Category: LIL 120 (Page 2 of 2)

   Chapter 6 of “The Swerve” talks about how “The nature of things” is more than just finding ancient text, it is more than that. It shows how this text created something for the modern world. It influenced the way of the Renaissance and the way the Renaissance was going.   “Books were not only the repository of the past; they were the engines of change, the drivers of the future.” The rediscovery of the “On the Nature of Things” drove the transition from a medieval outlook governed by religious beliefs to a more human-focused perspective. This showed that it is more than a simple person finding a random ancient text. This text held ideas that changed the Renaissance. 

  A connection to the world in this text is the fact that just one idea, poem, text, or book can have the power to change the world. I look at people like Martin Luther King who had a dream and went after it and he made a mark on history. 

 A question I have after reading this chapter is if there was other undiscovered text that had to do with the redirection of the renaissance?

In chapter 5 of “The Swerve” by Stephan Greenblatt he talks about the impact of Epicurean philosophy on the renaissance. He says “The universe is not governed by a divine plan but is instead the result of random motions and interactions of atoms.” This quote shows the shift from medieval thinking to modern thinking and highlights the idea of the world being driven by natural laws. Another detail I really loved in chapter 5 was how the author talks about “On the Nature of Things” and how it talks about Epicurean thought revival.  The quote “Death is nothing to us; when we are, death is not come, and when death is come, we are not.” shows how the poem addresses the fear people have of death. He shows that people have to learn to accept death. 

    A connection to the world, I think, would be how people are a part of religions. A reason why some people are a part of a religion is because they are afraid of what happens to them after they die, because nobody knows what happens. Being a part of a religion gives them a sense of comfort on knowing what is going to happen. 

   A question I have is, if people read Lucrious poem today, would it have a big effect on society as it did back then?

While doing this project, I was able to learn how to adjust sounds so that it fits my audio. I learned how to cut the audio and figure out what works best.

2 – Offer 2 Specific Details from the chapter. For each, ID/quote and add 3-8 sentences of your own explanation

   A specific detail from chapter 3 was how the chapter highlighted the tension that was between the medieval church control and the humanist movement. The church had a strong grip on intellectual life, and often did care about texts and ideas that didn’t go with doctrines. The clash showed a bigger conflict between preservation of traditional religious authority and the pursuit of new knowledge that did end up fueling the renaissance.  Another detail was how the church controlled education. Education was heavily influenced by religion. Which made it difficult for humanist ideas to have traction with academic circles. There is a quote that I feel shows a main idea that Lucretius has, “Nothing is to be feared from the gods; they do not intervene in our lives.” This quote shows that human life needs to be separated from religion that religion doesn’t control your life and to find happiness in the world around you and not in religion.

1 – Make 1 Connection to Self, to World, or to Text – or Extend by offering a little detail about something mentioned in the text (some light research needed to Extend)

A connection I made to self was the feeling of accomplishment. When Poggio found the manuscript he had to have felt a sense of accomplishment. That feeling is a similar feeling I get when I ace a test or write a good chapter for the book I have been writing. So accomplishment is something I connect to.

Q – Give us a Good Question to chew on – 1-3 sentences

A question I have is how did the manuscript Poggio found influence the Renaissance?

Going through the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and their “Occupational Outlook Handbook” I found out that most people that get a bachelor’s degree in English end up working in educational instruction and library occupations. While I don’t plan to go into Education or a library occupation I didn’t realize that, that is what most people ended up going into. Something that disappointed me was the fact that in chart 2 there is a -2 percent growth for editors projected 2023-33. I didn’t expect that, But I am interested in editing so hearing that disappointed me a little bit. Learning that 63% of people are employed in jobs that require at least a bachelor’s degree, which is more than all other fields which I did not realize, that most jobs you might wanna do you need a bachelor’s degree. Reading chart 2, I started reading about Art Directors which I did not realize would interest me but it did. Art Directors are “responsible for the visual style and images in magazines, newspapers, product packaging and movie and television productions” And that sounded really interesting to me to do.  

