It seems like every week we have one of those classes where we mostly just figure out what our upcoming schedule is. But those are useful days too. Anyhow, our next class on Wednesday will be half Virod and half annotated bibliographies. (It occurs to me that I should teach you how to do a proper works cited entry.)
Sample annotated bibliographies. We'll look at these in class on Wednesday. Click on the blue text for the annotations.
Basic guidelines for ABs: Summarize the thesis of the source in 1-3 sentences. Summarize its audience and purpose in 1 sentence. Discuss its relationship to your paper in 1-2 sentences (secondary source? primary source? how central? context? model? how does it relate to other sources... agrees? disagrees? reframes? etc.) Do this for at least one major primary source, two major secondary sources, and three secondary articles. But this may vary somewhat depending on your topic.
Read: C.R. 167-69 and answer your study question.
Note: In case this was bugging you, we are not going to do Discovery Task #6. It totally slipped my mind... turns out it's basically the same thing we did the day we were in the library.
Bonus: I recommend this excellent Malcolm Gladwell piece about strategies that underdogs use to defeat the more powerful (his examples range from David & Goliath to the full-court press in basketball)... I think this can relate to Gandhi & Savarkar.
Calendar:
5/10 = Sunday p.m. = Annotated Bibliographies due (email)
5/14 = Thursday p.m. = Research Prospectus (eee dropbox)
5/22 = Friday in class = Exam (substitute teacher)
5/27-6/5 = The Project = See reply below to view/add brainstorms
5/28 = Thursday p.m. = Working Draft of Rsch. Paper (dropbox)
6/13 = Saturday a.m. = Final Draft of Rsch. paper (turnitin.com)
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Ideas/Methods/Causes for The Project
ReplyDelete------------------------------------
-Take pictures of environmental problems
-Create some sort of guide to HumCore for future students
-Care packages to soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan (this reminds me... when I referred to modern army conscription today, I was mainly talking about the draft in WW1 and WW2... I have friends who are in the U.S. military now because they want to be... I don't want to get John Kerry'd here)
-Solidarity with underpaid janitorial & food service workers at UCI (who are employees at a state facility but not, somehow, state employees)
-Fundraiser to buy livestock for a village
-Education fair of some kind... or tutoring (I'd suggest we use my Santa Ana HS connection for this)
-Protest high cost of schoolbooks
-Take leftover pastries at Starbucks and Zot'n'Go to homeless shelter
-Garage sale to benefit orphanage/school in India (this is quite convenient to me moving. ha.)
-Bake sale to benefit Cause X
-Collect books & ship to schools in Philippines
-Psychological survey of how UCI sidewalks and parks are used (this sounds more like a research paper)
-Scavenger hunt / HumCore Amazing Race thing (you should organize this as a study exercise for the exam)
-World Food Program
-Clothes for Invisible Children (I think this is an organization and not actual children that can't be seen)
-Plant trees
-Freerice.com (I guess we could lobby for this to be linked on the main HumCore site or something?... or make another similar website)
-Fundraiser for public school special needs class (some of these are definitely underfunded in the latest state budgets)
-Protest for better food (I think you'd better have some sort of labor or environmental sustainability angle here)
-Huntington Beach cleanup
-Volunteer at homeless shelter
-Recycle to fund cause X
-Meditation in Aldrich Park (again, perhaps good for exam study)
-Live like Gandhi (I could see a campout kind of thing if there was some sort of educational or protest element)
-Bring awareness to some political or health issue, maybe by handing out flyers
-Create something together and discuss it... a mural was suggested (I think we're not hurting for discussion time)
-Fix up a school (this is like planning a murder... you need opportunity and motive)
-Canned food or toy or shoe drive
-"turn off the lights campaign" (I assume this is environmental somehow and doesn't stem from loving darkness)
-Build a house (ooh, I want one)
-Adopt a child (!?!? oh, you mean like send money to a poor kid overseas... I thought you meant the 23 of us would actually raise a child. Good god.)
-Trade things (I hear there's this guy named Joe who trades things)
-Sidewalk chalk (awareness?)
