Today was a revealing day. We're currently in the process of a major work of collaboration within our groups, and we performed 5-7 minutes of excerpts from what will soon be performed as 25-30 minute plays for our final productions. The public will be invited, so come one, come all! Here is the facebook …
Week two wasn’t too weak
'Twas a productive week. It was a marathon of scenes, monologues, and choreopoem collaborations. We read many examples and excerpts from plays and poems and then spent the week writing and revising our own. The magic seeps through in the revisions, so we've been told. Idris tells us "The performance writer writes in real time. He/she …
Block Plan Spice. [UPDATED]
The temperature hovers just over 7 degrees. They’re in short sleeves, single-layered tees, soccer jerseys, no scarves or beanies. I’m wearing two layers of tights beneath my jeans, a thermal, mittens, and a ski coat. Though I’ve only been outside for some 15 minutes, my thighs already burn from the freeze. They've been shooting since 8 and …
Disney is My Religion
Last night we read "The Happiest Place on Earth: Disney's America and the Commodification of Religion," (Mazur and Koda). It argues that for many Americans, salvation is a commodity. Disney is competing with religion by offering the same products: "mythologies, symbols, rituals, and notions of community by which consumers organize their lives." Disney provides lessons …
Bellas Artes
I'm sort of embarrassed, but after taking Spanish since the sixth grade I have finally learned how to say "fine arts." Whenever people asked what my major was, I've always said "arte" or "arte del estudio" (a phrase I sort of made up that I hoped translated to "studio art"). Turns out, the proper term …
My Sunday at Grace Baptist
One of our assignments is to attend a church (or other religious congregation) of our choice for the duration of the block. One of the churches that our professor said could be interesting was Grace Baptist Church, a fundamental church that interprets the King James’s Bible literally. This is the one I chose. I knew …
Schoolin’ the Middle Schoolers with Poetry
The first week of Idris Goodwin's class, Writing for Performance - Watch the Clock, was a creative week of performance poetry. This is my second class with good ol' Goodwin (good young Goodwin, rather), and has already become one of the most bonded groups of students I've ever had the pleasure of spending time with …
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Civil Religion in America
Today in class we debated whether or not there is a civil religion in America. Again, we used Durkheim's definition of a religion: a unifying set of practices. We discussed the rituals we participate in (like voting or saying the pledge of allegiance) that reinforce American’s shared value system rooted in democracy. We talked about …
Debutante Balls: A Religious Experience
Last Wednesday I handed in my senior thesis, "A Sociological Study of Debutantes." Sociology of Religion started the following Monday and it was my first class since before Thanksgiving break. I was excited to finally be able to forget about my thesis. I should have known that it wouldn't be that easy to forget. Our …
Tortilla
My host mom, Charo, spends a lot of her day preparing meals for the family. It's a rare sight to not find a pot of chicken or lentils or sausage slowly stewing away on the stove all morning. We've been eating a lot of hearty and warm foods specifically for winter, but also some Spanish …
