Relatively Speaking

rel·a·tiv·i·ty (n): the dependence of various physical phenomena on relative motion of the observer and the observed objects, especially regarding the nature and behavior of light, space, time, and gravity. considered in relation or in proportion to something else, existing or possessing a specified characteristic only in comparison to something else; not absolute.

When I speak of myself, I like to use the word relatively relatively often. I feel am a relatively calm and put together person. I think I am relatively intelligent, relatively nice, understanding. The people I surround myself have both shaped this image of me, and serve as proof of these perceived facts. I try to push these perceptions of myself onto others as fast as I possibly can, trying to carefully calculate and carry myself as though I know what I am doing, and I think I do this, relatively, well. Continue reading “Relatively Speaking”

Self Reflection Essay-Learning To Reflect, Loudly

Disciplinary Term/Concept: Historical Memory

“The concept of historical memory refers to ways in which groups, collectives, & nations construct & identify with particular narratives about historical periods or events,”

-Also referred to as: Collective Memory, Social Memory, & The Politics of Memory

The Art of Steve Prince as a class, started off pretty rough for me. I was too shy and nervous to join any class conversations and this lasted for the bulk of the semester. Class discussion was pretty much the most important part of our lessons so you can imagine how poorly I did. Still, I think I’ve learned a lot since the beginning of the semester. I listened intently to the lectures given though I didn’t speak. I’ve learned through Steve Prince’s art, I’ve learned through the books we read, I’ve learned through the class discussions and guest lectures we’ve had, and I’ve learned through simply existing and adapting in this environment. I have learned to throw a little more caution to the wind when it comes to being part of a conversation. I cannot let my limited experiences stop me from contributing. And one of the most interesting lessons I’ve learned in this class that I keep coming back to, is words, and how they influence our perceptions. I have always thought about this concept but this class, specifically a class day in which Professor Cathy Adams visited, has made me think about this concept in a historical sense. Continue reading “Self Reflection Essay-Learning To Reflect, Loudly”

Failure is My Friend

When I think about this course, what I’ve gained and the ways in which I have contributed towards the community we’ve built in the shaggy room located in Welles 216, I become overwhelmed by how many kind, eager, bright classmates I’ve met—some which I now consider friends—and how much I’ve learned and developed throughout the progression of the spring semester. One of the earliest memories I seem to be finding myself heavily resonating on these days—one which I spoke about in my very first blog post—was Steve Prince’s Urban Garden Project. That first week felt like a celebration of unity and collaboration. Just as I so heartily outlined in my blog post titled What We Talk About When We Art, there was nothing not to love about participating in the Urban Garden Project led by Steve Prince. From the words I uttered in that very first blog post, we spent the week listening to snazzy tunes and having lively conversations with one another. We got our gloves and shoe covers on and then we got ready to get down and dirty with some charcoal blocks. It was the most fun I’ve ever had in an academic setting. Continue reading “Failure is My Friend”

Battling Comfortability

Comfortability is determined by your environment and the people who you are surrounded with. This class, The Art of Steve Prince, has further helped me realize that your creation of art, no matter the type, depends on what you are willing to share with everyone else. As a dancer, I am already aware of the dependency of my comfortability in relation to performances and dance classes. I have realized how my performance skills will be dependent on who I am performing for. For example, if I believe the environment is filled with a sense of competition, I am less willing to fully express myself because I fear judgement. It is assumed that when you dance those around you are judging you; however, this feeling of judgement is different from a competitive environment. My description of a competitive environment is when the dancers around me are trying to out-dance each other and pick out who is the “best dancer”; this would be the type of environment that would make me feel uncomfortable to be myself. My comfortability relies on a space where dancers are not only supporting and encouraging, but also open to giving feedback in areas where improvement is possible. Continue reading “Battling Comfortability”

Reflective Blog Post: The Art of Kazon

On the second floor of Erwin Hall, there’s a piece of art on the wall. The piece is sandwiched between the Office of New Student Programs and Sponsored Research to name a few. In the middle of the wall is a steam print piece completed by Steve Prince in 2017. Phrases, animals, faces, and other iconography encircle the people around it. The colors of these icons are red, white, and black work as the focal point of the art piece draws people in.  The focal point is the family and their teddy bear. The family and their teddy bear allow the viewer to read this piece from right to left, left to right, or in any direction one sees fit. As I look over this art piece, I smile.

“We created this,” I thought as I turn away. “It was something of a group effort.” I walk away from the art piece and into the Study Abroad office where I was heading in the first place.