While reading through the English major I really liked how that one part of the mission is for us to be provided with the “tools to think, analyze and write with confidence.” As someone who wants to focus on the writing aspect of English, seeing that helped me know I will have great opportunities. Continuing to read through the English major, I learned about all of the courses  that I am able to take that have to do with English. Being able to take classes like, Topics in creative writing, Creative writing: Poetry, and Creative writing: Short fiction, which I am currently taking. Seeing all the options as someone who wants to focus on writing excites me for future classes. Another thing I learned that I am very interested in taking next semester is Introduction to Journalism. I didn’t know that there was a class for journalism. I am currently a part of the UNE newspaper The Bolt so that is a class I am very interested in. I had been thinking about internships so learning about the English Studies internship l and English Studies internship ll, I was happy to see since that is something that interests me. A big thing I learned is the amount of elective courses offered. I could take a class that has to do with film and also take a class about literary topics. So learning all those options are very helpful.

 In chapter 2 of the “Swerve” by Stephan Greenblatt it talks a lot about Poggio’s background and the discovery of the manuscript of “On the Nature of Things”. The chapter shares details on Poggio’s career as a papal secretary and him having a passion for ancient texts. He was able to have access to many libraries and resources that helped him look for lost works. The quote “It was Poggio Bracciolini’s good fortune to be born at a time when the great libraries of the ancient world had long since been destroyed, but the monasteries that had been established throughout Europe still preserved many of the ancient texts” I think this quote sums up how Poggio was lucky to have the resources he did to find the ancient works. The chapter also goes into the discovery of a manuscript that was forgotten “On the Nature of Things” By Lucretius. It was found in a monastery library by Poggio. The quote “The monastery libraries were not only repositories of ancient books; they were also places where books were copied, and Poggio was able to find and secure copies of texts that had been lost to the world for centuries.” This quote related to how Poggio found the manuscript. A connection to self I found while reading this chapter is the curiosity Poggio has. Throughout the chapter he has such a passion for finding these manuscripts that I relate to myself as I have such a passion for what I am doing in life. It shows that curiosity is so important and can lead to new discoveries. It shows that curiosity and passion can maybe end up changing the world around us. A question I had was how did Poggio’s passion for finding these manuscripts influence his actions?

 A specific detail I found in the preface of the book “The Swerve” By Stephen Greenblatt is, in the preface he talks about a book hunter who found a lost manuscript. I feel this important because while reading he emphasizes the importance of the manuscript that was found.  A quote I feel related to this is “The copying of books had become a fairly routine part of the work of the monasteries, but the monks who copied the text of Lucretius were not interested in the content of what they copied” This quote got me thinking about how people seemed to be so careless about the manuscripts they copied. Even the manuscripts that ended up being very important. A detail I found in the first chapter was emphasis on rediscovering long lost classic works and how important it can be to find these works. I really loved the quote “The moment he set eyes on the manuscript, he knew that he had discovered something of immense significance, something that would change the course of history.” I like the light it shines on the excitement of finding something that’s been lost. A connection to the world I think in this story is how the classic texts have inspired new ways to think in our world. How it shaped a new society. A question I had while reading the preface was what was the author’s purpose to write this book? Was it to inform people about these works? Did he just have a big interest in these manuscripts? These are questions that got me thinking while reading.

The involvement fair had so many opportunities to get involved in school. I was only there for a little while because of a class I had close to the time the fair was ending but I was able to go to many of the tables and get great insight of what there was to offer.

I especially was extremely interested in the school newspaper The Bolt as I am interested in writing for the school. One club I found integrated in was the spikeball club! I thought it was fun because usually you play it with friends at the beach but putting together a club with others with the same interest is a great way for others to male friends.

The breakfast club was a club that made me think of the 1985 “Breakfast Club” movie. The club I think is a different way for students to get involved if they aren’t interested in joining club sports or joining anything too serious but a way to get to know more people on campus.

Leaving the fair I was left with much more knowledge of UNE has to offer than I did before.