Tag Archives: humanities

A Reflection of the Enlightenment and Romanticism

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When analyzing the perspectives of both the Enlightenment and Romanticism, I have an opinion that encompasses a mixture of both of these counterparts. The Enlightenment allows individuals to prioritize rationality and reasoning in both their decision making and thought process, analyzing the duty of the individuals to themselves and society. Romanticism promotes subjectivity, individuality, and the connection the individual has with nature, emphasizing the importance of passion and desire. Thus, leading life in accord with both the Enlightenment and Romanticism allows the individual to be rational in their decision making, while additionally retaining their passion and humanity. While an excessive amount of subjectivity is damaging in some cases, humanity must be able to balance passion with the Scientific Method so as to analyze cold data and facts with compassion. When viewing our Western culture today, I now see numerous examples of how Enlightenment and Romanticism ideals shapes society and the way we live. For example, I see many ideas of Romanticism when analyzing the artistic expression displayed on campus. When looking at the graffiti art, the decorative posters, or the Stuart art collection, I now view them as forms of completely free individual expression, exercising individuality as a way for society to know the artist’s passions and life experiences. I additionally see ideals of the Enlightenment on campus as well. Many individuals pick their career because it makes the most sense logically, thinking only of the salary and the financial benefits based on the proven scientific data concerning their chosen career path. Therefore, the individual is prioritizing reason and rationality, committing to it as their life’s work. Thus, there are numerous ideals of both the Enlightenment and Romanticism all around us, and my eyes are now open to connecting the choices I make everyday to the principles of both significant movements. For me, the most interesting takeaway from this class was learning about how the ideals of the Enlightenment apply to the origins of government systems. The Enlightenment ideals of equality, and justice helped to create the conditions for the Constitution, along with many other forms of social contracts. This questioning of traditional authority embraces the notion that humanity can be improved through rational thought and reasoning, and it greatly interested me when we covered it during the course.

Balance

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I think that I align myself with a mixture of both the Enlightenment and Romanticism perspective because I think it is important to always consider both reasons and emotions when making decisions. I agree with the incorporation of the scientific method into our daily lives and how rational thinking is a reliable guide to living our lives. However, I also believe that we should always consider our emotions and feelings on these decisions because we need a balance between the rational and emotional sides of ourselves.

Throughout HUM 4 and learning about the two different perspectives, I think that it has really shown me how Enlightenment and Romantic thinking plays a role in our current society. When we discussed thinkers like Rousseau and Locke, I would look at their philosophy and think “hey, that’s kinda like this other thing we have in our government/society”. It’s really an eye-opening course that I kinda enjoyed because it allowed us to discuss and explore the foundations of our society and government.

I hope you enjoy this really bad meme I found. Stay healthy everyone!

Introduction

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Hi everyone! My name is Megan Griswold, and I am a second year Human Bio Major in Revelle College. I grew up in San Diego, and I go to the beach pretty frequently, whether it be to kayak, surf, or to just read a book on the sand. I have played piano for ten years and played the flute throughout all of high school. My career goal is to become a Pediatric Doctor.

My favorite book in the Hum series so far is The Odyssey because while reading it, we enter a world infused with imagination and excitement where no dream is made too fantastic for humans to access. However, woven through all of the horrific, non familiar creatures and scenes, there is additionally a theme of traveling home, a feeling we all can recognize. This is why I find The Odyssey to be so entertaining, as well as relatable to all who read it.

This was a picture I took while hiking near where I live during winter break.

Hi!

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I’m Meghana Ottur (I also go by Meg if you can’t pronounce my name :)), I’m a sophomore, and a neurobiology major. I’m from New Jersey and came here just for the beach (Joking. Kind of.) I’m pretty lazy so most of the time I just hang out indoors, though if I have the energy to move (which is rare), I do go out with friends. So as for my hobbies, I write fictional novels, draw a bit, and game. The novel I’m currently working on is a science fiction thriller about a technologically-progressed future world where people can create and control physical objects (and creatures) using their minds, along with a bunch of other crazy abilities. I’m also planning on improving my artistic skills to post concept art about my story. If you share any of my hobbies or you’re just interested, feel free to come talk to me about them! 🙂

My favorite book in the HUM series would have to be A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I already read it in high school but I found it to be one of Shakespeare’s funniest and weirdest works.