Continue reading “Reflective Blog Post: The Art of Kazon”

Crossing Boundaries Once Again

When I first enrolled at SUNY Geneseo, and even when I first registered for this course, I was skeptical, but curious, about the relationship between the sciences and the humanities. A class I took with Dr. McCoy last semester caused me to reconsider my skepticism; however, as I entered this class, The Art of Steve Prince, my vision was still clouded by the assumptions I had previously generated regarding the intersection, or lack thereof, between the sciences and the humanities. Indeed, I had always assumed that science and the humanities were distinctly separate realms with no direct connection or relationship with each other. While I was beginning to warm to the idea that science and literature might be intimately and intrinsically connected, I was not ready to see that there is science in art and art in science. But, as this course draws to a close, I find that my views have shifted tremendously and that I am now incapable of visualizing art without science and science without art. This transformation was made possible by many things, particularly, the work of Steve Prince, the lectures and lessons of the supporting faculty, and the blogging process.

Furthermore, my thinking across barriers with respect to academic disciplines mirrored the thinking that I and my classmates did across cultures, communities, and individuals. This class helped me to see past the exclusionary labels assigned to academic disciplines and unearth their similarities and differences in a way that connects and celebrates each respective discipline. In a similar fashion, this class, and the thinking it inspired, encouraged me to, in the words of Steve Prince, “look more and name less” and recognize that human beings, though each bearing different creeds and cultures, though each occupying different communities and spaces, are essentially united, not in spite of their differences, but in a way, because of such differences, as well as the similarities that lie beneath these differences.

Continue reading “Crossing Boundaries Once Again”

Nonlinearity in INTD 288 and Beyond

How we think determines how we perceive and understand the world around us. The integration of disciplines was not something I was expecting throughout the semester in INTD 288: The Art of Steve Prince taught by Dr. Beth McCoy. The integration of disciplines encouraged my peers and me to challenge ourselves when it came to our ways of thinking—something proven integral to our success in our course epigraphs. The intellectual progress participants gained through this course ultimately cannot be measured in a straight line; but rather through a course of nonlinear steps. In other words, the product of this course and the knowledge gained proves itself unique for every participant. At first glance, ‘nonlinear’ according to the Merriam Webster dictionary is vaguely defined as, “not linear.” Diving deeper, one can interpret the word ‘nonlinearity’ as: random behavior, or, unpredictable. Something that cannot be static or proportional. Since this course has come to a close, I can recognize not only my nonlinear growth, but the nonlinearity of SUNY Geneseo, and our nation as a whole through the teachings in this course.

Continue reading “Nonlinearity in INTD 288 and Beyond”

This is Paratext

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1:  This

Chapter 2: Is

Chapter 3: Paratext

Afterword

To plunge into the paratextual chain of citations is to risk discovering that the subject matter is complex, contingent, and interdependent… It is also to risk discovering that one’s own identity is complex, contingent, and interdependent. ~ Beth McCoy, “Paratext, Citation, and Academic Desire in Ishmael Reed’s Mumbo Jumbo“*

(This is paratext too.)

Continue reading “This is Paratext”

Finding My Way Through My Through Line

I wish I could say that when I posted all of my blog posts in one day this semester (including a few several days past the deadline), it was the first time. I wish I could say with confidence that I know I will improve if I am given the same assignment next semester. Normally, I would say these things, but I said these things last semester and look where we are now. Last fall, in a different course I took with Dr. McCoy, we were given an almost identical assignment, except that there was not a mandatory deadline for the first blog post. Last semester, I managed to get only one blog post up in October, which was not followed until November when a group of my peers and I posted the traditional collaborative blog post. The last eight went up on the day of the deadline. This semester, I had told myself I would know what to expect—same professor, same classroom, similar assignment. Because of the mandatory first blog post deadline, I was able to get my first post of the semester up in February on the day of the deadline, I believe. Then, I mapped out the rest of my blog posts on Google Tasks to give myself concrete deadlines even though they were based on a floating one. I also opened drafts on the actual website rather than in a private Word document on my computer, which I do think helped somewhat. But evidently, something was still missing because for the second semester in a row, I did not post my final eight until the due date, and even then, I posted two of them past the deadline. This is quite unlike me. Continue reading “Finding My Way Through My Through Line”

the line, in light of Steve Prince’s Art & the Baby Dolls

Prior to this class, my perception of the line was focused on that in poetry, having taken three poetry workshops almost consecutively within the past two years. What this class offered was a broadening of that focus, to consider different realities and possibilities of the word, both literally and figuratively. Continue reading “the line, in light of Steve Prince’s Art & the Baby Dolls”