Religion Project
Artist Statement: An Undecided Truth
My art piece represents my relationship with religion. I chose four outlets represent the four main religions. According to dictionary.com, an outlet is defined as: “an opening or passage by which anything is let out.” I think that religion, or lack thereof, is an outlet. An outlet to what, you say! Well that is for you to decide. Religion can serve as a “passage” by which the love of god is let out. Religion can serve as a connection by which the love of the community is let out. Atheism can serve as an opening that allows the truth to be let out. This is why I chose outlets to represent religion in my art piece.
A cross and the normal looking outlet represent Christianity. I chose the cross is the most widely accepted symbol for Christianity and is what people usually think of when they think of Christianity. I chose to use a normal outlet to represent Christianity because it is the largest religion. According to Wikipedia, in the early 21st century there were 2.2 billion people that called themselves Christian. Because of this, I thought it would be appropriate to associate the most common religion with the most common outlet.
I chose to represent atheism with the black outlet and the fancy A that is the symbol for atheism. I chose a black outlet for atheism because, since atheism is the rejection of a god, they don’t believe in an afterlife. This would mean that after you die, there is nothing. The last thing you would see is the world is darkness. Another reason I chose a black outlet to represent atheism is because atheists are viewed as not being able to see the light of god. They are unable to reach enlightenment, and this makes their life dark and void of light.
I chose to represent Buddhism with the single outlet that has a different hole pattern and a stencil of a tree. I chose the single outlet because Buddhists believe that everything is one and connected; the birds, the trees, the animals, the land, and the water are all connected to us and us to them. Buddhists also are very firm believers in nature and that you will be reincarnated as an animal of some kind. This is why I chose to represent Buddhism with a tree, to symbolize the connection with nature.
I chose to represent Islam with an orange outlet and a green crescent moon with an orange star. The star and crescent is the recognized religious symbol of Islam. Green is also the color of Islam, which is why the crescent is green.
The real significance of my art piece is in the plug connected to the light bulb. At first glance, the plug looks just like any other plug, but just a bit over-sized. Upon closer inspection, you will see that the plug is in fact not like other plugs. One of the prongs is facing the wrong way. This makes it so that this plug will not fit in any of the outlets on the board and will not deliver power to the light bulb, causing it to remain dark. I feel that this is an accurate representation of my religious experiences so far. I do not fit into any religious group. I was brought up in the Christian church but have since stopped going, therefore I am not Christian. I do not follow the teachings of Islam, so therefore I am not Muslim. I do not follow the teachings of Buddha, so therefore I am not Buddhist. Atheism is the belief system that I think I am closest to. I do not believe in a god or gods specifically, but I do believe that there may be something else. Maybe not a conscious being, but something nonetheless. That is why I do not consider my self an atheist.
I, being the plug, cannot plug into any of the outlets, being a different shape than what they were designed for, meaning that I cannot fit into any specific religious group. This in turn blocks me from receiving the electricity from the outlet to power the light bulb, meaning that these religions cannot let out the thing that will lead me to enlightenment. This is my undecided truth.
A cross and the normal looking outlet represent Christianity. I chose the cross is the most widely accepted symbol for Christianity and is what people usually think of when they think of Christianity. I chose to use a normal outlet to represent Christianity because it is the largest religion. According to Wikipedia, in the early 21st century there were 2.2 billion people that called themselves Christian. Because of this, I thought it would be appropriate to associate the most common religion with the most common outlet.
I chose to represent atheism with the black outlet and the fancy A that is the symbol for atheism. I chose a black outlet for atheism because, since atheism is the rejection of a god, they don’t believe in an afterlife. This would mean that after you die, there is nothing. The last thing you would see is the world is darkness. Another reason I chose a black outlet to represent atheism is because atheists are viewed as not being able to see the light of god. They are unable to reach enlightenment, and this makes their life dark and void of light.
I chose to represent Buddhism with the single outlet that has a different hole pattern and a stencil of a tree. I chose the single outlet because Buddhists believe that everything is one and connected; the birds, the trees, the animals, the land, and the water are all connected to us and us to them. Buddhists also are very firm believers in nature and that you will be reincarnated as an animal of some kind. This is why I chose to represent Buddhism with a tree, to symbolize the connection with nature.
