Iconstasis and Hagia Sophia

February 2, 2016 by kaleobbusmann 1 Comment

Iconostasis is a wall of religious paintings or icons that separates important sanctuaries of churches from the nave.It can also be an icon stand that can be placed anywhere within the church.The purpose of iconostasis is to separate parts of the church reserved for priests and clergy members from church members. The theological implications to incorporate this style in the church was to create a link between heaven and the nave or holy place. The pictures or icons that are portrayed in this style represent the bridge into heaven and separate. The portraits separate the altar from the eucharist and from the larger portions of the church designated to regular church members.Iconostasis evolved around the fifteenth century in Eastern Roman Empire and is associated with Byzantine architecture. Iconostasis is still prevalent in most Christian churches and Eastern Orthodox churches today. Iconostasis can also be seen in Hagia Sophia, in Istanbul Turkey. Once a Christian basilica, then an imperial mosque, and now a museum; Hagia Sophia has a fifty foot silver iconostasis in it. The purpose of the iconostasis in Hagia Sophia was to close of sections of the altar, which were only accessible to the clergy. Hagia Sophia was first built by the Eastern Roman Empire and means Holy Wisdom. It was the biggest operational cathedral in the Byzantine era and was also used to crown rulers when it was used by the Romans. The iconostasis was removed when Hagia Sophia was turned into a mosque, and was returned when it was turned into a museum. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iconostasis#Theological_implications).

Interpretations of the first thanksgiving

January 30, 2016 by lindsayhaskins 1 Comment

Part 1:

All three of the stories mostly encompass what I remember hearing as a child. “First Thanksgiving” was the only story that mentioned the tribe hearing the gunshots of from the pilgrims and thinking that they were going to war and then finding that they were just about to celebrate. That is something I remember as a child. Also the second story “The First Thanksgiving” mentioned a child named Oceanus which I don’t ever remember hearing about. The last story seemed to mention more on the voyage over and the troubles they had during the voyage which is also another part of the story I remember from childhood.

I think the last story “The Pilgrims and America’s First Thanksgiving” is closest to what I know now. The second story seems really fictional and sort of strange. The first story just lacking as much detail as the last.

Honestly I don’t think that my understanding of Thanksgiving has changed all that much. Obviously it has changed from what I was taught as a child, with the generic stories and all. Thanksgiving as a child in school was about the pilgrims and being in America. As I got older I think anything about the first Thanksgiving faded away and it became about being thankful for what we have as a family and coming together as a family, on every single thanksgiving. Other then being a child and talking about it because we were currently learning about it in school, we never talk about the “first thanksgiving” on Thanksgiving day.

Part 2:

The colonies getting here and attempting the promise of collectivism honestly is not something I really knew about. Not in the stories I remember as a child nor history classes that came after elementary school. I think its really interesting that it didn’t take starving colonies long to turn towards capitalism.

All four of the stories seem compelling enough to change what I know about the colonies and the first thanksgiving. It would make sense that coming for a new life collectivism is most enticing but wouldn’t end up working.

Richard J Maybury- Author of many entry level books on history, economics and law from a libertarian stand point.

Rush Limbaugh- Conservative political narrator. Knowing a little about Rush, he is an entertainer an author and talk show host which I think goes with being an entertainer.

Del Tackett- Former president of Focus on the Family, seemed like his teaching and books are focused around Christianity.

Aier.org- Mission statement on website “American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) conducts independent, scientific, economic research to educate individuals, thereby advancing their personal interests and those of the Nation”. Aier seemed like the only article that wasn’t influenced by a political stand point or religious stand point.

I don’t think knowing more about the authors changed my views on the articles because they all pretty much said the same thing in the sense of the “true story”.

Part 3:

I found the articles in step 2 more interesting because to me these articles and the NPR seem aggressive and talking about the obvious discrepancies in the stories we hear as children and what the truth of the first Thanksgiving is. I think it is obvious to most, or I hope it would be obvious to most that much of what we are taught in school throughout all of the grades is the sheltered edited version of the truth.

I think they are compelling as to change what I thought of the story when I was a child. We all now it wasn’t rainbows and cupcakes, it was colonizing and new and dangerous. There is always more to the story then what we are told.

Kate Zernike- national correspondant for the NY times. Covers education, congress, criminal justice, hurricane Katrina, and national elections.

NPR- national and public radio both privately and publicly funded.

Education World- From the about page on the website “Education World is a complete online resource that teachers, administrators and school staff can visit each day to find high-quality and in-depth original content”

Internet Archive- non profit digital library.

teaching tolerance- From the website about us “Founded in 1991 by the Southern Poverty Law Center, Teaching Tolerance is dedicated to reducing prejudice, improving intergroup relations and supporting equitable school experiences for our nation’s children”

Compared to step 3 I think these authors and websites have more credibility because they don’t seem to have politics or religion guiding them.

Part 4:

To make interpretations are accurate I think that one would need to make sure they are looking at the source and the back ground of the source.

I think any one should look at again the author and where they are getting the information from. I think this is the basis whenever some one is looking for facts or information on anything.

I would look at databases for the most accurate information.

I honestly am not sure where i would look for seoncday sources.

Thanksgiving, competing interpretations

January 30, 2016 by indeabennett 1 Comment

step 1:

Which of these readings was closest to your childhood understanding of the first Thanksgiving?

