Assignment 4c

Assignment 4c
1. Research the word "culture" on the Internet. In a brief paragraph, tell us what you find, tell us how this project topic fits into that definition. Cite your source.

On http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/culture, there are several definitions of "culture". The quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly persuits, etc.
Part form or stage of civilization, as that of a certain nation or period.
A certain nation or period
Development or improvements of mind by education or training behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a perticular social, ethnic or age group.
We can see that the projects that we have been involved with do explore the civilization and culture of the peoples. We have gone to the beginnings of recorded history, the attempts at snuffing out these records, and the furtherance of the culture. For example, in my exploration of the art, I found Cortes depicted as very much dependant on the locals and through this, the attempt at preserving some of their culture to be passed down.

2.
For project 3a, I chose to look at the work of Jesus. http://assignment3aonoctober2008.blogspot.com/ As he mentioned, being from Mexico adds interest to the subject for him in another way than it might intrigue me.
He brought out the interesting fact of how the Mexicas were hated by the Toltecs, and banished. Rather than discourage, the Mexicas grew in number and strength, in the history of Tenochtitlan, which I had done some research on, but missed this information. I was very impressed by the thought of the Axtec people that life require that death exist, which he brought out. Again, if it had not been for this added information, I would only have the info that I found and not be as well informed. It also gave me a new perspective on the Mexican people since they have been wrought with wars and strife. My ancestery being from Poland doesn't come into this study, but that country was also constantly under siege. So, although two very different cultures, we are all the same people with 'culture'.

The second student and project I chose was Chris'. http://crisscrosskatblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/assignment-4a.html
I found the information on Junipero Serra to be interesting since I've always been fascinated by the California Spanish Missions.
Although many natives were 'forced' into the Mission environment, the missions had a part in preserving the history and culture of the native people. This man was instrumental in starting many of the Franciscan Missions throughout California, from the south to Monterey. I had already known of self-sacrificing and meager life the men in these missions led, but the additional information encourages me to research more. This is a major part of the culture of the people of this area and we can appreciate that much of the architecture still exists for us today. I appreciate this topic being covered.