The level of ethnic pride possessed in a culture seems to be in direct correlation with the success of its representatives. My parents have taught me the great successes of our ancestors who have achieved status as some of the most influential staples in American history. However, I never expected to appreciate the work of those I descended from like I did when I visited the African Burial Grounds in Manhattan, New York. No matter what historical elementary books try to persuade, Blacks did not lose their civilization when they were enslaved. They did not lose their humanity even in the violent and radical environment of racism that they resided in. During the 17th and 18th centuries, free and enslaved Africans paid respect to over 15,000 of their deceased in a 6.6 acre burial ground. It is important that urban Blacks pay respect to our elders like those before us did to their ancestors. The African Burial Ground had a monument that resembled a pyramid and a ship. These representations were of our Egyptian architects and the struggles endured in coming to America. Encircling a ground globe were numerous symbols of the African culture that represented characteristics that were encouraged to have. “Funtunfunefu Denkyemfunefu” is unity and diversity. “Dwennimen” is humility and strength. “Hye Won Hye” is imperishability and endurance. “Yowa” is continuity of human life. I plan to live by these virtues throughout my life. And I will always cherish the opportunity, experience, and knowledge gained from receiving Dr. Carr’s tour of the African Burial Grounds.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Kyle Burton's Perspective on Dr. Dana Williams Presentation
Research & Methodology: Inscription as a Liberating Practice
Dr. Dana William’s presentation provided the perfect wrap-up of the semester’s speakers to rally our group project completion. She explained to us that we need to pursue a lifetime of independent discovery and include with it the appreciation of conducting depth research. Meaningful research with integrity is intellectually liberating. The purpose of higher learning is to free one’s mind. Therefore, we should all use research to detail our arguments. This was an important lesson to comprehend because we will soon be giving presentations to our peers pertaining to making the world a better place. In creating our presentation, Dr. Williams gave us a structure on how to attain information that would be valuable to our audience. We must consider the purpose of our research and consider the reasonables of our research question. With the methodology, we should conceptualize a research design, determine a method of data collection, and consider which disciplinary approach should inform our research. Our framework should question the structure and displaying of our project. We must even provide a literature review that questions history and provides changes in ideas. Our presentation will be the culmination of all that we have learned thus far. The presentation is our opportunity to showcase how we will apply what we have learned to identifying the problems that exist in our society on the broadest of spectrums. The presentation will include perspectives of teammates who have done research of their own, and the project will turn into a melting pot of knowledge! We must take this, and any other work that we do, to heart because it has the capability of changing the community. Dr. Williams said, “All that will be left when I die is the impression that I left on my community.” I want to leave an influential impression.
Kyle Burton's Perspective on Dr. Gbadegesin's Presentation
Omoluabi: Self Actualization & Communal Responsibility
“Immortality is living in the memory of the community.” African stories passed down from generation to generation have allowed historical lessons from our ancestors to greatly impact our lives, even today. In Dr. Segun Gbadegesin’s presentation, we learned the lesson that if you lose your character, you lose everything. When Orumila stressed Ima, she left him. With her leaving, all of the values, treasures, and respect that he once had also vanished. Iwa was more than the beautiful granddaughter of the Supreme Being, Iwa was character. From Dr. Gbadegesin’s story, I learned that no matter what pressures were presented, I must remain within myself. Many obstacles will counter my persistence in becoming the best man that I can be. However, my ethics in handling circumstances should prove consistent and favorable to the improvement of mankind. Following the story, Dr. Gbadegesin preached the importance of self-improvement. We must continue to polish our abilities, our strengths, our weaknesses, and ourselves. I took this message to heart because my father always tells me to never be satisfied. “Even when you are commended with compliments,” he claims, “know that your job is not done and your objective is not completed.” At Howard University, we compete on an international scale, so average conduct will not earn recognition. My favorite part of Dr. Gbadegesin’s presentation was the respect that he exhibited before he even greeted his audience. He gave countless salutes to the visionaries before him, our ancestors, and those who would continue his journey after him. He stressed the importance for all of us to pay homage in all of our endeavors. I have plenty people, here and back home, to thank for what I have accomplished. Therefore, I take this opportunity to salute my family, mentors, and inspirations.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Dr. Carr
Blog Post #1
Dr. Carr
Dr. Carr’s lecture discussed learning, wisdom, and the African world experience. Learning and wisdom always starts with remembering your past. For a foundation we start at Egypt. In Egypt the African origin, humanity, intellectual work, and cultural unity begins. With intellectual work and learning there are four pathways which include: excellent reading and writing, excellent counting and measuring, excellent reflecting in order to contribute, and excellent service. In the pathway of Djehuti it is all about memory and inscription; reading and writing. The pathway of Seshat is about counting and measuring. Following the Seshat is the pathway of ma’at. Ma’at is about order, balance, truth, and justice. From this we learn how to bring good into the world. Therefore to put our paths in action we rewind, rewrite, reflect, and improvise. Our paths all conclude to the meaning of Sancofa and with this we are able to move forward into the future. Overall we learn what learning is, the significance of memory, and the importance of intellectual work. He did a great job presenting the information and I followed his lecture well.
