cslowik-blog1

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Issuu submission

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Zine gif

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Make-up section meeting

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2 draft pages for zine

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Notebook 4, Owen Vega, Feedack

Summarize:

Amazing Grace: A Spiritual Anthem, is a zine that talks about the anthem “Amazing Grace” and its connections to the black race in the United States. It explains the intersectional analysis of religion and Afro-Americans during the days of slavery as well its relation with class and whiteness. The zine also explains the historical roots of this anthem and how the roots itself delves into the intersectional relation between race, religion, and class, as well as the national binds of whiteness and slavery.

Compelling quotes:

“If these illiterate, lower class citizens of this English town of Olney could become followers of the Church of England, then they could become whiter like those of the upper class whose primary denomination was Anglican. This idea of religion conferring whiteness remained a part of “Amazing Grace” after it spread to the New World with black slaves becoming “civilized” by being taught religion and hymns”.

This is important because it shows the relation of this religious anthem with the national binds of slavery and whiteness. It is interesting to see the differences of representation of this anthem from now to then.

It would be interesting if you placed this quote in a way such as the old-time music pages, (like the one you use on page 2 after your cover) but edited in a way to show this quote. In my opinion, it would look interesting and it would contrast the relations. 

Compelling anecdotes, stories, facts and context:

The historical context of this anthem is really interesting when mentioning John Newton and his relation to slavery. The historical context would fit well in the zine, maybe just summarize more. When talking historical context, it would fit well in its own section of the zine. The first 3 paragraphs of Notebook 2 seem to show the context really well, although maybe summarizing it a little more would help. 

Compelling images:

[Note: Sorry, I don't know how to posts photos from my computer here, so I have no other choice to be descriptive]

As I said before, using the old-aged music page combined/edited with text could work.

I really like your cover page. The top half shows the old context of the anthem while the bottom half shows the contemporary uses of the anthem. I really like the contrast of the font with the background images as well as how it kind of hides the division of each image.

However, some small problems I have with it and think by addressing would improve the cover would be for example: the blue “Brunswick” is rather unclear on what it is unless it is going to explained and used later in the zine. It also a significant lower resolution to the other pages as well for its circular shape that does not fit with the rest of the images. Also, editing some of the images in a way to hide the divisions from one image to another would make it look stylish. You could potentially add more text, for example your name. I am also a little unsure on what the middle house means. If you want, you could replace it with another modern photo related to the anthem much like the ones in the bottom.

Reword Analysis:

The relational analysis in Notebook 3 works well because it has an intersectional analysis within it showing the intersection of Christianity, Blackness and Whiteness. It also shows the relation with national binds.

You could explain a little bit better what Whiteness means as race or as a system. If you follow my idea of explaining the historical background of the anthem in another section, “can even be traced back to the idea of anti-blackness with the writer of the song, John Newton, who was originally a slave trader” should be reworded. 

A way to reword the first section could for example be:

The history of this song is deeply intertwined with the history of African-Americans, and can be traced back to the idea of anti-blackness in the days of slavery. This can be said, since the writer of the song, John Newton, as previously stated was a slave trader. There is also a relation with religion since this song was originally composed for a hymn book for a small English town where Anglican idealization granted the meaning of whiteness to someone. In this town, illiterates, in order to become white, had to become followers of the Church of England. This can also help to see a relation to class as this illiterate citizen were predominately in the lower class and wanted to become white as the upper class. This idea of religion conferring whiteness remained a part of “Amazing Grace” after it spread to the New World with black slaves becoming “civilized” by being taught religion and hymns.

From what I understand, you are explaining whiteness as a context of being religious. It could be good if you explain that fact with more detail either here or in another section since it has to do with the context of the anthem itself. 

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Zine cover

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Zine Pahe

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Notebook 3: Relational Analysis

Chris Slowik

ETHN 2

Section: 4:00-4:50

TA: David Sanchez-Aguilera

Notebook 3

           The song “Amazing Grace” often ties into a standard of religion. While it has been appropriated for use in Hindu chants of the Hare Krishna movement, the lyrics,

           “The Lord has promised good to me,

           His word my hope secures.

           He will my shield and portion be,

           as long as life endures.”

           “We've no less days to sing God's praise”

demonstrate this religious exclusion to generally Christian denominations. For this reason, the “unthought of” for this object are those of different religious beliefs and, to an extent, non-Americans.

           As for relational analysis, the history of the song is deeply intertwined to the history of African-Americans and can even be traced back to the idea of anti-blackness with the writer of the song, John Newton, who was originally a slave trader. The song was originally composed for a hymn book for a small English town where an idea of Whiteness can be connected. The illiterate citizens of the town were essentially evangelized to an Anglican ideation which, at the time, conferred an implication of whiteness. If these illiterate, lower class citizens of this English town of Olney could become followers of the Church of England, then they could become whiter like those of the upper class whose primary denomination was Anglican. This idea of religion conferring whiteness remained a part of “Amazing Grace” after it spread to the New World with black slaves becoming “civilized” by being taught religion and hymns. After 1789, religion in black America grew as the Church of England actively made an effort to teach slaves about Christianity and how to read the Bible. An additional relation can be made between African-American groups in Christian subsets. Moving into the 19th century, black Christian denominations sprung up such as Methodist Episcopalians and Baptists. In both denominations, gospel singing within the choir became a strong commonality. Some of the first recordings of “Amazing Grace” are from choir groups of these denominations. Today, the song has become emblematic of the African American spiritual genre of music sometimes referred to as the music of the African diaspora. Despite this diaspora, this scattering, these different subsets of Christianity with their own beliefs, gospel music hailing from African-American spiritual, stands as a strong relation between these separate black groups and presents a linkage in the African diaspora in America.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_music

