Andi Paradis Fall 2012 Dr. R.

King Civilizations 101 Final Assignment

The Social Metabolic Reproduction of My Experience in Civilizations 101

Please hear me out. I am beyond excited about this paper and its contents in its entirety. I really hope you give it a chance and see just how much I have (I think) learned. A week ago I finished an arguably solid, well thought out and structured, six page paper on the Social Metabolic Reproduction and the Structurally Necessary Features of the Illuminati. I was proofreading it three days ago and I thought to myself, this has got to be the most boring, textbook paper you have ever written, and you know what? It was. It was boring. It was boring because I dont give two shits about the Illuminati. Sure, the documentaries are fun to watch because who doesnt love a good conspiracy? Who doesnt like to kill time hearing about the Denver International Airports runways being shaped like a giant swastika, and that somehow Kanye West and Queen Elizabeth are connected via the secret society? Thats all fine and dandy- interesting to learn about quickly- but it doesnt pertain to my life or cares in the slightest, yielding one very bad paper, which lets face it- you dont want to read, and I certainly dont want to write. If youve taught us anything from the beginning of the class, Dr. King, its to come at things thinking differently. Question authority sounds a little too Rage Against The Machine with a hint of teenage angst, but you have definitely taught me that

perhaps I dont understand the things I think I know, and that I should try and learn things in a different manner. I came into this assignment thinking I knew. Easy. Simple. Write a 5-8 page paper on something, anything, using the thought processes and topics weve utilised over the past 10 weeks, and I did just that. It was horrible. So, I highlighted all six pages, and hit delete. I came at this assignment thinking differently. I dont want to do a paper on something that no one really cares about. How about I utilise the things I have learned from you in a way that expresses that best, meaning in a personal way, meaning how this class and its lessons have affected me and my life. I came into this class not knowing what the hell to expect. I was pretty pumped about it because it was the only class I didnt have to buy a book for, and that automatically put it in the number one spot. From day one, when expressing the expectations and lightly touching down on the topics of the class, I was still a little confused. I honestly dont think I really understood the exact point of this class until about two weeks ago, but I think thats why I have enjoyed the class so much- whether I seem to be or not- I really do. The fact that I was put into a classroom that it was encouraged- to jump start our thought processes- that we think of how educational institutions resemble and compare to prisons and correctional facilities, was both mind boggling and mind awakening. This wouldnt be a Civilizations paper without discussing some Structurally Necessary Features. I have thought about some socially useful inputs and outputs that result in the evolution and the success of this class for a little while now, and I think I have some great ones. The first input is you, Dr. King. Your way of thinking and your drive and energy to spread that way of thinking. Its not in a pushy way, its in an

encouraging way. The useful output that we get from that- with any luck- is adopting that way of thinking. Perhaps not everyone will agree with it, but everyone thinks about it, and everyone at least gives it a try. Im not throwing this in here for brownie points, because I think we are very far beyond that point. Im throwing this in there because I sincerely and absolutely believe that if any other professor was teaching this class, it simply would not be this class. I have never listening to someone speak for as long as I have listened to you speak, and at the end of your thoughts, thought to myself both, what in the F is he talking about, and that was the most interesting thing I have ever heard, at the same time. Though I/we, (assuming I cannot be the only one who feels this way, yet also speaking only for myself,) may not understand in full every single thought you are trying to express- especially at such a fast rate- I try. I try so damn hard. I want to know. I want to learn. I want to be able to talk to my nine year old sister about thinking historically, and about Capitol, and letting her know one day that everything she is learning in Elementary to Middle to High School isnt the most important things to know/learn. Without you, specifically, teaching this class, we would all probably have memorized dates all semester. Memorized dates, names, places, wars. Instead, we adapted a new way of looking at not only history, but life, and everything ours entails. Though confusing and hard as shit to follow you at times, your thought process is probably the most important input. Another socially useful input that is structurally necessary to the reproduction of Civilizations 101 is those handful of kids that participate. No, I havent really been one of them at all this semester, but not because I dont care or because Im uninterested, but

