John's Blog

Our visit to archives and special collections was more interesting than I expected. One of the most eye-opening realizations this visit gave me was how many different forms of "books" there are. There are so many unique ways of putting text to paper throughout history. For example, Antigone was written on Papyrus. It was interesting to see an actual papyrus fragment of the play in the special collections exhibit because it connects one to the play's time period along with the words written. It is an extremely unstable material as well. The Epic of Gilgamesh was etched in cuneiform on large tablets. While the library did not have any of the actual tablets, we got to see a receipt from that time. It was a very small tablet with a tiny bit of cuneiform signifying the purchase of a good. First, we saw Papyrus, then the stone tablets, and then we got to look at the Scroll of Esther. This was how a lot of middle age writing was done. Long scrolls like these would be wound up to...

I do not have a 100% clear idea of what exactly I want to compare but I know I want to learn more about Sophocles. Something about ancient text fascinates me. The fact that the ideas presented can relate so closely to the present day seems surreal. It gives me the feeling that thousands of years have passed yet nothing has really changed. Sophocles was a prolific playwright. Doing research, I found out that he won almost every literary contest he entered. I might want to compare book histories with four other Sophocles plays. Or, compare Antigone's  history with four other famous ancient plays by other authors. Surprisingly to myself, I actually found the process of book history research to be enjoyable. So, I want to do something centered around this for my final project.

 This micro lecture looked more at the history of the translations and books rather than the history of the play itself. I learned that in Oxyrinchus, Egypt, ancient papyrus scraps containing some parts of the play of Antigone  were found. I found it interesting that this was kind of the initial step to getting to the translation we have now. Why in Egypt and not in Greece? This makes me also wonder how much of the play could have been lost in those 500+ years in between. How many adaptations could there have been in that time? The part about the line shared through various Greek plays including Antigone  (the one about losing husband/brother) was quite fascinating because it again makes me wonder about how much of this current translation could have been from an entirely different play.  In Florence, Italy, some of the earliest versions of Antigone  were kept in a library called the Laurentian Library. And yes, the Laurentian Library has very beautiful and stun...

 The first research excursion I read was on Icarus and Daedalus. It shows how the myth alludes to many different parts of Shamsie's Home Fire . I was unfamiliar with the myth before reading this excursion. However, it did a great job paraphrasing the story before introducing how it alluded to Home Fire . It first starts out by comparing Isma to Daedalus with how she is trying to save Parvaiz before it is too late. Yet, it is in fact too late and Isma watches Parvaiz's fall just as Daedalus watched Icarus. Next, the research excursion looks at how Eamonn and Aneeka both fell just like Icarus. They chased after a relationship that could not work and ended up leaving them both dead in an embrace. Finally, it looks at Karamat and how his life is a balance between the sun and sea in the way he must balance his pro-Muslim inner life with his anti-muslim political life. The second excursion I looked at was on Muslim Headwear and how Aneeka dealt with public abuse for wearing hers. She...

I really was interested in Parvaiz's relationship with terrorism in the novel. To readers and most of the characters in the novel, Parvaiz is defined as himself. What I mean by this is that he is first looked at through the lense of a person, with his decisions (like joining ISIS) being observed after the tacit understanding and acknowledgement of Parvaiz's humanity. However, through the eyes of the media and Karamat Lone, he seems to be viewed more as a statistic. For example, the article title: "How Many Parvaiz Pashas Will it Take for the Government to Wake Up?" (Shamsie 210). Here, he is not looked at as himself, he is looked at as a quota that the media wants/expects the government to reach to finally be able to say "enough". There is not a Parvaiz Pasha, there are only "Parvaiz Pashas". This idea stuck out and made a lot of sense to me because of a specific phrase I remember from drivers-ed that was repeated nearly every class: "don'...

Learning Neatline was pretty straightforward. It was very helpful to have tech staff take us through it at a relatively slow pace.  . When first opening up a Neatline project, the first thing the user sees will always be a map with points on it highlighted to show where the research in the project took place. This is useful because it can give the viewer/reader of the project a visual element to digest as well as a verbal element. For many visual learners, this will allow them to interact with the project in ways the never could have by reading a traditional essay. Still,  I am not sure about whether I will use it for my next research excursion because I felt quite comfortable writing an essay. I have been writing essays for years now and it feels like a safe option. I know what to expect. If my essay is not going well, I can reflect on past experiences and troubleshoot my way through to making it a well-revised paper in the end.  With Neatline, it does seem like the map ...

There are many groups referred to in Shamsie's novel that I am unfamiliar with. By using context from the surrounding  pages, I have usually not had that much trouble guessing what the purpose of this group is. For example, when reading Eamonn's section when he was going to his parents house, his mother mentioned an "increased security" of "SO1 officers" (Shamsie 103). It is easy to understand the SO1's purpose here, however I would like to know more about specifically what type of officers they are. Another topic mentioned that was interesting to me was Farooq and Parvaiz's shared interest in soccer: "he supported Real Madrid, Parvaiz Arsenal, but they agreed on the greatness of Özil" (Shamsie 131). This interested me because of the parallels it has with my life rather than the significance it holds to the plot. My dad has been an Arsenal supporter for over 20 years, so I have been one all my life. My favorite player of all time is Özil an...