Marc's Experience with the Resistance in the Materials

1. Share your thoughts and reflections about the symposium on printers and print history, Resistance in the Materials. What did you learn and how has this event impacted your understanding of print as a practice and art?

This Thursday I had the pleasure of viewing the Resistance in the Materials. Here I learned a considerable amount, and wish to share some of what I learned in this blog post. I wish to focus my blog post on Dr. Senchyne's discussion of "Wisconsin Ideas".

I'll start my discussion with Dr. Senchyne's growth as a printer. Dr. Senchyne had a humble beginning, as shown with his photo of his printing press in his garage. This photo showed to me that Dr. Senchyne enjoyed the work he did -- it was reminiscent of an individual holding their hobbies from their garage.

From there, I learned a considerable amount of Dr. Senchyne's connection to the printing press through his grandparents. His grandparents were in the Easy Hill Press and then transferred to the Paradise Press. It was from his grandparents that Dr. Senchyne grew connected to the printing press. After the death of his grandparents, Dr. Senchyne took over the printing press, thus beginning his journey as a printer.

Now looking at the printing press, it was fascinating to examine the layering in Dr. Senchyne's print work. I didn't realize so much work was put into the printing of a sentence. To me it shows how much work and consideration printers put in their craft -- it takes time to print, so print something you're proud of.

As for "The Wisconsin Idea," I found the idea to be really captivating -- that all the campuses on the university should touch the lives of all the families in the state. This idea requires the logistics of interconnectedness within the many systems of the state. I couldn't image the work required to bring forth this idea

Overall I had a great time listening to the panelist speak this Thursday. It was quite insightful, and I look forward to approaching my printing press for the final project with this new mindset.

Marc's Experience comparing the Japanese and Korean culture in Pachinko

Throughout Pachinko, racial tensions and division is a respected point of conflict in the novel. Find a quote describing either Japanese or Korean culture (relating to food, clothing, lifestyle, religion, etc.). Compare the similarities and differences between the two cultures regarding this cultural aspect. What messages may Lee be communicating in her portrayals of these cultures?

After finishing book one and starting the second book in Pachinko, we readers have spent a considerable amount of time with Sunja as she leaves Korea and goes to Japan. Amidst this move, readers have spent a considerable amount of time reading how Sunja compares the change in environment she witnesses. Through her examination, I've come to view Japan as a land of better opportunity for Sunja compared to her old life in Korea.

At the time, as we readers are aware, Japan has taken control of Korea and has been going through its colonization process. As such, readers are aware of the harsh challenges the Koreans had to face through the difficulties Sunja had back in Korea. In the start of Sunja's journey, we notice how she is attacked in her home country through the Japanese influence. In her home country she is assaulted by a group of boys, is forced to look after her family business, and is deceived by another Korean who holds a family in Japan. 

As Sunja makes the move to Japan however, readers start to notice the improvement in her life. At the start Sunja describes,“The daily tasks of cooking, laundry, and cleaning for four were considerably less onerous than caring for a boardinghouse. Sunja’s life felt luxurious in contrast to her old life in Busan.” (219 from the PDF). As the text continues, Sunja is able to work her own Kimchi stand and make a profitable business. These opportunities weren't given to her in her time at Korea.

Although Sunja faces hardships in both Korea and Japan, she is able to have better opportunities in her time at Japan.

Marc's Experience comparing Pachinko to other novels read in C&I

Describe Min Jin Lee's writing style and structure compared to one or more of the other novels we have read in this course. What is similar or different about this novel and what are your thoughts about it so far?

As I've been reading Min Jin Lee's Pachinko and comparing it to texts I've read during my time in cultures and ideas, I often think about the text Home Fire. This comparison comes from how the two texts weave timelines and political situations into the story.

In Pachinko, readers are introduced to subtle time changes. These time changes, as of now, are relatively short -- give or take a few years. This is seen as in the start of many of the chapters, readers are introduced with the year the portion of the story takes place in. For example the first chapter starts with Hoonie's character in 1910 following the start of Japanese rule in Korea. The following chapter on the other hand, takes place a few years ahead with Hoonie's death following Korea settling into Japanese rule. This reminds me of Home Fire, as readers notice minor time jumps between characters. For instance, Parvaiz's section in the story takes place before the other characters' actions in the story within the Middle East, whereas Aneeka's portion takes place in present day London. The two story's use time and place to influence the direction the story takes.

