Tuesday, May 24, 2011

HW 58 - Prom Interviews

Interview With Someone Who Recently Experienced Prom

Interview With Luis Torres (Someone Who Is Going To Prom This Academic Year)

Luis Torres’ Grandmother’s Interview on Prom (Conducted by Luis but I gave him the questions)

After hearing and reading all the different perspectives of the interviewees, I began to think back to my initial thoughts post. How were my initial thoughts similar or different to that of my interviewees? The interviews with the two people who were closer to my age had similar things to say about prom than my friend’s grandmother. Some similarities between my thoughts and my friends’ thoughts are that all three of us feel as if prom is not really that big of a deal. It is hyped up by media and also past seniors who like to pretend that they had fun but the fact of the matter is, they just spent a night with their friends. Not like they haven’t done that in the four or more years they have spent with those people. Another similarity I noticed is that Luis (going to prom this semester) also does not like the rules that we have to follow in order to have fun with friends. Your classmates will make stigmatize you if you show up to prom without a date, or if you do not spend every minute with your date, or if you do not wear something fancy. Luis confessed that he will be trying his best to break these scripted rules so that he can have fun the way he wants to have fun.

One major difference between Josh, Luis, and me is that they both have wanted to go to prom ever since they heard about it. I on the other hand was not very keen on attending the whole shenanigans. Their main reason for wanting to attend is that they get to spend one last night with their friends. My counterargument to that is why not just get the people you actually like and host a party? Instead of getting a mix of people you cannot stand and some that you can bear. Luis’ grandmother’s interview was interesting because from what it sounded like, her experiences were not so different from Josh’s experiences and the experiences of people depicted in movies about prom. Which means that unlike many other traditions, prom is one of the things that has remained a similar tradition in multiple time periods.

Monday, May 23, 2011

HW 57- Initial Thoughts on Prom

                I’ve always had an advantage over other students when it comes to firsthand experience in the Normal is Weird course units. An advantage which always made me feel special but now, when our unit is about prom, I feel silly because the only experience I have with this topic is from watching television shows and movies. Many of my classmates have been around prom by having siblings who went to prom and some of them have already been to prom. Growing up in a religious family I have been taught that social events like prom, are always bad and that we should avoid them if we can. My parents have always been very strict about parties. They have the stereotypical idea of every party that a teenager attends in America is full of drugs and alcohol. They aren’t completely wrong… However, I am certain that they will let me go to prom next year because by that time, I will already have received my acceptance letter from NYU so my parents would want me to enjoy my last few days and nights as a high school student to reward me for being admitted to a prestigious college.
             
                I am looking forward to prom as much as I am looking forward to waking up tomorrow and typing up another homework assignment on the train like I’m doing right now. It’s not that I don’t know who I’ll be going with or that I am worried that I won’t have a date because I already asked the person I want to go with and she has said yes. I am not looking forward to prom because of all the hype that It is getting right now. Whenever I go near the seniors in the hallways, I constantly hear the same things; who is going to prom with whom, who is wearing what, and who is doing what after prom. One of the things that annoy me are obsessions like that. Pointless obsessions which will lead to nothing but a disappointment, and if you’re lucky, and prom is as wonderful as you think it will be, then I would still feel annoyed because that just means that people who constantly talk about prom have a need to constantly tell people what they are doing in order to feel special. But the sad thing is, everyone else will be doing the same thing so it you’re not that special after all.







Questions
- Go to prom? Or stay home with mom?
- Does going to prom make you special? 
- If not, why do people fuss so much about something that makes them even more generic?

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

HW 56 - Culminating Project Comments

For Abdul:

Abdul,
I thought that the fact that you interviewed your mother was a very courageous move on your part. I can understand how difficult and uncomfortable it must have been to sit there and talk about what she would like to be done with her body when she dies, since the death of a parent is an agonizing experience. I think it is interesting to compare and contrast two different thoughts on taking care of the dead from two different people who come from different educational backgrounds. I think your choice of donating your organs is a noble one and you should stick to that choice.
Good post.