that is not relevant to the topic. Those handful of kids that do participate, and either challenge you or challenge the rest of us, are an extremely crucial part to the success of this class. Without the ones who participate, how would all of the questions or concerns from the ones who dont participate get addressed? Were all thinking the same thing. What the hell does this all mean, and without the ones who actually raise their hand and shout out What the hell does this all mean, wed all be screwed. Though everyone obviously doesnt agree or have the same opinion or previous background knowledge on whatever topic were discussing, everyone is relatively on the same page when asked to think about it from a historical-thinking standpoint. Another example of an input that is necessary for the success and reproduction of the success of this class, is the lack of quote-unquote structure. No book. A syllabus, but no homework. Lessons, but no quizzes. Lectures, but no tests. In no way, shape, or form, am I insinuating that this made the class any easier than any of my other classes that do exactly what the syllabus said we were going to do, that read specific pages of the textbook, and that handed out surprise quizzes every week. I am actually saying that the lack of structure made the class more challenging, but at the same time, better. Much better. Its not the instinct of humans to react well to being told what to do. Were an independent species. Whether you believe were a product of the stars and gas and molecules, or a product of God and a single rib, or a product of slowly evolving Apes, we are born into a free World, an independent World, a World which teaches us we are humans and human beings arent owned. For the past 236, almost 237 years, we have been Free. We are tossed into schools, into classrooms, and we are told that we must

learn this, this, and this, or we will never make it to college, never obtain a degree, never get that job, never have that salary, never live the American Dream. This class pushes the belief we have in ourselves. Without that structure, we are solely responsible for soaking up as much information from you as we possibly can. We are responsible for thinking about everything you say. We are responsible, and that can be a new and scary thing for some students. Thrive or dive. Sink or swim. Learn or dont, were only cheating ourselves if we choose not to. I firmly believe that if this class, with your unique way of historical thinking, and lack of structure, is the reason why we are able to take in your encouragement towards us and for us to if not adapt- but at least try historical thinking and questioning certain things- on for size. In terms of Social Metabolic Reproduction, and the success and continuation of this class as a figure of Society, my own personal SMR and our mutual success could be the exact same reason why this class could possibly self destruct and fail miserably- the fact that we as your students, simply do not know. Weve never been trained, taught, or even presented with this way of thinking, and we- at least I- took a little time to get used to it, but I learned to love it, and I learned to carry it with me to every single one of my classes. For my Ecopsychology final, I used the idea of Structurally Necessary Features to highlight the importance of sustainable logging in the World. I believe that the fact that we come in here with blank slates. 20, 25 blank slates, waiting and willing for you to inscribe something new- anything new on us. We are so used to the classic classroom and system of education- teachers teaching, and students learning, that when presented with a new way of thinking, a new way of being taught, an opportunity to learn things a

new way, we dont know how, but we are willing to try. More than you may know we are. Id now really like to compare our Tuesday and Thursday, 11:30am-12:45pm, Civilizations 101 class to each system of Society we have learned about thus far. August 20, first day of classes. Civ 101 with Dr. King was in the Hunter and Gatherer stage. We thought we knew our roles. You were the teacher, we were the students. It was simple. Just as the Women gathered and the Men hunted, and they all followed the animal migrations and they all got along and they all survived, we all listened while you spoke and we followed your direction and we all got along and we all survived. Then, a few weeks went by. The class slowly turned into the Agricultural society. We started to stop following, and start settling. It was no longer a mass group of people following the migrational animals. We were now starting to congregate together and found a new way of surviving. Agriculturalists domesticated the animals, we domesticated your thought process. We put a fence around it, and we raised it and it fed us. By harvesting your now-domesticated thought process, we were able to keep reproducing. Just as the Agriculturalists kept reproducing in population, we were reproducing our own personal thoughts and ideas, and we were able to grow. Grow and multiply. Another week or so went by, and the class undoubtedly turned into a City-State society. Soon enough we were all in one spot, all discussing the same things, and sometimes disagreeing with one another. Just as the Agriculturalists soon started to realize that their numbers were reaching quantities that would require structure. Rules. A government. We, too, soon started to break off into clusters, little governments. Those

