Writing Across Cultures

Introduction to Philosophy Under the main heading of philosophy, there are several branches. These are divided by the kind of questions they ask. Here are the main ones: I.  Ethics : the study of values in human behavior or moral problems: (what is good or right?) II.  Aesthetics : the study of what is beautiful or artistic: (is this art? What is beauty?) III.  Axiology : the study of value (value theory): (what is at stake or what is of value in a life or human action?) IV.  Epistemology : the study of knowledge. (what is truth?) V.  Ontology : the study of existence. (what is real?) VI.  Metaphysics : the study of extra-normal existence (really a sub-branch of ontology). (what created the world? Do we have a soul? What is God?) VII.  Existentialism : also a sub-branch of Ontology--it seeks to answer: What is the meaning of life? Here's an example:  Monty Python sketch from The Meaning of Life  (1983)  What is philosop...

Israel/Palestine/Afghanistan: Israeli poets: The Jewish Virtual Library Israeli Poems to get us through Isolation and Fear 5 Israeli Poets You Should Know Here are some links about ancient Hebrew/Jewish culture, Palestinian culture, and Afghanistan: Ancient Hebrew Culture Ancient Hebrew Language Jewish Culture and History. Hebrew Culture The Maps of Israel The Balfour Declaration (documentary clip) This is Israel (in 60 seconds) History in 60 Seconds (Formation of Israel) The History of Palestine Palestine History: Time Line Made in Palestine: a website with poetry and visual art  Afghanistan life Women in Afghanistan Inspired by the videos and poetry selected here, search Google Images to find a picture for an ekphrastic poem set in either Israel, Palestine, or Afghanistan. Write a draft for your portfolio. Remember that you can workshop your poem in the shared Google folder for this class!

The  Ghazal  is a poetic form consisting of rhyming couplets and a refrain, with each line sharing the same meter. A ghazal may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss or separation and the beauty of love in spite of that pain. The form is ancient, originating in 6th century pre-Islamic Arabic verse. It is one of the principal poetic forms which the Indo-Perso-Arabic civilization offered to the eastern Islamic world. History: The ghazal spread into South Asia in the 12th century under the influence of the new Islamic Sultanate courts and Sufi mystics. Although the ghazal is most prominently a form of Persian and Urdu poetry, today it is found in the poetry of many languages. The Arabic word غزل ġazal is pronounced [ˈɣazal], roughly like the English word  guzzle . The Form: A ghazal is composed of five or more couplets . The second line of each couplet in a ghazal usually ends with the repetition of a refrain of one or a few words, known ...