I chose to represent Islam with an orange outlet and a green crescent moon with an orange star. The star and crescent is the recognized religious symbol of Islam. Green is also the color of Islam, which is why the crescent is green.
The real significance of my art piece is in the plug connected to the light bulb. At first glance, the plug looks just like any other plug, but just a bit over-sized. Upon closer inspection, you will see that the plug is in fact not like other plugs. One of the prongs is facing the wrong way. This makes it so that this plug will not fit in any of the outlets on the board and will not deliver power to the light bulb, causing it to remain dark. I feel that this is an accurate representation of my religious experiences so far. I do not fit into any religious group. I was brought up in the Christian church but have since stopped going, therefore I am not Christian. I do not follow the teachings of Islam, so therefore I am not Muslim. I do not follow the teachings of Buddha, so therefore I am not Buddhist. Atheism is the belief system that I think I am closest to. I do not believe in a god or gods specifically, but I do believe that there may be something else. Maybe not a conscious being, but something nonetheless. That is why I do not consider my self an atheist.
I, being the plug, cannot plug into any of the outlets, being a different shape than what they were designed for, meaning that I cannot fit into any specific religious group. This in turn blocks me from receiving the electricity from the outlet to power the light bulb, meaning that these religions cannot let out the thing that will lead me to enlightenment. This is my undecided truth.
Seminar Reflection
1. Reflection
I think that exhibiting a seminar and inviting outsiders into the discussion was very interesting and thought provoking, but the conversation could have been better. For example, we always came back to the answer of, “it’s all relative.” Although religion is a delicate subject and is a different experience for everyone, one simple answer doesn’t move the conversation forward. I think that one reason we kept coming back to that single answer is because we were scared of really exploring concepts. I think that I could have helped this by provoking more conversation by asking specific questions when the conversation started to get vague and spoke my opinion on more topics. I think that there were two main reasons I did not speak up more during this seminar/exhibition. The first reason is that the seminar was very fast paced. You had to speak up to be heard and you couldn’t be afraid to step on someone’s sentence. I remember more than a few times where I had something to say, only to have the conversation move on before I could jump in and give my two cents. I think another reason I didn’t speak up as much as I would have liked to is because I just didn’t have much to say about the topics. Most of the things that were talked about I wasn’t very opinionated on or didn’t have much experience with.
2. Reaction
I think that one thing that was said during seminar that impacted my thinking was when Nolan mentioned the crusades. It made me think about how Americans see Islam and instantly think of 9/11, but when we see Christianity we think about love and caring and community. We don’t think of the crusades and the droves of diseases that were brought over to the native population, or the thousands of innocent indigenous people that were killed as a result of the crusades. We don’t think of the diseases that are spread in Africa and other countries by missionaries. We don’t think of the cultures and languages that have died out because of the spread of Christianity. It opened my eyes to the fact that we have had our eyes closed to what happened to get us where we are today.
3. Changes in Thinking
One thing that was said during seminar that influenced my thinking about religion is that everybody has had different experiences with religion. Not all people have a similar view about religion that I do. For some people, religion is the thing that saved their lives. For others, it is something they escaped. I think that it is important to understand the differences in the way people feel about religion because they can offer a new perspective on religion that you haven’t thought of before. For example, during the time Dugald Owen was speaking to us, Jessica said that she believed that religion was something that should be used to find happiness in the world, and nothing more. I was very intrigued by this perspective because I had never thought of religion like that. I had always thought that if you were a part of a religion, you had to follow all of the traditions and go to service regularly. Now that I have heard this philosophy, I have adopted it as my own. If you take the time to learn about someone else’s views and why they have those views, you might learn something that could change your life.
