My Humanities Story

    Starting out this semester taking my first classes for my associates, with three out of the four being humanity courses, I was thrilled. This class especially, out of my other humanity classes, was definitely my favorite. In my first week, I didn’t realize how impactful this class would be. I came into it thinking we were gonna learn the history of Asia, however, it was the fine details, such as art, religion, and the people, which went right over my head. I didn’t have any expectations about this class in the first week. I was just ready to finally start learning about something that actually interested me. My only goal was to receive an A at the end of the semester and looking at my grade right now, I think I can confidently say that this goal accomplished. 

This is a depiction of a Hindu God(blue).

   What I have found to be the most interesting to learn about religion. Since I was younger, I have always been interested in learning about the origins of different religions. It is in this class in which I got to experience just that. I came into this course a little scared, because what if I had learned that religion wasn’t my calling? But it is, this class and its content have shown me that I can learn and teach this material for the rest of my life. I have learned about religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and more. I have known about these before, as I have a lot of books pertaining to each one, but with the book Awakening by Patrick Bresnan, I was able to learn even more about each religion. 

A book we read in class. 

  In our group project for this class, our theme was religion in which we talked about how it changed and impacted people throughout the centuries. What I liked best about this group project was how well my team and I were able to collaborate with each other in making this a great project filled with great information and vocabulary.  I, having the role of the graphic designer, enjoyed creating beautiful slides that were pleasing to look at. I also enjoyed filling up the slides with information based on religion, as I plan on receiving my Masters in Humanities and Religious Studies. Getting to spend about fourteen hours on the project, on a theme that I’ve been passionate about my entire life, was a great experience and an even better way to end the semester.

For more on how important Asian humanities is, here is a Youtube video by Stanford. 

Works Cited:

Bresnan, Patrick S. Awakening: an Introduction to the History of Eastern Thought. Routledge, 2018.

“The Future of East Asian Studies.” YouTube, YouTube, 8 Oct. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJRi7zFR1es.

History.com Editors. “Hinduism.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 6 Oct. 2017, www.history.com/topics/religion/hinduism.

Books I Have Read in 2020

Bresnan, Patrick S. Awakening: an Introduction to the History of Eastern Thought. Routledge, 2018.

• This book goes into detail about Eastern religion, thoughts, practices, and the people. It dives into art throughout the centuries. In the beginning, it tells us the mystery about the Indus Civilization, everything in the middle, and then lastly onto Japan and its history. 

Brown, Stephen F. Christianity: World Religions. Facts On File, 1991.

• This tells us about Christianity and its history. Although I have only read a couple of chapters, it is both insightful and unbias. It is a great book to learn about one of the most major religions.

Eknath, Easwaran. The Bhagavad Gita. Nilgiri Press, 2019.

• This book tells the story of Arjuna and Krishna. It is a story that tells us about Hinduism, as Krishna is the Almighty and Arjuna represents us. It is a book where the man is speaking to God and asking him for advice in life. It is a great book that uses symbolism to target its points. 

Feldman, Robert S. Discovering the Life Span. Pearson Education, Inc., 2021.

• This is a psychology textbook in which gives us information on our entire lifespan. From how we think and what we need as we are babies, to how we think and what we need when we are elderly. This book goes over every age group and analyzes the human brain.

Wangu, Madhu Bazaz. Hinduism: World Religions. Facts on File, 2001.

• This tells us about Hinduism and its history. From the origins to what it’s like today. It is an unbias book that helps the average person learn about Hinduism.