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Black_America

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritual_(music)

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Notebook 2: Amazing Grace

Chris Slowik

ETHN 2

Notebook 2

Object: “Amazing Grace”

Themes: Immigration and Citizenship, Circulations of Blackness

National Binds: Colonialism, Citizenship

           The song “Amazing Grace” originated in 1779 and was published by the English poet John Newton. Newton was an Anglican (of the Church of England) clergyman who was originally a seafarer involved in both the Navy–involuntarily–and later, African slave trade. However, in 1748, miraculously surviving a violent storm led him to a more spiritual ideology and eventually led to the production of the song. In the wake of American colonialism and the then present Second Great Awakening, the song became a staple in the United States during the early 19th century.

           The song originally debuted in a book called the Olney Hymns which contained various spiritual songs alongside “Amazing Grace”. This print received this name because the print was produced in the village Newton preached to, Olney. With the rising popularity of hymn singing, the hymn book spread around England and eventually to America. While a specific location and date of this transnational migration is difficult to pinpoint, it is known that by 1836, multiple editions of Olney Hymns were being printed in America.

           While the song was originally produced for the Church of England, it has become intertwined with Christianity in the United States. Most notably, with the popularization of the song, it became deeply intertwined with African-American culture and spirituality within the gospel standard.  Prior to the advent of audio recording, this primarily gospel-linked, hymnal song demonstrated the intersectionality of citizenship, race, and religion. As the song rose in popularity and began being listened to by secular audiences in America, an intersection of citizenship and race became present with the song being used as a form of nationalism and pride. On the other hand, African-American gospel communities tied down the intersection of religion and race.

           From the early 20th century and on, “Amazing Grace” has boomed in popularity with the boon of audio recording. It has even been described as America’s “spiritual national anthem”. With increasing globalization, the song has even been incorporated into Hare Krishna chants by the vocalist Krishna Das. Another, more obscure, transnationalism is found in the first recording of the song in 1922 by the Sacred Harp Choir. The song was recorded by Okeh Records founded by Otto Heinemann, a German-born immigrant.

           A most notable example of the popularity that “Amazing Grace” has achieved, is that President Barack Obama sang the hymn at the funeral of Clementa Pinckney, a victim of the 2015 Charleston church shooting.

 Sources:

http://www.jesusjazzbuddhism.org/hare-krishna-and-amazing-grace-krishna-das-and-process-theology.html

http://www.biography.com/news/amazing-grace-story-john-newton

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Amazing_grace2.ogg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okeh_Records

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/newton/olneyhymns.toc.html

http://www.anointedlinks.com/amazing_grace.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN05jVNBs64

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazing_Grace

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Notebook 1

Kula ring is a ceremonial exchange system practiced in the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. The system spans 18 island communities of the Massim archipelago and thousands of individuals participate. The general system is that red shell-disc necklaces called bagi are traded to the north creating half a ring in a clockwise direction and white shell armbands called mwali are traded south in a counterclockwise direction. When one is traded a necklace, they must give an armband in return and vice versa. Participants travel hundreds of miles on canoes to trade these valuables. These gifts are used to heighten one’s social status in a way where giving is a display of greatness of the giver. Once this Kula relationship has been established between the exchange parties, it incurs a set of strong mutual obligations such as protection and hospitality. Additionally, recipients don’t hold on to the gift for long, rather they are passed on to other partners within a certain amount of time, causing this “ring” circulation. Important chiefs can have hundreds of partners with whom they receive and give gifts to. For one to participate, they must work their way up through spheres of exchange. The development of these gift giving relationships was important for friendly relationships between islands, exchange of other useful items, and reinforcement of status. Gift givers within a Kula relationship are always higher in status than those receiving the gifts. The exchange system can be seen as a way for one’s own status and authority to be reinforced. In 1980, it was observed that within the Muyuw community, over 50% of Kula valuables were held by just three men and that over 90% of the valuables were held by the ten most influential men. Many individuals stated that the only way to get ahead in the exchange was to lie. It was noted that Kula exchange does include various feuds over both real and imaginary grievances. Rather recently in 2010, a writer for BBC observed and documented a Kula exchange. He noted that the practice has been on the decline for a while now, but some individuals still make the venture over turbulent seas. The system has changed since the observations of 20th century anthropologists, the general practice of exchange necklaces for armbands is still ever present. Unfortunately, the Kula ring has appeared to become more of a tourist attraction now in the 21st century and the same social implications incurred by such an exchange may be less potent than before. There is certainly a strong distinction between gift giving and market exchange each with their own underlying values and systems. Anthropologists put a strong emphasis on the fact that this gift-giving was built on the idea of reciprocity and not for altruistic motives. There was always the expectation for receiving a gift of equal or greater value than what was given.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kula_ring

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3Q4RS42nDKWr8Wkz5VYBlSf/kula-ring-blog

http://what-when-how.com/social-and-cultural-anthropology/kula-anthropology/

https://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/anthropology/courses/122/module5/kula_ring.html