4. Connections
I feel like the discussion about morals and where our morals come from is related to a few things we studied but weren’t brought up in seminar. One of these things was introduced to us when Karen came to speak to us about Buddhism. She said that one could be Buddhist and still believe in other religions at the same time. She also told us that one could choose different morals from different religions and apply them to our lives without having to be a part of that religion. I wondered why this wasn’t brought up because we were talking mainly about Christian morals and the Ten Commandments you have to follow. Another thing that I was expecting to be brought up was the question of whether or not the existence of a god is necessary for morals to be meaningful or true. I think that this would have been an interesting question because the main purpose of morals in religion is to gain favor with god so you can go to heaven. If there were no god, then the morals would have to come from inside of us, and then they would be very influenced by our experiences in life. This connects to the discussion because we were discussing whether morals came from our experiences or if they were like instincts and were ingrained in all of us.
5. Project Conclusions
I think that one thing I really learned about religion throughout the course of this project is the vast majority of religions that exist that we don’t even know about. Another thing that boggles my mind is that an overwhelming percentage of the population believes in a higher power or deity. According to Wikipedia.com, 78.3% (4.8 billion) of the world’s population is part of one of the top five religions: Christianity (33%), Islam (19.6%), Hinduism (13.4%), Chinese Folk Religion (6.4%), and Buddhism (5.9%). It is amazing that these religions have reached so many people and affected so many lives. With all of the religions there are, it is hard to choose which one is right for you. That is why I believe that religion, or lack thereof, should be something that brings you happiness. Who cares which religion is the “right” religion if everybody is happy and follows the path that makes his or her own life meaningful? What I’m trying to say is that everyone should have the choice of which religion to follow, and not be forced into any one group.
I think that exhibiting a seminar and inviting outsiders into the discussion was very interesting and thought provoking, but the conversation could have been better. For example, we always came back to the answer of, “it’s all relative.” Although religion is a delicate subject and is a different experience for everyone, one simple answer doesn’t move the conversation forward. I think that one reason we kept coming back to that single answer is because we were scared of really exploring concepts. I think that I could have helped this by provoking more conversation by asking specific questions when the conversation started to get vague and spoke my opinion on more topics. I think that there were two main reasons I did not speak up more during this seminar/exhibition. The first reason is that the seminar was very fast paced. You had to speak up to be heard and you couldn’t be afraid to step on someone’s sentence. I remember more than a few times where I had something to say, only to have the conversation move on before I could jump in and give my two cents. I think another reason I didn’t speak up as much as I would have liked to is because I just didn’t have much to say about the topics. Most of the things that were talked about I wasn’t very opinionated on or didn’t have much experience with.
2. Reaction
I think that one thing that was said during seminar that impacted my thinking was when Nolan mentioned the crusades. It made me think about how Americans see Islam and instantly think of 9/11, but when we see Christianity we think about love and caring and community. We don’t think of the crusades and the droves of diseases that were brought over to the native population, or the thousands of innocent indigenous people that were killed as a result of the crusades. We don’t think of the diseases that are spread in Africa and other countries by missionaries. We don’t think of the cultures and languages that have died out because of the spread of Christianity. It opened my eyes to the fact that we have had our eyes closed to what happened to get us where we are today.
3. Changes in Thinking
One thing that was said during seminar that influenced my thinking about religion is that everybody has had different experiences with religion. Not all people have a similar view about religion that I do. For some people, religion is the thing that saved their lives. For others, it is something they escaped. I think that it is important to understand the differences in the way people feel about religion because they can offer a new perspective on religion that you haven’t thought of before. For example, during the time Dugald Owen was speaking to us, Jessica said that she believed that religion was something that should be used to find happiness in the world, and nothing more. I was very intrigued by this perspective because I had never thought of religion like that. I had always thought that if you were a part of a religion, you had to follow all of the traditions and go to service regularly. Now that I have heard this philosophy, I have adopted it as my own. If you take the time to learn about someone else’s views and why they have those views, you might learn something that could change your life.
