Professor Dolson’s personal story was really interesting to listen to. I thought the connections she drew between the neighborhood where she parked and her own home were really clever and they made the story feel very well structured. By tying the beginning of the story to a detail at the end, Professor Dolson gives her story a circular feel which makes it feel complete and satisfying. I also think the use of background music helped to add emotional weight to the story. All music is culturally coded to invoke some feeling in us, and the music choices Prof. Dolson makes, mostly trending toward somber or serious music, added an additional layer of gravitas to the story.
Author: William Sheets Page 2 of 4
The story I listened to was about a young boy, David Lepelstat, who almost drowned in his family’s pool. Fortunately, he was saved by his uncle’s partner at the time, a man named Michael. The story is about redefining family and appreciating people for who they are, not the labels attached to them. The man, Michael, wasn’t related to David by blood, so David never really considered him a part of the family. However, once David saw the lengths Michael went to to help him, even saving his life, he realized that family didn’t necessarily have to be all about blood. I think this story is really touching because it shows how arbitrary terms like “family” can be. Just one instance can change completely how we think about others. It’s so easy for titles and relationship defining terms to change as we grow as people. To me, this speaks to the idea that no matter how something might feel in the moment, there isn’t anything in life that can’t change over time. This can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you look at it, but to me it’s reassuring. Time can fix relationships, heal emotional wounds, and make Michael, or whoever Michael represents, a part of the family.
Chapters 4-10 of Persepolis were even more interesting to read than the first three. Once again, I was captivated by the narration. The author’s portrayal of childhood thoughts and emotions is basically flawless. It makes the story of the young girl growing up in this tumultuous time really hard hitting. I also love the growth that we can see the narrator undergoing over the course of the story. It’s clear that she is learning more about her country and beginning to form her own morals. It’s a beautiful journey that I feel privileged to be privy to. The matter of fact narration, a staple of any conversation with a child, also continues to make Persepolis a truly heartbreaking read.
One thing I noticed while reading the first three chapters of Persepolis was the way Marjane Satrapi embodied the perspective of her ten year old self to deliver the story. The childlike innocence of the narrator comes across in the way she speaks and the conclusions she draws about her life and the things happening around her. Because the narrator isn’t old enough to grasp the full scale of the events in her life, she describes and reacts to events in a simplified way. This builds a sense of dramatic irony into the narrative. Every time the narrator stumbles upon something really emotional or profound, she says it in a very stark, unembellished way because she doesn’t know the gravity of what she is saying or thinking about. However, we as readers do understand how powerful, thought provoking, and heartbreaking some of these statements are. This makes those moments even more powerful because we feel not only the emotions and implications of the actual events of the story, but also the emotions and implications that come with the narrator not understanding situation fully. We are saddened by the events of the story, cheered by the narrator’s childlike happy-go-lucky demeanor, before being saddened again by the realization that the narrator can’t comprehend the tragic events surrounding her. It’s this second sadness, the tearing down of our emotional barriers so soon after they had been built back up, that really lends weight and impact to Marjane Satrapi’s storytelling.
One question I have about our Midterm Portfolio essay is how much summary we should have. For prompt two, should we recount a summary of the whole story we are discussing, or should we just talk about certain points that are the most important to our essay?
This picture is of a mural that was painted near the burial site we visited. It was located close to the street, along the wall where the signs displaying the numbers you could call to hear about Gabriel were located. The mural seems to be sending an inspiring message about rising up from hate and oppression, but the thing that stood out to me wasn’t the message of the mural, but the message sent by the fact that it was defaced. The disregard and irreverence with which this mural was treated is really sad to me. And this same treatment is repeated throughout the site, with trash and litter scattered everywhere and telephone poles and lights standing right in the middle of the burial grounds. There seems to be a general lack of care given to the site. I know that there are ongoing efforts to restore and preserve the burial ground, but they seem to have an uphill battle ahead of them. I can only hope that in the future there are more resources given to those who want to protect and preserve such an important historical site, and those resources allow this important part of Richmond’s history the respect and reverence it deserves.
