A Medium for Every Nation

                Different forms of media have existed for each generation of Americans today just as for any civilization in history. Some forms of knowledge are more suited to the nation’s size and structure than others in keeping the peace, establishing law and general management. Although multiple forms of media for knowledge exist in a society, the dominant media of that people affects the size and control of governmental power.

Literature that Relfects Society

As I anticipate completing the bibliography assignment, I find myself reflecting on the time in my life when weekly visits to the library found me bringing home the likes of these books:

Do you remember library day in elementary school? -- That half hour or 45 minutes set aside each week where you traverse the halls in a single file line with your class as you journey to the library in search of a new book? From third grade up, my personal book selections consisted of chapter books. Yours probably did too. But think back to the time before novels. Think back to the time when going to the library meant finding a new picture book. Think back to the time when Curious George, Green Eggs and Ham, and Alexander and the Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day meant more to you than any other reading you did. For me, this was the time when the printed word meant the most to me. This was when reading was exciting!

The history of children's literature greatly reflects and has been profoundly influenced by the history of the printing press. Spanning folk, oral, written, and print knowledge, children's literature is an ever-changing genre that manifests cultural perceptions of childhood.

Q & A with Dr. Toronto: A discussion on Written Knowledge

This past week I was able to interview Dr. James A. Toronto about the significance of written knowledge in the Middle East. Dr. Toronto has a Ph.D from Harvard in Islamic Studies and currently teaches at BYU. 

From oral to written knowledge and back again

So poems are one of those odd forms of expression that move through both oral and written knowledge.  Most poems today are written down, but the structure of poetry is made up by rhythm, alliteration, meter, breaks, etc.—all of which are only perceived through sound and oral expression.  This is why one of my English teachers told me that poetry is meant to be read aloud, and why there are poetry reciting competitions such as Poetry Out Loud (I had the opportunity to participate in this in high school).

Memory Booster!

Thanks for the Post Holland. I got to wondering how I could improve my memory capabilities (for the next time this type of project rolls around, haha). I found the neatest video on how the brain can more easily make connections. Plus the domino scene at the end is sweet!

I was thinking that this provides great reason for why stories are so useful when it comes to oral knowledge. Enjoy!

Where spoken and written meet

Homer - A Man or Myth?

As I was thinking what I would address you all on today, (I feel like I have so much freedom in this transition phase !) I thought about some of the most interesting and debated topics of history. I did some Wikipedia surfing and found an interesting post on the Homeric Question. In sum, this is a complete tearing apart of the man "Homer" to discover the person behind the stories. Was he really one person, are the stories compiled from a "million pieces" format, is Homer a person at all or a descriptor turned to author? All these questions beg answers from only what oral tradition can or could have told them thousands of years ago.

Islam, Oral Knowledge, and Thoughts in Between



UPDATE FOR OUR PROFESSORS: I would have done an interview-based post during this unit; however, the professor I was going to interview has been ill and thus unable to meet with me. I hope to hold that interview soon though and post about it ASAP. Now, unto today's post!

Carving of Arabian Musicians

As we conclude our unit on Oral Knowledge, I would like to discuss the discoveries I have made so far by examining what I have learned about Islamic Culture, particuarly with reference to the Umayyad Dynasty. By touching on the significance of music and drama in Islamic culture, I have come realize that art is essential to keeping a culture alive. If utilized, music and drama will enhance a culture's history, by providing a way to preserve it, as evidenced by the traditional performance of Ta'ziyeh. Not only that, but the language and important texts will better be remembered as shown through Cairo's use of song to teach the Qu'ran during the time of the Umayyads.

The tradition of performing arts help maintain history. Because of the story-telling and ritualistic side of drama and music, a civilization like the Islam can retain knowledge of its forefathes, who had no written form of communication, through performance. However, if a civilization that depends heavily on oral knowledge does not strive to preserve its performing arts, a very vital aspect of and potentially the entire culture could be lost, thus unveiling oral knowledge's greatest flaw.

A little more about Assyria

Well, I interviewed Dr. Paul Hoskisson on Monday and quickly arrived at the conclusion that a lot of the information in my last post is just someone’s interpretation of the original texts.  Brother Hoskisson stated “you can’t read into texts from different places.  Assyria is different.”  Some of my sources strayed from the knowledge contained in the original texts and gather information from other societies.   For example, the original texts do not specifically say that musicians were spared (although one refers to women being kept to become singers), that was just one scholar's interpretation. (Sorry Samuel)  

Greek Please!

In my last post I gave a glimpse into Mycenaean music culture. Adding more to that, yesterday I had the opportunity to talk with Dr. Luke Howard from the School of Music about ancient Greek Music. After I was referred to him from my roommate who is taking his Music History class, I caught up with him and he was obliged to answer a few of my questions.

From his college web page, Dr. Howard specializes in the culmination and influence of classical music in the pop culture as well as music history in general. He enjoys relating the ancient to the modern and looking for those traditions passed down from each respective culture. Here are a few of his responses:

Ta'ziyeh

Islam: the religious faith of Muslims, based on the words and religious system founded by the prophet Muhammad and taught by the Koran, the basic principle of which is absolute submission to a unique and personal god, Allah.

Drama: a composition in prose or verse presenting in dialogue or pantomime a story involving conflict or contrast of character, especially one intended to be acted on the stage; a play.

When I think of Islam, the last thing I would associate it with is drama. However, Shakespeare called all the world a stage. Therefore, drama is history. History is drama. Life is drama. "And the life of this world is nothing but play and amusement. . ." (Al-An am 6:32)

As oral knowledge developed in the Middle East, drama became a means by which Muslims could commemorate one of the greatest martyrs during Umayyad Dynasty. What began as a way to preserve the history of one single war has now become the great "Islamic Drama." It is ritualistic. It is powerful. It is Ta'ziyeh.

Wait...what's Assyria?

Assyria (2371-609-ish B.C.)

An Assyrian banquet with a harpist on the left.

Ancestral Voices Prophesying War!

Language and Oral Tradition: Music and Dance of the Kanak

Wade Davis, Explorer for National Geographic, stated: "a language is not just a body of vocabulary or a set of grammatical rules: a language is a flash of the human spirit, it's the vehicle through which the soul of each particular culture comes into the material world." Nowhere is the soul of a particular culture more manifest than through the music and dance of that culture.

New Calednoia is the Home of the Kanak Peoples

This week I researched a bit about the Kanak people of Melanesia. These people lived in an aural world made up of the sounds of: "the roaring of the sea, the whispering of leaves in the wind, the crackle of fires, the birds, the insects, winds, rains, hurricanes, trees crashing down, floods." They made the music through which their culture manifests its soul to the world on wooden bark clappers, bamboo stamping-tubes, slit drums, conch shells, and various flutes.

Language and Music

"One aspect of unity in Arab music is the intimate connection between the music and the Arabic language."

-Ali Jihad Racy, Ph.D

The boundaries of the Islamic Empire during
 the height of the Umayyad Dynasty

A time of extensive expansion, the Umayyad Dynasty laid the foundation for the process by which modern classic Arab music has formed. As Umayyads sought to increase the incredible size of the already massive Islamic Empire, a fusion of cultures and ethnicities began that included both poetry, language, and song. It was during this time that Muslims started to gain an appreciation for music, an appreciation which to this day continuously shapes and reshapes the world's perception of Muslim music.