4. Connections
I feel like the discussion about morals and where our morals come from is related to a few things we studied but weren’t brought up in seminar. One of these things was introduced to us when Karen came to speak to us about Buddhism. She said that one could be Buddhist and still believe in other religions at the same time. She also told us that one could choose different morals from different religions and apply them to our lives without having to be a part of that religion. I wondered why this wasn’t brought up because we were talking mainly about Christian morals and the Ten Commandments you have to follow. Another thing that I was expecting to be brought up was the question of whether or not the existence of a god is necessary for morals to be meaningful or true. I think that this would have been an interesting question because the main purpose of morals in religion is to gain favor with god so you can go to heaven. If there were no god, then the morals would have to come from inside of us, and then they would be very influenced by our experiences in life. This connects to the discussion because we were discussing whether morals came from our experiences or if they were like instincts and were ingrained in all of us.
5. Project Conclusions
I think that one thing I really learned about religion throughout the course of this project is the vast majority of religions that exist that we don’t even know about. Another thing that boggles my mind is that an overwhelming percentage of the population believes in a higher power or deity. According to Wikipedia.com, 78.3% (4.8 billion) of the world’s population is part of one of the top five religions: Christianity (33%), Islam (19.6%), Hinduism (13.4%), Chinese Folk Religion (6.4%), and Buddhism (5.9%). It is amazing that these religions have reached so many people and affected so many lives. With all of the religions there are, it is hard to choose which one is right for you. That is why I believe that religion, or lack thereof, should be something that brings you happiness. Who cares which religion is the “right” religion if everybody is happy and follows the path that makes his or her own life meaningful? What I’m trying to say is that everyone should have the choice of which religion to follow, and not be forced into any one group.
Genocide Project
Opinion Editorial
Scorched Earth Operations: The Fuel for the Resistance
“These were essentially scorched earth operations,” Kate Doyle explains in an interview with Ira Glass. “Soldiers would sweep through targeted areas. They were using plans drafted by the Army High Command. And they would essentially kill everything in sight.” The killing of innocent indigenous Guatemalans and the razing of their villages in these scorched earth operations led many indigenous people to join the guerrilla movement.
Scorched earth operations are a
military strategy of wiping out the oppositions resources. This can include the
destruction of resources and agricultural lands for the production of food, the
befouling of water sources and irrigation, and the killing of the people and/or
livestock. The Guatemalan army used this strategy against villages that they believed
were cooperating with the guerrillas.
Truth of War Project
Truth of War Story and Visual
The Account of Wilfred H Haughey, Jr.
My name is Wilfred Haughey. My father is also Wilfred Haughey, so I guess I must introduce myself as Wilfred Haughey, Jr. My family lives in Battle Creek, Michigan. I have very fond memories of growing up there. My father is married to Edith Haughey, my mother. Together my parents have had eight children, including me. During peacetime, my father is an ear, nose and throat doctor. He is also president and secretary of the Calhoun County Medical Society....
To read the full story, click here.
My name is Wilfred Haughey. My father is also Wilfred Haughey, so I guess I must introduce myself as Wilfred Haughey, Jr. My family lives in Battle Creek, Michigan. I have very fond memories of growing up there. My father is married to Edith Haughey, my mother. Together my parents have had eight children, including me. During peacetime, my father is an ear, nose and throat doctor. He is also president and secretary of the Calhoun County Medical Society....
To read the full story, click here.
Project Reflection
I think that the thing that impacted me the most was reading All Quiet on the Western Front. It really showed me what kinds of things happen in war and how common foot soldiers feel about the things that are happening around them. The thing that I remember most was the book that we briefly looked at. It showed gruesome pictures of people in war. Pictures of starving children and pictures of children who have died from starvation grace the last pages of the anti-war novel. It is really moving to see just some of the things that war can do. It is terrible to think that one person can do something so terrible to another person of the exact same species and with the exact same goal: to survive. Another thing that really stuck with me was this gallery I saw on reddit.com. It shows pictures of a soldier in WWI who had had his bottom jaw blown off. The next pictures show the process that his face was reconstructed by. There are tubes of skin attaching different parts of his face to different parts of his body. It is pretty gruesome, but it is amazing that they were able to reconstruct his face with the technology they had back then.
I do not think that the question, “What it the truth of war?” is a good question. I think that it is not a good question because there are really too many aspects of war to put into one truth. Also, everybody experiences a different aspect of war, so there really can’t be one “truth of war.” Different people can have their own “truths of war,” but they really don’t paint an accurate description of what war is. That is why I do not like the question of what the truth of war is.
