Final project Voices of Western Culture Art and Ideas Kaplan University September 2010

1. Voices of Western Culture Final Project Antone Silvia September 2010

2. "How to Analyze a Work of Literature“ All throughout my studies I have considered that I had a good perception of how to write. With this class being the culmination of my Associates Degree it will give me one more chance to hone my skills. With a decisive point of thought when reading, one should be able to look at the works deeper in order to gain the answer to the question or questions that are being sought. This point as well as preparing the writing in a way that answers the specific questions will lead to a better understanding of the literary works being read. With this being said I think that using this type of analyses in everyday life or within a profession would increase the awareness in the mind while evaluating any piece of work. With precise direction you would be able to look deeper at the whole work and compile much more specific opinions and answers.

3. The Journey of Analysis Then (July 7, 2010) Analysis process was more abstract without direction Now (September 12, 2010) This class has honed my critical thinking and made me more polished

4. Beginnings of Western Civilization The Epic of Gilgamesh had a major theme of death and how to avoid it. For Gilgamesh went to great lengths to preserve his live which ended up, like we all shall, melting away after the years have passed. I think we all age and yet still think as we are young and would like to remain that way, with our health and vitality, but as we all know this is not possible.

5. Beginnings of Western Civilization Now in the Iliad they both seek out the blessings and the gods wishes that the gods had given them. As the text states: In answer to him again spoke aged Priam the godlike (Cunningham 2010). In this writing the Gods have the power to give or take life. So the search for life has found the Gods.

6. Classical Rome When studying politics and ethics according to Aristotle one must take each object into perception according to the values. The values in mention are more like virtues such as, justice, courage, patience, etc. So given these virtues Aristotle’s method gave way to looking at the whole of the political or ethical issue and evaluating the whole situation. We have to keep in mind that much of Aristotle’s understanding was gained from time spent with Plato who helped Aristotle to form his own philosophical theories. One theory was that you had to have worldly experiences in life in order to study politics. The young are not seasoned enough in life and my use more emotion to come to conclusion instead of wisdom which is only gained with time. Aristotle had a lot to do with how politics grew to even this day. In my own life, now that I an older I can see firsthand what is meant by the experience of life. We may still feel like we are young but the older we get the more that our eyes are opened to the good and evil of man. Therefore as we age we are better prepared to meet the challenges that and elder has to deal with and there for should be a better judge of character.

7. Classical Greece The Statue of Kouros represents a Greek male from 600 B.C.E. The Kritios is considered being the forerunner to the later classical sculptures of athletes.

8. Judaism and Early Christianity In Job 37 Job finds out what God is capable of. He is becoming aware of what God is, what powers he controls and can command. In regards to both pleasure and suffering God can provide all things that a human could possible need. In the last few verse’s he looks at how to find him and what he should say. Continuing into chapter 38 God now shares with Job all that he has done for the earth from the creation of time to that current time. Job is shown how helpless he is without God. For God knows all, created all and is in control of everything in the world and we including Job are helpless to his will.

9. Judaism and Early Christianity Jesus gave his disciples the rules to live by that God had made. Jesus gave them the necessary information as well as the reasons behind it along with the means as to which to achieve these rules. This made God the father and Jesus the son and the Holy spirit was going to stay with the disciples as they made their journey so that they would all have the faith and power of the Lord God with them at all times. The disciples where to go into the worst cities and find people that where not worthy and spend time wit then to share the gospel of God with them. They must not stray from the teachings and by putting God and the wishes of God first will accomplish great things.

10. Islam The origin of Islam dates back to the creation itself. “Islam” the word itself means "submission to God". The Islamic Holy book or Qur’an describes Islam as an Arabic word Deen (way of life). The followers of Islam faith are called Muslims with the literal meaning of Muslim as "one who surrenders" or "submits" to the will of God.

11. The Qur’an assigns the title of “Lord of the worlds, The Beneficent, The merciful, Owner of the day of Judgment, Thee (alone) we worship, Thee (alone) we ask for help, Show us the straight path, The path of whom Thou has favored” (Surah 1 The Opening). This passage is by far in my opinion the epitaph of how Allah is portrait. There are many similarities from what the bible says. It is said in the Bible “You shall have no other God before me” (Exodus 20-3). There are other similarities and all that know the bible and are from a Christian way of life will see that. The Islam faith is more structured and there culture allows for the type of worship they give to their God. Islam

12. In the old testament of the bible God is portrayed as the father of all creation. He is seen as the almighty, the creator of heaven and earth, the one in control of all things. He seeks relationships with people such as Moses by whom he makes it clear that God is in control. Moving through to the New Testament we find Jesus, the son of God who is born from a virgin to save man from his sins. He is in search of disciples that will continue to carry out his work even after he returns to the right hand of the father. With his teachings he brings many great miracles that show the power of the father through the son. With the pinnacle of his live being his crucifixion on the cross, dying so that the sins of man may be forgiven. The Qur'an, the book of Islamic faith has been and is an accumulation of the Godly teachings for those who practice the Muslim religion. The stories within the Qur’an define who Allah, God is. Although much more rigid in the doctrine of faith, the Qur’an is the way of life for many in the Arabic lands. God is all to many

