Topic Brainstorm

Storybook ideas:

1. The Bachelor

The story of Cupid and Psyche has been told many times, in many different ways. I've always found stories like this interesting, and my older sister loved Beauty and the Beast growing up so naturally I've watched the film more times than I'm proud of. I think an interesting perspective on this topic would be to format it in the modern era and have Psyche be a contestant on the Bachelor. It would be fun to incorporate the drama that is too often found in the show to the dramatic woes that the main characters go through in the story.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/myth-folklore-unit-apuleiuss-cupid-and.html

2.  Conspiracy Theories

I've loved Egyptian mythology since I was a kid, and for the longest time the only books I would read were Rick Riordan's "The Red Pyramid" series. I've always loved how many options there are for variations on classic myths, and considering the conspiracy theories surrounding the Great Pyramids of Giza, I think it would be very fun to incorporate the gods and heroes of Egyptian mythology into backstories and, in the process, take the "wonder" out of these Wonders of the World.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/myth-folklore-unit-ancient-egyptian.html

3. Origin Stories

In Native American myths, there are often many hybrid characters, which I found fascinating. I think in many religions, these hybrids serve as a connection between nature and humanity, or the divine and humanity. I think it would be very interesting to show the backstory for these figures, and would be a good chance to be creative about things that might otherwise be difficult to explain.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/myth-folklore-unit-mississippi-valley.html

4. Lost Underground

This story would be a play on Dante's Inferno, which I have always been fascinated with. Although it might be closer to fiction than fact, I think a story where a teenager and his friends get sucked into a hole in the ground, and end up inside Dante's Inferno, just trying to get out. One could feasibly go through all three parts of his Divine Comedy, ending with them getting out.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/07/myth-folklore-unit-dantes-inferno.html

Dante Alighieri

Week 2 Story: The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi

It was a normal day for Susa-no-wo, who was walking along the river, when he caught a glimpse of an object that did not belong floating in the rapids. Upon further inspection, he realized that it was a chopstick, and that there must be civilization upstream of his discovery. Intrigued, he decided to look for the source of the chopstick.

A few hours into his quest, he found a group of three people, trembling as if fearing for their lives. It appeared as if though an old man and woman were holding their child, a fair young women.

Susa-no-wo was shocked to have actually found people, for he had never before, and asked them who they were.

The man responded, "Great Augustness, I am a deity of the earth, Ashinadzuchi, son of the Mountain God and this is my wife, Tenadzuchi. We worry for our daughter, Kushinada-hime."

To which the great Susa-no-wo responded, "Why do you fear, for you are a strong man and there is no one near?"

Ashinadzuchi explained the predicament they were in and responded with "She is the last of eight daughters, and every year, the terrible eight-forked serpent of Koshi comes and devours one of our children. We fear that the time the monster comes again is nigh."

Feeling sad for the man and his family, Susa-no-wo asked what kind of beast this was, to size it up against his great strength.

It was said that the beast with eight forked tails, who extended over eight mountains, and who was covered in trees so that all you could see were its blood-red eyes staring you down.

Susa-no-wo was not afraid, and for the maiden was very fair indeed, he asked for her hand in marriage in exchange for quelling the beast. Her parents rejoiced, and promised it should he succeed. Susa-no-wo promptly turned the maiden into a hair comb, and pushed her into his hair for safe-keeping.

When the beast finally came, it was much bigger than Susa-no-wo had anticipated. However, it was no match for Susa-no-wo's superior intellect. He decided to have the man's wife brew a strong batch of sake, which was placed into great barrels to await the serpent. The serpent was delighted at the site of the sake, and drank it all up very quickly.

In his drunken stupor, the beast was not quick enough to evade Susa-no-wo, who chopped it up into many pieces. Within the tail, he discovered a great sword, which he delivered to the gods. When it was all done, he removed the comb from his hair, and wed the beautiful maiden who he had just saved.

Author's Note: I found this story to be very interesting, although difficult to understand. My goal for this story was to retell it in a way that would be easy to read. I thought the story was especially interesting in the way he got around the brute strength of the beast.

Bibliography. Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend by E. W. Champney and F. Champney (1917).

