Welcome to our Smells and Bells Spring 2022 Web Blog!

By -

 

Web Blog Sensory Interpretation Blog Prompt

or 6?


5 senses...


Welcome!  Here is the Web post  Assignment for our class, and general guidelines for what to include in your posts

Sensory Interpretation Web Blog Posts (6 posts on each of the senses, 5% each, plus one summarizing blog post the last week of class 10%, for a total of 40%).  Short reflection writing assignments to be posted on a blog set up specifically for this class here. Students will "log" what they are learning about the relationship between the senses and "religious" experience throughout the term, and be able to comment on one another's questions and insights.  You should make at least 7 posts, @one every two weeks. Make sure you have one post each tagged with "taste", "smell", "hearing", "sight", "touch" or "6th sense."  To assure you will get credit for covering each of the six senses in your blog posts, edit them to make sure they have these tags.  
Also among your 7 or more posts you should respond specifically to each of the required books (even if it's as a starting point to make your own point), namely,
  1. Diane Ackerman, Natural History of the Senses, Vintage, 1990)
  2. Constance Classen, The Deepest Sense: A Cultural History of Touch (U. Illinois, 2012)
  3. Deborah Green, The Aroma of Righteousness: Scent and Seduction in Rabbinic Life and Literature (Penn State, 2011)
  4. Elizabeth Pérez Religion in the Kitchen : Cooking, Talking, and the Making of Black Atlantic Traditions (2016) and Rachel Fulton, “ ‘Taste and See that the Lord is Sweet’ (Ps. 33:9): The Flavor of God in the Monastic West.”
  5. Diana Eck, Darsan: Seeing the Divine Image in India
  6. Anne Rasmussen, Women, The Recited Qur’an, and Islamic Music in Indonesia (U. California, 2010)
  7. David Abram, The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More Than Human World (Vintage, 1997)
Likewise, tag the post that mention these authors with their last name, e.g., "Perez", "Eck", "Abram".
***In your posts, use images or sounds as well as words to convey your points! Finally, you must contribute at least ten comments to any of your fellow students' blog posts during the course of the term. These are both for your own benefit - to get you to begin to think analytically, to focus your thoughts on what you're learning, and for the class as a whole - to stimulate class discussions. (Preparation of the readings and class participation will be evaluated primarily on the basis of your contributions to our blog, and count for 40% [!] of the course grade.)

Comments

  1. Dan HadelmanJanuary 30, 2022 at 9:03 AM

    Upon finishing the first chapter of Ackerman's Natural History of the Five Senses, I've learned a few things. I somewhat already knew how much smell influences our memory but I was surprised by just how much research went into this one sense.
    What I particularly found interesting was the explanation of the olfactory systems in the nose and how wildly they varied. It is general knowledge that not everyone smells the same but I didn't take the time to find out why or how it is affected throughout the rest of the body.
    I won't lie when I say that the interview with the perfume specialists was entirely engaging. To me, I was finding more insight through the historical references rather than references to the perfume industry. But I will admit that learning about the various oil secretions that are used for perfumes was fascinating as perfume corporations try to hide where it really comes from.
    A very informative article about a very unique sense. I'm excited to read more.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hana MemisevicJanuary 30, 2022 at 8:21 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. DevaanshJuly 27, 2022 at 5:44 AM

    I found almost all of the texts rather interesting, and worthy of consideration. However, My favorite text was the Constance Classen's a cultural history of touch, as it was the most simple and early to understand text out of all of them.
    It's historical content, along with it's in depth analysis of the substance was rather great, and I would recommend it for almost everyone who wished to learn more about the connection between touch and religion.
    I am looking forward to read way more in this course!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Amidst the Pandemic

By -
Image
I think having the opportunity to take Smells and Bells and then experiencing a worldwide pandemic came with good timing. Oftentimes, we’re so rushed to get from one one place to another that we miss out on what happens around us. We’re so accustomed to the lifestyle of being busy that it has become the norm for many of us. However, the pandemic has forced us to slow down. We’re now appreciating everything that we had previously taken for granted and noticing things in our surroundings that we have never noticed before.  Take this quarantining/social distancing as an opportunity to be more aware of what you experience through the senses. I don’t think my senses have necessarily heightened over the past 5 weeks, but I am actively making the choice to pay more attention to what I see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. I like going on nature/mindfulness walks and basking in the sunshine out in my backyard. This morning, I could hear a faint noise from the wind, hear the birds chirping, f
Read more

Food in the Afterlife

By -
Image
In Religion in the Kitchen: Cooking, Talking, and the Making of Black Atlantic Traditions , Perez talks of Ashabi and her grandchildren providing food offerings to their ancestors. This immediately reminded me of the practice of food sacrifice in early China. I've taken Chinese language classes for about 7 years now and in one of the lessons, we learned about food as well as the history of food in Chinese culture. Ashabi and her grandchildren would give food offerings to their ancestors every day. This included nine beverages (coffee, liquor, and water mixed with sugar and molasses) and nine square pieces of coconut topped with red palm oil and guinea pepper. The offerings would also include whatever food was dropped on the ground. In their house, food dropping on the floor signified more than it would in common American households. It signified that the ancestors wanted that food and had willingly made it fall to the floor. They also used dishware that had been chipped which was
Read more