Abdullah

For Amanda,

Dear Amanda,
Your post was very dynamic. Your decisions on how you want to be taken care of when you die reflect who you are as a person now; outgoing, food-loving, and most importantly, happy. I really hope that you get the sending off party that you described in your blog. And I also hope that it won't be family only. I would be really upset if I wasn't invited. :)
If you've ever been to Roosevelt Island, by the lighthouse, I think you'll find that scenery a much more soothing place for your party then your current plans. Go to Roosevelt Island one day and you'll be thanking me for suggesting that idea to you.
Another aspect of your future plans that I liked was that you really care about how comfortable your guests will be in your party. It seems like you will be extremely cross with your guests if they do not have a good time and mope about your poor health. I think that desire for making sure others have a good time is very selfless and really reflects a positive image on you as a person.
Again, I hope all your hopes and plans become a reality one day. Good post buddy.


Abdullah


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From AbdulM

For Abdullah,

Your blog seemed to be about, you wanting to really make a change for care of the dead thus, resulting in an activist project. Read Grave Matters inspired you with the ideas and information it presented however, you felt as though you could take the information and make it more accessible and easier to understand. I think you succeeded.

One aspect of your post that I particularly valued was that you decided to use the resources available to you ( Brooklyn College) to spread the word for your activist project. This is something I truly admire since it does take a lot of courage to go to a college and stand there in hand out fliers. This is truly an activist project, getting out there in the real world and making change.

Your project matters to me because in a way you did three activist projects. You interviewed a High School Student who lives on the other side of America and enlightened him on the death care industry. During this interview I'm sure you fixed many of his misconceptions. The second thing you did was find a Brooklyn College undergrad and interview. What a bold move, whether that person realize it or not you genuinely tried to help them with their life and make the death experience a bit easier for them. The third thing you did was you went out to Brooklyn College. Even though it wasn't necessarily out of your reach you still did it. How many people can actually say they did all of that just for a history project. Well done Abdullah I'm impressed.



From Amanda
Dear Abdullah, I liked the way you organized your flyer in terms of the black was what you presumed the viewer to know and the red was what they probably didn't know. you approached it from a non-threatening perspective, and were therefore were able to convey as much information as possible. and you have very high hopes for the futures of your flyers i'm sure a few were framed and placed over the fire place as well, i do know that they must have caught a lot of peoples attention you may have even changed a few career paths. good work with your flyers!

From Dev (Protoge)
I agree that your flyer was engaging. You were very concise, which was one of the reasons I believe was you did not find any of your flyers on your way home. I think that the point you are trying to make is that a topic as morbid as death can be engaging to people if presented in the proper way. The fact that you actually stopped to get a quick question or comment was good as well, it gave you a chance to explain yourself while getting some feed back.

From Mentor,
When we used to go to the Brooklyn College Gym together I never thought you will use this known campus for your research purpose. However, it is indeed excellent idea to collect info from primary source like diverse and knowledgeable sample group of Brooklyn College. It is also good achievement that you convinced college students to go through your flyers. Definitely the flyer was developed with good thoughts and setting of photos and texts were commendable. I realized you have given more emphasis to your 11 grader friend over the students of the college. This might be a bias decision which should be avoided in all circumstances. It is better to have diverse opinion about dead rather than focusing on one individual's thoughts and ideas.
We know after death it does not matter how our body will be treated but we will never think of disregard to our dead bodies. The religious and social rituals play significant roles on caring of dead bodies.
I think your have tried to gather more info on the caring of deaths and I hope you will also be able to respect the dead bodies.   

Extra Credit for COTD

#5 Watch 3 Episodes of Six Feet Under:


Episode 1: "Pilot." Six Feet Undeer. HBO: 03 006 2001. Television. 17 May 2011.
The pilot episode of Six Feet Under, takes the audience through a journey of what it might feel like to lose a loved one from the perspectives of people who are no stranger to death. Undertakers who deal with death on a daily basis are still saddened by losing someone close to them.

Nate and David are undertakers for their family funeral home and the pilot episode depicts the events after their father, Nathaniel, dies in a car accident. Nate and David's whole family see Nathaniel's specter (or spectre) which forces them to face life and death from a very personal perspective.

As undertakers, Nate and David are used to dealing with death and dealing with funerals. However, when their father's funeral was the one that they had to arrange, they were just as unprepared as any of their clients which proves the point that death is a grievous process which no one can be truly be prepared for.

Episode 2: "The Will." Six Feet Undeer. HBO: 10 006 2001. Television. 17 May 2011.
In episode 2 of Six Feet Under, the journey that started in the pilot is continued and we see the preeminent family go through more turmoil and grief as they deal with the after math of the death of the father. The family is struck with grief, but they are slowly realizing that death is something they are familiar with and so the family is progressively forgetting about their loss.

