Nbjohnson

Nicholas Johnson

Overview

The paragraph should give a three to five sentence abstract about your entire London HUA experience including 1) a summary of the aims of your project, 2) your prior experience with humanities and arts courses and disciplines, and 3) your major takeaways from the experience.

For my HUA requirement, I am doing my depth in History and my breadth in Art. Here in London two of my milestones will be History focusing on WW2 and one will be Art focusing on Architecture.

Milestone 1

Cathedral Architecture
Objective: Comparing the architectural styles of Cathedrals in England including Norman, Decorated Gothic, and Perpendicular Gothic

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Milestone 2

British WW2 Codebreaking
Objective: The British Codebreakers work to break Enigma during WWII, housed at Bletchley Park, including Alan Turing’s contribution, and the impact on the war from that accomplishment.

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Milestone 3

Impact of the RAF on WW2
Objective: The impact the RAF had on WWII, from the Battle of Britain to the Strategic Bombing of Germany and how they were able to accomplish it.

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Activity Journal

Day 1 Activity

This morning as a group we visited Westminster Abbey where we received a 2 hour tour around the site. We began in The Cloisters and then moved into the church where Gothic architecture was on full display. Many burials and memorial plates were visible all around the church with it feeling weird to step on them. Near the front of the Church the House of Bath banners where previous members were shown were a really neat thing. Seeing how many were previously in each House was really interesting. Also behind the alter was the memorial for pilots of the Battle of Britain which was a great commemorative touch. Henry VII's Chapel at the front of the church had some distinct signs of Perpendicular Gothic which is needed for one of my milestones. Unfortunately pictures were not allowed inside, but I managed to get a few from the outside that still illustrated the point.

In the afternoon we visited the Tower of London in small groups. Some distinct items we saw were the White Tower, Crown Jewels, and Glass Cushion. Inside the white tower the travel through medieval times of armor and weapons was really interesting to see how armor has evolved to become more protective and more practical. The intricate detail on the swords used by the monarchy was unbelievable and very beautiful. The Crown Jewels exhibit took my breath away in the amount of jewels on each item and the amount that were made. The Glass Cushion was a very peaceful environment, quite fitting actually. St. John's Chapel at the tower is a part of my milestone but pictures were not allowed which will make things more difficult.

Lastly, we visited The British Library where we attempted to get our library cards but needed specific books to get them, so we will be going back in the next few days.

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Day 2 Activity 1C

Today our group went to the The National Gallery. While there we saw many paintings throughout time. The amount of paintings and quality of them are astounding. Some notable artists that we saw were Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. Paintings spanned religion, landscapes, and portraits, but the majority were religious. There was not much that applied to my milestones, but the exhibits were still interesting to see and read the descriptions as there were some that were quite odd.

In the afternoon we joined up with our scavenger hunt group to work on getting pictures for the list. We ended up getting all but two of the items which we were quite happy with. Several of the items we found around Westminster Abbey while we waited for the Evensong service. The service was quite impressive, what they can do with their voice is absolutely amazing, also being inside such a beautiful building only added to the experience. Being only 45 minutes it was a short and sweet service that was thoroughly enjoyable.

Day 3 Activity 1B

Today our group visited the British Museum which is absolutely massive. With such a large footprint and multiple levels it took a very long time to make it through this one, but it was time well spent. The amount of history there, the amount of pieces that are there is astounding. Of all the exhibits, the currency and clock showcases were my favorite. Looking at how currency has changed throughout history, how counter fitting has changed. The clock showcase had all the different styles of timekeeping, even the ridiculous one that has a ball rolling around to keep time but didn't do it very accurately. Also being able to see the Rosetta Stone in person was really cool, another thing to check off the bucket list. There were some pieces that showed some architectural styles but nothing really directly applied to my milestones.

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Day 4 Activity 1A

Today our group visited the St. Paul's Cathedral. The cathedral is breathtaking, especially the paintings and mosaics. Unfortunately pictures were not allowed inside the Cathedral which was quite disappointing. The most interesting thing for me was the book that honored the US and Royal Air Forces during World War II which was located behind the main alter. The crypts below were quite creepy and it felt weird stepping on everyone's grave, but its not avoidable because of how many graves they put down there which is impressive.
This afternoon in addition to working on my milestone I also got my library card which was a painful but successful process. Some books are now on order but won't be in till Monday which is going to hinder my progress a little but I'll make do.

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Day 5 Activity 1D

Today our group went to the Natural History Museum. The size of the museum is not obvious from the outside, as it seems it is a decent size building with multiple levels. After going through it seemed like it never ended, it just kept going. There were many amazing exhibits inside including many hands on ones. As a kid this would have been the best thing to ever have happened as there are many kid friendly exhibits. For me the two coolest exhibits were the earthquake house, that really moved the entire setup house, and the animatronic T-Rex that they had set up that had many degrees of motion and a roar that really shook you. There were a few exhibits that I wasn't the biggest fan of, not because they weren't good but just because I'm not into insects and fish. Other group members were loving it but that part dragged on for me. There wasn't anything at this museum for my milestones but in the afternoon I worked on my milestones at the library doing research but unfortunately some of my books won't be ready until Monday.

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Day 6 Activity 2C

Today our group went to the Victoria and Albert Museum. Once again the size of the museum is just mind boggling. There was so much to see and with all the different sections in different parts of the museum I don't know if I saw everything. The wide range of items was an interesting thing, furniture was there, ceramics, sculptures, and many other things. The most interesting thing for me that I saw was the quick pickup collection. This collection is a unique one in that it includes movement style items, such as protest items and influential game changer items, and most are very current. The item the peaked my interest was the 3-D printed gun in the collection. It makes sense considering it was a game changer in terms of security, as the only metal part is the firing pin. Since the designs for it were put online anyone could access it which is a cool thing knowing its possible but also scary in that it has some very bad uses. The museum did not have anything related to any of my milestones but I went to the library in the afternoon to get some good sources of information to continue working on my current milestone.

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Day 7 Activity 2D

Today our group went to the Tate Modern. The building had an interesting design in that it had two halves separated by a large open central area. There were a few exhibits that required tickets which we didn't buy but there was still plenty to see. The layout of some of the rooms didn't make much sense and could lead you to a dead end a require you to double back but that just means more exercise. There were plenty of cool pieces and there were some why is this art pieces. One of those pieces was a white canvas with white paint so it was very boring. The more interesting pieces were the optical illusions, of which there were several. The most odd exhibit for me was the room of sacks, it was one of the largest rooms but only had this one exhibit and it made no sense. Modern art has some cool things, but most of it makes no sense as some could be done by a four year old. The tenth floor had a wrap around balcony which allowed for some great shot of London, including The Shard. Also visible was a pedestrian bridge spanning the Thames. Nothing here pertained to my milestones so I will not be revisiting it in the future.

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  Panorama from Tate Modern