� 2001-2006 by Shiloh
�
Our second reading in this World Lit. class is "The Epic of Gilgamesh." The version we're reading is a translation of a conglomeration of various tablets that span half a milennium(?). From Sumerian to Semitic to Babylonian to Akkadian, in which language (the Akkadian) the stories of Gilgamesh were compiled and put together.
Our first paper in this class is supposed to deal with the epic. Since it's only 1-2 pages, she wants us to take one issue we found in the story and show her in our writing we're critically thinking about what we're reading. You should see the types of questions she's written out in an effort to help give us a direction. I don't have my notebook out right now, or else I'd provide an example. But trust me when I say she's pushing the boundary into overanalyzing the literature she has picked for study.
I'm already thinking about the approach I'm gonna take in the paper. It's not very creative like one or two of the suggestions she's made, but it'll help me make more sense of the Sumerian/Mesopotamian culture/evolution of writing. Sound like a good topic? I hope so, cause I intend to compare and contrast the Inanna poems to "The Epic of Gilgamesh" in context to the evolution of Mesopotamian writing from the time of the Inanna hymns/poems to that of when King Gilgamesh was considered a legend.
In Grieving we discussed religious and cultural views on death. Oh, and different death trajectories that describe the types of death or when the dying process begins. Sounds morbid, I know, but that's the major cause for the topic of the class. We covered the origin of the term "Angel of Death"--according to her, it's an Islamic term, but I have to disagree with that, unless Islam came before the Bible. I'm sure I saw the term "Angel of Death" in the Bible during the story of Moses and the 10 Plagues of Egypt.
She also touched on reincarnation when we were on Hinduism. I think she kinda wanted a dicussion on this, but nobody really had an opinion they wanted to share that would have sparked a debate. The concensus was passive...if that's what they believe then more power to 'em. I would've said something, but I was in to much pain to be in to it, plus I would've been spouting my own beliefs, stemming from the LDS point of view, and that's not what she wanted I don't think. I better go; I'm running out of steam here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
El oro y amores eran malos de encubrir. [Gold and love affairs are difficult to hide.]
~Spanish proverb~
|
moon phase |
