My Radical Renaissance work!
Hi!! This is a blog post about a Renaissance project in humanities. The project was focused around Renaissance innovations and how they changed the world! The work above is my finished triptych. The idea of this triptych is to visually represent how innovations from Asia and Europe changed the world! This was project was a combination of research and art and I’m excited to share it with you.
To read more about my triptych TAP THIS! 😀
Thesis:
Todays society benefits from Renaissance innovations as they provided the foundation for modern interpretations and developments of core transformative inventions.
Intro:
The Renaissance, meaning rebirth, was a time of invention and development spanning from the 1300’s to the 1600’s. Through the creation of a triptych, I am representing the impacts of inventions in the Renaissance and how they live on to this day.
Left panel:
Innovations in the Renaissance changed the Renaissance world by providing a new way of spreading information, an accurate way of keeping time, the ability to improve sight, and by extension of these innovations, learning. While there were written ways to share information way before the Renaissance, the invention of the printing press established the opportunity to spread messages quickly and ultimately cheaper therefore information became far more accessible to anyone who could read. Johannes Gutenberg was credited as the inventor of the printing press in 1436 and though he never lived to see the widespread impact of his invention the immense impact of the creation lives on to this day. Thanks to mechanical clocks Renaissance people were able to accurately tell time by the hour! The first mechanical clock was made by Christiaan Huygens in 1656 and patented in 1657, an important development before the mechanical clock was fully invented is Galileo’s creation of the clock escapement. An instrument that changed the way Renaissance people saw the universe is the telescope. The telescope was invented in 1608, during this time multiple Dutch lensemakers created telescopes, ultimately credit goes to Hans Lippershay who was the first to apply for a patent. Another important person that furthered the early development of the telescope was Galileo Galilei who in 1609, days after hearing of the first telescope, made an improved version of one that could magnify three times more than the naked eye, not long after he made improvements and could magnify eight times, and eventually twenty. Galileo was also responsible for first using a telescope to observerve and learn about the stars!! It’s difficult to say who the original inventor of the eyeglasses was, but what I can tell you is how they affected the Renaissance world. Glasses allowed people who would typically be unable to continue with their craft do to visual issues, the opportunity to pursue them. I assume those who benefited most were mature of age and wealthy as reading wasn’t as common. All of these innovations are examples of the learning and growth that encouraged people to think critically and challenge ideas during that era.
Right panel:
Traditional ideas from before and early Renaissance benefited only those in power, promoted patriarchal ideologies and strayed away from science. Ideas used prior to the renaissance included writing only with pen and quill, using water clocks and sundials, which were unreliable and inefficient. For example sundials only work during the day and water clocks become ineffective when water freezes over. Early Renaissance continued these methods resulting in people being reliant on those in power, specifically the church and the wealthy. The church was an extremely successful institution during this time because people lacked the knowledge that they could think for themselves. Instead, the vast majority of people lived a life of following versus creating and recognizing the power of the individual. During this time women were not allowed opportunity. Wives were seen as property to their husbands. With the dominance of the church in this era society continued to perpetuate patriarchal principles. Newer Renaissance did not erase the gender or class divides, but with more critical thinking came the understanding from some that all humans have worth and can contribute.
Middle panel:
Ideas from Europe and Asia changed the world by creating the base knowledge and first iterations for inventions we use today including printers, phones, and a variety of lenses that are central to our society current day. Inventions that to the modern eye appear simple such as the lens and telescope were the first developments for complex machinery used today, like NASA telescopes. Another lens, glasses, which are largely used in today’s society are not only used for functionality but also fashion and self expression. The variation of style options and functional, for example bifocals or transition lenses, are ever expanding. Glasses started out as a far more simple creation than we see today. Another central innovation which has undergone a multitude of renditions since the Renaissance is the printing press. Without the printing press reading wouldn’t be as engrained in our society and therefore learning and our educational institutions would be a lot more barren. I certainly doubt I would be in PLP today and would miss one of my favourtie pass times, reading. Who knows what writing would look like today without the printing press! With these advancements in technology which led to greater critical thinking I can see the direct impact of the Renaissance on me.
restating and conclusion:
In conclusion, the expansion of critical thinking during the Renaissance resulted in the creation and development of tools which promoted the development of society. These tools and ideologies have undergone advancement since this time and therefore have been foundational to current day society. As a nonbinary, assigned female at birth adolescent I am able to share my opinions, develop my own thoughts and am encouraged to question and respectfully challenge authority. This would not have been possible in the Renaissance but also wouldn’t be possible today without it.
Thanks for reading. 🙂
“How did the quest for power impact people’s lives in the Middle Ages?”
Hello there!
This a reflection of a humanities project focused around the Middle Ages, if you are here on purpose just keep on reading! If you’ve miss-clicked, feel free to leave, but if this topic interests you I encourage you to stick around!!
The title of this blog post, “How did the quest for power impact people’s lives in the Middle Ages” is also the driving question to this humanities project. From the title and sentences above you have likely gathered that this was a history project. What you don’t know is that it included creating two learning resources and a planning keystone. One learning resource is about the Crusades and the other is focused around the feudal system and Middle Ages in general.
Here is a few slides of my planning keynote, the proper title for this is my inquiry portfolio!
In my mind the work from this portfolio is high quality, and I am eager to post this section of the blog!
These are a few slides from my Middle Ages presentation.
I am happy with the work that I did, however if I were to redo this project I would better site my photos, and spellcheck an additional time.
Here are some slides on my crusades learning resource.
I believe that this work was good, though I definitely could’ve been more thorough with creating detailed work.
