REMINDER TO THOSE EUROPEAN STUDENTS WHO SIGNED UP FOR TED GONDER'S TALK

Ted Gonder, the CEO of Monythink, will speak on how to become a financial success this Monday during lunch in room 103.

Reflection on the Art Institute Trip

Top five hints for a trip to the art museum

1. Look at the drawings.  What was the purpose of the drawing? Was it to plan for a much larger painting (e.g., grid lines)?  Was it to experiment with shading (e.g., chalk)?  Was it drawn as a finished product in and of itself (e.g., close attention to detail not necessary for planning purposes)?  Note that signature (ha ha).

2. Explore the broader room you are in.  What was the curator thinking and planning when they assembled the artistic contents of the room?  For example, the "Age of Exploration" gallery contained paintings of merchants, along with small decorative items, or so-called "cabinets of curiosity" from their journeys or contacts abroad (e.g., coconut cup or Peruvian gold rattle). Why are the objects paired with the paintings?

3. Likewise, what is the broader context of the works, what was their purpose (e.g., art as a tool of religious worship for Byzantines), what was the plan of the artist, who commissioned them (and/or rejected them), and did the artist achieve that which they planned? Could it have been done differently?

4. Make sure to look at the painting or the object from many perspectives, from far away, right up close, and in between, right and left.  In the sculpture of the horse and the lion, the artist depicted the flesh and muscle of the horse with close anatomical detail, which revealed the veins on the horse's face as he strained away from the lion. Similarly, the artist depicted how the flesh would bunch together in the lion's mouth as he grasped it with his teeth.

5. Finally, be brave and justify your own taste. Why do you like what you like? How do you figure out what is better or more successful?  This one has always made me the most uncomfortable, which is odd because I have very specific and articulable taste when it comes to the art in my home, most of which we bought over several years at the School of the Art Institute Annual Show.  I think that means I really know: it's just that I'm worried I'm "wrong."  Take risks . . .  

THE COLD WAR REDUX?

Field Trip Reminders

If you plan to meet us at Regenstein Library at 8:25 am, instead of coming with us from the school, your parent should email your teacher no later than 10 pm on Sunday.  Don't be late. If you plan to walk over from Lab, please meet Ms. Gerst and Mr. Janus in the lobby entrance (next to the security desk and the wooden benches) at 8:00 am.  We will leave at 8:10 am, according to the time on our iPhones.  We will travel to the Art Institute via the Metra. Please bring your student ID and fare money (say $2).  You should either bring a lunch or money to buy lunch, recognizing that lunch is fairly expensive at the Art Institute.  Once we enter the Art Institute, you may NOT leave the building. If your parent is ok with you not coming back to school via the 2 pm Metra train (because for instance you live downtown), then your parent should email your teacher no later than 10 pm on Sunday.  If you have an 8th period class with Ms. Gerst, you may come to class to conduct catena essay research in the library, discuss your essay topic or research with me, and/or discuss the Art Institute trip. If you are not coming back to school, you need to have your parent email me no later than 10 pm.  Finally, please wear a winter coat, hat and gloves; the weather has not been great, and we are reaching the end of the quarter, and you don't really need a case of strep throat, the flu, or bronchitis to sideline you.   We will be walking tons with stairs, so heels aren't a good idea either.  Best, CG

ARE WE SAFE?

"The Pentagon reveals major nuclear problems"

English Civil War

Here is the link to a video game where you can try to stop Charles I from being beheaded by making better decisions . . . http://www.activehistory.co.uk/Miscellaneous/free_stuff/yr8_civil_war/index.htm

And here's some more on Guy Fawkes, the Gunpowder Plot, and the appropriation of the "mask" by groups such as Occupy Wall Street today as the "symbol of global rebellion."  http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/Guy-Fawkes.htm
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2011/11/how-did-guy-fawkes-become-a-symbol-of-occupy-wall-street/ 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

What Makes Us Human?

Pico della Mirandola in his Oration on the Dignity of Man argues that it is the indeterminacy of Man’s nature that places him above all other animals. It is freedom of choice, that allows him the ability to mold his own nature and makes Man the intimate of Gods. Alas, Sigmund Freud argues that the choices Man makes are controlled by powerful inner drives (the Id), sex being chief among them, that overwhelm the quiet voice of reason (his Ego) and civilization (the Super Ego).  Perhaps, however, you prefer the Enlightenment view of man where he starts as a tabula rasa or blank slate at birth and where he then can be molded into something good with the proper environment and education. But what of Nietzsche who argues that the very traditions that most human environments are based on become outmoded, and then divine, and must therefore be killed with a knife? Surely we can rely on Machiavelli, the realist, to get this right. He does argue that Man as Man is capable of being ruled by law but he then goes on to say that Man is also a beast and one must both be a fox and lion to control him. Maybe we should turn to economics to find the answer to what makes us human. Econ. Man is completely rational, weighing the costs and benefits of every decision to determine what course of action gives him the most utility. But, more recently, behavioral economics have concluded—students and teachers take note—that most of us will cheat a little if we think we can get away with it.

So finally, where do you stand on the nature of Man? And is his nature in anyway connected to Imperialism and the year-end play? Food for thought. 

Art Institute

We have 6 of the 7 chaperones we need for our field trip.  We do need help with meeting the #7 requirement of the Art Institute. Please email Ms. Gerst or Mr. Janus.

Mayday! Updated

I've heard some of you are experiencing trouble with the art slides. I'm reposting them here, along with the terms handout.  Also, a couple of important points for the test. First, the key to a great catena on our tests is to explain what each of the terms mean and provide the link between the two terms. Thus, on the last test, you needed to explain what mercantilism was (government policies usually taken by centralizing monarchs to build a strong and self-sufficient economy) and what chartered trading companies were (individual companies often given a monopoly by centralizing monarchs to engage in a trade in a certain region) and the link between the two (the Monarchs gave the monopolies in hope of incentivizing private individuals to find markets for the nation's goods in order to build that strong economy).  Second, you do not need (nor do we necessarily want you) to conduct research on the long essay question.  Rather, the essay serves as an assessment of Palmer sections 14 and 15 and our related class discussions of the topic of leadership by Phillip II and Henry IV. Good luck!