Dr.Georgia Dunston
Blog Post #2
Dr. Gerogia Dunston
Dr. Georgia Dunston focus for her lecture was the age of the human genome and the pursuit of wisdom in the 21st century. To begin she addressed the question “in what ways is knowledge generated by various fields of study used to develop solutions to human social problems and challenges?” This is not only a question I ask myself when I think about goals in life and my major in college. Dr. Dunston then went on to answer this question by saying that it reveals our human identity and it shows the nature of life. She then begins to explain the genomic text and how it shows biologically the mapping of genes, diseases, and health differentiation. Along with this it explains the population history and the human origins. After this explanation of the genomic text she lost my focus due to a confusion of what she was talking about. However to conclude she left us with a great quote from T.S. Elliot stating that “at the end of all our exploring we shall arrive where we began, and know the place for the first time.” I would have thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Dunston’s lecture however it was a little difficult to follow.
Ten Malone's Dr. Williams Summary
Dr. Dana Williams’ presentation of the final freshman seminar filled the initial expectations of the lectures that I expected to receive in the class. Throughout the lecture, Dr. Williams brought all of the five previous lectures together, explaining how they fit into the main objectives of the class, which was to develop our research and listening skills. The Primary objective of this specific lecture however was to identify the principle components of research, and then related those components to the group project.
The purpose of the research project is to consider the purpose of research, explore the reasonableness of your research question, and too inquire about the question at hand. When considering the purpose of research, Dr. Williams suggest considering what has already been said about the subject, asking ourselves whether our research will reveal something new or different, and knowing what information we have access to. When exploring the reasonableness of our research question, we must ask whether the question is specific enough, if we have time to answer it, and what skills are required to answer the proposed question. When one inquires about the question at hand, Dr. Williams gave the topic a separate name, calling it methodology, or knowing how we will address our problem. In order to know our problem, we must conceptualize a research design by studying various designs, determine the method of date collection by using secondary sources and interviews, and must consider which disciplinary approach to use by deciding whether or not the question is discipline specific or if it can be considered multi- or inter-disciplinary.
Ten Malone's Dr. Segun Gbadegesin
In contrast to previous lectures throughout this semester, this particular presentation began with an African folklore. It centered on a character named Iwa, who was not only a beautiful woman, but hailed from a powerful pedigree. She was the daughter of the god of patience, Suru, who in turn was the first son of the supreme deity. Perhaps searching for a spouse of equal standing as her commanding family, Iwa was married to Orunmila, the god of wisdom. Iwa was a good and faithful wife, promising that she would not leave unless he began to stress her. Orunmila swore that he would never cause his beautiful wife any stress, but as their marriage progressed, he went back on his word, and Iwa left. Soon after she was gone, Orunmila’s fortune began to dwindle, and he visited various priests and priestess in order to solve his problem. All of them told him that he would have to make a sacrifice. Orunmila did as he was told, and soon after, his beautiful wife Iwa returned to him. In the tale, Iwa represented one’s character, and the lesson learned from the story is that if you lose your character, you will lose everything, with the journey to getting it back being not half as easy as it was to lose it.
The story of Iwa and Orunmila opened up the lecture for a discussion on the ancient applications of morality. Egyptian texts such as the Ma’at and the instructions of Ptahhotep acted as the moral compass for citizens of the ancient civilizations, giving readers a defined set of rules to follow, as well as providing daily anecdotes for the everyday problem.
While the lecture did not bring forth any unique concepts, the way in which the material was presented was the most engaging given of the class thus far. The drummer beating throughout the duration of the story helped pull me into the fabric of the folktale, coloring the world of Iwa so that it became easier to pull the lesson from the story.
Briaunna Savage's Review of Dr. Williams Lecture
She also discussed how to effectively compose a research project. There are six basic components of research. They are as follows: statement of a problem or challenge, current state of research, methodology, framework, development of thesis, and the conclusion.
I was interested in the second component of research which is the current state of research. From this topic Dr. Williams posed the questions: "What has already been said aobut your subject?" Will your research reveal something new or diifferent?" What information do you have excess to?" Dr. Williams said that research is supposed to provide new information about a subject and present a different persective on the subject. I find it hard to create new insight on a subject when most tiopics have been disected and researched for many years. The fact that I do not have access to groundbreakin information does not help the situation.
Nonetheless, Dr. Williams example of the Freshman Seminar research was very helpful, and it allowed me to see the process needed to complete the group research project.
