The Single Creator

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The history behind the “The Great Hymn of Aten” itself is very interesting and one of the main reasons why I chose this creation story. To see a king dedicate himself and his whole nation to one god and as soon as he dies, the people change back to their old religion. This hymn was created to celebrate the sun god Aten.

This creation story tells me that the king Akehnaten viewed Aten as the source of all life. This hymn only tells his point of view, but we know that he changed his name to mean “He who is effective for Aten”. (p. 29)

Akehnaten praises Aten with not only the growth of crops, but with human life. “Who makes seed grow in women, Who creates people from sperm; Who feeds the son in his mother’s womb, Who soothes him to his still tears.” (lines 45-49) Aten is responsible for all functions in the natural world instead of the numerous others that had once been the gods. Aten also seems to soothe a person and feed unborn children.

A question I have for the class is: why is king Akehnaten the only one who praises Aten throughout the whole hymn and what are the changes he implemented? The only thing we get about the situation is the brief history in the beginning of the text.

Akehnaten views Aten as a god that does not openly do good, but in secret. “How many are your deeds, Though hidden from sight, O Sole God  beside whom there is none. You made the earth as you wished, you alone, All peoples herds, and flocks;”. (lines 63-67) This can be described easily with the sun not always showing its effects, but is relied on in daily life.

The whole hymn is really just Akehnaten claiming is he is the only one who truly knows and appreciates Aten. “You are in my heart, There is no other who knows you, Only your son, Neferkheprure, Sole-one-of-Re, Whom you have taught your ways and your might.” (lines 106-110) Akehnaten even claims to be his son and knows his godly powers as well.

“The Song of Creation” from the Rig Veda

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This creation story was very refreshing to me because it’s written in such a way where unknowns are acceptable. In a genre that has been dominated by religion, admitting that you don’t have all the answers is a rare thing. We can see this when the author asks the question “so who knows truly whence it has arisen” (line 24) when referring to creation. It’s pointed out that even the gods came later in creation (23). This is a very open-minded way of looking at things. Even as we get to a more original creator, the author still questions whether the creator actually fashioned it, or took part, and even whether he knows or does not know of it (26-28). Is this creation story meant to galvanize people around a certain way of belief?

I loved the dichotomy in this text. It reminded me on the yin and yang, and of the phrase “two sides to the same coin”. One verse that stuck out began with “in the beginning desire descended on it” (13), which was followed by “that which is, is kin to that which is not” (16). Could this be a reference to fear, the opposite of desire?

This creation story reminded me of the Bhagavad-Gita. There was a lot of introspection for a creation story. Many qualities of the mind were mentioned, such as wisdom, strength, impulse, and desire. Do you find there to be similar qualities between the two texts? Or is it just a predisposition to think so, since we just finished reading the Bhagavad-Gita and we know both texts are from the same region?

Is “The One” the first human or a God? Desire descended on “The One” so I have assumed it to be the first human. Who are “the Sages” in this text (15)? They seem to be an ever-present force, monitoring the creation of the world and life.

At what point in history do you think this text was written? It’s said “the gods themselves are later than creation” (23). Is this the dispelling of a polytheistic religion or did the culture always believe that the Gods weren’t the root of all creation?

I think we can learn a lot from this text. The way the subject is approached is very opened minded, or without attachment, and it’s possible to say “I don’t know” with complete confidence.

The Manliest of Them All

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For centuries, humans, creatures and other worldly beings have been trying to decipher texts from Sumerian societies. Once texts have been analyzed, readers must try to understand what is going on in these stories. Life before the common era was substantially different from the life that everyone lives today. Many people would attribute this difference with the culture change that has happened over time.

