news" (CNN).  But we all know it's a bad joke.  And in this class, some of us might be Foxes and others CNNs.  So I for these reasons I think to be upfront and transparent with our baggage will help us to capitalize on the enthusiasm for cross-cultural exchange by deliberately bringing together clashing perspectives on Jerusalem for the purpose of developing an all-encompassing perspective and identity which exists alongside everyone's "rooted" perspectives and identity (of culture, nationality, ethnicity, religion, etc.).

With that said, you should know the following about me:

• I was raised as an Italian/Sicilian Roman Catholic.  Meaning my brand of Catholicism is blended with pagan beliefs rooted in Sicily since before the Pre-Christian times. 
• I use to be very devout, but my involvement with the Church has fallen off the cliff in recent years. 
• I was born and lived in Miami, Florida for 15 years.  There, my best friends were Jewish, Muslim, and Catholic (I met my first Protestant when I moved to Columbus 7 years ago).
• I think the British mandate system (and Winston Churchill) is responsible for the modern-day political hardships in the Middle East.
• I have some pretty strong criticisms of the Israeli government and the Palestinian factions who choose violence over peace.
• I'm just an American university student who studies Portuguese and International Studies.