The Symbol of the Serpent

Reading Notes: Aesop's Fables: The Lion

Out of all the stories discussed, the one (or collection of stories) I liked the most was Aesop's fables. There were four different fables, each with a lesson at the end, and I liked how concise they were, while still being able to tell a story and teach something.

These fables all come from The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs (1894) Reading Notes: Aesop's Fables: The Lion

• The Lion's Share
• I was confused as to where this story was going at first, and it definitely had a lesson that I was not expecting
• I do think that even though the fable was written years ago, it still echoes the balances of power and inequalities present today.
• Androcles and the Lion
• This story was much more wholesome, and I enjoyed reading it
• The Lion and the Statue
• This story was very representative of media bias today
• I love how relevant the fables still are
• The Lion in Love
• This story made me sad, because the humans completely played the lion for a fool

Overall, I liked how the lion was used in a variety of ways, not the normal beast we usually think of it as.

Aesop's Lion

Week 2 Reading Overview

Choose from CLASSICAL and/or BIBLICAL units for Weeks 3 and 4.

Week 3: The Gospel of Mark

Week 4: Noah

Choose from MIDDLE EASTERN and/or INDIAN units for Weeks 5 and 6.

Week 5: Folklore of the Holy Land

Week 6: Arabian Nights

Choose from ASIAN and/or AFRICAN units for Weeks 7 and 9. [Week 8 is review week.]

Week 7: China

Week 9: West Africa

Choose from NATIVE AMERICAN units for Weeks 10 and 11.

Week 10: Blackfoot

Week 11: Alaska

Choose from BRITISH and/or CELTIC units for Weeks 12 and 13.

Week 12: Beowulf

Week 13: Canterbury Tales

Choose from EUROPEAN units for Weeks 14 and 15.

Week 14: Inferno

Week 15: Italian

Interests: I'm super excited about the European unit, especially after having travelled to Italy last summer. We actually got to see where Dante was from, as well as learning more about the culture and stories based in Christianity. I am not 100% confident that I will read these exact units, because there are so many interesting ones up there, but I am very excited about the possibilities and stories!

Arabian Nights

I chose this image because I have always wanted to read about the tales of the Arabian nights past what we all know about Aladdin. Is the movie only loosely based on the book? And what other stories were written?

Time Strategies

Time management has always been an important part of my life, and these last few semester have been no exception. Something I've observed since arriving at OU is that there is very rarely not enough time to do everything you want, its just a matter of using your time effectively. I especially liked the article "The Myth of Too Busy" because it really resonated with my opinion on time management. Of course, there is a certain point where one is overcrowding their schedule, but the 16ish hours that people are awake a day is a much longer time than you'd think. I also liked the article "Four Questions to Help You Overcome Procrastination" because it touched on something that most of us struggle with at times, and focused on getting yourself motivated to actually get started with a plan. I think that will be an important part of this class.

Time management is crucial, Wikimedia

Technology Post

I've never blogged before, although I have created websites using both Weebly and Wordpress before, so I am familiar with those platforms. I like that we will be exposed to many different platforms throughout the semester, its very important that we become aware of all the tools at our disposal in a more technology-based world. I do want to become a better informal writer through this class, and this is a very different class than anything I've done before.

Artificial Intelligence, Maxpixel

Assignments Post

I think the way that this class is structured well, I like how there is a variety of ways to learn, as I've found that this is the most effective way to learn something. The project seems the most intriguing as of right now, as I loved browsing the storybooks and would definitely be interested in doing something like that. I also liked the large variety of extra credit opportunities.

Storybook, Pixabay

Carol Dweck's Growth Mindset

Attending one of the most academically competitive high schools in the country, it was very rare that I took a class that did not require me to work or think in ways I hadn't before. Without knowing, I was constantly engaging in the growth mindset, because my peers were doing the same. I had heard of Carol Dweck's ideas before, although not by name, while studying for the MCAT this summer. I think that having an open and motivated attitude towards learning is incredibly important to seeing improvement. Psychological state is critical to motivation, and learning is not done if there is not motivation to do so. I do hope that taking this class allows be to learn in ways I hadn't before, as well as requires that I continually have a growth mindset when approaching new topics and ideas. After all, the human brain's capacity for long term memory is limitless, and there is so much to learn.

