Documentation:
While scheduling classes for Fall 2018, an honors seminar caught my eye; it was called Culture of Books & Reading. ~For a little background about me: if you ask anyone I know really well, I constantly have my nose in a book. I've even been known to carry a book in my purse or download an e-book on my phone so I can read whenever I have a little downtime.~ Because of this, I knew immediately that I needed to add this course to my schedule and luckily for me, it is taught by one of my favorite professors/bosses/mentors I have met on campus: Dr. Kevin Grace. As soon as I entered the classroom that first day, I knew it was going to be an incredible seminar.
Throughout the course, we learned so much about different cultures and their approaches to reading and/or books. It is truly eye-opening how a love for paper and story telling created a medium that has for centuries enamored those who can read. On the other hand, we learned the staggering rates of illiteracy in many cultures; it was truly saddening that so many people around the world do not have access to the wondrous world of books. We had many opportunities to learn about rare books as well and even though I work in the Archives and Rare Books Library, I still am amazed at all the rare books that are in the collections at UC. One of the highlights of taking a trip to ARB was touching a book bound in human skin! Apparently, this was a popular practice during the 17th-18th centuries. The archives also holds the worlds smallest book which requires a magnifying glass to read the text.
As with all my honors experiences to date, I highly recommend taking this seminar or any seminar that holds your interest. I love that the seminars allow me to pursue a passion of mine even though my major has nothing to do with literature or reading. They truly offer a once in a lifetime experience even if they don't have a study tour involved. For more detailed information, I attached a copy of my final reflection essay that emphasizes all that I learned throughout this course.
While scheduling classes for Fall 2018, an honors seminar caught my eye; it was called Culture of Books & Reading. ~For a little background about me: if you ask anyone I know really well, I constantly have my nose in a book. I've even been known to carry a book in my purse or download an e-book on my phone so I can read whenever I have a little downtime.~ Because of this, I knew immediately that I needed to add this course to my schedule and luckily for me, it is taught by one of my favorite professors/bosses/mentors I have met on campus: Dr. Kevin Grace. As soon as I entered the classroom that first day, I knew it was going to be an incredible seminar.
Throughout the course, we learned so much about different cultures and their approaches to reading and/or books. It is truly eye-opening how a love for paper and story telling created a medium that has for centuries enamored those who can read. On the other hand, we learned the staggering rates of illiteracy in many cultures; it was truly saddening that so many people around the world do not have access to the wondrous world of books. We had many opportunities to learn about rare books as well and even though I work in the Archives and Rare Books Library, I still am amazed at all the rare books that are in the collections at UC. One of the highlights of taking a trip to ARB was touching a book bound in human skin! Apparently, this was a popular practice during the 17th-18th centuries. The archives also holds the worlds smallest book which requires a magnifying glass to read the text.
As with all my honors experiences to date, I highly recommend taking this seminar or any seminar that holds your interest. I love that the seminars allow me to pursue a passion of mine even though my major has nothing to do with literature or reading. They truly offer a once in a lifetime experience even if they don't have a study tour involved. For more detailed information, I attached a copy of my final reflection essay that emphasizes all that I learned throughout this course.
final_reflection_essay.docx | |
File Size: | 104 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Artifact:
For my artifact, I have chosen to attach pictures of a book I had to make for the class. Kevin gave us all a door hinge and provided various materials/papers and instructed us to create a book about whatever we wanted. Another passion of mine is traveling so I decided to include all of my favorite travel quotes and titled my book "Quotes Heard around the World". It was truly a difficult task; binding leather and creating pages that fit inside the hinge was way harder than I thought it would be but the end product was so neat and I'm glad I have this experience under my belt.
For my artifact, I have chosen to attach pictures of a book I had to make for the class. Kevin gave us all a door hinge and provided various materials/papers and instructed us to create a book about whatever we wanted. Another passion of mine is traveling so I decided to include all of my favorite travel quotes and titled my book "Quotes Heard around the World". It was truly a difficult task; binding leather and creating pages that fit inside the hinge was way harder than I thought it would be but the end product was so neat and I'm glad I have this experience under my belt.