13. By this time in the course my senses are becoming more keen. With an emphasis being placed on the evaluation of artwork and our own literary works coming into the light. The critical thinking and analytical skills developed in this course are showing signs of development with these writings. The period of the Renaissance in this course as well is showing, at least to me a rebirth or considerable growth in the writing styles that I am using. This is evident in my mind as well as in the fluidity of my thought process to rise to the challenge. This course while not apparent in the initial evaluation, has been set up in a way to heighten the awareness of my senses and bring with it an enjoyment for art and literature that has long been dormant in my soul. The artwork on the next slide shows the growth with in the era of the Renaissance . This growth is dwarfed only by the growth that has been realized in my own personal development. While this period of growth took decades to develop in the artwork itself . This class has shown me more personal appreciation and growth in just weeks. At first I took part in this class as a required elective and am walking away with an appreciation that will stay with me forever. The Renaissance

14. The Renaissance The bronze sculpture done by Donatello is showing a much more graphic version of the battle of David and Goliath. This is evident with David’s left foot clearly on top of the head of the slain giant. Michelangelo’s David is done in a more pure Renaissance form. The muscular interpretation has an uninterrupted form and portrays a young physical male specimen in the prime if his life.

15. We call the 18th century the age of the enlightenment because it was both a culmination and a new beginning. Fresh currents of thought were wearing down institutionalized traditions. New ideas and new approaches to old institutions were setting the stage for great revolutions to come. From the interior to the coasts of Europe, to the shores of the United States on America, the enlightenment was evident. The Enlightenment

16. Weather it was in the form of a satire by Jonathan Swift, poking satirical gestures at the rich land owners. By the influence that Voltaire had in “Candide”. Or for that matter with the literary works that made there way across the ocean to become our declaration of independence. The time to enlightenment was truly upon us all in the 18th century. The Enlightenment

17. The literary period known as Romanticism stretched from the late eighteenth century through the middle of the nineteenth. This deeply emotional style of writing originally evolved as a rebuttal to the elite and elegant modes of writing that dominated literature before the French and American revolutions. If these political upheavals taught the world anything, it was that popular culture would no longer be dominated by the elite and elegant. Romanticism

18. Putting it all together Through the last nine weeks I have learned so much through this class. The ability to be able see changes in artwork that I never noticed before is truly amazing. With the new skills that this class has helped me to refine I have a new appreciation for the arts. This goes for visual as well as written. I have always had a deep appreciation for music as I played accordion, piano and organ since I was a young child. This class has completely filled the artistic genre’s and made me able to analyze all forms of art. As Leonardo da Vinci said “Art is never finished, only abandoned.” Now I have come back to the art that I was missing and made my artistic experience complete. Thank you professor Gage-West for an enjoyable time.

19. Reference Authorized or King James Version - Internet Bible Catalog. Retrieved September 03, 2010, from http://bibles.wikidot.com/kjv About.Com Guide. (2010) Comparisons Between Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Retrieved September 03, 2010, from http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/greecevsrome/ss/GreecevsRome.htm Books To Sell Orthodox Judaism. Retrieved September 03, 2010, from http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=13191 Concept of God in Islam. Retrieved August 16, 2010, from http://www.islam101.com/tauheed/conceptofGod.htm Contrapposto (2010) Retrieved July 22, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrapposto Cunningham L.S. (2009) Cultures and Values A Survey of the Humanities Mason, OH: Cengage Learning David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17:1-58) | .org - Worlds Largest Study Site. Retrieved August 23, 2010, from http://bible.org/seriespage/david-and-goliath-1-samuel-171-58 Holley, G. (2010, March 6). Divine encounter. Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal (Tupelo, MS), Retrieved from Newspaper Source database. Ipl2. (2010) Presidents of the United States (POTUS. Retrieved September 07, 2010, from http://www.ipl.org/div/potus/ Jean Philippe Omotunde (2010) Plato and Aristotle: the two pillars of western thought. Retrieved July 22, 2010, from http://www.africamaat.com/Plato-and-Aristotle-the-two Jos Smeets. (2010) Guillaume de Machaut | Classical Composers Database. Retrieved September 04, 2010, from http://www.classical-composers.org/comp/machaut Judaism 101: The Name of G-d. Retrieved August 16, 2010, from http://www.jewfaq.org/name.htm Of David - Michelangelo and Donatello. Retrieved August 23, 2010, from http://www.statue.com/statue-of-david.html Origin of the name Allah - Search. Retrieved August 16, 2010, from http://www.google.com/search?q=origin+of+the+name+Allah&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a Rss. (2010) Public Domain Gregorian Chants for Download | Royalty Free Music Clips. Retrieved September 04, 2010, from http://www.royaltyfreemusicclips.com/4-public-domain-gregorian-chants-for-download/ The Riace Warriors. Retrieved July 22, 2010, from http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Arts/RiaceWarrior.htm The. (2010) Botticelli: from Renaissance art to religion | Jonathan Jones | Art and design | guardian..uk. Retrieved September 03, 2010, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2010/mar/23/botticelli-renaissance-art-religion Thinkexist.ComQuotations. (2010) Leonardo da Vinci quotes. Retrieved August 31, 2010, from http://thinkexist.com/quotes/leonardo_da_vinci/ Web Gallery of Art, image collection, virtual museum, searchable database of European fine arts (1000-1850. Retrieved August 23, 2010, from http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/bio/d/donatell/biograph.html

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