Discussion 14: Another Best July 30 - Due August 3

COMMENT and at least a REPLY.

Here is what Kathryn had to say about the meaty topic or self-reflection.

Same as discussion 13.

1.         I was expecting the course to provide me with a cultural history of Italy. I had imagined history textbook-like readings of wars and tensions, art and architecture, and societal advances for which Italy is responsible . In reading that the course would be about the ‘ethnic experience’ I was expecting more modern readings and reports of life in Italy and how the society now flows amongst/is influenced by it’s history.

 

2.         I am now extremely curious about the birth of Roman society and how ancient Greece influenced the very beginnings of Italian culture. There was a glimpse of the overlap of worshipping many gods that was implemented in Julius Caesar when they celebrated many different gods and goddesses. I wonder if the belief that Emperors such as Nero, being ‘divine sons’ and a conduit to the gods, was indeed true. Or was it really just a ploy to stay in the most powerful position. Whatever the case, the desire to be a dictator that plays god while simultaneously being the head of state existed then as it does now. When a leader fears loss of power, they limit the powers of government.

            One thing that came up for me these past two weeks has been a deepening of my interest in the roots of Christianity. Though I would not currently claim myself as a Catholic, I did spend the first 18 years of my life being taught the church’s teachings. Quo Vadis spurred my emotional memory with it’s portrayal of Christian beginnings being utterly idealistic with it’s baseline belief in humans being giving and forgiving. There is such beautiful simplicity in the desire to live a moral life. But when a group comes into a belief system without any openness they become rigid and rejecting. Perhaps this rigidity lent itself ultimately to the implementation of the Inquisiton.

           

            I do feel a gap in my understanding of when Christianity was first starting and how it infiltrated, eventually getting to the point of the takeover by the Inquisition. From watching The Name of the Rose and reading additional material, the Franciscans really come across as the good guys to me that wanted to follow the moral compass. I took great interest in learning about the roles of monks and their time spent in scriptoriums recording knowledge so that it wouldn’t be lost forever. And the fact that the use of astrology and astronomy was heresy further demonstrates the fear of science disproving the church’s teachings. Were different orders and sects using the establishment and it’s spiritual insurance policies to justify their greed?

           

            Because of this deepening understanding of the history of Christianity and Catholicism, it has brought about embarrassment for the corrupt nature within the church. This was not my belief about the institution growing up. But embracing Boccaccio’s low-brow tales and the simple realism of life’s base desires in the Decameron completely flipped my experience. Nothing is sacred and All is sacred. We, including those who choose to be clergy, are all human animals. This positions me for a great release when entering the Renaissance.

 

3.         As a curious artist and builder with a growing passion for science and inventions, I myself am in a Renaissance. Of course I realize that one can only know that they living in a truly glorious moment if it is accompanied by the experience of something devastating to which it can be compared. Therefore, I am expecting the next phase of our learning to unfurl majestically with the subject matter while being aware of the inevitable downfall and corruption in history to follow.