Jenniah's LAST 100 Blog

  This week, the first topic I wanted to touch on was why we turn to history. History has many uses. The average person may develop an interest in history for any number of reasons. I think that in a way, as humans, we find comfort in history. While the future is untold, and many people would agree, unpredictable, history has already occurred, been recorded, and observed by many. We can of course, still be cynical regarding the actions taken by historical figures, but I think we find a sense of comfort in reading a story in which the ending is concrete, and understood by many. Someone like a politician, or lawyer, however, may look at history for a different reason. For instance, a lawyer may look to history for precedence regarding a case they’re working on. To create a stronger argument, they may draw your attention to a similar case that already happened. A politician, may look to history to draw a quote from a great historical figure. They may even compare themselves to said fi...

  I found the readings for this week very thought provoking in terms of rebellion and gender roles. Upon reading the story of Catalina de Erauso, I was convinced that I had just read an amazing rebellion story. Girl, run away at 15, pretending to be a man, killing people including her own brother, and a classic womanizer, convinced me of her being a rebel. I then examined the story more closely, and came to realize that while part of her story was about a rebellious teenager, there’s the other part where she fights as a soldier to push colonialism. Her story is not as black and white as I initially thought, and this is a lesson that I’ve already learned a couple times in this class. While she spends her entire story lying and hiding her identity, she also spends that time serving the state, and perpetuating colonialism. She talks greatly about her battles against the “Indians”, and how she slaughtered many of them, bestowing such honour on her war stories. I’m curious about what sh...

I found the lecture for this week, titled, "The Meeting of Two Worlds", very enlightening. I’ve known for a long time now that the morality of Christopher Columbus’ journey is been controversial, but I hadn’t known that people were thinking the same thing as early as the sixteenth century. I also learned lots about Columbus' personality that I hadn't known before. This week’s lecture provided me with a better insight to what he was really feeling during his trip. For instance, I didn't know that Columbus had been so insecure and full of anxiety regarding his journey. Up until this point, the narrative that I was told about Columbus is that he was a hero, he made the world we live in today, and that he was always sure of himself. I think that this lecture really humanizes him. Learning that he wasn’t as confident as we thought, or that he had no idea he was discovering anything of value makes him more realistic. I believe that it’s important for the average person ...

  The first student video I watched was “The Meeting of Two Worlds: Aztec Edition”. I was initially drawn to this video when I saw they had used animation, instead of pictures, or real footage. I found animation to be very compelling because it was a more captivating, visually, for people like me, who tend to get distracted while listening if there isn’t a visual aid. I thoroughly enjoyed the video, finding the information about Aztec culture fascinating, particularly the part about their belief in prophecies, omens, and the supernatural. This video laid out the information about the downfall of the Aztec Empire in a clear, easy to follow nature, making the video very enjoyable to watch.   The second video I chose to watch was “Speaking Truth to Power”. I found this video to be very informative, as it enhanced my knowledge on Asociación Madres de Plaza de Mayo, one of the most well-known resistance groups amongst women. This video also taught me more about femicide in present ...

  Hello fellow LAST 100 students! Welcome to my blog. My name is Jenniah Minchin, and I'm from Toronto, Ontario. I'm an 18 year old, undergraduate student, hoping to move to Vancouver to pursue a career in psychology. I look forward to sharing my thoughts about our course with you over the next few months!