The 20th Century was the birth of modern America: Electrification, highways, agriculture, and War. Electricity changed the American workplace forever, employees could now work longer hours due to the soft yellow glow of light-bulbs. The times of quite evenings vanished and a flourishing night-life of leisure and relaxation took place. An influx of (more) affordable cars/trucks spurred the need for public highways and government infrastructure. Commercial agriculture exploded onto the scene, changing the way Americans fed themselves. World War I and World War II proved to the world the growing might of America.

The 20th century was a time of explosive change and growth. Twenty-first century America has slowed down considerably, life has become too complex and cumbersome. What if we brought back the attitude of the 20th century, that innovative drive and passion? (Leave out the sexist, racist, and other negative-ists)

As I walking out of class the other day, I noticed these tiles on the ground outside the library. Some were in memory of loved ones and some were of graduates and people who contributed to SDSU. It hit me then that even through the architecture of my own school I am being haunted by the past, just as Prof. Blum lectured on. Though I do not know any of these people, myself as well as thousands of other students and faculty, walk over their names not realizing that they are essentially stepping onto pieces of history everyday.

I remember how Professor Blum was talking about how we were haunted by history. As a music major I am constantly haunted and harassed by history because I have to practice pieces by dudes that have been long dead, such as Johann Sebastian Bach. He made these cello suites between 1717 and 1729. Pretty much this whole department echoes with the sound of dead people music.
#stillhaunted2015

Hermeneutics is defined during Professor Blum’s lecture as “Acknowledging interpretive frameworks; theories of how we make sense of the world.” Through my lenses, technology has rapidly advanced to modern day society. It has consumed our lives forcing us to use it everyday just to get by. For example, to contact people, I had to email them using my laptop and to submit my hack, I had to take a photo with my phone. It is now becoming a life where we are relying on technology excessively.

So in class we discussed the idea of how we are all haunted by history. The idea of how even a chair comes from a long “line” of work really sparked my interest. The same concept applies to each and every one of us. Who are we really? There has to be someone from our parents’ pasts who have inspired them to name us. Did they hope we would be like them? I went to my grandparents’ house and found this family tree. He was able to show me a bit of “my family’s line.”(I didn’t realize how blurry the picture was when I took it)

The concept of time was discussed in lecture when Professor Blum spoke of temporality. If you recall, Star Wars occurred at not just one time, but whenever we as humans deem it to have happened. Author Ian Doesher takes us back hundreds of years to deliver this trilogy through the voice of William Shakespeare. So in the concept of time, when exactly does the the Star Wars saga take place? #HanShotFirst

Last Monday, in lecture Linnea brought up many points of censorship and how the government controls almost every aspect of what we hear, see, and speak. When looking at censorship in history it has been happening for years, started with African-Americans and limiting their rights and as well as limiting woman’s rights. One often hears Americans preaching about freedom of speech and that they can truly express their opinions in any way they want. When the truth is that one can not, you look at music and if an artist says “Fuck” or “Shit” they are immediately given a label. But why does the government get to decide what we say, I was always taught as an American I have the right to have freedom of speech. But in reality everything I say, do, or experience is censored by the government in some way shape or form. The image below gives the truth of what the United States government is doing with censoring what we hear, see, and speak on a daily basis. As this class progresses I hope we can learn more and truly understand why the government controls so much what we can truly do as “free citizens.”