Another similarity between the two texts is how they weave political situations into the story's conflict. In Pachinko, readers are introduced to the Japanese colonial rule over Korea and how that impacts the Korean citizens. Readers view this perspective from a Korean named Sunja and are able to see a personal account of the events. On the other hand, in Home Fire readers are able to notice the political concerns regarding terrorism and domestic citizens. Readers are able to examine accounts of a citizen of London falling into terrorism, a politician attacking a group of people, and bystanders within the situation.

The two texts share many similarities in the broader scope of things, but add their own take on it to make the story their own. I look forward to reading how Pachinko will take its own direction.

Marc's Experience with the characters in Pachinko

 How would you compare the characters of Hansu and Isak, both of whom have a relationship with Sunja. What are your feelings about them?

This blog is going to be a little bit different than my other blog posts. Rather than writing about something and keeping a level headed discussion, this post is going to be more of a rant. The reason for this is because I despise Hansu's character in Pachinko and need a place to let my frustrations out. I hope this blog post doesn't bother you, I didn't intend to ruin a character you may enjoy.

The reason I despise Hansu so much is because of the way he handles his relationships. At first I presumed that Hansu was a kind character who was looking after Sunja -- after all it was Hansu who defended Sunja from the school boys who assaulted her. This presumption of mine doesn't last too long however, as it's revealed when Sunja tells Hansu she's pregnant with his child that Hansu reveals he already has a family. 

Don't get me wrong, relationships aren't always sunny, but cheating. What the hell Hansu, that is low. Rather than working on his relationship with his wife and furthering it, he sleeps with another girl and gets her pregnant. In what world would this help out his situation at home with his wife.

My frustration with Hansu continues when he tells Sunja that he can't marry Sunja and that all he can do is offer financial support. I do understand that Hansu already has a family, but you can't abandon someone bearing your child to look after it all by themselves. This action is further deplorable when considering the setting of the story and Sunja's character -- being a women from a poor family living in a time were women had little to know rights.

I hope this blog post didn't upset you in anyway, I was just so fed up with Hansu I needed to let my frustrations out somewhere. I hope Hansu redeems his character in someway in the text, because of now he's the bane of my existence.

Marc's experience analyzing the clash of cultures in The Secret River

In Grenville’s text readers are introduced to a clash in cultures between that of the Aboriginal Australians and the colonizers of England. Can you highlight any parts of the text where Thornhill goes into description of either culture and/or compares the two?

I've been looking forward to answering this blog post. The group I was in for the second Grenville discussion were the ones who wanted to pose this question in this week's blog posts. A big theme of our discussion was to discuss how there's a clash of cultures between that of the Aboriginal Australians and the people of London, as such we thought this question would be a good way to further engage on the topic. For my answer for this question, I'll be taking a look at  Thornhill's perspective of the Aboriginal Australians in part five. The following excerpt comes from Thornhill's reflection of the indigenous people.

"On the other hand, they did not seem to have to work to come by the little they needed. They spent time every day filling their dishes and catching the creatures that hung from their belts. But afterwards they seemed to have plenty of time left for sitting by their fires talking and laughing and stroking the chubby limbs of their babies.

By contrast, the Thornhill household was up with the sun, hacking at the weeds around the corn, lugging water, chopping away at the forest that hemmed them in. Only when the sun slipped down behind the ridge did they take their ease, and by then no one seemed to feel much like fun and games. Certainly no one seemed to have energy to spare for making a baby laugh." (426)

I felt this quote best showcases a contrast between the two cultures. Will comes from London, a society that at the time the story was taking place in had suffered from a system of social hierarchy that discriminated against people. In this hierarchy Will and his family were in the bottom of the ladder and thus were treated poorly. Thornhill's frustration being in the bottom of this social hierarchy is apparent throughout the text as we notice this level of greed Thornhill carries with him throughout the text.

However, once Thornhill takes the chance to actually examine the Aboriginal Australian culture, his viewpoint of their people change. Thornhill becomes much more sympathetic towards them and at parts looks like he's jealous of the way their culture operates. 

It was interesting to analyze the two different cultures and how the people inside them viewed one another. I look forward to seeing what you guys said.

Marc's experience analyzing Will's view of the Aboriginals

How does Will’s view of the Aboriginals change as he is exposed to varying viewpoints? In what ways do you think his childhood experiences set him up to be this way?