The pilgrims and Americas first thanksgiving was the closest version i remember learning as a kid. A few less facts but i remember very well learning about them fleeing religious persecution from the king and how miserably long the trip was. I never learned about thanksgiving in a diluted fashion like a childrens thanksgiving which seems almost to childish for someone learning about a historical event.

Which article comes closest to your current understanding of that event?

i would say the National Geographic Kids article comes closest to my knowledge of the event now. I have a better grasp on the history but i still couldn’t tell you for the life of me when they landed in new plymouth or who was the first town leader/mayor.

How has your understanding of the event and celebrations of the holiday changed over your lifetime, and why?

of course my understanding has changed, i am much more aware of the racial and religious issues of the time because i’ve had a long time to develop my view of historical events. I now know that it wasn’t just a blase eating occasion or that the Native Americans were even truly respected in relations with the pilgrims. they sat down together but they didn’t eat together.

Step 2:

1.Do you find these interpretations interesting? Explain.

very, i hadn’t known they were bound to a contract by the investors for a socialist society or that they point blank stole from the Indians so openly. I knew they stole but i thought it was a little more subtle and manipulative.

2.Do you find these interpretations compelling—that is, are they reasonable or accurate enough to change your previous understanding of Pilgrims or the first Thanksgiving? Again, explain.

definitely, it makes a lot of sense. Anyone who has read about American history and how we deal with foreign peoples to us cannot in good conscious say that it’s out of the realm of what Americans have always done/been capable of.

3.Google the authors of each piece and/or explore their websites. Who are they? Briefly summarize what you learned about them.

I learned that Richard j maybarry has written about economics for the U.S. government for several decades and that he is a well published expert in the field. That Del Tackett, though speaking on the Christian organization behalf has spent thirty years in the economic field doing research. And Rush Limbaugh is one of the most listened to radio and t.v. personalities who speaks on political topics.

4.Does knowing more about the authors change how you view their interpretations of the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving? Explain why your perception of their interpretations did or did not change.

No my perception didn’t really change, all of this information is new and somewhat biased in the way that a person not from the time wrote it. Really in these first stages i feel credibility is tentative at best so it doesn’t hold much sway.

Part 3:

1.Do you find these interpretations more or less interesting than the readings in Step Two? Explain.

the sources were very interesting in that part 2 we learn about the less than pure(itan) nature of the realtionship with the native Americans, involving stealing and socalist contracts. in this reading we learn about the reflection of the wapanog people and how that time of history is a crucial memorial for them.

2.Do you find these interpretations compelling—that is, are they reasonable or accurate enough to change your previous understanding of Pilgrims or the first Thanksgiving? Again, explain.

i do find them very compelling, for as long as i’ve learned about thanksgiving it has never been with the understanding or view of the native Americans involved. which is kind of strange considering they were there, they played a crucial part and yet all i knew growing up was that “the indians taught the pilgrims to fish and grow crops of beans, corn and potatoes.” i have heard those lines a milllion times but not that the wapanog gather to mourn or that the event is still so significant to them as well.

3.Google the authors of each piece and/or explore their websites. Who are they? Briefly summarize what you learned about them.

Gary hopkins is a history teacher. Bob Edwards is a Peabody Award-winning member of the National Radio Hall of Fame he began his career in 1968 and now reports for NPR. Kate Zernike is a correspondent with the New York times, she shared a 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting.

4.Does knowing more about the authors change how you view their interpretations of the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving? Explain why your perception of their interpretations did or did not change.

The articles by actual Native american descendants as is obvious, had more weight to their credibility. Those done by white writers were valid but not as a meaningful. They could include as many facts as necessary but it wasn’t the same. How can someone talk about the thoughts, feelings of a people that are not theirs?

Part 4:

1.How do you think an historian would make sense of the event known as the first Thanksgiving? What steps would he or she take to make sure her narrative and interpretation are as objective and accurate as possible?

I think the first step is to gather as many accounts of the event as possible. Journals and diaries would be useful for examining the pilgram side but for the native americans they would have to rely on first hand accounts. Then to get an idea of the event, if avaliable they should look at other works on the topic if not they would have to consider the dynamics of the relationships. The relationship of the pilgrims and their benefactors, pilgrams and and the king, the pilgrims and eachother and then the native americans. how do these relationships really measure up? is it plausible the relationships were based on mutual respect? or did the new americans only have there bleak survival on their minds that would lead them to desperate act. They’d have to examine the pilgrimes as a people and individual aspect to determine the direction and validity of the event.

2.How would the average 18- to 30-year-old American go about making sense of these competing articles? How do you suppose he or she would determine which interpretation is most compelling?

which ever one present the most factual looking data. People establish credibility with numbers quickly and then if they research the authors they would be likely to trust a proffesor or someone in the feild paid to know such things. Also continuity of information is important.

3.If I were to ask you to find primary sources related to the first Thanksgiving, where would you look?

i would go to the ablertons library website and go to the history section to hopefully find a specific search site for the information. If that didn’t work i’d look at JSTORE and then google scholar.

4. If I were to ask you to find reliable secondary sources on the first Thanksgiving, where would you look?

again i would probably look at a database finder but i think google scholar would work well enough in that scenario.