A Challenge to You

If you were to write an article for Seawanhaka about the Ben Kilham talk and how it relates to Core Seminar, what would you write? Extra credit for those who take this challenge. You may post your article here, and/or bring it to class next week, preferably both. Remember, class is in H502 Wednesday.

So What Do You Think?

Today we spent a couple of hours with Benjamin Kilham talking about his study of black bears. What do you think? Any suprises? Confirmations? Other?

trip to darwin exhibit information

Sorry to interrupt the flow of conversations going on here, but here is the information I promised.
1.go there and then do the analysis,#6, and bring with your yellow packet to class on March 1st in H2LG. Read your packet and highlight main points of each reading. You will use this with your analysis of Darwin exhibit for the joint session on March 1st. No exceptions.
2. IMPORTANT: Although the Darwin exhibition itself only takes an hour to go around, allow plenty of time for your visit. Darwin tickets are issued on a timed-entry basis, and you may have to wait your turn to go in. You might want to go early and buy your tickets, then go around the regular museum while you wait. BE SURE TO BRING YOUR STUDENT ID.
3. get directions to the exhibit at the Museum of Natural History in Manhattan at www.amnh.org/exhibition/darwin By subway, take the B or C train to 81st street. It is right there.
4. Do not pay attention to what the website says about what you pay. You just bring your student ID, and you pay $13 plus 50 cents as a "suggested donation." However, if you pay by credit card, it will be $16. You will be reimbursed $10 towards the cost of tickets if you save your receipts and submit them to us. OK?
5. Plan to go in small groups or pairs if you can--it is more interesting and you can discuss it with another.

6. ASSIGNMENT: FIELD TRIP TO AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY--DARWIN EXHIBITION. Direct observation and experimental learning.
Due for March 1st.
To prepare for you trip, take the following questions and a notebook (with pen or pencil of course) to take copious notes and respond to focus question #1.
Focus Question #1: In the exhibit, observe and describe accurately some of the physical objects of evidence on display, collected from Darwin's sea voyages, his garden, and elsewhere. Pay particular attention to the pegeons, the snake skeleton with legs, the Galapagos birds, the ape/hominiod fossil record, and any other items that catch your attention. Also see the film there.
Then later, when you get home, type up your notes and write two or three pages or organized notes, numbering the main points of your observation addressing the following:
Focus Question #2: Make a connection between the physical object of the snake skeleton and Darwin's theoretical ideas we read. What did Darwin observe and what conclusions did he make? Quote from the text to support your contention.
For extra credit, answer focus question #3: When human species "interact" with animal species, and vice versa, how do you think this might impact the way in which each species might evolve in terms of their physical, social, and personality traits? (Consider the films you've seen so far).
SOME OF THE INFORMATION ABOVE IS NOT WHAT I THOUGHT--THE TICKETS ARE LESS AND WHAT YOU'LL GET BACK IS MORE. BUT THAT'S GOOD, RIGHT?

New members

I'm glad some more of our class have signed on. Now, please join in by sharing your thoughts and questions. If you have some relevant topics, speak.If you don't know how to enter a log, press the blogger logo on the right of the screen, which takes you to dashboard. That is where you can either press new post or view blog. Press new post and then you have the screen. OK?

I am quite impressed with everyone's medicine wheel and write up; not only were the wheels creative, the write ups seemed very honest. As we go on in our inquiry about what it means to be human, how has what we've done and seen so far given you insights?

New Persona

So true. He was different than Ben Kilham. Tredwell's friend said, "He had a need to develop a new persona for himself." Tredwell himself said at one point, "Thanks to the animals for giving me a life. Before I had no life. I promised the bears if I help them, would they look over me? I stopped drinking--it was the miracle of animals." All these things seem to support your contention he was "crawy," and before viewing the movie, I had dismissed him as such. But now I have tempered that a bit. I just see him as someone who had no sense of himself or any self fullfillment, so channeled all that need toward animals. If people didn't "recognize him," perhaps animals would? I see this childlike, but very desperate need that he turns to animals for, and of course, can't get from them. Maybe?

Getting Started

We have had so many films, we haven't had a great deal of class time yet. This coming Wednesday we will meet in room 502 first so we can touch base and discuss some of the homework and readings so far. Also I promise to bring your papers. The last movie, Grizzly Man, I also saw for the first time with all of you. I found it funny, frightening, and quite disturbing. Professor Goodman had said it was an excellent contrast to the other film of Among the Bears, and also it showed a great deal about human nature. I think it really did just that. I haven't really put my feelings about it into words yet. How about we get some class conversation going about the movie here on our new site? Professor Boutwell