Cultural Event Response 4

Prof Richard Hovannisian: Must We Still Remember? The Armenian Genocide as Prototype

Professor Hovannisian described the history and the context of the Armenian genocide in a clear and comprehensive way. Before comming to the lecture, I knew nothing about the Armenian genocide, and by the time I left, I knew when it was, where it was, and a general idea of why it occurred. Like one of the men on the film clip Hovannisian presented, it seems to me as if it was not a coincidence that this genocide happened in the midst of World War I. The Holocaust happened during World War II, suggesting that total wars create perfect contexts for genocides.

I was struck when Hovannisian predicted that the only genocide of the 20th century that will be remembered in the future is the Hollocaust, not the Armenian genocide, Rawanda, or Darfur. It has always been inconceivable to me that people can deny the existence of genocides despite cold hard facts and accounts by eye-witnesses and survivors. Hovannisian described the thought behind the denial: those who commited the killings were taught by the Turkish government and the political party that it was the right thing to do. For them, Hovannisian explained, it was not a matter of belief, it was a truth for them.

Cultural Event Response 3

Poetry Reading: Yael Flusberg

I chose to attend this cultural event because I am interested in poetry; I write it myself and I like to go to readings. I was a little skeptical before I went because I had never heard of Flusberg beforehand, and especially when she was introduced by Michael Glaser and I learned that she had not studied English or Creative Writing, but studied political science. I thought her work might be about political issues I did not understand and that it might not have the kind of emotional value that I like about poetry.

When she came to the podium, she gave the audience some basic background on her life and after she explained why she decided to write, I began to relate to her. She reminded us that it isn’t the title that matters, such as “Writer,” but it is the story that someone tells that is important. She told us in her introduction that death has always been a big part of her life; her parents were Holocaust survivors and they both died by the time she was 15.

She explained that she has experienced, as an only child, not only a great amount of loss, but also a lot of “absence.” I thought it was interesting that she chose to use the word “absence” because this emphasizes the lasting effects of the loss. She expresses this sense of absence in one of her poems where she states that although many people have died and left her behind, she would not leave anyone behind if she died herself. This particular poem was my favorite because it shows the strength that she has, not only carrying on with her life after all her loss and in the midst of her absence, but also triumphing in the process and turning her life into creative work.

Finished Postcard Project

The following images are my finished postcards, made by combining all the elements scanned, photographed, and drawn together in Photoshop:

Postcard Project: Scans

Postcard Project: Concept and Plan

This first sketch outlines my plan for my Johns Hopkins postcard. The images in this postcard represent aspects of Hopkin's life and legacy. Hopkins' family was in the tobacco farming business and Johns himself worked in the fields as a young man; hence the ciggarette box and the cigarette. Hopkins founded Johns Hopkins University, so the drawing of the top of a building on the right-hand side of my plan represents the university. The "Railroad Crossing" sign represents Hopkins' heavy investment in the Baltimore Railroad. The paper money and the coins falling in the background represent the fortune Hopkins earned throughout his sucessful career as an entrepeneur. Finally, the newspaper clippings in the very background represent his founding of the Johns Hopkins Press, an academic newspaper. With Photoshop, I will combine the scanned images, digital photographs, and scanned drawings into one photomontage piece in the form of a postcard on heavy-weight paper it looks and feels like a real postcard.

This sketch outlines my plan for my Edgar Allan Poe postcard. The images in the postcard represent aspects of Poe's literary works- his famous poems and short stories. There will be an image of Poe on the right-hand side of the postcard. Next to that, will be a drawing of a flying raven. Behind that is a stack of books, representing Poe's literary accomplishments. Beside the books, in the lower-lefthand corner, will be a drawing of a heart, alluding to Poe's "Tell-Tale Heart" short story. Finally, in the very background, there will be scanned images of pages from books with Poe's work in them. I will compile all of these images together into a photomontage using Photoshop and print it on heavy-weight for the full postcard-effect.