The Final of the Final- Oral Knowledge and Religion

The mediums of knowledgeconsistently change, and slowly and bring about a tradition to those that use them.Regardless of these changes, however, the previous forms of knowledge are neverfully abandoned. This was brought up in a discussion with Lauren and Summer aswe discussed the pros and cons of the transitions between knowledge mediums. Thetransition from oral knowledge to written knowledge within medicine technicallyoccurred thousands of years ago, but yet we still see both forms in our livestoday. In regards to religion, it is a nearly impossible challenge to pick amedium that is superior to others based on effects that it has had on religion because of it being such a vast topic spanning over thousands ofyears. However, there are many major events within the history of religion thatare based around an oral presentation or an oral event. Despite the fact that theBook of Mormon has and will continue to flood the earth, oral knowledge hasbeen most influential in religious practices due to the fact that major religiouschanges are brought about in an oral fashion including monumental speeches madein past times.

*Pre-Salon Prep Notes*

Unit 1- Folk Knowledge

Self-directed Learning

• I was very interested in the different forms in which folk knowledge is passed along from generation to generation. To guide my research and keep it focused I studied things that were personally interesting to me which I could relate to in various ways. This not only helped my understanding of various interests, but also pushed to me study more and find more information. Like Brenda mentioned, it is fascinating to read my first posts and realize how much it has changed and just the way I go about presenting information has changed. My knowledge of blogging and the topic of “knowledge” itself has branched out in many directions.

Others Blogging

• I found it very fascinating to read other posts and see how people tied the knowledge they researched into their own lives. Everything from dance to stick shift driving to tattoos. Seeing how other perceived folk knowledge helped me to understand it better myself. 

Collaborative Learning

• For these first couple blog posts it was really easy to see that there was a struggle as to what we should say in our comments and how to really keep a riveting discussion going, but even in it’s primitive stages we did help each other learn and understand better the things we were studying

Projects/ Activities

• The project for this unit was very enjoyable. I had the opportunity to teach someone how to play tennis and pass on that knowledge in the same way I received. This gave me more insight into folk knowledge than a number of blog posts combined would have. On top of that I spent some time with a Spanish professor learning the ways of cooking an authentic spanish tortilla which was as much and tasty as it was educational. We had a final group interview to end this unit off and this was the first time I had experienced this type of test. It yielded good opportunities and reasons to followup on each others blogs.

Typography Thesis

Well this has been a long time coming! Oddly enough I haven't had to write a paper all semester long and so that has made it nearly 3 years since i've written a paper. That is a long time...People can forget things in that amount of time and that's what I feel like has happened to me. I looked at the Better Thesis Website and ran mine past it and this is what I have come up with.

Visit to Special Collections

Well I did a post earlier on about money and print and I have already done our field trip post as well as the annotated bibliography so I wasn't sure exactly what I would post on this week. After an enjoyable thanksgiving up in Canada with lots of great things that occurred, it was great to come back to calls on tuesday to such a great lecture. So I feel that it is appropriate and I would be amiss if I didn't focus on the things that Royal Skousen explained to us Tuesday morning.

Typography according to the University of Lethbridge

U of L campus. Basically one big building built into the side of a hill.

Well I hadn't intially planned on doing my bibliography on Typography but there were a few circumstances that weren't exactly in my control that led me to it. I came up to Canada for Thanksgiving (Yes, Canadian Thanksgiving was a month and a half ago :)..but I still welcomed the break from school). I knew that I would need to do this bibliography but i wasn't exactly sure where I would be able to. Just with the fact that books were going to be needed and a fairly large variety as well. You would think that would be easy but I come from a town of 2500 people so there really isn't all that much when it comes to resources and things such as big libraries.
My sister goes to the University which is 45 mins away and the next university after that is 2 and a half hours away so I saw that as my only option as far as being able to find the right books. So that's what I ended up doing.
So I went to the University of Lethbridge and spent a couple of hours on campus there browsing the library. The campus had a completely different feel compared to BYU and it was a fun/different experience just being there and seeing how things were.
There services proved well though and I was able to accomplish what needed to be done.

Hidden Treasures- Crandall Print Museum

I can already tell that this will probably be one the harder posts for me to write but that's not because I have a lack on things to say or that I'm stumped or anything like that. It's actually more of the opposite, there are so many things that i'd like to be able to effectively portray and express through my post but I feel as though I won't be able to accomplish this quite like i'd prefer.
So yet again, I had the opportunity to do something that was completely out of the ordinary this semester but it followed suit along with the other things I have done and it was a great experience.
I was taken back to the my elementary years as I joined an AP History class from Spanish Fork at the Crandall Print Museum right here in our very own backyard.