-Volunteer at Veteran's Home (this definitely fits the "opportunity" category)
-go to the pound and play with puppies (does anyone remember Rante from last quarter? I'm totally thinking of his "puppy remark" right now)
-Fund a scholarship
-Something with senior citizens, like a tea
-Walk/run for some cause (Sarah Devine has to run my miles, I'm getting out of shape)
-Sell used books and donate to a children's charity
Oh, and like I said, we could create some kind of memorial. Or join some sort of protest in Sacramento related to tuition raises.
ReplyDeleteDo you think it matters if Ranchod has the same name as the deity Ranchodji/Ranchodrai? (Ji and Rai are terms added to show respect or honor to the deity Ranchod)
ReplyDeleteYes. i do think it matters. words matter. as i was reading the letter i kept thinking, why Ranchodji, why this form of Krishna? the fact that he chose this form of the deity totally helps his cause. i think people would be more willing to listen to him and do as he says,yes because what he did is daring and nationalistic, but also because of the respect his name would command among those who worship that deity.
3. If you had to guess, what is the opposite of the Era of Truth (satyug)?
ReplyDeleteThe opposite of the Era of Truth, is a vision of dictatorship in where citizens are forced to pay their government. Vira proposes that the government lies and cheats their citizens; committing various other offenses against their citizens. In the Era of Truth, justice for all where excessive taxes and lies are forbidden.
1. How many times does Ranchod mention “Government” in the letter? What can we conclude about Ranchod’s interpretation of the “Government”? (Which Government is Ranchod writing about?)
ReplyDeleteRanchod mentions "Government" three times in his letter. Ranchod is writing about the British rule/government and he believes that he can usher in a new era or as he calls it the "satyug" or the Era of Truth.
4. According to the letter, what are people supposed to do in the Era of Truth?
ReplyDeleteThe people are not suppose to "tell a lie, or do a wrongful act" and if they do the wheel of a Hindu diety will cut off their heads!
Does Ranchod’s use of “Truth” have any similarities to Gandhi’s use of the word?
ReplyDeleteWhen Gandhi speaks about "truth" it means god; following truth translates to following god. Ranchod also talks about truth relating to deity but he express the consequence of telling a lie or doing a wrongful act dealt through the "Ram." I feel that the only similarities Ranchod's and Gandhi's use of "truth" is the fact that they both used it but the meanings differ. Gandhi express a more spiritual route involving truth and Rancho expressed a more literal meaning of truth (telling only the truth and no lying allowed, unless you want your head chopped off by the Ram).
sq. 5
ReplyDeleteThe punishment for violating satyug principles is death, beheading specifically, by a God-wheel. Not sure if violators will actually witness Ram's wheel coming at them or if King Vira will have them executed on his own terms.
9. Do you think it matters if Ranchod has the same name as the deity Ranchodji/Ranchodrai? (Ji and Rai are terms added to show respect or honor to the deity Ranchod)
ReplyDeleteYes, I think it matters a lot. With the same name a a god, a mere peasant can seem to become the very word of that god. Without even meaning to, he now seems to be the messenger/prophet, which holds great sway over anyone worshiping that god. It adds a great deal to his ethos, even though he is an illiterate peasant.
4.During the 'Era of Truth' no one should tell a lie, or do a wrongful act, and if this shall be violated in anyway those who defy this era will be punished.
ReplyDelete-"go to the pound and play with puppies (does anyone remember Rante from last quarter? I'm totally thinking of his "puppy remark" right now)"
HAHHAHA
:)
7. Is it possible to tell who is Ranchod’s intended audience?
ReplyDeleteYes, it is possible to tell who is Ranchod's intended audience. The audience is people of Chaklasi and eventually the rest of the people of India.
1. How many times does Ranchod mention “Government” in the letter? What can we conclude about Ranchod’s interpretation of the “Government”? (Which Government is Ranchod writing about?)
ReplyDeleteRanchod mentions "govnerment" a grand total of three times in his letter. I think that we can conclude that his interpretation of "government" is a reference to his self proclamation of King-ship.
