It's amazing that three weeks of the semester are already over. I feel as though I have already learned a great deal, yet at the same time have come across so many interesting situations. Since I'm a music major, I do not have a chance to take many of my core classes until I'm a junior and senior. This semester, I decided to take Intro to Literature and Western Civilization I. What I've found the most interesting is how easy it is for the professors to discuss political issues and their own personal agendas. Although this is much more apparent in my Intro to Literature class, I have seen it in both.
So far our required reading has consisted of Benjamin Franklin's autobiography, Thomas
Paine's views on religion, a piece called "The Equality of the Sexes," and poems written by a black woman in the mid-late 1700s. We started by discussing Franklin and
Paine's religious views which consist of a belief in God and being "good", but against religion (deism). It was obvious that the professor was
in favor of such a thing, along with many students who don't want to be told what to do. The obvious downfall is that people in today's society do not have a connection to what is virtuous and acceptable as moral behavior. As human beings we need someone (religion) to help us along the way and guide us away from temptation and sin.
The discussions that have really upset me the most however, are on gender equality. Our professor (a man) finds
every way he can to prove that men and women are equal. He even went as far as to say that women are motherly and
nurturing because society has shown us that role rather than it being a gift from nature. Of course this is absolutely crazy. Although I am not a mother, I can only imagine having a child grow in my womb and how caring and
nurturing that will make me. It's amazing how many odd ideas this professor is able to come up with that make absolutely no sense, yet people listen and agree with him. Yesterday, we were discussing this topic once again and he mentioned how women were passionate and emotional, like we no longer possess these traits today. Almost every woman I have ever known will cry when anything difficult happens or when a man first professes his love, if that isn't being emotional, I don't know what is. Overall, when I sit in that class, I do not feel as though I am being empowered as a woman, but instead treated as an object that is constantly being torn apart for what I truly am.
