User:Bjsecino

Benjamin Secino

Benjamin Secino

Overview

This project explores London through the literary and physical arts. England and London are both known the world over as major contributors to both ballroom dance and literature. In order to better understand these contributions, this project will consist of in-depth, experience-based research into the lives of English authors and the Standard and Latin styles of ballroom dance. Prior to embarking on this project, Benjamin Secino spent one year taking lessons in both the English "International" styles of ballroom dance, as well as the "American" styles. He has also taken extensive Humanities and Arts courses in English Literature.

Milestone 1

English Ballroom Dance
Objective: This milestone will explore modern English Ballroom Dance styles and techniques, focusing on dances within the Standard and Latin categories.

Below the objective statement, Insert a one or two paragraph summary of your findings from having reached this milestone. Edit the link below to link to your milestone page.
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Milestone 2

Creative Writing in London
Objective: This milestone will be comprised of an extended creative writing project, creating a first-hand experience of being a writer in London.

Below the objective statement, Insert a one or two paragraph summary of your findings from having reached this milestone. Edit the link below to link to your milestone page.
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Milestone 3

The Lives of English Authors
Objective: What were the lives of famous English authors and poets like? This milestone will seek answer this question this through tours of authors' houses and visits to writers' museums.

Below the objective statement, Insert a one or two paragraph summary of your findings from having reached this milestone. If this milestone, for you, represents a humanities and arts capstone, please indicate so. Edit the link below to link to your milestone page.
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Activity Journal

The activity journal represents an ongoing log of reflections gained through each and every project activity on the calendar.

5-8-2017

Today's activities: Westminster Abbey, Tower of London, The British Library.

Today, we started the morning with a guided tour of Westminster Abbey. The most striking feature of this cathedral for me was the sheer volume of history stored here. Unfortunately, personal photography was restricted to the Cloisters and the Chapter House, so I'm unable to illustrate here the density of the memorials on view. However, if you imagine how a cathedral would look if memorials and tombs had been continuously added to its walls and corridors for over 900 years, you may arrive at a reasonable mental image. The vast number of memorials impressed me more than any of the other striking features of the cathedral, including the towering vaults, the intricate ornamentation, or the exquisite glasswork. As an American, I come from a country that is relatively young, and has not yet developed a labyrinthine history stretching back millennia. Seeing such a history on display was a mind-opening experience.

From Westminster Abbey, I headed with a smaller group to the Tower of London, which I explored with a handful of other students. Because this tour was self-guided, I had the opportunity to pause frequently, enjoying the smaller details and less obvious spaces. In particular, I appreciated spending some time around the less prestigious Crown Jewels. Photography was not allowed in this area, but the collection of Crown Jewels ranged from the Coronation Crowns of historic monarchs to golden spoons for banquets. It was the smaller items, the spoons and the plates, that made me appreciate the wealth and power of the historic British monarchy. A few jewel-encrusted crowns, while unimaginably finely crated and valuable, are no harder to procure than a banquet hall-full of golden plates, bowls, chalices, and cutlery. The purpose of these pieces was to show in the most visible way possible the strength of the British Crown. Judging only by the impression they've made on me, the artists behind their construction hit their mark precisely.

As a final stop, I went with a few other students to The British Library. Here, I learned that library in Europe operate differently than those in the United States. There are not books available for public browsing, any requested books need to be for a specific research purpose, and there are far fewer public seating areas than in any libraries found in America. On my walk through the library, the only books I saw were part of The King's Library. As the name might suggest, The King's Library is not public-access. Even though I couldn't read them, they made the most beautiful book display I've ever seen!

5-9-2017

Today's Activity: St. Paul's Cathedral

While visiting St. Paul's Cathedral, I was struck primarily by how breathtakingly big it was. Not just in terms of physical size, but also in terms of the emotional impact the Cathedral makes on anyone entering it for the first time. In this way, St. Paul's is symbolic of my time in London so far. London is large, historic, and breathtaking. Previously, whenever I attended monuments or so-called "historic" locations in the U.S., I was never awed in the same way that I have been here. In the U.S., all the history is "new," and lacks the magical allure of thousand-year-old spaces.