As we've continued reading this text, we readers have been noticing steady changes with Will's character in the text. A positive of having a story told in the first person perspective is that we readers know what the character is thinking, and thus are able to notice when there are changes in the character. I think this change is most remarkable when comparing the prologue portion of the text when Will is first introduced to the Aboriginal Australians to that of the later parts starting from part 5.

When starting this text, Grenville introduces the readers with an excerpt of Will's journey to New South Wales. On the voyage there, Will's thoughts become apparent to the reader as he's first introduced to the Aboriginal Australians. Upon seeing them for the first time with his family on the boat, Will racially targets him and assumes him to be dangerous, as such Will, "shouted. Go to the devil! After so long as a felon, hunched under the threat of the lash, he felt himself expanding back into his full size. His voice was rough, full of power, his anger a solid warmth inside him” (15). Without knowing anything about the aboriginal Australians, Will racially profiled them as bad individuals and thus treated them poorly.

As time passes in the story, Will and his family become accustomed with the Aboriginal Australians and change their viewpoint. In part five it is revealed that Dick, Will's son, is spending a lot of time with the Aboriginal Australians. Rather than punishing him, Will decides to keep quiet about it. This action is a reversal in character from the Will readers were introduced to in the start of the text.

Will's character is transforming as the text continues, it'll be interesting to see his viewpoint of the Aboriginal Australians near the end. I hope he will become less of a terrible person and see them as human beings.

Marc's Experience Analyzing Character Perceptions in The Secret River

 As you continue to read The Secret River, pay attention to how characters in the novel perceive each other, including how transported felons/settlers perceive aborigines. Pick one scene as an example and give a summary/page number so others can find it. What do you think the novel is saying about cross-cultural encounter in this scene, and in the larger contact zone of colonial Australia?

As I've been reading The Secret River, it's been fun opening my eyes and applying what we've been learning in class to this novel. The lecture Professor Burnham gave us last week, really opened my eyes to the social hierarchy that stands in place in London. As such, I've made it an effort to record moments in which the convicts -  those in the lowest tier of the social hierarchy-  treat the aboriginal Australians -  the indigenous people of Australia. I wanted to see if the convicts would treat them any better since they understand what it means to be in the bottom of London's higher ups. A specific point of interest while conducting this research in the study came from BlackWood and Thornhill's journey through the river in part two.

Upon riding through the river, Thornhill is learning more about the aboriginal Australians that reside in the land. Thornhill asks Blackwood where the indigenous people are within the land in which Blackwood responds, " Every-bloody-where, mate, he said, gesturing up ahead” (192). Blackwood furthers his discussion warning Thornhill that, "'“One thing you best know, only time we see them is when they want us to” (192)". 

Blackwood speaks negatively towards the Aboriginal Australians. From this portion, he makes it sound like the Aboriginal Australians are monsters that are surrounding the land in every corner. This thought of his reminds me of what those in the higher portions of London's hierarchy thought of those in the lower portions of the hierarchy. It seems to me that the larger cross cultural understanding of this shows that even within the lowest portions of London's hierarchy, that this mentality of the social ladder was engraved in the peoples' mindset.

Marc's Experience learning from others Research Excursion

Look over the research excursions on Equiano as well as the DH project. Describe something you learned from the research of your classmates.

Now that everyone's research excursion and the group DH project is done, we all have the opportunity to look at one another's work and learn something from everyone's research. It was really fun to look at everyone's learning opportunities, everyone researched something unique and interesting. Two research excursions I learned quite a bit come from Rian's and Caterina's research excursion.

I really enjoyed reading Rian's research excursion as it was the one that connected to my understanding the most. For this text I did the group DH project and wrote the portion about Philidelphia's response to slavery. As such it was really captivating to compare my research to Rian's and come out of it with a stronger sense of knowledge on the topic.

I had a really fun time reading Caterina's research excursion. I know that Caterina is a art history major, so I was really happy to see her apply her interest in this learning opportunity through her timeline of "Kingdom of Benin: politics, art, and the slave trade". I really enjoy when people are passionate about the work they do.

One overarching thing I learned from both Rian and Caterina, which I plan to make use of is their work through the new digital humanities platform. I have yet to start using any of the new platforms, but I really appreciate having the opportunity to look at two great timeline projects. It definitely swayed my decision in what new digital humanity tool I plan to use for the following learning opportunity.