Dr.Segun Gbadegesin
Blog Post #5
Dr. Segun Gbadegesin
Dr. Segun Gbadegesin overall topic of his lecture was self actualization and communal responsibility. He started out with a story about Iwa, the gog of wisdom, and Suru, the god of patience. He followed that with explaining the different things that existed before Jesus and other characters. These things were the Goddess of Ma’at, the Vizier Ptahhotep, and Pharaah Amenemope. Then before the Sharia, Kant’s groundwork, and Mill’s Utilitarianism, there were the Principles of Maat, The Books of Instruction, The Pyramid Text, and Coffin Text. During these before times the Egyptians learned and practiced truth, justice, order, balance, and harmony. They also practiced and lived their life by the Principals of Ma’at. The Principles of Ma’at were a guide towards freedom. Then he went on to introduce the Instructions of Ptahhotep, which were “humanistic maxims for the living.” A quote he stated that I really believed and enjoyed was that “ a man of character is a man of wealth.” Following the Instructions of Ptahhotep he explained the coffin text and how they were written for the tombs of nobles. The ancient Egyptians connected to the African world in many ways. They connected physically, spiritually, and philosophically. This was a different yet good lecture; however, due to his heavy accent it was a little hard to follow. Also I tried to follow the story in the beginning, but became lost with the different characters and their purpose.
Dr.Dana Williams
Blog Post #6
Dr. Dana Williams
Dr. Dana Williams in her lecture discussed research and the methodology behind it. She started off by breaking down the different basic components of research such as: stating the problem, considering the purpose of the research, the current state of the research, how to develop a lucid thesis, and the conclusion. When stating the problem you want to consider the reasonableness of your research question. Following the research question you want to conceptualize a design, determine a method of data collection, and consider the approach. After your methodology has been considered you want to think about what has already been said about the subject. Then you want to know will your research reveal anything new or different. Once you have your research question along with the date your researched you want to begin to develop your thesis. In the development of the thesis you want to article what the thesis is, provide supporting details, and then structure the research data accordingly. Succeeding the development of the thesis you want to then end with a conclusion. The conclusion should include new insights revealed from your research, limitations your research may include, and future studies the research should intake.
With all of this information Dr. Williams created an example case study for freshman seminar. This included all the basic components used to complete the case study fluently and efficiently. I really enjoyed her lecture and the way of presentation. I learned a new and more intellectual way of doing a research project.
Briaunna Savage's Review of Dr. Felder's Lecture
Freedom. Dr. Felder's definition of freedom is, "An indidvidual or group's inalienable right to exercise choices (good or bad) in an unfettered way. Such choices determine their destiny." However, he believes that freedom is used very liberally and casually causing the term to lose meaning. He presented the question, "Who are the free people?" America is considered to be the capital of the free world, but yet, it incarcerate many minorities. The Declaration of Independence says freedom is an unalienable right, meaning everyone has the equal amount of freedom, and it cannot be taken awat. Contrary to this statement, when new America emerged, the African American was considered three-fifths of a person. Without a uniform definition of freedom, justice was not allowed to prevail.
Justice. According to Greek philosopher, Aristotle, justice has the right relationship of fairness. Based on this statement, Dr. Felder asked the question, "How does righteousness before God reflect in a horizontal relationship with man?" He says that religious law defines a good relationship. The Hebrew Bible attempst to present this law. Judaism and Islam demonstrate the granting of justice.
The ultimate symbol of freedom and justice was Jesus of Nazareth. He was the "Justice of God." He was human and compassionate, making him different from Jesus Christ, the spiritual icon. Dr. Felder said that Ghandi was not a fan of Christianity but saw Jesus as a model of freedom.
Dr. Felder's lecture taught me that if I learn the responsibilities of freedom, justice will be served.
Briaunna Savage's Review of Dr. Gbadegesin's Lecture
Dr. Gbadegesin stressed the importance of character. He says that “A man of character is a man of wealth.” Through character we develop the ability to thoroughly love one another while gaining much knowledge and wisdom. The Ancient Egyptians used Iwa, character, to practice Cum Ma’at. They practiced truth, order, harmony, justice, and balance.
I enjoyed Dr. Segun Gbadegesin lesson. It taught me that with Iwa and the Principles of Ma’at, I can become an Omoluabi, which is a person of character, disciplined and self-improving, earning the respect of the community. If we earn the respect of the community, we can lead the people of the community to a place of knowledge, wisdom, and understanding.
Briaunna Savage's Review of Dr. Benjamin's Lecture
Howard University attempts to institutionalize its memory. The scribes of Howard University recorded not only the history of Howard, but also the history of black people. Because of these scribes we know the importance of our estate, and we know how to continue the legacy of Howard. Dr. Benjamin discussed the many important scribes, for which some of the university’s buildings are named.
Howard itself is named after General Otis Howard. The Administration building is named after the extremely important Mordecai Wyatt Johnson, who was the first black president of Howard. Some other important scribes include the following: Alain L. Locke, Isabel Burns, Jesse Mooreland, Arthur Spinjarn, Zora Neale Hurston, Lulu Vere Childers, Frederick Douglass, Ira Aldridge, Louis C. Cramton, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Prudence Crandall, etc. By bringing these very important people to my attention, Dr. Benjamin helped me to see the importance of Howard’s legacy. Because of all of these eloquent scribes, Howard University has a rich legacy that must be continued.