I feel as though a large part of English culture must be fueled by a societal awareness of history. After all, native Londoners need only to walk a few blocks to pass by monumental records of their city's past. This temporal awareness must play into how the English view themselves, their place in history, and the present state of the world. In America, it sometimes feels as though the world is, was, and will always be the same. This leads to a dangerous mindset that ignores current changes and avoids preservation (after all, if things will always stay the same no matter what, why would we bother with sustainability?). Because one of my milestones deals with how living in London affected the work of English authors, a better understanding of St. Paul's Cathedral and the symbolism around it gives me valuable insight into how the English might perceive the world.

5-10-2017

Today's Activity: Natural History Museum

I have always adored science museums. Call me a nerd, but I find the endless variations and twists on science and discovery to be fascinating. I love walking through an exhibit, seeing all the minute detail and deep knowledge, and realizing that this same level of exacting study exists also in the next exhibit, the one after that, and all that follow. This reassuring sense of depth and completion is especially vibrant in a museum dedicated to natural history. Nowhere else on Earth will there ever be so many finely noted details as in a museum focused on studying the Earth itself. It seems fitting that one of the leading natural history museums in the world would be located in London. As I've noted previously, London seems to nearly drip in its own history and culture. A museum dedicated to the study and appreciation of the natural world is completely at home here. As I was walking through the Museum's exhibits, I was fascinated by the sense of a complete story I was developing. Each exhibit was separate and isolated, removed from the other exhibits just as its specimens were separated from their native homes. But when the entire museum is viewed in a single morning, it gives a sense of elaborate storytelling, in which the main character, visible in every scene, is the beauty and diversity of Earth. Any writer would be proud to write a story even a one hundredth as complex as the one on display here. As one of my milestones focuses on how the settings of London influenced Shakespeare's writing and another looks at the process of writing in historic London spaces, seeing firsthand how rich and complex the real world is gives me insight into how great writers might try to build their own worlds into spaces just as fascinating.

Activity #1 Name

Add a paragraph about this experience noting the ways in which it related to one or more of your milestone aims. Did this experience directly relate to your milestones, or was the relation more indirect? In what ways did this experience cause you to think differently about your milestone aims? What were some of your other takeaways from the experience? For each site-specific term that you enter, check to see if there is a page in this wiki that exists and link to it. For example, if your reflection mentions William Shakespeare, check to see if William Shakespeare exists on this site. If an article page does exist, 1) link to it here, and 2) edit the page with a section or just a few sentences to ensure that the content on that page relates to this activity journal entry. For example, if while writing your activity journal reflection about your trip to Westminster Abbey, you recall seeing the headstone of William Shakespeare, note it in your reflection, and then edit the William Shakespeare with, at least, a sentence or two in an appropriate section about having a memorial site in Westminster Abbey. While your at it, edit the entry for Westminster Abbey with the relevant information. Did you take some interesting pictures or videos at those sites? Add those to the relevant pages. If an article page does not exist, create the page for the missing topic (link from main menu) and add some general information. For each activity scheduled on our calendar, you should 1) create an Active Journal Entry here, and 2) add/edit at least three related articles. The tone of this article can be personal, but still quality professional writing; the tone of article pages that you edit should be objective professional writing.
Think of this process as building a platform or a case that will help you make particular claims and conclusions through your project milestones.

Activity #2 Name

A paragraph for your personal reflection for another activity on our calendar goes here, just it was outlined in the previous example. Repeat this same process for the remaining activities. Whenever there's an activity on the calendar, complete an activity journal reflection.

My Complete Contributions

The journal section should end with the following link to your complete contributions (new articles, edited articles, added media, etc.); delete this sentence and replace the username Vjmanzo below with your own username: