John Bergers Ways of Knowing Essay example -- Ways of Knowing Essays

In his first essay of Ways of Seeing, John Berger claims that all power, authority, and meaning that was once held by an original work of art has been lost through the mass reproduction of these works that has occurred in recent years. He writes of an entirely bogus religiosity (116-117) that surrounds these art objects and that the meaning of the original work no longer lies in what it uniquely says but in what it uniquely is (117). He claims that because of reproduction, the art of the past no longer exists as it once did (127). Obviously, something created hundreds of years ago is not the same as it once was, but the distribution of art and music to the general public has had a positive effect on society rather than a negative one. Works of art have even more meaning than they had when first created through the interpretations offered them by generations of critics and artists. Fresh new sources have been given the ability to offer their insight and abilities into art, creating en tire new genres of art, music, theatre, and the like. It has allowed for a truer search for knowledge than was ever possible before. And ultimately, the search to find the true meaning of art and of the ideas of the artists forms a true sense of religiosity, which gives passion and meaning to the lives of groups stretching far beyond the cultural elite. An example that Berger uses to illustrate his points is that of a filmmaker who uses images in film. Berger states that Awhen a painting is put to use, its meaning is either modified or totally changed (120) and when a painting is reproduced by a film camera it inevitably becomes material for the film-maker’s argument (121). He concludes from this that only the original painting holds integrity while the image shown on film is an expression of the film-maker’s argument. However, this idea furthers the meaning of the painting by adding connotations to the one the artist intended. When an artist creates a painting, he or she hopes for this work to be critiqued and interpreted by others. These critiques and interpretations add to the full meaning of the work for everyone seeing it afterwards. Thus, we undermine the true meaning of the work by saying it can only mean what the artist originally meant it to, because this is something we can never know. The viewer should deter mine the value and meaning of each painting. The paintings... ...nable future of what we could have, and is empowered by envy. Ultimately, Berger claims that the sublime quality of art has been transformed into simple information through reproduction, when in reality; this type of culture has always been about information. Through reproduction, we can strive for a truer sense of information, in reaching the true meaning of art rather than using the information for a sign of status. It is no longer a matter just of knowing of art and culture; it is a matter of knowing about it. The available levels of information have increased, and have allowed more people to experience a true sense of religiosity toward art, music, and other culture than was ever previously possible. Rather than ruining the integrity and credibility of culture by offering it to the masses, it remains a symbol of status and power for those who wish to use it as such, and has become a source for passion and knowledge for others. It has also allowed new ideas and insight to thes e fields from non-traditional sources. Finally, instead of taking away from the meaning of original works of art, reproduction has added to it. Berger, John. Ways of Knowing. New York: Penguin Inc. 1998

Colonialist Criticism by Chinua Achebe Essay

Summary The essay ‘Colonialist Criticism’ is an attack on a lingering colonialism in the criticism of African literature by non-Africans. The African writer writes the text or ‘they produce literature, their literature goes to Europeans for analysis. Every African literature has to get thought the grids of European writers. They have to meet the criteria said by the European writer, African writer wrote the text for the African people but European people analyzed it. It means they are the jury’s bench, or they judge the text. [One question raised that How do they judge] while judging, they always keep on the concept that is big brother consciousness. They always make the binaries. These binaries are like white and black or the European or African. They think that Europeans are superior and big brothers, whereas Africans are inferior and small brothers. Europeans are teacher and Africans are learners. Therefore, Europeans are at the center and Africans are at the margin. Therefore Africans have to learn many more things from the Europeans. They tend to feel that burden of teaching to the Africans. Therefore, Europeans feel that they know more about African literature, art and culture than African themselves. Achebe sees the faults of colonialist criticism in the assumption that the African writer is â€Å"Somewhat unfinished European and that somehow outsiders can know Africa better than the native writers. Achebe opposes, the European colonial prejudice, habit of ruling and discriminating other and comparing African people their literature, art and culture etc. He argues that African literature should not be judged with the canonical literature since it has its own particularity and peculiarity. The mask of European civilization does not know the history of African people. So Achebe’s claim is that blacks (colonized) should write their own history neglecting what has been already universalized. He argues that â€Å"If the text is judged from European perspective a text doesn’t get right evaluation and the essence of the text is killed.† Attacks on Universalism The term ‘Universalism’ is exclusive, it includes the whole world. The term  Universalism refers to European parochialism, European writers always emphasized universality in the writing. They believe that the writer has to cover all the issues in general or the writer has to speak for all. They judge African text form this angle; they argued that the African text is not universal because it does not speak about universal issue. It speaks only African voice, therefore their text is invalid. They are not able to write about the whole universe. The two problems with Universalism, according to Achebe are, first that the presumed universality that critics find, is merely a synonym for the â€Å"narrow self-serving parochialism of Europe† and second, that every literature must â€Å"speak of a particular place; evolve out of the necessities of its history, past and current and the  aspirations and destiny of its people.† It means that every text comes out of specific time space and the people. Therefore, every text is related to space-specific and people-specific. African people have experience about racism. Therefore, they can write about racism deliberately. African might have made many mistakes, but they didn’t bring racism in the world. Therefore, they would, write about it, which is African-specific situation which is pervaded in African. Achebe sustained the idea that â€Å"the term universalism must be vanished.† Attacks on Language African writers writing in English don’t mean that they are following European model. Language is not the property or possession of any group country or continent. Language is common property as well as de-ethicized. English language is not the property of British or American. It doesn’t belong to anyone. African writers are writing in English to make themselves heard. If they write in African language nobody will come to know about them. They have the problem of communication. African writers writing in English wanted to win the attention of the world. Language is the common heritage for all the people. Towards the end of the essay he criticizes the native writers. All the time European writers cannot be slammed deplorable. He says the even native writers have not done anything to uplift the condition of African literature. They are not responsible for their own people. He embodies the  idea and says that only through the earnestness or â€Å"Eager-enough† is most important to uplift the condition of African literature. Only then African literature will get the prestigious status otherwise they will be dominated. For the domination of Europeans Achebe calls ‘seduction’. The native poets and critics are equally responsible for this seduction because they never attempt to break this barricade of this European canon rather they enjoy to be in appendage of it.

