#juliethomasian

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Key Concepts: Language and Global Language

This is the picture of the front of a passport issued by the Islamic Republic of Iran. I came across the opportunity to take this picture last Friday, when my family friends from Iran were visiting me at GW. First and foremost, this photo represents the key concept of language. Language is defined by Miller as “a form of communication that is based on a systematic set of learned symbols and signs shared among and passed on from generation to generation (Miller2017, p. 251). In this case, the first phrase of the passport is written in the language of Farsi, and it translates to “Passport of the Islamic Republic of Iran”. The individual letters of the phrase are the “symbols” that allow me to make sense of this form of communication. Even though I am not Persian and never lived in Iran, I am still able to read this phrase after learning the language. This exemplifies the influence of language in communication and society.

This picture also represents the key concept of global language. Below the phrase written in Farsi, there is a direct translation in both French and English. A global language is defined as “a language spoken widely throughout the world and in diverse cultural contexts” (Miller2017, p. 267). In this case, French and English are quite different and unrelated to the language of Farsi, the official language of Iran. However, they are still included on the front of the country’s official passport cover. Thus, this passport exemplifies the concept of global languages, as their prevalence and influence on such a large scale has allowed them to make a presence in this circumstance.

-Julie Thomasian

[gwanth1002]

Key Concepts: Museum & Art

The pictures above were taken last weekend when I went to the Hall of Human Origins located in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. A Museum is defined as “an institution that collects, preserves, interprets, and displays objects on a regular basis” (Miller 310). In this case, the exhibit’s purpose is primarily educational, as its displays are designed to inform the public about human evolution and what it means to be human. The hall has several displays that include re-creations of various early Hominin species and their defining characteristics. This particular display that I came across when I visited the Hall is a re-creation of Lucy. Lucy is the common name for a 3 million year old Australopithecus afarensis whose skeleton was found as relatively complete and has thus been extremely useful in learning about early human anatomy and locomotion. Apart from portraying a re-creation of Lucy, the display also breaks down the anatomy of the skeleton by describing the scientific implications of each part of the skeleton, further informing the public of their early human ancestor.

Apart from its educational purpose, I also noticed the underlying esthetic purpose of the Hall as it embodies art in several aspects. Art is generally defined as “the application of imagination, skill, and style to matter, movement, and sound that goes beyond what is purely practical” (Miller 301). In this case, the entrance of the Hall is shaped like a cave and has rows of lights going across the ceiling. This design is unique and intriguing to visitors, which helps to gravitate them into the Hall to learn more about their origins. More specifically, the interior design of this entrance embodies the subcategory of decorative art. Furthermore, the recreation of Lucy itself is a form of plastic art. Her body structure, stance and gaze are all natural-looking, making the display appear as if it is a mid-action shot of Lucy in her real habitat. These artistic aspects make the display “come to life” and ultimately allow for the museum visitors to connect with their past as well as possible, all while being entertained by its aesthetically pleasing attributes.

-Julie Thomasian

[gwanth1002]

Key Concepts: Diaspora Population and Achieved Position

This picture captures the start of the 1600 meter race at the recent Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) Olympics. A diaspora population is defined as a “dispersed group of people living outside the original homeland” (Miller 215). Although the population of Armenia itself totals just under 3 million, the Armenian diaspora population well exceeds 10 million. As a considerable portion of the Armenian diaspora is here in the U.S., the existence of the AYF and its holding of events like these, intends to unite the Armenian youth living in these dispersed communities for a weekend of friendly competition and lot of fun. 

Each region of the US with a considerable Armenian population has its own chapter of the AYF, and at Olympics, these chapters compete amongst each other in sports like swimming, golf, softball and track. For track, all the events are “seeded,” meaning the athlete with the fastest prior time starts in lane 1, the second fastest athlete starts in lane 2, and so on. Since I had the fastest prior time in the 1600 meter race and had won the prior races, being the Starter of this race was an achieved position for me, as it was a position “gained through action” (Miller 212). 

-Julie Thomasian

[gwanth1002]

Adolescence and Personality:

Pictured above is my friend sitting at Graffiti Rock, an outlook in Georgetown, DC. This picture was taken following a run that we did together this weekend, as we were trying to make the best out of an unusually hot Sunday in February.

 Recently, My friend has been stressed out about various things, from school to his family. However, these are problems that we all deal with during the period of adolescence, which is a “culturally defined period of maturation from the time of puberty until adulthood” (Miller 140). Since today was my friend’s birthday and he didn’t have any plans other than studying for his exams, I reached out to him and asked him if he wanted to run along the C & O Canal from Darnestown, Maryland all the way down to Georgetown. As agreed to the idea enthusiastically, we quickly made plans and started running.

 For most people, a 20 mile run would not seem like an ideal way to spend their birthday. However, since my friend and I are training for a marathon, we naturally share a motivated and daring personality, and we were eager to take on this challenge. When we finally completed the run, we went to an outlook that had the most scenic view of the Potomac River, Key Bridge, and Rosslyn that we had ever seen. To capture this beautiful view, I took this picture of my friend looking out into the distance. His gaze is meant to represent that although his adolescent angst is still there, his daring and motivated personality allowed him to overcome it, even if it was just for the day. 

[gwanth1002]

Key Concepts: Consumerism and Material Culture

As shown above, I own multiple “versions” of the exact same Longchamp handbag, all of which differ in only their color. Consumerism itself is defined as “a mode of consumption in which people’s demands are many infinite and the means of satisfying them are insufficient and become depleted in the effort to satisfy these demands” (Miller 103). In fact, my excessive handbag purchase could further be classified as hyperconsumerism, which is defined as “consumption for its own sake” and is “driven by the perceived need to purchase certain brands [to maintain] identity in a socially competitive context” (103).

In this case, my hyperconsumerism was driven by the material culture that plagues GW. Material culture is defined as “tangible objects that people use or create and have meaning” (112). Since material culture is highly valued at GW, what you own says a lot about who you are and how your peers identify you. Thus, my excessive purchase of a name-brand bag reflects my underlying desire to “fit in” to this community. Upon discussion, several other students have also experienced this kind of pressure in the GW environment with regards to material culture. In fact, following our class discussion, one student even stated that she knows a peer who buys a lot of Cartier bracelets simply because “she can,” but actually does not even enjoy their appearance. It is interesting how my case ended up shedding light upon a major part of this particular aspect of the culture at GW.