Nathaniel's will is read and all of his family members get a generous amount of money. Nate starts to help out
with the funeral business and learns a few new things.

In the second episode the writers chose to make the characters a lot more carefree than they were in the previous episode. This is primarily because they wanted to reinstate the fact that Fisher family is used to death so treat the death of their father and husband in the same fashion as any other death they have to deal with.

Episode 3: "The Foot." Six Feet Undeer. HBO: 17 006 2001. Television. 17 May 2011.
In the third episode of Six Feet Under, the responsibilities that need to be distributed after someone dies come into the focus of the family. The grieving period is extended when the family goes through all the responsibilities of their loved one.

The Fisher family debates on whether to sell their funeral business to a bigger company that threatens to bankrupt them. The Fisher family decided not to sell their business and upon hearing the family's decision, the competitor company tries to out sell them but their efforts are mysteriously thwarted.

Just like everything in the modern world, taking care of the dead is also a business, one that is just as competitive as any other. The writer's depiction of the care of the dead industry illustrates the fact that people have a tendency to turn everything into a race for who can make the higher profit.

       The first three episodes of Six Feet Under is an arrant depiction of what the normal funeral industry is and how it operates. After reading Grave Matters by Mark Harris and watching The Undertakers (full movie), I have come to the conclusion that a standard funeral firm's duties include: Dressing up in black suits and to offer solace to a family that is going through possibly the worst moment in their lives. Six Feet Under strengthened my belief in the fact that people take advantage of others when the later group is distressed. So these so called "experts" everyone runs to in their time of need, might not be looking out for what is best for you. Funeral directors and undertakers are supposed to be experts when it comes to taking care of the dead yet in each medium I listed above, they are doing the same thing anyone with common sense would do; console and help the person that just lost a loved one.

       In the second episode of Six Feet Under, a widow visits the Fisher's funeral home to arrange a funeral for her husband. Prior to learning the fact that the widow was broke, David offered her a $9,000 casket. When asked why the price tag was so steep, David replied with, "It's more than just a casket. It's a tribute." Using mollifying words such as "tribute" would make a client lenient towards whatever the undertakers suggest. I think Six Feet Under indicatively delineates how a funeral industry is run.

       Another example of a mollifying sentence is when the undertakers find out about the financial situation of the widow; "I think cremation is much more dignified." The undertakers' opinion switches to the next most profitable procedure that the widow can afford. Like I said before, people are more likely to do something if they emotionally weak at the time of making a decision and when a person (that is considered to be an expert by many) is whispering ideas in his or her ear about how they should take care of his or her loved one's remains.

Other Quotes from Episode 1-3:
"You can’t give a coffin back, by law you have to burn it."
"In the death care industry, it’s either consolidate or die."
"This is some fucked up way of making a living, man."
"It's like a mad scientist lab in here" (about embalming room)

MLA Citations:

Monday, May 16, 2011

HW 55 - Culminating Project - Care of the Dead

Flyer That I Distributed in Brooklyn College:





For the culminating project for the COTD unit, I decided to do something that I had not done for any of the other units; I decided to do something as an activist. Since I read Grave Matters as my unit book, there were a lot of summaries of major methods of taking care of the dead available to me. I decided to make those summaries even shorter so it would fit into one sheet of paper as a flyer. I live right next to Brooklyn College so I decided to go down there and give out the flyers I made and ask some students about some questions about taking care of the dead. Many of the students’ responses were generic and bland so I did not include those in my blog post. I posted one student’s interview which I thought had many insightful responses. For the second interview, I decided to interview my friend who lives in California and attends the same grade as I do. In his interview, he shares his experiences in a funeral that he attended. He did not know too much about taking care of the dead, since it’s a tabooed topic in the United States, so I forwarded him the flyer I made and after he had read it, he said that he had learnt some things that he was previously unaware of. Mission Accomplished.