Here’s a really good electronic song with vocals from a game I like. Trust me, it’s good.

Introduction

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Hi! My name is Catherine Nguyen, but I go by Cat 🙂 I am a third-year biochemistry/chemistry major. When I’m not in a class, I am working in my research lab doing assays on human plasma samples. My research focuses on the discovery of new small molecules (a.k.a. metabolite). Outside of school, I do powerlifting as a hobby. I love cooking and trying out fine dining in my spare time! 

I really enjoyed HUM 2 with Professor Caciola because I learned a lot about French authors (which is great because I love French Literature). I really enjoyed reading The Lais by Marie de France in that course!

Here’s a picture from my last fine dining experience – a tasting menu at Kali, a Michelin star restaurant in LA. 

Self Introduction~

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Hi everyone! My name is Melissa Heredia and I am a second year Molecular and Cell Biology major! My major interests would include music, cancer research, and Disney! In terms of music, the main instrument I play is string bass, and I am involved in Chamber Orchestra and The Intermission Orchestra here on campus. I also enjoy playing the other instruments I know how to play, such as electric bass and a few others, and I also am learning how to arrange pieces for The Intermission Orchestra which is a new experience I thought I would never have.

One of my favorite books in the Hum series so far was The Essays by Michel de Montaigne. I think it is really interesting how he is very individualized and is not too worried about others listening or disagreeing, but rather, he is only telling others so they can be aware of what he believes. Furthermore, one of my favorite essays highlights that “to philosophize is to learn to die.” Montaigne makes a really good point in saying that anything one means to get done before they die should be done today, for we do not know when we will die, and thus, must act while we still can. Overall, I think Montaigne is very relatable in current day issues and how I would like to address issues, and therefore, I have liked his works the most so far.

As I mentioned, I love music, especially different types of it. Here is one of my favorite bands (Coldplay) performing Adventure of a Lifetime. Their music videos are always interesting, so I thought I should share this one since it is quite unique. Enjoy! 😀

Self Introduction

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Hello! My name is Zijia Guo and I am a second year Electrical Engineering Student. Recently I am trying to declare double majors with Applied Math. I come from China. When I have leisure, I like to play TRPG and video games with friends. My favorite TRPG game is Dungeons & Dragons.

My favorite book in the HUM series is The New Organon by Francis Bacon. I really like this book because in this book Bacon basically established the fundamental opinion about modern scientific study. What is more, I believe his opinion about the four idols of human beings can help me a lot.

Here is one of my favorite songs.

Self-introduction

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Hello, my name is Jiaqi Feng and you can call me Judy. I am from Tianjin, China, a city next to Beijing. My mom and dad are both engineers but I somehow interested in mathematics and am an applied-math sophomore. I like music and playing the guitar and also playing with my cats.

My favorite book is hum sequence is definitely Marie de France. I really enjoy those love stories that always give us interesting endings out of our expectations and there are always something meaningful lies behind the stories, which are very worth considering.

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All About Me

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Hey y’all!

My name is Siara, I am a second year, and I’m a molecular and cell biology major. I’m an out of state student from Chicago, Illinois and some of my hobbies include photography, traveling, and painting. My favorite book we have read in the HUM series so far were the Lais of Marie de France. I really enjoyed the how each of the stories had an entirely different subject matter with an underlying lesson to learn from each story.

The picture I included are one of my photographs from my photoshoots. It is performance portraiture representative of feelings experienced by people with anxiety.

Hello, my name is Shaun

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Hello, my name is Shaun Tayaba. I was born in Japan, but I moved to Southeast San Diego when I was a one-year-old and have lived here ever since. My hobbies include playing basketball, dancing, and working out.

My favorite book from the HUM sequence so far has been The Prince from Machiavelli. Although I didn’t agree with some of his viewpoints, his perspective was interesting to see and I found the text very intriguing.