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thank-you again
maureen korp (MKORP@UOTTAWA.BITNET)
Sun, 20 Feb 1994 11:45:54 EST
Spiegelman's MAUS I worked fine for my intro
methodology students in religious studies. It was
part of a component on ritual and social dimensions
of religion, which also included the films "Half
the Kingdom" and "Wages of Action" plus Diana Eck's
text DARSHAN. I've just finished reading their
short papers. The results were not bad at all, in fact, good!
So, once again! Thank you, anthro-folks for your stories
of how MAUS worked with your students. Part of the
classroom discussion which MAUS easily prompted included
"framing" (emic/etic), "masking" in addition to the
ritual and social dimensions of Judaism evident in the
narrative.
Part of that discussion led to questions about "culture"...
ah, the perennial culture topic. I didn't try to define
the concept. Did note that from my point of view (as a
historian), it worked well enough for me to think of culture
as I think of yogurt. If you want to make yogurt, you warm
the milk, put it in a pot with a pit of "mother" (active
culture yogurt), cover it up, make it all warm and cosy,
come back the next day, take the lid off the pot and, voila!
there you have it--all clumped together, a pot of yogurt.
I know, so where does the "active culture" come from you ask?
>From the grocery store. You gotta have yoghurt to make
yoghurt. There's probably other ways, but that the way I learned
a long time ago from the original WHOLE EARTH CATALOGUE.
I toss that in because it struck me as interesting that the
list sequed from "cultue" to "agricuture" but never got over
to yoghurt (ah, but then I'm not an anthropologist).
Which leads to my next question. I've noted,too, that
such terms as "patriarchy" and "matriarchy" are not much used
by anthropologists (although they are terms much embraced by
other professorial types these days on campus and their students).
Am I correct in my observation? If so, how come? And, please
could someone straighten out for me--"matrilineal," "matrilocal,"
"matrifocal," and "gynecratic" ????
Thank you. I look forward to enlightenment. Snow is crashing
down from the rooftops even as I type. Is winter over.. maybe?
Maureen Korp, PhD
Religious Studies
University of Ottawa
mkorp@uottawa mkorp@acadvm1.uottawa
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