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(2014
midterm assignment) Sample Student Midterm Answers 2014 #3: Web Highlights |
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Josh Cobb
4 Feb. 2014
A
Retrospective Analysis
When choosing an
appropriate article for review, I let the titles speak for themselves. The first
that I selected was titled "The Purposes of Origin Stories" by Roberto Benitez.
I chose it chiefly because this was also what I intended on writing about for
the exam, and I wanted a model in which to compare. The central theme was that
mankind uses origin stories to define epochs and create new ones. In style, it
was a piece which seemed very self-aware yet concise, and it bordered on the
romantic.
I enjoyed his
analysis on Colon; it acknowledged both his short-sightedness and his bias
toward the new and miraculous world which had just come to be known. He
parallels the American Revolution to the spiritual advent of the Virgin Mary in
Mexico, defining them both as moments of rebirth in order to establish identity
away from an oppressive force. I enjoy his take on the origin story and how he
connects it with other, broader ideas of rebirth. It is an interesting take on a
difficult topic. It was informatively written with skill and introspection.
Again, it seems
Benitez has my attention. His article entitled "The Creation of the Mestizo and
its Effects on Mexican-Americans" brings to light many of the interesting
psychological differences between the English and Spanish colonists, and how
this made way for the modern dominance of the mestizo. He states that the
Spanish wanted to further the reach of both the Spanish crown and the Catholic
Church which encouraged their dominance over the indigenous inhabitants. This is
a stark contrast to the English settlers who preferred to partake in the
genocide of the locals. It is an insightful and refreshing analysis which pairs
and contrasts equally well with the material being covered in the course.
The moment I saw the title of Jeff Derrickson's research post, "The Burgeoning
Acceptance of Deism," I was hooked immediately. Fancying myself a philosophe,
the idea of discussing religious ideology seemed to be right up my alley. His
tone is extremely personable, and from the outset stated how he had never heard
of Deism in relation to the founding fathers. He acutely questions how they
could have been anything other than puritanical Christians due to the
intimidating oration of Jonathan Edwards and the persecution of the Salem witch
trials. He then chronicles the acceptance of Deist thought in North America,
first with Thomas Young's newspaper publication and then again with the
endorsement of renowned historical figure Samuel Adams. The tone of the piece is
almost anecdotal, relaying factoids of information in an easy to digest format.
Perhaps a bit lacking analysis but an intriguing concept.
What these assignments had in common, is that they all discussed thought
processes and psychological motivation. I find these and similar topics to be
fascinating, and perhaps this is why I chose these article for review. They were
ripe with information relevant to the course, and they clearly defined their
points in reference to the texts. I find that the web review process puts the
entire exam into perspective by giving the reviewer a chance to read what has
been done and perhaps improve upon it
