Before delving into Thomas Gray’s elegy, I was initially intimidated by the complicated language and shortened words, such as “wand’ring near her secret bow’r” (Gray 1). These words aren’t as prevalent in modern poetry and initially stumped my reading. Poetry has always been a kryptonite, a weakness for me, as much of the text is… Continue reading Nicholas Cai – The Elegiac
Posts
Rania- Taste
David Hume’s essay on The Standard of Taste explores the natural of beauty, artistic judgment, and the subjective and objective dimensions of taste. He begins by acknowledging the diversity of human’s taste, what one person might find beautiful, another find it repulsive. He recognizes that different individuals, cultures, and eras have varied preferences when it… Continue reading Rania- Taste
Yasmine: Sentiment & Taste
David Hume’s Of the Standard of Taste can be compared to modern debates about personal preference—while individual opinions vary, some artistic and cultural works achieve lasting recognition. He acknowledges that taste is subjective—what one person considers high fashion, another might see as outdated or excessive. However, Hume also argues that certain artistic qualities endure over… Continue reading Yasmine: Sentiment & Taste
Rebecca Sentiment and Taste
Something that I found interesting in this text is how taste is examined in regards to how it relates to culture and art under a philosophical lens. In particular, it analyses how our overall perception is affected. Taste can vary, including as a result of culture, making it subjective. Further, taste can also change when… Continue reading Rebecca Sentiment and Taste
Erin Lee – Sentiment & Taste
Both “Taste” and “Of the Standard of Taste” mention the subjection of taste, and how it is unique towards every individual; they reflect upon taste in two different manners. “Taste” by Levine and Newman mentions taste in the context of culture, gender, and race. They bring up the past points of culture, repeatedly bringing up… Continue reading Erin Lee – Sentiment & Taste
Taste – Donovan James
What I found interesting while reading Of the Standard Taste was how he has variations to define what it means to have a taste. Taste isn’t really what people would say to talk about what he is referring to. This feels like it’s showing how the word isn’t exactly dying out of normal English usage… Continue reading Taste – Donovan James
Nicholas Cai – Taste
After reading David Hume’s “Of the Standard of Taste”, I immediately noticed a connection with Adam Smith’s “The Theory of Moral Sentiments” in regards to initial judgement before inviting sympathy. Smith writes that if a sufferer’s sentiments and feelings “coincide and tally with our own, we necessarily approve of them as proportioned and suitable to… Continue reading Nicholas Cai – Taste
sophia late post
This text talks about how people in Europe, especially in the 1800s, thought about and talked about the East, or the “Orient.” It uses the example of a famous writer, Flaubert, who met an Egyptian woman named Kuchuk Hanem. Flaubert was rich, male, and from Europe, and because of that, he had power over her.… Continue reading sophia late post
Rebecca Orientalism
Something valuable in this text is the complex analysis and contextualization it offers while maintaining tone, theme, etc. Orientalism is a multifaceted concept, and Said’s approach is straightforward and thought-provoking, utilizing several comparisons from throughout history to develop his argument. Said mostly discusses Asian cultures in this regard, but still emphasizes overall the effects of… Continue reading Rebecca Orientalism
Ness Alexandre: Orientalism Post
This essay was super insightful in emphasizing the way Orientalism operates in the US sphere. The concept in general is already meant to isolate Asian academics (literature, philosophy, history,etc) and identity from the West and its global expansion which is constantly done through the use of academic ridicule by European scholars. I guess I was… Continue reading Ness Alexandre: Orientalism Post