I tried to make the flyer as simple as possible because people do not usually like reading long flyers that have a copious amount of detail. Short and Sweet. I was very happy when I walked back to my house and I did not notice a single one of my flyers littering the floor by students who were bored. I did not check the garbage bins but I am sure that none of the students threw out their flyers. They probably all kept it and are going to put it up on their refrigerators and maybe even write a blog of their own about it.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

HW 54 - Independent Research B

Religion has been the biggest part of my life so far. Every major decision I have had to take has been somewhat, even if it is very minute, it was still affected by my religious background. After reading some texts about how Islam views death, I was further educated about my roots. In Islam, or in Bangladesh rather, which is where I'm from, death is a very open topic. No one is afraid to talk about it. If anyone asks about it, he or she will get an answer. The answer might be a little cartoony, depending on who you ask but, they will get an answer that is somewhat realistic. Contrasting to what I've noticed the dominant social practice in America to be is that death is a topic that most people do not want to talk about it and they will always try to stay away from it. Whenever I imagine what a parent or guardian must feel like when their child asks where his or her grandparent went, I always get a picture of a hooker in a church in my head. (Is that a creative metaphor Andy?) Very uncomfortable. To examine why people from an Islamic background might not consider death to be a scary topic could be because of the Eutopia that is promised by God (Allah) in the Holy Qur'an. A chance for a better life after the current one is a blissful idea that can, and does, make one less scared of death.


Apart from reading Islamic articles online, to further my independent research, I decided to interview an Imam of my local mosque in Brooklyn. Imam Rezaul Quader was very enthusiastic about answering the questions which were graciously provided by Bianca Chiu. An Imam is a person who leads the prayers in all waqts (times) of the day in a mosque. An Imam is also the representative of the Muslim community of his region ( The Imam as a representative is a stronger custom in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia). Other duties of an Imam include, "to teach the laymen their duties to Allah and to his fellow human beings. He has to stand up for the truth and go against the falsehood. He has to enjoin others to do good and prohibit them from doing bad " (Quader). The Imam is a lot like a teacher whose job is to guide the people who have gone astray back to the righteous path and to keep faithful Muslims on the righteous path. "For a person to become an Imam he has to certain amount of Islamic knowledge. According to the saying of Islamic scholars an Imam should be the one who has most knowledge regarding every field of Islam, specially Salah (Prayer), thereafter a person who knows how to recite the Qur’an beautifully, then a person who makes more practice on the ways of Mohammad, then a person who is the oldest of them" (Quader). An Imam is selected by the community to represent them as the most religiously learned man.


I was instantly interested when I read the Imam's response to Bianca's "What is the Day of Judgment? What criteria does a person have to fit in order to gain Paradise and a good eternal fate?" question. His answer was very interesting and I learnt about things that I did not know about before. I would like to quote his entire answer, but I will leave the reader to go to the actual interview below and read the full answer. However, one of the most interesting lines was: "According to Qur’an the first Day of Judgment will be 50000 years" (Quader). After the last human has died, the Days of Judgement will commence. Mankind will be judged for his (or her) deeds on Earth and since time is relative, 50000 years does not seem long. One of the most important criterion for a person to be granted passage into heaven is: "A person must have belief in Allah and his Messenger Mohammed as well as all other messengers" (Quader). Faith is the key to the gates of Paradise.


The thought of life after death is very scary to me. Even though I have followed all the 5 pillars of Islam, 1) Perform Hajj, 2) Pray 5 time a day, 3) Fast in the month of Ramadan, 4) Pay alms to the needy, and 5) Have faith in Allah and his messengers, I have not followed them unquestioningly. I have missed many prayers when I was distracted by other things and my faith has not always been unwavering. I am certainly scared of punishments of Hell which as the Qur'an describes to be: “There will be burning wind and boiling water and in a shade of black smoke neither cool nor graceful. Verily those who have rejected the signs of Allah, soon they will be put into Hell, every time one layer of skin is burnt it will be replaced by another layer of skin so that they can continue to taste the punishment of Hell. Each time the flame goes down will increase in its intensity. They will enter into the blazing fire, they will be given boiling water from the boiling springs of Hell to drink, and there will be no other food for them besides the thorny trees of Hell which will neither satiate their hunger nor give them any satisfaction" (Verse from the Holy Qur'an). I do not think there is one person in the world who does not find that terrifying.