8. Is Vira writing to public or counterpublic?
ReplyDeleteVira is writing to the public because he is declaring to everyone they they needn't pay any government taxes or dues. And he also addresses Patel that he can tell the government about his declaration. Therefore, I don't think Vira wants to hide anything. However, the text of his letter was copied and preserved illegally when Vira and his followers had to escape from the police. So, there is also an unintentional counterpublic.
3. If you had to guess, what is the opposite of the Era of Truth (satyug)?
ReplyDeleteI would guess that the opposite of the Era of Truth or satyug would be the era they were in right before where the British were dictating the lives of the Indian people under the promise of a better life in the future. Many Indians, like Gandhi and maybe Vira, saw this promise as being empty and possibly even a lie. They thought that the British government was hypocritical because of the way it ran on a parliamentary government and yet subjected the Indians to a dictatorship. This fact also may help answer as to what the opposite of the Era of Truth is.
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ReplyDelete10. Does Ranchod’s use of “Truth” have any similarities to Gandhi’s use of the word?
ReplyDeleteAccording to professor Chaturvedi, Ghandi's definition of "truth" is "God." A lie, or absence of truth (as used by Ranchod Vira) could be interpreted as absence of God. Both Gandhi and Ranchod Vira use the term "truth," and have some similarity, such as having the meaning of doing the "right thing." However, i don't think Vira means God exactly.
7. Is it possible to tell who is Ranchod’s intended audience?
ReplyDelete• His intentions in writing the letter are clear – declare the end of British rule and establish himself as the new king for Ranchodrai’s “era of truth has commenced.” Ranchod is fully conscious that the written word has the power to not only establish his authority but also to inspire the people. He wanted his small peasant movement to grow and for that to happen he needed the support of the people. They are his intended audience – the peasants of neighboring villages and beyond. He therefore uses authoritative language in his letter and generalizes with “all people are hereby informed…”.
6. Is Ranchod’s letter religious or political? (Or, both?) What makes it religious? What makes it political?
ReplyDeleteI think Ranchod's letter is both religious and political. By declaring himself as the new king and away from British rule, it makes it political. When he speaks of truth and for everyone to follow it, he refers it to like a god and says that by following this, it will make everyone better. This part makes it seem more religious.
12. If you were asked to develop a research project based on this letter, where would you begin? What kinds of questions would you ask? Which literature would you consult?
ReplyDeleteI would reference professor Chatruvedi's lecture for this question. I think the methods he employed in doing his research were very specific, accurate, and by starting from a specific point,the letter, he was able to make broader connections. First of all, I would do a close reading of the letter and distinguish what i understand from that which i do not. I would then reread and try to figure out any historical background relevant pertaining to the time period the letter is written. It is wise to have a broad history on the back of your mind while doing specific reasearch because one can easily make connections with other events that were going on at the same time. Afterwards, I would do a close reading and try to understand the meaning of terms that were foreign to me. While doing this "research," i would simultaneouly be consulting with other scholars more knowledged about certain topics than I, and based on their interpretations and recommendations, I would do a search for any other secondary sources relevant to the letter.
The questions i would ask are what do certain words in the letter mean? are there any religious/ symbolic inferences? how does this letter relate to a broader range of issues India was facing at the time the letter was written? Where are other possible archives that relate to my research? ...and practical questions regarding time, money, transportation, and health dilemas would play a great role in shaping the final outcome of my research. Most importantly... how committed am i to finding these answers??
I would be consulting literary works(primary and secondary sources) in the fields of history, sociology, lingusitics, economics, and religious studies for this particular research.
If you were asked to develop a research project based on this letter, where would you begin? What kinds of questions would you ask? Which literature would you consult?
ReplyDeleteI would first begin by researching Ranchod Vira as a person. I.e. His environment growing up, his political beliefs, his religious beliefs, and what influenced them. I would ask how the peasants took to the letter, and the response it received from the British. The kind of literature I would consult would probably be one that would delve more into the Full moon of Madgh-Samwat and the Wheel of Ram (the topics that I, as a non-Indian, wouldn't understand off the bat). I just googled a good book to look up, and it would be: Peasant pasts By Vinayak Chaturvedi.
:) Not just because he's our professor. Haha