In “The Rivals”, two young boys are fighting for the same girl. Now this is no normal love triangle. Nor is this a story with a predictable happy ending. One day while walking home, the three of them encounter a leopard. Now one would assume this would be the perfect time to show this girl who is the stronger out of the two by fighting the leopard. So as one of the boys throws a spear at the Leopard, the other boy joins in to try and be the hero. Unsurprisingly, these two nitwits run out of spears because somehow they completely missed the Leopard. Now these two then decide it would be a smart idea to go and get more spears. Long story short, one of the boys eventually ends up killing the leopard, while the girl ends up being “killed”. Finally, after a long battle with the leopard, they were able to kill it. However, who ends up with the girl? As we look back ,was the battle even worth it?

This tale of two boys fighting for one girl seemed very predictable at first. However, it ended up leaving me surprised. Somehow, the author basically let each boy kill the same leopard. Now how is this possible you ask? I do not know. However, one thing that I would like to know is which one of these boys is this girl going to end up with? In todays world, the author of this tale would have definitely made it so that everyone had a happy ending. Luckily for us, were talking about a tale written thousands of years ago. One that left a reader such as I, craving for more.

Through this story, I cannot say that I understand how they viewed god at the time. However, I believe that in the world they lived in, they never planned ahead. In today’s society people make plans that wont happen for decades from now. Instead of worrying about that, they should be worrying about tomorrow, because no one is guaranteed tomorrow, and that is exactly how these people who wrote this story felt. Also, I believe that they lived life very unrestricted. In today’s world putting death in a children’s book is ridiculed and deemed absurd. However, back then no one cared about any of those things. Now that is a society in which I would love to be apart of.

Now I have a lot of questions that I know will remain unanswered. I don’t have a time machine, so no, traveling back in time would not be possible. However, I do have two questions for the class and they correlate with one another. The first being, which boy is the manliest and gutsiest of the two, and who do you think the girl ended up with, and why do you think this? “Rivals” is a fantastic love story. One that shows does not involve love and revolves around action. Clearly, stories such as “the rival” need to be talked about in todays society.

Makeup blog post assignment for 9/21

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This blog post serves as a “make up” for the 9/21 class we should have had in person. Doing this assignment counts as your being “present” for that class day, and it counts as your participation credit for that day (in other words, if you don’t do it it counts as an absence; once you do all steps, you have full participation credit for the day). See the three parts below.

Part 1 and 2: Post your blog by Friday (5pm), so that there are enough posts for people to comment on for the second part of the assignment.

Part 3: Post your comments on other classmates’ blogs by Sunday (5pm).

  1. Write a blog post of about 350-500 words about one of the Creation Stories you read for 9/21, or about a group of creation stories (like the short Yoruba creation stories). In this blog post, you should try to answer one or more of the questions below (see alternate questions for writing about Genesis. Whatever questions you address, be sure to quote phrases/sentences from the text:
    • What is this creation (or stories) about–what stands out to you about them, and why?
    • What does this creation story (or stories) tell you about how that society viewed God, the cosmos (universe) and the  world?
    • What questions do you have for us as a class about this story/stories?

If you are writing about the Genesis creation stories: note that many scholars have observed that Genesis recounts 2 different creation stories (Genesis Ch. 1 is the first; Genesis Ch. 2 and 3 is the second). If you write about Genesis, consider these questions instead/as well as:

    • For the first Genesis creation story (chapter 1), what can you tell about how the community writing and reading this text viewed God, the cosmos, and the world? Specifically, what do you observe about God in Genesis 1: what kind of God is he, and how does he treat his creation? Use quotes/examples from the story itself.  
    • For the second Genesis creation story (chapter 2-3): Compare this version to the first version: what differences do you notice between Genesis 1 and Genesis 2-3? How does the God in this story compare to the God of Genesis 1? Use quotes/examples from the story itself (and try to find specific places where God seems to act/speak differently from the God in Genesis 1)?

2.   Before posting, look to the right side of the screen where there’s a box labeled “categories.” Tag your post as “Creation Stories” so your post goes specifically to a place on the blog just for creation stories (you can find this place in the menu on the top of the page).

