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Woolman Semester Email Update
– February 7, 2009
Dear Friends,
This is my first official email update from
the Woolman Semester, but I have contacted many
of you individually to tell you how much I am
enjoying this program of study. Our first week
of academic classes ended yesterday; two small
presentations are done; and all thirteen of
us students are thirsting for what the rest
of the Semester will bring.
On the Monday after I arrived at Woolman, the
students and teachers piled into vans and traveled
to the Pacific coast for a week of fun, adventure,
and community building. We stayed in a renovated
farmhouse near Jug Handle State Reserve. The
ocean was a short walk from the farmhouse, and
we went there frequently. Throughout the week,
we went on various excursions. The group took
outrigger canoes up the Big River and hiked
around the Mendocino Lake. We also did some
service work around the farmhouse – planting
trees, splitting firewood, and working in the
garden.
The most profound experience of the week was
our solo – when we spent 24 hours alone
in nature. The teachers brought us our meals,
and we were all close enough to the farmhouse
that we could have gotten help if we needed
it. This was a time for deep reflection and
a time to dream about the four months that are
in front of us. I found myself spending more
time taking care of my space and my needs than
I expected, but I still had ample time for thought.
All of us returned to the Woolman campus feeling
connected as a community and ready to delve
into academics. Classes began on Monday. I am
taking Environmental Science, World Issues,
Peace Studies, and Humanities & Ethics.
In Peace Studies – our English course
– we will deconstruct American culture.
Our first project was to watch a Disney movie
and identify stereotypes and representations
of minorities. We also looked for the way violence
was portrayed in the film. Another student and
I chose Aladdin. In addition to noting
that violence was present throughout the film,
we analyzed the skin colors of the two main
characters – Aladdin and Jafar. We proved
that Jafar – the antagonist – had
darker skin than Aladdin. This could simply
be because we associate darkness with fear,
but we suggested that it could also have to
do with the racism that is still prevalent in
this country.
World Issues began with a crash course on capitalism.
This class will look at the global scene from
an economic point of view, but we need to know
how capitalism works before we can analyze it.
On Thursday, I was in a small group that presented
on three economists who saw capitalism in very
different lights. Boiled down to the bare bones,
our presentation said that Adam Smith was the
optimist, Karl Marx was the pessimist, and John
Maynard Keynes was the realist. Other groups
presented on the transition from feudalism to
capitalism, the meaning of Gross Domestic Product,
and the function of the U. S. Federal Reserve.
Our first unit in Environmental Science is
on water and water rights. I am starting a two-week
research project. The city of Los Angeles gets
much of its water from rivers that flow into
Mono Lake. I will look at the effects of this
practice on the ecosystems and population near
Mono Lake and will present my findings to the
wider Quaker community here.
Humanities & Ethics is our elective, and
we only have class once a week. We will discuss
topics of Quakerism and spirituality. I expect
that Humanities & Ethics will be the class
that I will get the most out of.
We have had rain for the past few days, but
now I am looking up at a clear blue sky. I just
got out of a flint knapping workshop where we
learned how to chip rock to make arrowheads,
and now I must return to schoolwork. To the
people back east, I hope you enjoyed your round
of snow and cold weather. I miss all of you,
and I will definitely stay in touch.
Love,
Carl
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