Meiji period

Sarashina Nikki: A Bridge to the Heian Period With Sarashina Nikki, one has a portal to one of the greatest era of Japanese history, a time of high culture and art. Lady Sarashina’s memoir, Sarashina Nikki, supplies a crucial lens for viewing the Heian period. Specifically, the work provides a historical glimpse into the life of an aristocrat. Presented throughout Sarashina Nikki is a recount of Lady Sarashina’s experience as an aristocrat -- she embarks on pilgrimages to distant lands and…

Ebola: a word that for many triggers a somewhat distant memory back to 2014 when the whole world was up in arms about it spreading and becoming a pandemic. This incident of outbreak in West Africa shows how far we have come as a world, technologically and medically, but also how far we still have to go. The severity of the outbreak was completely avoidable, however due to the disregard of certain factors not usually associated with disease, such as cultural practices, it became an epidemic. In…

Absolutism means that the sovereign power or ultimate authority in the state rested in the hands of a king who claimed to rule by divine right the idea that kings received their power from God and were responsible to no one but God. Catherine The Great and Tokugawa Ieyasu were both known as prominent absolute rulers but, Ieyasu was a more effective absolutist ruler. Tokugawa controlled his country by reasonable means that wouldn’t cause uprisings and distrust while still being the only one to…

The history of music before the twentieth century revolved around musicians and their instrument makers. Events likely to have a significant effect on this particular period of time seemed consistent. Well-tempered tuning was perfected, and soon after J.S. Bach rewrote the musical book with his groundbreaking composition, The Well-Tempered Clavier. The creation of the pianoforte fostered Beethoven's playing and writing and opened up a new powerful responsiveness. Autonomy and self-determination…

The ancient Japanese culture can be traced back to 8000 BC during the Jomon Period in Japan, although most archaeologists agree that it could go as far back as 100,000 years (“Early Japanese History”). The ancient Japanese culture is one of the most studied and historic cultures in the world. The Jomon period is known for is their advanced pottery techniques for that time period -- hence the name Jomon, which means "patterns of plaited cord” (“Ancient Japan”). The ancient Japanese culture was…

When I signed up to take music appreciation, I knew it would be the perfect class for me. I myself take up being a musician as a hobby, I’ve played the guitar for years and have a basic understanding of music in the world. I knew that music had deep history within its roots, but I always had a curiosity to learn a slice of that history which is exactly what this class did. Besides playing an instrument and make music, I also became very fond of listening to music as a hobby. I began to have a…

“Sapokanikan” is the first single released from Joanna Newsom’s 2015 album Divers. Shorter than most of the songs on her last album Have One On Me, the song resembles a union of the styles she used on Have One On Me and her debut album The Milk-Eyed Mender. “Sapokanikan”, like much of Joanna’s music, relies heavily on obscure references to tell a greater tale. Newsom’s overall message is about death and being forgotten and her references, language, and imagery tie together to paint a picture of…

Ebola is a virus that is very deadly. Four out of five strains can make people sick. While inside of the body it is possible to do the following things: kills cells, full bleeding internally, wrecks the immune system, and harms every organ in the body. It is very infrequent to catch Ebola. The only way that people can get infected with the disease is from direct contact with fluids from those who are already infested with Ebola. Ebola was first recognized in 1976. “The name came from a river…

Lakia Andrews Professor Sloan English 110 18 November 2014 The Ebola Epidemic In a country where people are dying every day from different diseases, Ebola has become the talk of the year. Although this disease has been around for several years, it is now being acknowledged. A few Americans have been forced into quarantine because of the outbreak. The disease can only be spread through a transfer of bodily fluids, unlike diseases like the flu and the common cold. Government officials are trying…

The latest outbreak of Ebola has become a tragedy for humanity; it is the deadliest outbreak in history killing and infecting thousands, but many more will suffer the economic consequences. There are tremendous economical troubles that are associated with this epidemic. Not only for Liberia, considered the epicenter of Ebola cases, but economists are analyzing the devastating economical effects of the virus in other West African countries like Guinea and Sierra Leone. According to World Bank,…