And That's a Wrap- Rosetta Stone

When I considered "Reinventing Knowledge" as part of my class schedule this semester I felt like I had some idea of the typical things that I would be asked to do. You know, the usual readings and some reports and other regular assignments. I can say almost with ease that most of the things that we have been asked to do this semester have been quite the complete opposite than what I had imagined. Starting with blogging on a regular basis all the way to scribing Cuneiform. That's a great thing! I feel that just as we have been and are studying and researching transitions within knowledge and mediums and languages, at the same time we ourselves are going through a transition of sorts in how we go about learning. At least that's how I feel about the recent events and things that have been done.

3 New Friends!

Ni Hao!
That was the extent of my Chinese abilities and I guess i can't say "was" because that it still the extent of my abilities. So it wasn't much help when we needed to translate this:

Money, Money, Money.....MONEY!

In our class discussion today when printed knowledge was introduced we discussed a lot of aspects of it. I had never heard the background concerning how the first printing press started or any of that information so there was lots to be gleaned by me.

One thing that was raised which sparked particular interest and curiosity was the question about printed money and when about it originated and how it came to be. I don't think i'm too abnormal to be fascinated by money and have an affinity for it, so that's why opted to learn a bit more about it's background and history. I can tell you now, it definitely didn't begin like I had imagined..

Living the High Life of a....Scribe?

A lot of times when I speak to certain doctors or dentists, especially those that have been in practice for a while it seems as though I always walk away thinking to myself, "That sure would be the life...Setting your own hours, vacations when desired, typically not heavy intensive labor, and not to mention a hefty paycheque to end things off nicely..." 

So it has often seemed like an ideal job in my mind,but in the recent while as i've become more acquainted and familiar I  have realized that how I pictured earlier on wasn't exactly precise.

Well there is a similar type of field that existed many, many years ago. To those that held this position there often were many perks and entitlements that came along with the job. BUT, it wasn't without pay some prices or sacrifices early on. This choice of career (if we could say choice) is that of a Scribe.

An Apple a Day Keeps The Doctor Away

I think if I were to ask people or if you were to ask yourselves what are some of the things that you take for granted i'm we would get a plethora of answers. Anything from our homes, families, freedoms, knowledge of the gospel, schooling, to material things like cell phones, computers, etc. 

Why do we take things for granted? I think it often depends what type of object or thing it is, but it usually is something that we've had for a fair amount of time and has become or is extremely useful.

I have realized as I've entered my field of study here at school that one thing that I take for granted is Medicine. 

For that reason I wanted to explore how written knowledge has aided the progression of medicine and what difference it has made.

The Hittite Cuneiform

Anyone remember when the internet came into existence? Or perhaps your first encounter with the world wide web? Well that was quite a while ago and I think many of us feel as though it's just always been apart of our lives, but talk to those 15 years older and it's a different story. Just try and imagine how unique/unfathomable it was when it first started to become common....I think that's how many civilizations felt when written formats surfaced or became common.

Well i've been able to spend time searching out the roots of the Hittite language and specifically how it transitioned into a written form. This has been quite complex and confusing, but I think I finally have a fair idea of how things went! It really is quite interesting, especially when you try to put yourself in a Hittites shoes and imagine the awe that they would have been in as written text came into play.

Reflections...

True or False??

Well after the Oral Knowledge final that we had on Tuesday, I feel as though I would be amiss if I didn't centre my thoughts on the great thing which we all participated in. If I had been asked beforehand whether I thought this would actually help me understand the value of oral knowledge, i'm pretty positive that my answer would have been along the lines of NO. There's always a first for everything and I was proven wrong in this case.
It's been great to see the different blog posts from all the all the many different civilizations and see the connections that have been found as they pertain to oral knowledge. One thing that has been hard for  personally, is to find a way in which I can relate things to my own life when learning about something that existed 3 thousand years ago. I believe that because of that aspect there, the presentation of King Benjamin's speech taught me many things because of how personal it is to me and my life.
So from the final that we took, there are a few things that jumped out at me as we were all doing our recitations as to why I think Oral Knowledge is unique. I'll try and share a few.

