Concentration
Concentration
Concentration
TITLE:
not only with asking the same questions for themselves, but allowing space for
others who are actively facing their demise to pursue them as well.
Much of our lifestyle in the United States and the Western world is deeply
rooted in our inability to face our mortality. I want to understand how this
developed. It is apparent in our obsession over curative medicine, fixations on
looking young, and repression of the topic in dialogue through literature, education
and media. Through my Hospice work Ive found how absolutely essential it is for
this current collective attitude to be honestly looked at and addressed, whether it be
through artistic representation, public conversations, academic work, or a
combination of all the above. This is a subject we all have to face at some point in
our lives, so why not try working through it together right now?
movement and dance which illustrated our personal stories with death and dying
and then performed them in front of Bellingham audiences. This was my first
attempt at public dialogue about death through means of non-verbal
communication. My discovery, through discussion with the audience, was that this
type of non-verbal interpretive dialogue was exceptionally well-received and its
non-verbal interpretive nature served as a catalyst for the audiences personal
experiences to manifest through the work. This is the beauty of art-- that people can
connect to one another without having had the same life experiences or ideas as the
other viewers or even the artist. How can I use creative expression to connect with
dying people or grieving people who may be four times my age with very different
life experiences than my own? To explore this further I will create an ISP, Death and
Art, in order to explore this relationship further.
Mythology is the stories we create which help us conceptualize where we are
and where we are going and is therefore vital for setting up and understanding a
framework of our personal and familial lives and our roles in society. What are the
working myths of our present-day Western society and how are individuals
adhering to them and enacting them in their everyday lives? If I am to understand
why an individual, or a collective of individuals, thinks or behaves the way they do, I
must understand their mythos, the stories they tell themselves about their
interactions with their environment and other people. Similarly, I must also
understand my own mythos and how this may color my own discriminations,
inclinations, and values in relation to someone else. How does our mythologies
about what happens beyond death affect our present day living? What can the
presence of death teach us about how to live meaningful lives? In order to gain
credit for the acquisition of this knowledge, I plan to take a course in Myth and
Mythology.
Senior Project:
As I am very interested in cross-cultural exploration of death ritual,
perceptions and taboo, I plan to eventually apply this to travel, whether within the
time-frame of my stay here at Fairhaven or after. My Senior Project will be
educational in application. This may involve one or several media, whether it is
through artistic representation, such as showing a collection of creative work,
Conclusion:
As we are encroaching upon a time that our largest existing generation, the
Baby Boomers, are nearing the last transitions of their lives, we will soon be forced
to confront death in a new way as the subject will no longer be avoidable. I am
preparing myself for the new ways we may come to conceptualize death as much of
our population is soon to be in the pervasive company of its presence. This not only
effects those dying, but their loved ones, as well the importance and placement of
medical treatment in our country, and the work those who are dying are leaving
behind and passing along. I feel confident that the questions I am pursuing
throughout the rest of my degree and beyond will be absolutely pertinent to the
future in whatever application I chose.
COURSE LIST:
Approaching Death through Creative Dialogue:
COMPLETED:
WWU
WWU
WWU
FAIR 423K
FAIR 336V
FAIR 275U
SPRING 2011
FALL 2010
SPRING 2010
5
4
4
S
S
S
FALL 2011
4
4
3
S
S
S
TO BE COMPLETED:
WWU
WWU
WWU
FAIR 325J
FAIR 388M
FAIR 300
NON-CREDITED EXPERIENCE:
Leave My Shoes by the Door Dance Production, Kuntz and Company, August-October 2011
Traveling to Thailand and India with Institute for Village Studies: Study of Religion, Winter Quarter 2010
FAIR 201A
ANTH 201
FAIR 393B
5
7.5
4
FAIR 200
FAIR 419F
ANTH 351
PSY 344
3
5
5
5
FAIR 343R
ANTH 301
S
3.9
S
TO BE COMPLETED:
WWU
WWU
WWU
WWU
ONE OF:
WWU
WWU
SPRING 2012
4
5
FALL 2010
FALL 2007
FALL 2010
4
7.5
2
S
3.7
S
4
4
4
2
5
S
S
S
FAIR 243T
PSY 215
FAIR 300
TO BE COMPLETED:
WWU
WWU
WWU
WWU
WWU
ONE OF:
WWU
WWU
FAIR 341R
FAIR 444U
FAIR 419F
FAIR 200
ANTH 352
FAIR 413E
ANTH 424
Curers, Clients and Culture: Cross Cultural Perspectives on Health and Illnesses
Medical Anthropology
5
NON-CREDITED EXPERIENCE:
Volunteering for Hospice, Whatcom Hospice, Summer 2010-Present
36-hour training course for Hospice Volunteering, August 2010
Senior Project:
WWU
FAIR 401
TOTAL CREDITS: 98
ISP CREDIT: 8
Senior Project
WINTER 2012
NON-FAIRHAVEN CREDIT: 40