Interconnectivity
Something has been amazing and perplexing me lately; something rather unexpected.
I’m taking five classes: The History of Modern China and the West, The History of the World Since 1900, An Introduction to International Relations, Political Theory and English.
Some of these classes are certainly related, but some, at first glance, seem to have no commonalities. At least that is what I thought.
I was wrong.
In English we are studying Antony and Cleopatra, and in that play I see the divisions of East and West we have talked about in Chinese History class. I see the effects of globalization, as explained in IR class. I notice the ravages of war, not all that dissimilar to those explored in 20th C. History class.
In Chinese History class I make comparisons between the bureaucracy of the Qing dynasty and that of Plato’s Kallipolis. I see the effects of globalization on both China and the West. I notice similarities between the elite Confucian scholars and the elite Romans described by Shakespeare.
I could go on and on and on, but I won’t bore you. My point is this: Terry is all about interconnectivity—the interconnectivity of Science and the Arts—and how much more we would be able to accomplish if we noticed and capitalized on these relations. All these connections between my classes make me wonder how many I’ve missed in the past. It makes me wonder how much we are missing everyday, and how much better off we would be if, instead of dividing everything into its proper subject—History, Biology, Conservation and the like—we could somehow study it as a conglomerate whole. Because after all that’s how it is in the world. The study of life merges with the history of life and the preservation of life. How much more would we learn and achieve if we didn’t put everything in boxes for our own convenience?
My name is Genevieve, I am a second year Arts student, a fan of the Terry project, a brand new Terry blogger and so many other things. I am fascinated by the lives of leaders, the history of disease, the color pink, ballet and opera, the story behind literature, obscure countries, random trivia and politics. And now I have a platform from which to force all of these things on you.
Excellent.