The Learning Pit, @LBHackbarth

Introduction to a Traveler

Hello everyone!

I'm Rohan, and as the semester is just getting started I wanted to tell you guys a little about myself. I'm currently a junior, and I am a Microbiology/International Studies double major. I'm Pre-Med, so of course Microbiology fits very will with my career choice, but the idea of an IAS (International and Area Studies) degree gradually developed over the summer before starting my freshmen year. I've always had an interest in international affairs, and my parents have instilled within me a love for traveling since I was very young. So far, I have been to 15 countries, and plan to add many more when I spend the Spring semester abroad in Barcelona. Every time I travel it becomes more clear to me that many of us live in a bubble in the US, and it would be a waste to spend our lives refusing to see outside of it. Because of this attitude, I decided to give the intro class a try. From there, I was hooked. Being an IAS major has allowed me to take some extraordinary classes from extremely insightful faculty, and although it might not be directly pertinent to my career, I have gained an incredible amount already by being a part of the College of International Studies. In particular, I took a class a few semesters ago called Global Security which gave a wonderful perspective on international affairs, and talked about issues we hear about in the news in a much more culturally relativistic way.

Alexander Zverev, Wimbledon 2017 (personal image)

Aside from traveling, I love to watch and play tennis, which I started playing when I was 11. Although I don't get to play as much as I did in high school, tennis is a sport that you have for life, and I love being able to hit with old teammates and friends when I'm back in town. I also am a multi-instrumentalist, and have recently gotten very interested in producing music. My younger brother is a fantastic singer, and although you would want to cover your ears before you heard me sing, I have grown up playing instruments with him. Now that I have the technology to produce, I love making beats and playing around with software to create new sounds.

Speaking of family, I am a middle child, and I have an older sister who is a nurse in New York City, as well as my younger brother who is just entering his freshmen year at Texas Tech University. After medical school, I hope to move to either California or New York, as I'd like to do my residency in a big city. As much as I love Norman, I've always felt at home in a more urban environment.

Storybook Favorites - 8/20/19

At first, storybooks seemed almost like fan-fiction. It's always interesting to see where readers' minds can take a story once an author was done with it, but storybooks offer a much different perspective. The three storybooks that I found very interesting all took a story that people are familiar with and put a twist on it that gave me a new perspective.

The first storybook, "Inferno? More Like InferYES" was a twist on the famous Dante's Divine Comedy, where a modern world scenario is applied to the classic story. I thought it was amazing how the author of the storybook was able to incorporate a potentially touchy subject (as religion can be at times) and make it so that everyone could understand, and appreciate. I loved how he or she tied in religious themes as well as roots in the story to create a compelling story.

I have always been a huge fan of the Harry Potter series, so the title "Horses of Hogwarts" immediately caught my attention. This story did seem more like fan-fiction than the others, but there were aspects of it that did change my opinion. I loved how the introduction treated Harry Potter like a real universe, and brought the reader into the storyline while maintaining a reflective attitude, having known about the events of the books.

Woman reading Harry Potter, Pexels

The last story book I found was my favorite of them all. The writer of "A Whole New World" did a fantastic job of creating just that: the story was a complete twist on the traditional Aladdin tale. I loved how it looked at the story with completely switched views; this was something I was absolutely interested in reading more of. The introduction was as original as it was compelling, and the characters seemed to develop themselves by the descriptions alone! 

Overall, these storybooks provided a novel approach to common tales, and I wanted to read them all.

Lago di Como - My Favorite Place

Italy is full of gorgeous landscapes and rich history, but during the month I spent there last summer, Lake Como was undoubtedly the most breathtaking. Its quaint towns dotted the southernmost parts of the Alps; as serene as they were dramatic, they were a sudden change from the cosmopolitan energy of Milan, where we had been the day before. Although I had been to other incredible places during the summer, including the Cinque Terre and the Amalfi Coast, the mountains of Como were unique in that they completely surrounded the lake, making visitors feel as if though they were in a sort of enclave, untouched by the happenings of the outside world. I cannot wait to go back.

June 2018, personal image

June 2018, personal image

Lake Como, Gotti1979, https://pixabay.com/photos/lake-como-italy-vacations-sea-1576614/

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