Lady Murasaki-FC

Anna Villars

Lady Murasaki served as an inside guide to the Japanese elite. I like The Diary of Lady Murasaki because it showed how lives were viewed by the Japanese elite. The main theme of The Diary of Lady Murasaki was aimed towards how everyone had a title and a purpose in the household. Everything seemed precised from the birth of an elite son to ceremonial festivals to the passing out of gifts. Ranks and titles played a major role on how a person was viewed by others. Appearances were a very big deal to see an elite person without being considered proper was a shock. Another main theme of The Diary of Lady Murasaki was how there was competition amongst the elite to being the loudest or the most stylish was how the elite would gain attention and the complaints of their peers.
Lady Murasaki's diary played the role of a modern tabloid. Lady Murasaki mentions people of different ranks on how they acted or dressed. Her main subject was how the elite women would dress according to the occasion from the smallest detail to the embroidery of sleeves to whether the hair should be worn up or down. Lady Murasaki would mention the elite with proper ranking titles when she mentioned them in the diary.
The Diary of Lady Murasaki ties in with class discussion on how the elite would have certain advantages with clothes and culture. The diary mentions the tiger head was presented for the son's first bath. This is an example of trade from China and is another example how the elite would only have rare things that normal people would not have in the country. The diary also mentions how the numerous elite would be kept in the site for the emperor to control his elite he would have to keep them close enough that they would not gain too much power to over take him.
The Diary of Lady Murasaki is a good read for the details of the lives of the elite class of Japan. Although sometimes the titles can be overwhelming it still shows the respect of Lady Murasaki for other elites.

Chapter 3 Wine

I thought it was interesting how at one time wine was a only a drink for the wealthy. Also it was a drink that could have been offered to the Gods but "gradually" over a small amount of time "hundreds of years compared to thousands of years" wine became widespread. This was interesting to me because this still goes on today. Mostly with the technology that we have today. For example, at one time a mobile phones were only for people who had the extra money to buy one. It is amazing how when something becomes popular it spreads like wild fire. But now it is a necessity and it is hard to find somebody without a mobile phone. Another thing I thought was interesting was the amount of money and the time Ashurnasirpal spent on the feast.

Posted by N. Claiborne

Democracy or an Excuse FC

Symposia is looked at as a democratic reality that made all men equal as they drank from the same vessel. By taking part in drinking with like minded men they became equal rather than separation through different levels of water in their wine. Plato's use describes the relationship of students to their teachers through sharing wine, ideas, and philosophy at the symposion. Would this sharing of culture truly be a democratic enterprise if looked upon now? In the cult comedy T.V. show That 70's Show, the young teenagers sit down to get high on marijuana and talk about their ideas, complaints, and just to be apart of a group. If we looked upon wine in a symposia as a break through in democracy, would this meeting of teenagers be a breakthrough in democracy if it was during the same time period or rather just a time to get physically/mentally impared with your best friends?

Campaign Literature from Pompeii- FC

Of today's topics the political campaigns of Pompeii pose to be most interesting. In this reading we see through the numerous campaign slogans that those running for office are asking for the votes of the people. This is unique because we see a society run with order and guidelines that all must follow, the Rule of Law. This reading was different from the other readings in this sense, due to the fact that the other passages showed examples of Rule by Law, where the king/Emperor ruled and was exempt from his own laws. Pompeii was giving the people the choice to pick their political leaders and hold them accountable for their actions. This type of government and the role with which its people play in it sounds a lot like the political system we have hear in the United States , a democracy. Doesn't it to you?

Chavin de Huantar

Reading Resources

For student who takes a class because they are interested in the subject and not just because it is required, here is a reading list of resources available in special topics in world history.

The readings avoid the "tour of the world" or "Disney Small World" approach and are organized according to themes in the way we discussed on the first day of class.