Overall I feel that this was quite valuable learning. To be taught about about historical significance and what it means was important. Understanding that the Crusades is a historically significant topic made the project interesting.
Thanks for reading! 🙂
Geek out blogging challenge reflection! :)
Alexas_Fotos / Pixabay
I started off a bit slow with deciding on a topic and Maddie kindly assisted with countering my indecisiveness. In the end I chose “Queer characters in media.” After choosing what I personally find to be a sincerely engaging topic writing the posts felt natural and it proved difficult to refrain from writing additional posts.
This writing had a separate feel from our school blogging topics because, while I whole heartedly appreciate topics we create projects on, I have more attachment to hobbies and topics that I indulge in with my free time. With this writing I felt as though I was geeking out to my family, (while they were clearly bored) I was having the time of my life!
A result of this blogging is I have realized how appreciative I am for all the queer actors and writers out there. Representation matters and I knew that, I just didn’t understand the extent of just how important it is.
The hardest part was CLEARLY the decision making portion, (thank goodness for Maddie’s empathy).
The easiest part however was everything besides, I loved the writing, and brainstorming for ideas, and editing. Etc, etc.
Hear me out, I both will and won’t continue writing this geek out blog because while I LOVE this blog topic and have so much to say in regards to it, my memory is that of a braindead goldfish.
Thanks for reading my splendid attempt at a reflection!!!!!🍗
My opinion on why queer actors need to be cast in queer shows!
The casting for any visual media is significant to the impact and credibility of the entertainment. My opinion on casting actors for queer roles is they must have at least one queer actor within the show. It’s like actors ie Tom Holland playing American characters though he himself is British, no one takes issue with that so I believe there’s no issue with a queer character being played by a straight person, as long as there is still representation from queer actors within the material. I firmly stand by this belief, on one condition. The straight person must be positively representing queer people and not making fun of them through their acting of the character. Additionally, something I’ve seen in many movies is trans people, typically white men playing trans women. This is NOT ok as it tends to encourage transphobia by making fun of trans people and displaying that trans people are only trans for personal gain and aren’t really trans in their day-to-day life. This is UTTERLY UNACCEPTABLE and UNTRUE, the harshness from this and harm stirred up by cis actors playing trans characters is contrasted by trans characters being played by trans actors as it shows transphobic people trans people are always trans and don’t “put it on” for the camera.
In summary queer people can be portrayed by straight counterparts with the expectation that queer representation is still incorporated into the visual entertainment. Trans people however are only truly given representation, without malicious intent or mockery, if trans characters are played by those a part of the trans community!
Thanks for taking the time to read about my opinion on the matter!! 😊
-Byeeeeeeee (Kennedy the menace they/them) >:))))
Queer characters in media, and why they matter to me.
First of all “queer characters in media,” I know, it’s not exactly the flashiest title. If you manage to think up a catchier name let me know!
With my “admirable” talent for unoriginal, bland, and wordy titles out of the way. Let’s approach conversation that’s both relevant to our topic and, hopefully, engaging.
The existence and portrayal of queer characters in media is highly important! (As with any minority having representation). As a queer person myself I’m blogging about LGBTQ+ characters and actors, (I can’t promise that I will not also be mentioning queer celebrities who aren’t actors) on the basis of my ability to relate to them.
I have to admit I’m BAFFLED, we are already this far into this post and I haven’t told you about a single queer character! That changes IMMEDIATELY!!
Have you ever watched Brooklyn-99, or at least heard of it? Fan-freaking-tastic, then you may know Rosa Diaz, the badass detective from Brooklyn-99.
Rosa happens to be an excellent example of bisexual representation, the show displays her in relationships with both women and men, not dismissing her identity in the slightest without making her whole character design revolve around her sexuality.
Another example of a well written queer character is Kai Bartley, a neuroscientist, side character, and love interest in Grey’s Anatomy. Dr. Bartley has a huge impact in being the first nonbinary character to appear in the 18th season of Grey’s Anatomy. Now I do want to acknowledge the fact that there are other LGBTQ+ characters featured on this show, however, out of the few episodes I’ve seen of Grey’s Anatomy, one of them included Kai, so that’s is the character I’ve chosen.
Now, before going into depth by mentioning more characters I’d like to compare these two. A similarity between them is they both are represented by actors who identify with the labels their characters do. Rosa Diaz or Stephanie Beatriz is a bisexual woman. Kai Bartley or
E. R. Fightmaster is a nonbinary actor. This is important as casting queer actors in shows with queer characters is favorable to casting their straight or cis counterparts. Another similarity that brings me to my next point is casual representation, or in these cases the lack there of. Both Rosa and Dr. Bartley mention and explain their identity, which is not the case for all characters shown in media.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s important to have characters that hold the viewers hand and walk viewers through the idea of other identities and how struggles like coming out take a toll on queer people.
This is not to say that characters who are simply themselves without explanation, also known as casual representation, aren’t also completely valid. For example, Luz and Amity from the Owl House are an adorable couple and neither of them at any point in the series give an explanation about their sexualities, they are women in a romantic relationship together and no one questions them about their identities.
Another couple in the Owl house is Raine and Eda, Raine is nonbinary yet never has to mention their pronouns a single time, everyone simply reads the room and addresses them with their proper pronouns. With all these examples, no one explains their gender identity or sexual orientation.
I know this post has been a bit all over the place and I apologize for this, however I would like to thank you for reading this!
One last thing before I go, I wanted to let you know that I WILL be mentioning the importance of casting appropriate actors for their roles, or at least my take on the matter.
Thanks for reading! >:)
-Byeeeeeeee (Kennedy the menace they/them) >:))))