The idea of the poll tax and it’s origins really stood out to me as an interesting topic when I was reading Campbell’s book and the initial source I chose, Managing White Supremacy, so I decided to look into that more for my research. The library’s OneSearch filters were really helpful in leading me to a peer-reviewed article, but I had a little more trouble finding a second source. However, the databases that Nick, the librarian, showed us pointed me in the right direction. I was able to find two sources that I found interesting with relatively little difficulty, and I can’t help but be thankful for the great resources available at and through the library that made the process so smooth.
When reading Richmond’s Unhealed History, one of the parts of the book I was most interested by was the portion of chapter seven where Campbell broke down the ways in which Richmond’s white upper class ensured that they stayed in power through the repression of black voters. The callousness with which these politicians treated segregation and discrimination really shocked me. The source I chose to research is J Douglas Smith’s 2002 book Managing White Supremacy. This book was cited by Campbell multiple times as a resource detailing the discriminatory tactics used by white politicians against black people in Virginia.
I expected to have some difficulty finding a good source to use for my annotated bibliography, but I was happily surprised to learn that the first source I looked into, Managing White Supremacy, was in the stacks of Boatwright Library. It did take me a couple minutes to figure out the shelving system in the Circulating Books area, but once I did, I found what I was looking for in no time, and was able to check it out at the front desk. I’m grateful that UR has such great resources available for students, but I assume that research in the future won’t always be that easy.
When reading chapters 7 and 8 of Richmond’s Unhealed History, one of the things that really stood out to me was the ways in which racial segregation was preserved in Virginia through legal loopholes and gerrymandering. It shocked me that even after segregated public facilities and schools were banned, Virginian politicians went to incredible lengths to ensure that power remained in the hands of white people. Using the process of annexation in order to ensure a white majority voting population in Richmond, and other similar policies all intended to uphold the statue quo of racial segregation, shows just how deeply ingrained racism is in our society. I was saddened by the accounts of important black neighborhoods being demolished in order to construct massive super highways and I can’t believe that it was so easy for Virginia law makers to casually displace thousands and thousands of families with next to no support for them. I hope that there have been, and are still, efforts made to preserve and restore these historic neighborhoods to ensure that this essential piece of Richmond’s history isn’t lost forever.
Started class by submitting our Mid-term Community Self-Assessment before doing our mindful minute. Discussed the assignment briefly, mentioning how reading the self-assessments might influence the way our class works in the future.
Professor Dolson passed around a sign-up sheet to schedule an individual meeting to discuss the self-assessments one on one. Prof. Dolson will bring along a sample of a past self-assessment to show what kind of writing she’s looking for.
Next Assignment:
Find one source from Richmond’s Unhealed History, listed in the endnotes and numbered chronologically, and do more research on a source Campbell used in the book that you’re interested in. We will be meeting with a library instructor, a requirement for all FYS courses, who will help us find our way around the library. Then we will find two more sources not used in the book that make us curious. Then, using these sources, we will create an annotated bibliography. We will talk more about the annotated bibliography when the library instructor is here. Try to come to class on Thursday (10/12) with your fist source, physical copy if possible, but online sources cited in the book are fine too.
The class took time to read each others prep notes. Professor Dolson says that she really enjoyed the way the prep notes reference prior in-class discussions and to other classes which discuss related topics. We also talked about that the way the class is taking the reading very seriously, which is a really good thing. We also mentioned that it’s really difficult to read content that is very serious, horrific, and that there are resources and strategies that can keep us from being overwhelmed, mention in Prof. Dolson’s blog post linked here.