who participated often, those who participated every now and then, those who hardly participated. All of us were searching for the same thing- answers, truth, a Universal understanding. Just as the Agriculturalists slowly turned into a City-State society, so did Civilizations 101. By the end, our class was a Capitalist society. We had the big dogs, the top contributors, the CEOs, the Venture Capitalists. We had Brett, we had Corey. We had those who voiced their opinions and depending on what came out of their mouths, that was what we discussed that day. Then, on the other end of the spectrum, we had those who didnt. (Guilty.) Those who didnt, were forced to listen to and to absorb and to attempt to learn whatever it was those who were participating felt like talking about. Just as in todays Capitalist society, whatever comes out of the mouths of those with the most money, the most power, is what we as a Country and as a Society are talking about, thinking about, worrying about, dreaming about, praying over. On the other end of todays Capitalist society, in comparison to those of us in the class who didnt participate, we are the middle class. Hell, we are the lower class. We are the blue collars, going to work everyday, voting in November, but still basically having no say in the matter because we are not the important ones. We are not the participating ones, voicing our opinions and learning about what we feel is crucial we learn about. We are not Congresspeople, we are not Wall Street suits. As a whole, I believe the Social Metabolic Reproduction for this class is everevolving, and will only continue as each semester rolls by. I believe that as long as you are teaching and informing the topic of Civilizations, students will succeed and students will thrive. When all of the necessary inputs are pressed together for two and a half hours

each week, even more-so necessary outputs are going to keep happening. The more your way of thinking and your passion for spreading and sharing said way of thinking is projected to us as students, the more we will (hopefully) soak it up and take it in. The more we (again, hopefully,) soak it up and take it in, the more successful we will become, not only in the standard sense of success, i.e; a good grade, a higher GPA, a diploma, but in the higher sense of success. The sense that we will have not only the ability, but the confidence to approach this World and its societies and structures and look them all in the eyes and say, let me get this straight. The best part about writing this paper? I wrote this paper, on a whim, last minute, in three hours. Thats not to say I didnt put a lot of time or effort into this- these are things I have been thinking for this entire semester, and finally decided that these opinions and the things I have learned and the things I have taken from this class were much more important than the Illuminati. Who gives a crap about the Illuminati right now. Its the end of the semester and I want to take what I have learned- or what Id like to think I have learned- and implement it in a way that will benefit both me as a student, attempting to prove I have taken something from this class, and you as a teacher, hopefully realizing that though not the most vocal student, or the most obviously visually stimulated, that I really did take something from you. That I really did open myself up to historical thinking and that I really will use this not only in school and my continuing education, but in my life and in the reproduction of the Society in which I belong and in which I can only hope I will one day take part in changing. The paper I wrote about the Social Metabolic Reproduction and Structurally Necessary Features of the Illuminati took over a week, because I would take Facebook

breaks, downloading new music to iTunes breaks, breaks to go to Ralleys and grab whatever it is I could come up with, breaks to Facetime my Mom and go so far as to have her put the dog on the screen so I could kill as much time as possible before going back to that awfully boring Civ paper of mine. Yet this paper, two hours. I dont think its half bad. I hope that the choice to go a little bit against the grain isnt shunned, as thats one of my favorite parts about the two and a half hours we spent together each week- learning that just because we have been taught history before- doesnt mean we have been taught to think historically. Just because weve been taught anything before- doesnt mean we have really learned. That, whether it was your intention or not, is probably the biggest point I have taken from this class. That and I can recite the definition of SMR and SNF backwards in my sleep.