My mom has always been fairly religious in her life. She studied Arabic and Islamic studies, in Syria and now she translates verses from the Qur'an (which is in Arabic) for a small group of people on the weekends. I consider her learned about Islam so I sent her the same questions I sent to the Imam. Her responses were quite similar but there were also some additional information she added. "The Paradise is forever~ it is the good eternal fate. This world is a testing place. We will be judged according to our deeds of this world. In Islamic culture in this world we have to prove that we are eligible for Paradise. The best eternal life will be given to only that person who deserves it. The peace and tranquility of that place will be never ending.In comparing this world with the Hereafter, the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: 'The value of this world compared to that of the Hereafter is like what your finger brings from the sea when you put it in and then take it out.' The meaning is that, the value of this world compared to that of the Hereafter is like a few drops of water compared to the sea" (Nahar). The minuteness of this world and this life is unimaginable. We can only wonder and crave for the vastness of the world that we have to enter after this one. Our lives on this world are judged by our actions and the life after this will be either our reward or our punishment.


In conclusion, in Islam, one will be rewarded if he or she has earned it. One will be punished if he or she has deserved it. Allah is just and merciful; He will forgive the sins of Muslims who had faith in His existence and His power. It all comes down to faith. Faith is like holding sand in your fist; if you are a little bit careless, you will lose it. Another thing we must control to earn the reward of Paradise is our desires. Prophet Mohammed's (PBUH) friend and companion, Ali said: "Ali said put one foot on your desire then the other foot will be in Paradise."

I'm very grateful to Bianca Chiu for coming up with the interview questions.




Tuesday, May 10, 2011

HW 53 - Independent Research A

Article on Resomation
Cremation rates have been in increasing in the United States because of its economic appeal. However, cremations release many harmful gasses and leave a really big carbon footprint. Since crematoriums are used on a daily basis in every state across the country, the carbon footprint gets more and more daunting as cremation rates go up. Enter resomation,”an alternative to cremation for the eco-conscious cadaver.” Resomation is very similar to cremation and the only difference is that resomation liquefies the body instead of burning it. Resomation uses one sixth of the energy cremations use and have a much smaller carbon footprint.


Article on Hindus in Queens
As more and more immigrants from India flock to New York City, there is an alarming increase of precious possessions being dropped into the Jamaica Bay as sacred offerings to the Hindu Gods. Despite efforts from the Park Rangers to prohibit such practices in the name of “the environment”, new immigrants who are unaware of the rules and/or others who refuse to change their practice, there are still many who drop things in the river as an offering to their Gods. Cremains are of the things being dropped and it is especially difficult for park rangers to prohibit that practice since it is one of the most sacred rituals in Hinduism. Scattering of the ashes in a river is essential to move on to the next life in the Hindu culture and if the park rangers try and stop them, the first amendment will most likely be brought up.


Article on Recycling Cremation Exhausts
The thought of the heat generated from the ashes of your loved one being used to power up a stranger’s house or a stranger’s computer is considered immoral by many. But what if the heat that was recycled from the crematorium was used for heating up the chapel where you will have the wake or post-funeral gathering? What if the last action of your loved one was to keep you and your family warm? That argument makes the recycling cremation exhausts sound not just like a great idea, but also a noble idea.


All of the articles I looked at are from an environmentalist’s point of view. The first article argues that Resomation should replace cremation in the future since it is a lot greener. The second article looks at environmental risks that might be resulted from dropping cremains and other sacred objects in rivers that are populated with a diverse marine life. The third article argues whether exhaust from crematoriums should be recycled and used as an alternative source of energy. Cremations were not that popular when it first came out, mostly because of the Catholic Church condemning it as a crime against nature, but it soon gained popularity and it is now the number one form of taking care of the dead in many developed countries. I believe Resomation will also gain that kind of support and popularity, probably faster than cremation since nowadays, people are very keen on doing anything green. I support all of the authors of these articles. I think we must do anything and everything we can to make sure we do not pollute this planet and if we do not check ourselves now, it will be too late.

Dr. John Troyer's Interview

The main difference between a Green burial and a natural burial is that a natural burial is basically digging up a grave and placing a body in it and then covering up the grave. Green burials have a greater influence from technology. I liked his response to why people are forced to make stressful decisions of taking care of the dead when they are still grieving the loss of their loved one. He said, they brought that on themselves. Everyone will die eventually, you should decide what must be done with your body early on in life so you don't have to, or your family members won't have to, make rash decisions. Like in almost every public service facility, Europe is serving its people more efficiently than America. Many European countries have had filtrated crematoriums since the 90s so they have been helping the planet a lot more than America is helping the planet. In conclusion, green methods of taking care of the dead are already here. They just need to become more popular among the common people and we'll be one step closer to delay global warming.