Chapter 4 Discussion:
Kaylee talked about tobacco economy, mentioned how some tobacco farmers prioritized growing tobacco instead of food to feed themselves. Ana mentioned that this is an example of how a want for profit can cloud one’s judgment, which also related back to the importance of cotton and the demand for slaves it caused, showing how the desire for profit can compromise our morals. Brice and Julia both discussed how important tobacco and the kind of economy it caused laid the foundations for how Virginia grew and how the demand for labor drew people into the colonies (pg 61-62). It was also mentioned how England incentivized people to travel to the colonies by offering land grants for people who paid for their own journey or the journey of others. Prof. Dolson mentions contracts discussed on pg. 29.
Nick J. mentions that although there were some people who came to the New World to pursue the three G’s (God, Gold, Glory) most settlers were rejects from England. He also brings up the point that it’s probably a bad idea for England’s social rejects to go to the New World and try to establish a colony. Prof. Dolson mentioned that the colonies seem like they weren’t really planned well, and wonders how the people of the Virginia Company thought about establishing the colonies.
Kristine mentioned how reading about the way people were classified in colonial Virginia based on their blood, introducing the word “white” to Virginia law. She related this back to another one of her classes where they discussed how having any African American ancestry automatically made one “black”.
Prof. Dolson mentions the quote from John Smith on pg. 60, which we read together. The quote talks about how Jamestown fell apart because everyone was too focused on planting tobacco, planting tobacco everywhere they could, compromising their infrastructure. Prof. Dolson asks why this tunnel vision might have come about. Julia says that it’s possible they were intending to sacrifice short term comforts for long term economic gains. Haven also mentions how many settlers were second or third sons of families, thus wouldn’t inherent any land, and were trying to pursue economic gain. Haven also mentions how the lack of a family structure in the colony due to a lack of women might have led to this lack lack of structure and support. Brice brings up that not having to provide for a family might have also led to settlers changing their priorities. Kaylee brings up the idea that since a lot of the settlers were poor or criminals, they might have jumped at any opportunity to make money.
Prof. Dolson mentions how the Virginia Company distributed land to certain settlers and established the head-right system. We take a look at the endnote associated with this info (endnote 124). It’s from the Henrico County Historical Society, and is a description of a property granted to a man named Thomas Harris. Prof. Dolson talks about how land has been passed down from one owner to another. This all said to point out how land grants from the king made the people who succeeded in growing tobacco even more wealthy, which probably played a big part in the development of the social order in the colony, such as tenants, bondservants, and apprentices.
“Individuals are always reacting to the things around them”.
Prof. Dolson mentions how people of different races were set up in different roles with different opportunities and rights. 90% of the population lived in bondage, 10% controlled all the land. Campbell uses this to lead into the discussion of Bacon’ s Rebellion. Nick J mentions how Bacon’s army was initially united by anti-Native American sentiment that shifted to anti-Great Man settlement. he also talks about how the hate for the class system united people in the colony of all races, which if the rebellion had succeeded might have led to a different standard in the colony. However, because of its failure, it may have led to the separation of races and a more racially oriented system.
We discuss how the Great Men’s power was threatened, leading them to make laws discriminating against African American people in an attempt to prevent rebellions, restricting travel, restricted large group gatherings (including marriages and burials), and that a black person was not allowed to raise their hands against any “Christian” person. This led us into a discussion about how important religion was to early settlers and how the term “Christian” grew into using “white” to increase racial discrimination. Prof. Dolson mentions how race is a construct of the time in which people live.
On page 110, Ana mentions a quote relating back to the idea of “King Cotton” dictating the necessity of slave labor. Ana also asks about the location of the historic slave market in Richmond, Prof. Dolson says that we will be visiting the location in person at a later date, and says that it is close to the James River.
Prof. Dolson also mentions how she really liked how Will L. said the history of Richmond “bleeds through” to show us the painful history of Richmond. Will also talks about how his prep note brought up Confederate quotes scrawled across a bridge in Richmond while they burned the city to keep it out of Union hands during the Civil War.
Julia sniffle count: 49