Collect and Plant an Acorn to Grow an Oak Tree

Beginning as early as late August and continuing through December, various species of oak acorns are maturing and ripening for collection. Ripening dates vary from year to year and from state to state by as much as three to four weeks, making it difficult to use actual dates to determine maturity. The best time to collect acorns, either off the tree or from the ground, is when they begin falling—just that simple. Prime picking is late September through the first week in November, depending on oak tree species and location within the United States. This tree seed called an acorn is perfect when plump and the cap removes easily. Collecting and Storing Acorns The height of the acorn crop above the ground and the forest understory below can make it very difficult for the casual collector to gather large numbers of acorns in a forest setting. Lawns or paved areas help in collecting acorns if trees are found and prepared before site conditions degrade the nut. Locate open-grown trees that are heavily loaded with acorns and are in or adjacent to parking lots such as at churches or schools. Trees selected in this way also make identifying the acorns species easier. Always identify the tree and place tags or mark the bags so you will know what species you have collected. To store acorns for future planting, put them in a polyethylene plastic bag—a wall thickness of four to ten millimeters is best—with damp peat mix or sawdust. These bags are ideal for storing acorns since they are permeable to carbon dioxide and oxygen but impermeable to moisture. Close the bag loosely and store in the refrigerator at 40 degrees (white oaks can still sprout at between 36 and 39 degrees). Check acorns throughout the winter and keep just barely damp. Red oak acorns need about 1000 hours of cold or about 42 days. Planting these acorns in late April of the following season gives you the best success but can be planted later. Preparing for Planting The two most critical components of caring for acorns that are to be planted are: not allowing the acorns to dry out over an extended period of timenot allowing the acorns to heat up. Acorns will lose their ability to germinate very quickly if allowed to dry out. Keep acorns in the shade as you collect them, and put them in your refrigerator as soon as possible if not planting immediately. Dont freeze acorns. Immediate planting should be limited to the white oak species group including white, bur, chestnut and swamp oak. Red oak species group acorns must be planted in the second season—meaning the following spring. Special Instructions White Oak  acorns mature in one season—the season of collection. White oak acorns do not exhibit seed dormancy and will start to germinate very soon after maturing and falling to the ground. You can plant these acorns immediately or refrigerate for later planting. Red Oak  acorns mature in two seasons. The red oak group has to have some seed dormancy and generally does not germinate until the following spring and with some stratification (a cooling period). If stored properly and kept damp, these red oak acorns can be held in cold storage for planting in late April through early summer. Germinating and Potting After determining the proper time to plant, you should select the best-looking acorns (plump and rot-free) and place those in some  loose potting soil in one-gallon pots or deeper containers. The taproot will grow quickly to the bottom of containers and root width is not as important. Containers should have holes in the bottom to allow for drainage. Place acorns on their sides at a depth of one-half to the width size of the acorn. Keep the soil moist but aerated. Keep the pots from freezing. Transplanting Dont allow an oak seedling’s tap root to grow out of the container bottom and into the soil below. This will break the taproot. If possible, seedlings should be transplanted as soon as the first leaves open and become firm but before extensive root development occurs.​ The planting hole should be twice as wide and deep as the pot and root ball. Carefully remove the root ball. Gently set the root ball in the hole with the root crown at the level of the soil surface. Fill the hole with soil, firmly tamp and soak.