Written vs Oral- The Hittites

To go along with the Functions and Systems of Oral knowledge that we have been assigned to study I want to focus on ways that oral knowledge differs from written knowledge and how these distinctions make it unique.
We have talked in class how there is a hybrid between these two systems and that there's quite a large cross over, but in the same light there are also many things that make them both unique and important in their own ways.

Uriah?

     To pick things up with our Oral Knowledge unit and also focusing on the topics my group has been given, I'm going to start of with a knowledge test...of sorts.

     We are going back to the early Bible times on this one...hypothetically speaking, lets say you were a descendent of Heth, which would make you part of the second tribe of the Caananite nations. You live in a place called Anatolia (see map for general region) which is basically the present day Lebanon and your culture was eventually dissolved into a variety of others as your empire crumbled and your language is now obsolete. 

     If you could tell me what the name of your civilization is or i guess what it was, then well....you deserve an A i suppose!

Read more to find out if you were right...

Got Prayer?

Mom- "We are thankful for the day"
Child- in hushed voice- " Thankful...the day"
Mom- " We ask thee to bless our family"
Child- "Bwess my family"
Mom- "Please bless the food"
Child- "Bwess food"
Mom- "We are grateful for the prophet, Thomas S. Monson"
Child- "Prophet Thomas S. Monson"
Etc, etc, etc....

Next stop....Wimbledon!

I’ve always loved sports and have played them throughout my entire life. Another thing that really enjoy as well is teaching, I think I fully realized this during my mission. So I was excited to hear that we had the opportunity to teach something to someone and frankly I knew what type of thing I wanted to teach but I wasn't sure of the what specifically.

It's all about the Flip

Well this last weekend I got to spend the morning in spain! Obviously I wasn’t there literally, but I did get a “taste” of what it would be like.

I don’t know exactly why, but I was never in the cooking scene that much growing up. I imagine it was mostly due to my lack of interest and also the fact that my Mom is a fantastic cook and that there was always food available to eat. I served a mission stateside that was filled with members who were incredibly supportive and gracious which again, didn’t yield me many opportunities in which I needed to cook for myself.

Do you know....Do you know

So if thoughts of Enrique Iglesias came into your mind and you started humming the tune to his extremely popular hit from about 4 years ago then congrats, you’re on the right track! Well, Kind of…

I actually don’t want to dive into the history of his music or any music for that matter, instead I’m rather anxious to feature the sport that this very same song performed by Enrique later was also known as…can you guess it? Yup, The “Ping Pong Song”.

Canned Goods

On average, I wouldn’t say this is something I think about a ton, but i’m sure that due to moving away from home and being on my own again, it has been brought to the forefront of my mind. What might that be? Well, it’s my mother’s cooking :) and something in particular that I wanted to focus on, is a knowledge that I feel is pretty common amongst members

of the church (that may be a sheltered view, but it’s how I feel)...and that would be canning or bottled goods.

The time of canned goods dates way back into the 18th century and was inspired, we could say, by the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. He didn’t come up with the idea, but he put the word out that something needed to change in the aspect of food and war. The actual driving force of canning goods came about as a military strategy of all things. The French were in great need of a better way to increase and also maintain a regular food supply which was not an easy task...especially for large armies. Hence why a reward of 12,000 francs (a lot of money) was offered for whomever could achieve such a task. It wasn’t until about 15 years later that Nicholas Appert formulated the idea of preserving food in bottles. From that time on, it was adopted by many other countries and continued to develop and remain in high demand in countless wars around the world. In fact, it wasn’t until many, many years later that the act of canning or bottling goods actually became a common household activity.

Now I don’t profess myself to be a canning enthusiast, but it is something that I have learned over time as i have spent time around my Mom and helped out with the task.

Undoubtedly, i am extremely grateful for this knowledge and especially the instant access to canned beans, pickles, salsa, peaches, and many other homemade items. These are some things I really do enjoy about home! Now I have not yet had to try it out by myself, but for 3 of my siblings who now have families of their own, canning goods is an annual event that they participate in...thanks to the the knowledge that they acquired through my mom and other canning buffs in the area and of course, through practice and hard work.

Although we didn’t have to can food for an army, sometimes it would seem that way when there is not a inch of kitchen countertop insight due to the lavish amounts of jars EVERYWHERE. What once was a tactic to winning a war, now has become an essential aspect of a lifestyle and health for my family and many others around the world.