The Elite Eight

Well, I'm pretty excited to find out which of the "Elite Eight" events will go on to win the championship and become our next area of investigation in Aquinas: Truth in Society. The event I have been researching with my group has been the Tiananmen Square protest of 1989, and I feel that it has great potential to have an inquiry done about the beliefs involved in it. There are a few other events that I also feel could host an interesting investigation, with the remaining events lacking a concrete direction. It has been a great learning experience to look at these events in such detail, and look beyond what is broadcasted about them in the news. Seeing many different perspectives on these significant events results in recognizing interesting beliefs, and seeing how they were challenged or changed.

Critical Thinking

The necessity of critical thinking has played an important role in Truth in Society lately. In each discipline, discussions have been based around situations where one must think critically, as a simple answer is not clear. In Religious Studies, our discussions have mainly been addressing the question of who the book of Revelation is benefiting, and why. Naturally, this question has branched off into many different directions. In English, we have been stopping, looking back, and thinking twice about sentences we might normally read casually. This process helps one to discover the pre-existing beliefs of the author, and how they effect the story(deciphering whether or not the text is subjective). In Journalism, we've recently been discussing the controversy surrounding 9/11; mainly the ethics behind taking photographs of unpleasant events. Once again, this situation doesn't have a straightforward answer, therefore assessing the situation critically is essential. As the three disciplines once again unite as one, I expect that the focus on critical thinking will continue to be prominent.

Seperate Disciplines

I've really enjoyed the time we've spent in Aquinas focusing on each discipline separately. What I've particularly enjoyed is our focus on the reports written by war correspondents in journalism. We've read some interesting stories, watched some intriguing films, and have had some good class conversations on this topic. The fast pace in religious studies (switching from Cults to Mary Magdalene to the book of Revelation) has also been quite informative. We've briefly looked at the significance of wording in sentences, and its impact on meaning in English. However, while the three courses are separated, I wish more of an emphasis would be put on the English discipline. Religious Studies and Journalism have entered worlds of their own, but our English course has yet to do so. In my opinion, our English class would benefit from such activities as poetry analysis, Shakespeare analysis, short story analysis, or the study of a novel, and written reports based on these works. But overall, the divided course segment of Aquinas has been very interesting.

Back At It

We have just completed our first week of Aquinas for 2010. So far, I feel the course is heading in a good direction. Particularly the pace of Journalism has been exciting to me. It is quite interesting to look at the reasoning behind people's beliefs during large scale events with significant consequences. An example of this is during Hitler's rise to power, sparking World War II. Otto Adolf Eichmann's beliefs often seemed to be inconsistent, resulting in his destructive actions despite his "gentle nature". The "Banality of Evil", as it's referred to by Hannah Arendt, has not been uncommon throughout history. It is interesting to compare this with one's belief system, and can be inspiring for a person to begin to look more closely at the consequences of what may seem like the "normal" thing to do.

Pirates

Lately, the theme of Truth in Society has been pirates. After reading an interesting pirate article, many sub-themes were brought up, encouraging further research. So we created web folders to store our research, and research discussions. Ways to properly research have been heavily emphasized lately, and a difference can be seen after using more scholarly sources. We have now managed to narrow down our investigation focuses, which I am happy about. I feel that I now know enough about research methods, and hopefully will continue to learn cool things about pirates. I expect my future research on other topics will benefit from the in-depth analyzing we did on proper online research.

Aquinas Update

Aquinas has been quite busy these days. In Religious Studies, we are analyzing the Bardo Thotrol, or Tibetan Book of the Dead. Having access to excerpts from the actual book, and having the chance to watch a very informative film on the book, has allowed for a great look into this Tibetan Buddhist custom. In English, we continue to discuss aspects of "Doubt", and have received a written text of the play, along with watching a live presentation of the play, and watching the movie. Due to all of these sources, I feel very informed on the play, yet its complexity is something that allows for these ongoing discussions. Finally, in Journalism, we have been sharing stories of significant turning points in each other's lives. Our class has been very open with one another, and there is definitely a nice sense of community there. I look forward to the upcoming classes, and whatever surprises they may bring.

I have attended a few classes of the Aquinas Program: Truth in Society, and it has been a very unique experience. It is a class that highly emphasizes the continuous discussion and flow of ideas, and the importance of everyone’s participation. I have had class discussions in other classes, but with Aquinas, it is the most open, with essentially no limits on the ideas that can be shared in discussion. I appreciate the things I have learned about class discussions. The ways in which it can bring in diverse new ideas that can be connected back to an area of focus, and that silence in this situation is not discomfort, yet a means of thought process and mental idea flowing.

I have enjoyed the discussions in which we search for “truth” and what can be further researched after analyzing a piece of writing. I can feel this process strengthening my personal opinion on what I read, and my ability to assess information and determine its importance and justifiability.

I look forward to the upcoming class discussions, and also the occasions. To me, this program is a great supporter of having one’s mind opened to new ideas, and the ability to share these advancements in a comfortable community.