Journal: The Appeal of the Humanities

• Which aspect(s) of the humanities most appeal to you and why?

Journal: What are the Humanities

Answer each question below

• Why are the humanities so maligned? Why do the humanities have to "prove" themselves in the ways these authors seek to, whereas STEM fields are presumed to be of great importance?

• KEY QUESTION: If you are a humanities major, have you had to defend your educational decision? Explain. If you are not a humanities major, how would your family and/or friends respond if you told them you were going to be a humanities major? (For the pranksters, you might consider telling someone you know that you have done just that, and report back to us about the experience.)

Journal: Considering (Last name of two authors)

• For no fewer than two authors, provide at least a few sentences of summary of their main points. Then describe whether or not you agree or disagree with each.

Journal: Nussbaum and the Humanities

• Sum up and then respond to the key points Nussbaum makes in each chapter. Two journal assignments:

Journal: Thinking Critically with (Last Name of Author)

• Reflect on the main ideas of a work you find of interest. Be sure to explain the idea(s) as well as evaluate or apply the concept or information. Journal: Thinking Critically with (Last Name of Author)

• Reflect on the main ideas of a work you find of interest. Be sure to explain the idea(s) as well as evaluate or apply the concept or information.

Journal: Imagination

• Do you believe the imagination is sufficiently honored by the dominant by dominant American culture? • In what ways do hooks, Galeano, all agree in terms of the value of imagination?

Journal: What is Education?

• Before you read the articles, take 5-10 minutes to address this question from your perspective: "What is education and how should we go about educating ourselves?"

Journal: Considering (Last Names of Authors)

• Sympathetically summarize the key points from two of the works you read, then explain your perspective on their ideas: are they relevant today or dated? Do you agree or disagree, why?

Journal: Solomon and the Meaning of Life

• Sympathetically summarize key points from the reading, then explain your perspective on the identified ideas. You might simply reflect on the very idea of there being a "meaning to life." Do any of the visions of life discussed in the reading relate to your ideas about life's purpose?

Journal: Exploring the Meaning of Life Discussion

• Identify passages, thinkers, or ideas that have so far struck you from the text Print four copies of a one-page document featuring at least four brief quotes, summarized ideas, or questions you found most significant in the book (so far) Include a copy in your final journal document.
Journal: Eagleton and the Meaning of Life

• Sympathetically summarize key points from Eagleton's book, then explain your perspective on the identified ideas.

Journal: Interrogating Love

Reflect on one or more of the questions posed in chapter one:

• How subjective is love?

• Do we love for reasons?

• Is love blind?

• Is love freedom, or bondage?

• Does love mar the purity of sex?

• Is tragic love the best kind?

• Sousa writes: "The greatest love stories usually end in death...." Do you agree? What are we to make of the fact that so many (perhaps once in love) married couples live and behave as though they were anything but in love with one another?

Journal: Your favorite love story

o Describe your favorite (fictional or non-fiction) love story.

o Tell us the who, what, when, where, how, why o Why is it your favorite love story?

o And if you don't have a favorite love story, perhaps you can write about your favorite anti-love story o If you are comfortable sharing, bring a copy to class.

Journal: Radio Love

From an early age, stories and visions of romantic love are pressed upon us throughout school and popular culture. Flip through radio stations and contemplate the emphasis most popular music places on romantic love; further consider the visions of romantic love represented in such art forms. Potential questions to consider:

• Is dominant American culture's vision of love healthy, misguided, a mix?

• Is love inherently problematic? •

Do we expect too much of love?

• Is romantic love overrated?

• Are there other forms of love we would be better off focusing on? (Consider for example, the unique- in comparison to most Disney films-vision of love offered in the Disney film, Frozen.)

Journal: Don Jon

• Critically evaluate Don Jon utilizing key readings from this week and the prior week along with your own insights. Does the film honestly portray many heterosexual men's vision of sexuality and women? Does the film help us identify a more humane and perhaps enlightened vision of sexuality and love? What are the differences between the characters' approaches to sex and love? Do you see yourself in these?
Characters?

• Choose at least one key scene to discuss in your reflection.

Journal: My Vision of Happiness

What is your present vision of happiness? What do you deem essential to happiness, what is inessential?

Journal: Bok and Visions of Happiness

• Which of the visions of happiness, offered in the chapter, resonate the most with you? How did you arrive at your vision of happiness? What shaped it? Do you have good reasons, experience, and or evidence to support it?

Journal: Exploring Happiness Discussion

• Identify passages, thinkers, or ideas that have so far struck you from the text • Print four copies of a one-page document featuring at least four brief quotes, summarized ideas, or questions you found most significant in the book (so far) • Include a copy in your final journal document.

Journal: Parallels Author

A reflection on one or more of the following questions:

• How different is our culture from that of the Romans? What parallels can be made between Roman society and that of our nation? Are we also a culture of violence?

Journal: Desensitization and Humanities Answer

Two or more of these questions

• Do you think you've personally become desensitized as a result of entertainment violence?

• Do you know others who you believe have become desensitized at least partly due to entertainment violence?

• Is the problem that so many creative thinkers are putting their energy into pushing the limits of irreverence?

• Do we need more creative people working to help us cultivate humanities, reverence, and justice?
Journal: Bok's Conclusions

• Identify the key claims Bok advances in these chapters. Are you surprised by her conclusions? Do you believe they are mistaken? If you believe they are correct, is our day-to-day media consumption taking into account such concerns? How does your personal experience with entertainment (video games, film and the like) relate to or contrast with Bok's main points?
Journal: Exploring Entertainment Violence

• Identify key ideas, claims, arguments, and quotes from Bok's book (from any of the chapters).

• Print four copies of a one-page document featuring at least four brief quotes, summarized ideas, or questions you found most significant in the book (so far)

• include a copy in your final journal document.