By Emma Dittmar Emma is a person. She writes things from time to time. Read more from her blog, A Grappler's Heart “The furious storm through me careering, I passionately trembling. The oath of the inseparableness of two together, of the woman that loves me and whom I love more than my life, that oath swearing…” – Walt Whitman “From Pent-Up Aching Rivers” There was a time when men and women like Walt Whitman-great poets, philosophers, social scientists-could praise and investigate passion, this ancient sensation of eros, and draw on the subject critical discussion and penetrating reflection from the masses. Our progression into a normalcy that expects the hiding of emotion and stunting of desire has sacrificed crucial considerations of this basic human emotion, even in the highest intellectual circles. Praise and open dialogue have ceded to humiliation, shyness, and whispers, if not silence. We have lost the ability to openly discuss and explore the passion and living eros within us, and so should go back to the earliest dialogues for a guide to reviving this practice. Two very different literary selections-The Song of Solomon from the Judaic religious tradition, and Symposium from the Greek philosophical tradition-offer powerful insights to the eros that permeates the human condition. The Song of Solomon and Symposium present diverse perspectives on the description of love itself as well as on the lovers who mutually experience eros, perspectives which revived my understanding of eros as a miracle of humanity prior to reading each selection, while offering challenging new perspectives on eros in terms of how love is presented, and celebrated.
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Ryan LancasterThe internet is a scary place. You don't know who to trust when it comes to information sometimes, especially when it involves history. Well weary traveler, look no further. Professor Lancaster has got you covered. After receiving my masters in American history, I wanted to put that rather expensive piece of paper to use and create a curriculum of my choosing to inform the unwashed masses of their history. Also, I want to be an internet celebrity. Archives
August 2018
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