3.   Once other classmates have posted: Look at at least a few of your classmates’ posts: choose two on which to comment, one of which focused on the same story/stories you did, and one that focused on a different creation story/stories than you did (if this is possible). These comments only need be 100-200 words but they should be more substantial than just “good point!” Instead, you might:

    • Address a question in your classmate’s post (especially by bringing up a passage from the text that helps answer that question).
    • Provide more textual evidence for a claim/interpretation in your classmate’s post, to expand/elaborate on your classmate’s claim.
    • Propose another interpretation for a passage your classmate brought up in their post, or propose another way to interpret the story.  
    • Compare the creation story your classmate addressed to another creation story you read, or the creation story you posted about.
    • A combination of the above suggestions.

No in person class; participate through blog instead

Student blog posts

The instructor who was going to come in today to facilitate our class for me has unfortunately fallen ill,and as of this morning, has told me she is unable to come to class. As a result, you don’t have to come to class in person today.

In place of coming to class in person today, you will come to class digitally through our class blog. I will update this blog with specific instructions for what you need to do to participate digitally on the blog: look for the instructions for the details of what you have to do by the end of the day (you will have till Friday to complete the blog assignment). Completing the participation assignment on the blog will count for both your presence in class (in other words, that you are not absent) and for your participation for the day, so make sure you do it! I’ll be putting the makeup blog assignment soon, but I thought it was more imperative to let you know first that you don’t need to show up physically for class.

Apologies that this announcement comes so late. I’ll see you next Monday for Medea. Email me with any questions you have about the readings and/or this makeup blog assignment, once I’ve posted more details about it

Creation and the Cosmos Part I (Volume A):

Student blog posts

From the Creation and the Cosmos theme of the Norton Anthology, the texts share some insight on how the world began or how it was created from the “unscientific” oral and written traditions of antiquity. In the Norton Anthology, “The Great Hymn to the Aten” and the excerpts from Genesis offer notions of the beginnings of heaven and earth, however they differ in their cultural contexts, with the hymn praising the sun god Aten for his creation and sustenance of life in Egypt and the excerpts from Genesis describing the sequence of God’s creational universe. Both touch upon how mankind and humanity came to be, but the main similarity of both texts is the emphasis of monotheism. Even in the Rig Veda of India, there is the idea that something greater had existed, before the other gods, that had been involved in the creation of the universe; “But after all, who knows…The gods themselves are later than creation…Whence creation had its origin/ he whether he fashioned it or whether he did not…he knows-or maybe even he does not know.” Now based on the prevalence of monotheism in their explanations, can one assume that monotheism was very dominant during this period in which philosophers were trying to uncover the origins of the world, because as stated in the introduction to the hymn to Aten, Egyptians were against the fact that their religious beliefs in other gods were neglected, and also tried to abandon the capital of the King Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV) after his death. This shows that there is much conflict in their religious beliefs during the period. What influence would this have had on Egyptian culture? What role does religion play in the overall explanation of the beginnings of the universe?

Citing the Norton Anthology

Writing guidelines and resources

WORKS CITED:

Author’s last name, first name. Title of Work. Trans. Name of Translator. The Norton Anthology of  World Literature. Gen. ed. Martin Puchner. 3rd ed. Vol. A/B/C. New York: Norton, 2012. Page numbers. Print.

The Epic of Gilgamesh. Trans Benjamin R. Foster. The Norton Anthology of
World Literature. Gen. ed. Martin Puchner. 3rd ed. Vol. A. New York: Norton, 2012. 95-151. Print.

IN TEXT: Use parenthetical citations AFTER the quote! 

As Arjuna prepares to enter battle against his family members, he questions, “O Krishna, what good is kingship?/What good even life and pleasure?” (Chapter 1, verse 32). 

AVOID SAYING PAGE/LINE NUMBERS IN SENTENCE ITSELF:  In Chapter 1, Arjuna says, “O Krishna, what good is kingship?/What good even life and pleasure?” 

