We started by sitting outside with the sun falling on our faces, this is the best way to start any semester. We then discussed some things that I thought would not really affect the way I saw things that day, but I was wrong. Realizing the many different ways people see things and getting past that WOW factor and looking deeper was probably the most important to me.
When we first saw the Colleseum and our lovely tour guide painted the picture for us of what this place used to be, it was incredible. Even more incredible to me was the comments I heard from the peers around me. Some spoke about the barbarity of the people and why they would do those things to the animals and each other, others commented on the fact that women and children were made to sit in the worst seats, while others saw the incredible accomplishment it was that the Romans had built these monuments in the time they lived. The mornings class helped me to try consider the different perspectives and not just disregard them because I did not agree. I think it was valuable to consider all the different peoples point of views.
I am realizing that history is not only a cool story or something to be marveled at; it is something that we need to analyze and learn from. Just as we took much architectural advancement from the Romans we should look to what led to these 'holes in the walls' and learn from it.
I enjoyed reading the second to last paragraph the most. Though I mentioned how they did tear apart the monuments, I failed to consider what it is we are doing to our own creations. Recycling is a great example which so many people are aware of and not so many people follow. To learn from history is the most important concept and I liked how you really touched base on that.
ReplyDeleteI also was taken back by the "wow" factor. Before that class I found myself saying that simple phrase many times coming into the city from the airport. It really is a learning experience by hearing what everyone has to say and ideas that you may not come up with on your own.
The holes in the walls of the Colleseum were also a highlight for me. You say that the people who stripped the marble were not thinking about the future, but indeed they were, it was the past they were forgetting. Instead of preserving, those individuals were intent on using the past's materials for future uses. I think that as human beings, we take things for granted that are parts of our daily life. As hard as it is for me to imagine, the Colleseum once was as integrated into society as The Q is today.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that stripping the marble made the world we live in less great. Yes, it would be nice to be able to see the Colleseum just like the Romans did - but even if the marble was intact, our vantage point will never be the same as those before us. That is because we not only look through their eyes, but through our own. History allows us to continually develop perspective, and can also teach lessons to future generations. So, maybe you are right, if man is capable of stripping his own creation, what will stop him from destroying that which he cannot create: earth?
The conclusion of this blog is enthusiastic, but lacks clarity to me. What did cause these holes in the wall? Was it defeat and plundering? Was it the human urge toward advancement? Was it greed or lust for power? I think that we can learn from the visual itself: through earthquakes, seiges, and plundering the Colleseum still stands today. What is a better testament to both the past and future of humanity?