So here goes my post about our
presentations today and yesterday. Yesterday started very nice. It
was cool and quiet in the room “Rosegger” and I didn't even want
to leave because the temperature was so much nicer than outside.
- The first presentation I watched was Kathie Bölsche's. Her topic was American High Schools. It was very nice that she could give us some first-hand insight in American high schools as she went to one for nine months when she was in America. I also liked that she included the Austrian and German stereotypes about America's education system. This way we were forced to rethink our opinions and really think about what she said.
- After that it was Manuela's turn and she talked about Reality TV, in particular Big Brother and Jersey Shore. I really liked her presentation even though I don't watch reality TV at all. I don't even have a TV at home. Maybe that was the reason why I liked the presentation so much. It is something I am normally not confronted with and it was great fun to get a glimpse at these strange people doing stupid things on TV. The one thing that sticked to my head the most was that it is easy and cheap to produce and that there will probably be more and more of them in the future.
Today the temperature was not that
great and there were many people which sure didn't make the air any
better. Well, luckily I survived the heat so I can now post about
what I saw. ;)
- Harald talked about Scientology and I was very impressed by how well done his presentation was. What I liked the most was that he talked about the background mostly. I have never heard of the person behind it all (L. Ron Hubbard) and that it all started with a book. I always thought it was just a way to make money. So I was very fascinated when I found out that Scientology has something to do with overcoming problems and finding individual truths. Another fact that impressed me was that Scientology is accepted as a religious organization in Austria.
- After that Tiana talked about Racial Segregation. She explained racial segregation through two movies named The Secret Life of Bees and The Help. I haven't seen either of these movies but she summarized the stories very briefly so is wasn't a problem. I was very shocked by the scene out of The Secret Life of Bees she showed us but I think that it is a very good movie. In case of The Help I must agree with the critics that it is a bit strange to use a white girl to change the world. If it is a movie about racism they could have made the hero of the story African.
- Then it was time for tornadoes. Anna told us a very exciting story about how she wanted to find out how people living in the tornado alley thought. The tornado alley is an area in the Unites States where tornadoes are most frequent and the State of Oklahoma lies in the middle of it. Even though this is the case there are may people who love living there and would never move. In the State of Oklahoma the problem is made even worse by the fact that the soil mostly consists of clay and therefore underground shelters are very difficult to construct. She came to the conclusion that these people just love Oklahoma, the Unites States and each other. They have a very strong sense of community and help each other.
- Painted America was Natascha's topic and she chose to present it through two paintings. The first one was Grant Wood's American Gothic. He got the idea for the painting on a trip on which he saw a dibble house or American Gothic House. He wanted people he admired to live in there so he painted his sister and his dentist in front of the house. Then Natascha showed us that this painting is used in the series “Desperate Housewives”. The second painting actually is a series of four paintings. They were painted by Norman Rockwell and represent the four freedoms: Freedom of speech, worship, from fear and want. Two of these were later included in the bill of rights and represent typical American values.
- The last of my USA-presentations was about Deaf Art in the U.S. And was presented by Sonja. As I study Austrian Sign Language this was a must in my schedule. Due to the lack of chairs I didn't have that good sight on the prezi but I still heard nearly everything she said. Logically, Deaf Art deals with the topic of oralism. Oralism forced deaf people to practice oral language instead of sign language.
So let's move to the Irish
presentations I watched.
- The first Irish presentation I watched also was about sign language. Lisa spoke about the history of Irish Sign Language. There was Old-ISL which was the sign language spoken earlier in Ireland. The Milan Congress was a very dramatic event in the history of Irish Sign Language because it forbade sign language and forced the deaf children to use oral language only. The best way of communication would be “Total Communication” which uses both, sign language and oral language.
- Next was a presentation about The Children of Lir. I didn't know what the legend but she explained that it is about a king and his four children. The mother dies while giving birth to the last child and soon there is a stepmother. At first everything is fine but soon the stepmother is jealous of the fathers love for the children and transforms them into swans. The children have to remain in the swan bodies until they hear the bells of a new god ringing. The king finds out and transforms her into a monster. This legend represents the English rule in Ireland and the Christianity.
- The last presentation today was about Kilmainham Gaol which was very interesting because I went to the presentation by chance and then found out that I have been in Kilmainham Gaol on a school trip to Dublin. It was very nice to have my memories freshened up a bit.
So these ten presentations are the ones
I watched. For my KGP I would like to be tested on:
- American High Schools
- Deaf Art
- Scientology
- Painted America
- Racial Segregation as depicted in two movies