  • Save page numbers for citation; instead, give context for quote (who says it, what is happening, etc)!

 

MORE ON IN-TEXT CITATIONS: For your short papers and other papers, here is how you should do your in-text citations from Norton World Anthology texts:

For texts with line numbers and section numbers: instead of citing the page number, instead cite section and line number

Gilgamesh: cite the tablet number and the line number. For the first time you cite it, write the words “tablet” and “lines” out: (Tablet X, line 13). After that, just give numbers: (X.14-17).

Bhagavad Gita: cite the chapter number and the verse number. For the first time you cite it, write the words “chapter” and “verse” out: (Chapter 3, verse 33). After that, just give numbers (3.43).

Medea: cite the line number of the text. For the first time you cite it, write the word “lines” out: (lines 119-120). From there on out, just cite the number (143-145). Same goes for Hymn to the Aten.

Sakuntala and Othello: cite the act and line number.  For the first time you cite it, write the words “act” and “lines” out: (Act IV, lines 119-120). After that, just give numbers (IV.119-120).

Short poems (Tang dynasty poems: cite the line number of the poem. For the first time you cite it, write the word “lines” out: (line 1). From there on out, just cite the number (1).

The Pillow Book: cite entry number and page number (20, p. 1136).

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight:  cite the Fitt and line number.  For the first time you cite it, write the words “Fitt” and “lines” out: (Fitt 1, lines 70-73). After that, just give numbers (1.70-73).

Short paper #2, due 9/16 or 9/28

Writing assignments
This short paper can be on:

Wednesday, September 16th

Selections from Bhagavad-gita (1282-1301) (Volume A)

Monday, September 28th

Medea, lines 1-680 (pp. 783-803)
OR
Creation stories on the syllabus for 9/21 (you’ll be covering these on the 21st, but you can hand in your short paper on this date).

***

Close reading and argument: When we close read, we “observe facts and details about the text,” looking for patterns (repetitions, contradictions, similarities between characters and other parts of the text) (Kain). To observe and find these patterns, we should focus our attention on short, manageable passages of a longer text and annotate, or write notes on and next to, these shorter passages (annotation is a good way to help us keep track of observations, force ourselves to pay close attention, and to think not just silently, but through our writing itself). We then interpret these observations in order to make an argument (which should be an answer to a question or questions you formed while annotating and close reading the text).  An interpretation of a text is an argument for how to understand it AND why that matters. If we start from the assumption that all texts are trying to teach us something, then the interpretation is an argument for what it is trying to teach us, how it does so, and why that lesson matters for the text

Assignment:

  1. Repeat the process you did for the first short paper: Find a passage that sparks your interest, that you think could have multiple meanings, or that you find ambiguous: in other word, a passage about which you have some questions (remember short paper no 1!).
  2. Pay attention to the language of the passage: observe the language of the text by annotating it. In other words, underline/highlight key words and phrases–”anything that strikes you as surprising or significant, or that raises questions”–and make notes about the text in the margins (provide a cell phone picture or a copy of your annotations so I can see them) (Kain). As you did for the first short paper, ask questions that arise for you based on the passage (repetitions that strike you as odd, characters whose motivations are unclear to you, questions about whether a passage is celebrating or critiquing a social value presented in the text–see short paper prompt #1).
  3.  After you have attended to the words of the passage and asked your questions, try to pose an argument that answers one of your questions using what you have observed about the text. Note that an argument should be debatable (in other words, another person should be able to disagree with it), so if your question does not lead to a debatable answer, you haven’t found a good enough question for an argument (For example, the answer to the question “Who is Arjuna’s charioteer in Bhagavad Gita?” is “Krishna,” and no one will disagree about that).

Some instruction in how to do a close reading: http://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/how-do-close-reading

Works Cited:

Kain, Patricia. “How to do a close reading.” Harvard College Writing Center. Harvard U, 1998. Web. 21 Sep. 2014.