Week 7 Reading Notes, Switch Up Ancestors of Rama and Sea Route to India

(This frustratingly accurate image is courtesy of Giphy.)

I had the opportunity to spend the afternoon at Bizzell, so I was able to check out some of the Amar Chitra Kama comics from the Reserves.  I read those today, so I'm trading the Extra Reading post notes and the Mahabharata reading will be on that post.

Bibliography

Atmaram, H. and Bapu Patil. Sea Route to India. Amar Chitra Katha Pvt, 1986.

Chandrakant, Kamala and RAm Waeerkar. Ancestors of Rama. Amar Chitra Katha Pvt, 1977.  

Currently Reading:

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky

by Kwame Mbalia

Paradise

by Toni Morrison 

Week 5 Extra Credit Reading Notes

(Image courtesy of ClipArt Library.)

I focused on Jatayu and Sampati during my extra credit reading so I can get a better grasp on how to form the rest of the Vengeance of the Sun God storyline.

Bibliography

Nivedita. Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists ... With Thirty-Two Illustrations in Colour by Indian Artists under the Supervision of Abanindro Nāth Tagore. Edited by Ananda K Coomaraswamy and Abanindranath Tagore, Dover, 1967.

Currently Reading: 

The Shining

by Stephen King

Topic Brainstorm: Making Connections

Topic Brainstorm: Making Connections

(Image courtesy of Clipart Email.)

I used the above graphic to help me brainstorm on four topics that I could look at while deciding on the focus of my final project.  The overall theme I want to explore this semester is Making Connections.  By text, I mean Indian Mythology as a whole.  Each question requires mining to match stories to the topic I chose to answer the question. 

Topic 1: Text to World-Dharma

 How does the text connect to the world at large?  The concept of Dharma and the Hindu ideal of Rta, or universal order, gives insight to this question.

Topic 2: Text to Text- Epic Heroes

How does one text connect to another?  This can be evaluated in two ways. 1.  How does the text connect to the mythology of other cultures?  2.  How do multiple texts starring the same antagonist or protagonist connect with each other to create a deeper understanding of a particular figure?

 

Topic 3: Text to Self: Kharma

How does the text connect to the individual?  Karma evaluates individual actions and intentions and illustrates how consequences stem from those actions in both short term and future results.

Topic 4: Text to Culture: Festivals and Holidays

How does the text affect the culture that reads it?  What religious practices, holidays, or festivals are directly influenced by the text?

Currently Reading:

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Ship of the Dead

by Rick Riordan

Week Two Reading Overview

Week Two Reading Overview

I chose the two comics pictured below because they are names of two minor characters in the urban fantasy universe created by my favorite author SM Reine.  She enjoys studying mythology and folklore, so I would like to read these tales to see if there's any correlation between the mythological characters and the personality traits of Sara's characters.  Granted, I could just ask her myself, but this seems more fun.  

 Tales of Arjuna: The Exploits of an Exceptional Warrior

Aniruddha: Beloved Grandson Of Krishna 

I plan to watch the videos below.  The first video is to orient myself to new knowledge through Greek Mythology; a literary tradition I'm already comfortable with.  The other videos focus on the Ramayana.  Since we'll be spending time reading the Ramayana, it makes sense to watch videos to broaden my understanding of the Epic.

Currently Reading: 

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Hammer of Thor 
by Rick Riordan

Comparing Growth Mindset with Thinking Fast and Slow

Comparing Growth Mindset with Thinking Fast and Slow

Image courtesy of Transforming Education

Learning about Carol Dweck’s growth mindset philosophy makes me wonder about what is going on inside the brain and how we can affect the thinking process to move between a fixed and growth mindset.  According to brain scans performed during Dweck’s research, fixed mindset students had less brain activity than their growth mindset peers.  Why is that?  Are the fixed mindset students refusing to think about a difficult problem, or is something else happening within their brains?

I think that analyzing the growth mindset philosophy through the concepts presented in psychologist Daniel Kahneman’s book Thinking Fast and Slow will give insight into what is going on mechanically within the brain and help us find ways to access a growth mindset.  Kahneman divides thought processes into two systems.  System 1 is the quick thinker that filters through previously obtained information to develop a quick response to an external stimulus.  System 2 is the slower process that makes a conscious effort to analyze an external stimulus.  Each system serves a purpose.  One is not better than the other and they often work together.  The major difference is that System 2 consumes a lot more energy to process information than System 1.  That’s why after performing deep thinking you tend to feel the same amount of hunger and exhaustion that your body would feel after a strenuous workout.  It’s also why the brain scans of the students lit up during growth mindset thinking versus fixed mindset thinking. 

I propose that growth mindset encourages a paradigm shift that boosts students desire to increase how much time they engage in System 2 thinking.  I would like to spend my extra credit time exploring this proposition further.      




Currently Reading: 

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Hammer of Thor 
by Rick Riordan