I think that it is important to study war because it is something that shapes our society. Young men go off to another land and get shot at and see their friends die, and we know nothing of it. At the very least, it is a sign of respect to the soldiers who have died in battle to study war. Then, you have some idea of what is going on in other countries and why these brave men have sacrificed their lives for this country. I think that by learning about war over the past few weeks, I have gained insight about how war has evolved to be what is today, and what that means for the soldiers in the field. Another aspect of learning the history of war is that it shows you how countries interact with each other and why things are the way they are today.
I did not enjoy the books we read in class because I didn’t read it because I wanted to; I read it to keep up with the class. Because of this, I don’t think I enjoyed the book as much as I would have otherwise. I think it is better to read the book through, and then read it again and put annotations. This way, you get a clearer idea of the story and connections the book has to offer. However, I think that reading is a good way to understand the complexities of war because the books can contain first hand accounts of soldiers in battle and can paint pictures of what happens during war.
I came up with my project idea when we had the brainstorming session to help people figure out their project ideas. Going into the session I had a vague idea of what I wanted my project to be. I was going to do something with hanging a doll, symbolizing war killing the childhood innocence in soldiers. After tossing around a few ideas, I decided on hanging the doll from a tree. Attached to the rope the doll was hanging from, would be a rock that symbolizes war, the deadweight that is killing the childhood innocence. I then set about finding a good branch to hang my doll from. After searching fruitlessly, I decided it would be easier to build a gallows. So I set about doing that. The whole sculpture came together nicely, with the clown doll I got at Dunn Deal resale store adding a certain level of creepiness to the whole appearance. However, after I set up for the exhibition, I decided not to include the rock in the presentation. I simply attached the rope to the base and hid the rock under the platform. I am really proud of my project because it was different from everybody else’s and people were very interested in it because it was so provocative.
I do not think that the question, “What it the truth of war?” is a good question. I think that it is not a good question because there are really too many aspects of war to put into one truth. Also, everybody experiences a different aspect of war, so there really can’t be one “truth of war.” Different people can have their own “truths of war,” but they really don’t paint an accurate description of what war is. That is why I do not like the question of what the truth of war is.
I think that it is important to study war because it is something that shapes our society. Young men go off to another land and get shot at and see their friends die, and we know nothing of it. At the very least, it is a sign of respect to the soldiers who have died in battle to study war. Then, you have some idea of what is going on in other countries and why these brave men have sacrificed their lives for this country. I think that by learning about war over the past few weeks, I have gained insight about how war has evolved to be what is today, and what that means for the soldiers in the field. Another aspect of learning the history of war is that it shows you how countries interact with each other and why things are the way they are today.
I did not enjoy the books we read in class because I didn’t read it because I wanted to; I read it to keep up with the class. Because of this, I don’t think I enjoyed the book as much as I would have otherwise. I think it is better to read the book through, and then read it again and put annotations. This way, you get a clearer idea of the story and connections the book has to offer. However, I think that reading is a good way to understand the complexities of war because the books can contain first hand accounts of soldiers in battle and can paint pictures of what happens during war.
I came up with my project idea when we had the brainstorming session to help people figure out their project ideas. Going into the session I had a vague idea of what I wanted my project to be. I was going to do something with hanging a doll, symbolizing war killing the childhood innocence in soldiers. After tossing around a few ideas, I decided on hanging the doll from a tree. Attached to the rope the doll was hanging from, would be a rock that symbolizes war, the deadweight that is killing the childhood innocence. I then set about finding a good branch to hang my doll from. After searching fruitlessly, I decided it would be easier to build a gallows. So I set about doing that. The whole sculpture came together nicely, with the clown doll I got at Dunn Deal resale store adding a certain level of creepiness to the whole appearance. However, after I set up for the exhibition, I decided not to include the rock in the presentation. I simply attached the rope to the base and hid the rock under the platform. I am really proud of my project because it was different from everybody else’s and people were very interested in it because it was so provocative.