Tang and Song Poetry

I did not enjoy reading the Tang and Song poems.  Personally, I do not like reading at all, especially poetry, unless it is a piece of literature on military and war history.  I do not like having to try and pick apart possible meanings of what I am reading; I just want to see straightforward thoughts.  The Song poems were much more brief than those of the Tang.  Tang poetry seemed much darker than Song poetry, which had a lighter sense given off.  Both sets of poetry were very emotional and used vast descriptions for each part.  They also were inquisitive to the reader, trying to get him or her to think about what the writer is portraying.  The Tang poetry does not represent the dynasty well, since the Tang dynasty was a very high point in time in China, but the poems conveyed a darker tone.  The Song poetry does suit the dynasty well.  This dynasty was similar to the Song in that it was also a very strong and lively era, but the poets actually wrote in a similar sense.  Poetry can sometimes be used to understand a society in certain aspects.  A poet may use his or her society as a basis for a poem.  They may reflect their thoughts on government or social structure through the use of metaphors to make the poem more appealing.  Once people read a beautiful, seemingly meaningless poem, they could have been able to relate it back to the society during the time frame in which it was written.

Show Me Presentation: Spread of Islam

http://www.showme.com/sh/?i=92078

Spread of Islam: 633-732 CE

Conversions to Christianity: Vladimir vs. Constantine

Vladimir of Kiev and Constantine of the Roman Empire both converted to Christianity during their reigns.  The story of the two conversions to Christianity are rather similar.  Constantine was ruling over Rome when his wife became a Christian.  He converted to this religion to please his wife, but adopted some beliefs because he actually felt they were useful.  Vladimir became Christian due to a deal with Basil II of Byzantium.  Revolts in the Byzantine Empire caused Basil II to reach out to his enemy, Vladimir, because he needed assistance and had nowhere else to turn.  Vladimir in turn was married to a Byzantine princess.  He then converted to Christianity to keep an ally in Byzantium and also because of his new wife.  The rulers' conversions to Christianity are very similar.  They primarily became Christians because of political and social obligations, not necessarily personal desires.

Byzantine Art and Architecture

The paintings represented religious figures, with large amounts of yellow to show the brightness and purity of religion. The buildings were usually red or white, and built into cliffsides or were freestanding. The buildings appear to serve both decorative and functionalpurposes for the people of Constqntinople, which could have been used as Churches or government buildings. Th cliffsides' buildings do not seem present in American architecture, but the freestanding buildings can easily be derived from Constantinople.

Documents on Constantinople

The source most credible on information pertaining to Constantinople was Document #4, in which a cartographer illustrated the differences between the rich and poor of Constantinople.  The first document, by Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela, was aimed to show the public and outsiders the interior design of the city.  In Document Two, Robert of Clari explains to travelers and visitors the luxurious construction of Constantinople.  Nicetas Choniates is indirectly pleading to the Latins to stop their plundering by describing their greed and harm caused in Document Three.  The painting in Document Five, probably created by a Byzantine artist, shows the light of religion and is trying to make people realize what they are living by and also to make other non-religious people recognize the power religion has.  George Acropolites is simply giving an account of his time in Constantinople and is not speaking to a certain group or person.  The last article, probably written by a government official in Constantinople, describes the benefits that Venetians received after their contribution to the military.

Silk Road Project: Map

Overall, the Silk Road map portion of the project went well.  We were able to learn all about trade with the use of the Silk Road in classical Eurasia.  The project showed the connection between all of the societies in this time period.  It helped to show how and why certain products, beliefs, and diseases either were confined to one area or were able to be spread throughout the landmass.  However, working on the project had some parts that did not go over as smoothly: we had to bring the map home and finish a vast majority of it by trying to plan around our schedules over the weekend.  Keval and I were mainly unhappy with the tediousness of drawing it to scale.  We also felt that it was difficult to draw the whole landmass itself, not just drawing it to scale.  The most difficult part was just getting it redrawn on the large poster paper accurately.  Collaboration for a project like this was much better and more beneficial than if we had to do it on our own.  It took less time to draw the map, and also write the paper, with a partner, and we were able to discuss what we thought we should draw.  If we had to do the poster again, we would not take the time to draw a grid and just make a scale in the corner to show how many inches equaled a certain number of miles.