• Keep a list of all terms that stand out to you as you do the readings (text and links) about the Crusades.  You will also note how many times that word is mentioned. You will then create a word cloud.
• Link for word cloud: Word It Out
• Click Create at the top.
• Type or paste in your words from class. You should repeat the words as many times as you heard them (for instance, if you heard "Christian" five times, you will write the word "Christian" five separate times).
• When you are done, click Generate in the lower right-hand corner.
• You may then either manually change settings like font, etc., on the left-hand side OR click Regenerate in the upper left-hand corner until you like the look of your word cloud.
• Save a copy of your word cloud or take a screenshot of it.
• Upload it the image to this thread (click the plus sign below and then the up-pointing arrow on the box that shows up).

Reflection Post (especially identifying any questions relevant to Source Scavenger Hunt assignment) responding to Library Research Tutorials (YouTube videos to watch this week):

• “How to use FalconSearch for your research”

• ”Find scholarly articles using FalconSearch”

• “How to do an Advanced Search”

• “Using Google Scholar to Locate Cited Sources”

• “How to use interlibrary loan”

Reflect on each of the course learning outcomes listed below. Then write a paragraph for a potential cover letter for future job applications about what you gained from this course and what skills you are better able to do.

At the end of this course, successful students will be able to:

• identify and analyze the textual, historical, and cultural contexts of works of literature through literary analysis and critical evaluation;

• read works of literature closely and thoroughly;

• develop their insights effectively through oral and written communication, particularly via essay, images, and collaborative classroom site; and

• identify the steps of the research process and apply information literacy skills in a variety of contexts.

REMINDER: be sure to include your name with all posts to receive credit and allow others to respond.

OPTION: IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECORD A VIDEO OR AUDIO response instead of writing for these Activities assignments (with the exception of image Activities), go to the end of the column to which you are responding. Click the plus sign to create a new post.  Click the ellipsis  (...) next to the camera icon, and it will give you a list of options. You can, for instance, film a video, record your voice, or capture your screen.

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Subject: Written Languages

In aeons past, when the lands stretched on with lush valleys and sandy deserts, much was known among the cities that held humanity. Tales of heroes and monsters, legends of creation and nature and time, wisdom on animals and weather and oceans. Such knowledge was spread from mind to mind, across distances and time, by way of speech, of sound, of tongue. Such knowledge was fragile, and much was lost. As people faded into death, the wisdom once held in their minds vanished into aether. As time marched on, the stories once held changed again and again, until they became unrecognizable. And yet, humanity continued to march on, learning and forgetting and learning again. This was fascinating to many, to the monsters that lurked in the shadows, to the spirits that listened in the wind, and most of all to the gods that watched from realms beyond. But among the gods was once most curious. Syneillse had always found humanity fascinating, and in her many centuries in existence, the so-called Goddess of Words had found herself listening more and more. And as she listened, her mind grew, and she began to construct her own stories, to seek out her own wisdom. In a way, she began to act more and more like the mortals she valued. But she could never be like them. She could never share her stories, the knowledge she accumulated. Syneillse was born without mouth, without tongue, her face smooth and textureless beyond the many eyes concealed by her great bronze helm. She was forever doomed to learn and create, without ever having the chance to share, to inform. She was in agony, watching as she learned more and more, and as the wisdom of humans' past fell from the grasp of their descendents. But then, after years and years, she realized something among the endless stories and facts and sayings archived in her endless mind. If one could create a story, could one not create a way to remember a story? Words were her domain, but why did words need to be forged of sound and wind and life? Could she not form them from earth and blood and bone? So she began her work, listening to all the tongues of the world. She undid her helm and let her hair, long and pale and stiff as stone, flow down to sprawl across clouds and mountains and the expanses of realms beyond. Then, with her finger, she pierced her divine skin, drawing blood across the splintering fingers, and began to carve symbols into the hair. Lines and curves and dots became letters and then words. And as many moons passed by, she carved story after story. And as she crafted ways of remembrance, her written languages, her fellow gods took notice. They turned the light her way, and let the blood-stained markings shine down into the minds of the mortals. And the humans took the skin of the beasts and the leaves of the trees and the blood of the plants and fruits and carved that which they thought. And soon memories grew strong, permanent, carved into shapes immune to death, and Syneillse was finally able to embrace that which inspired her, and share her stories through the mortals below.

Long ago, after the creation of the earth, humans began inhabiting the lands along with other animals. These humans made farms, built homes and other structures, and reproduced until the earth’s land was full of humans spreading out and settling down all over the world. This made the gods very pleased. Soon after this period of time in history, the humans searched for a new adventure. They wanted more places to explore and so they built boats and took to the seas. This, again, was very enjoyable to watch to the gods who had created this whole world. At the sight of the humans taking their adventures into the oceans, the gods created new organisms for the humans to interact with. In the ocean, the humans found an unbelievable amount of new sea creatures to discover and study. There was only one thing missing. The humans had conquered the land and the sea but they had yet to take to the skies. To entice the humans to explore the skies, the gods created birds. As birds soared through the air so gracefully, they caught the eyes of the people below them. The humans soon learned to construct aircrafts and fly like the birds. This is the creation of birds.

When music was first created.

When the world was still young which was a long time ago, there was never any music. People would just speak to each other and go through their days just talking. There weren't any instruments or songs to sing. Celebrations were quiet, all you could hear is people talk as background noise. When people were sad, there was no sound to comfort them so the sadness would be heavier. There was a small boy named Nicholas who always wondered why the world was so sad. He always loved sitting down and hearing the wind move through the branches of the trees. One night, he asked the spirit of the wind to give people a sound that could express feelings words could not. The wind spirit then made sounds through the branches and vines. Nicholas then combined these items like the branches, vines, etc. and created an instrument where he could play any note he wanted to. This would calm him down when he felt sad and then others asked for him to play it when they felt down as well. Once more people started to catch onto this, more and more instruments were created and different sounds were played to create joy for people.

In times past, not long after the conception of humans, and the earth beneath them that they had inhabited, the gods were pleased with what they had created, populated world with inhabitants living their lives as they see fit. Though before long, the gods had become displeased with how these humans were living. While they were certainly alive in flesh in blood, the events of their lives had stagnated, going through the same motions everyday without much of a change in though or ambition. The gods thought long and hard of a solution to this problem, wondering how they could influence their creations in a way to do something new, without directly making them do so. In the gods thinking, they found an idea, the idea to allow humans to dream, to imagine possibilities they could reach if they tried hard enough. They granted this ability to all humans on the earth, all being able to witness these dreams by sleeping or their own imagination. In turn, this led to life out of stagnating, and wave of ambitious actions followed, pleasing the gods once more, seeing them truly living life with purpose.

 Deep within the universe, further than light could reach lived the creator of emotions,  Enia. She felt as if humans were missing a powerful connection, a bond so strong that they would respect and admire one another. So she created a new feeling, devotion. 

In the beginning, it started out as an exciting gift. People utilized it to show deep empathy for their loved ones and loyalty was established. Yet, one human became fascinated with the feeling. He met someone who made him happy but feared losing that bond. His devotion became intense, consuming his thoughts and feelings. Enia observed that the intense devotion became a shadow in that once- bright feeling, which she labeled obsession.

From that day on, humans carried that sense to become obsessed with others, experiencing joy in caring for them but wanting someone so completely that they lost themselves, which brought pain. One thing she left with humans was the message,  “ Love was created to unite souls, not imprison them.”