Writing And Power
Writing and Power: Defining the World Views
When humans write creation stories they are attempting to explain things that aren 't understandable. They want to fill gaps in knowledge that can’t be rationally answered. In chapter two, it states that "a peoples written accounts of creation were never merely interpretations of the origins of the universe, the world, and human beings". Written not necessarily to inform the reader of the means of physical creation, but to teach morals, bring people together, or obtain power (in some cases). Throughout every excerpt there were two consistent themes; floods and female creators. Floods seem to be like the rock of Gibraltar (sat in stone) within most of the creation stories (such as Atra-hasis, the Genesis, and The Book of the People). They imply cleansing from errors or chaos that weren 't favorable with the god(s)/creator(s) and also the need for a fresh start. Next, females although, not seen as a god, in the various excerpts they hold a significant place as seen in chapter two "Formerly we used to call you mami, now let your name be mistress-of-all-the-gods" In almost every excerpt a female played the role of the creator of mankind but they were also highly respected as well. Nonetheless, there is a basic similarity between most creation stories. Each excerpt serves the same root purpose. The stories give people a purpose of living, enrich the culture, and responsibility. They also inform the readers of morals, bring people together, and in some cases gain power over the citizens. All in all, in general it’s remarkable the similarities the excerpts hold. How writing advance these civilizations which included water rights, real estate titles, merchant contracts, and bills of sale. It seems that power drove these civilizations a lot but also that distance didn 't take much of a toll on communication.
Bibliography
Wiesner, Merry E.. Discovering the global past a look at the evidence. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
When humans write creation stories they are attempting to explain things that aren 't understandable. They want to fill gaps in knowledge that can’t be rationally answered. In chapter two, it states that "a peoples written accounts of creation were never merely interpretations of the origins of the universe, the world, and human beings". Written not necessarily to inform the reader of the means of physical creation, but to teach morals, bring people together, or obtain power (in some cases). Throughout every excerpt there were two consistent themes; floods and female creators. Floods seem to be like the rock of Gibraltar (sat in stone) within most of the creation stories (such as Atra-hasis, the Genesis, and The Book of the People). They imply cleansing from errors or chaos that weren 't favorable with the god(s)/creator(s) and also the need for a fresh start. Next, females although, not seen as a god, in the various excerpts they hold a significant place as seen in chapter two "Formerly we used to call you mami, now let your name be mistress-of-all-the-gods" In almost every excerpt a female played the role of the creator of mankind but they were also highly respected as well. Nonetheless, there is a basic similarity between most creation stories. Each excerpt serves the same root purpose. The stories give people a purpose of living, enrich the culture, and responsibility. They also inform the readers of morals, bring people together, and in some cases gain power over the citizens. All in all, in general it’s remarkable the similarities the excerpts hold. How writing advance these civilizations which included water rights, real estate titles, merchant contracts, and bills of sale. It seems that power drove these civilizations a lot but also that distance didn 't take much of a toll on communication.
Bibliography
Wiesner, Merry E.. Discovering the global past a look at the evidence. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
Bibliography: Wiesner, Merry E.. Discovering the global past a look at the evidence. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5iB-LP1Tlc