Bianca Duarte's Blog

  I enjoyed all parts of the lecture, but the missing middle section was my favorite section. I enjoyed learning about the Aboriginal camps, although some parts of the lecture were devastating, it is good to learn and educate ourselves. At first, entering the topic of Aboriginal camps made me believe they were being taken care of and being educated(basic schooling), but learning that they were trying to integrate the Aboriginals into “white society” was a bit saddening. It made me realize how much culture was lost and I feel bad for those who were changed. It was very interesting to learn how the men were taught more manly jobs and the women were taught how to do more domestic jobs such as sewing or cooking. I compare this to life nowadays because now women are doing amazing things in male dominated fields, so recognizing that difference is great. Understanding that the Aboriginals were taught how to dress, pray, work, and speak as Americans was heartbreaking as well. One quote tha...

            To start off, I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the Grenville group’s project. From the content to the visual aspects, all aspects of the project were very easy to view and the color scheme was simplistic, but it wasn’t too little at the same time. Overall, the final site was very easy to navigate, and each of the sections were interesting to read. Learning about the prison conditions in 18th century London was very interesting to me and one thing that was compelling to learn was the difference of being wealthy and poor in the prison system. It completely relates to life today because those with money in the prison system are able to make bail, but those without are stuck without any assistance. The quote included by Ben Johnson was very sad to read, but true and it embodies the feelings and experiences of a prisoner. I also enjoyed learning about Grand Larceny and I enjoyed learning how the jurors would purposely under assess the va...

       One character that I found to be very interesting is Smasher.  I am honestly disgusted with his character and his actions towards the Aborigines, but after analyzing him, I recognize what he represents. Smasher uses violence as a way to show he is superior and his culture and way of living is superior, but behind the anger and violence, he is truly scared. I also believe the dogs mentioned in the section are similar to Smasher and his evilness because they are trained to attack and be violent which symbolizes Smasher in the way they act and are trained to attack the Aborigines. Smasher’s perspective and actions represent the old and harsh mindset many colonizers had in terms of their views of the Aborigines. Smasher sees himself as superior even though what he is doing is disrespectful, disgusting, and unfathomable. Smasher represents the worst and most disgusting parts of colonialism. After thinking about Smasher’s character, I now understand that some c...

       I enjoyed watching this lecture because the information that was provided to us greatly helped me make deep connections between The Secret River and settler colonialism. I enjoyed how in the lecture, settler colonizers and colonizers were distinctly differentiated. There was a clear line drawn between colonizers and settler colonizers, but the greatest difference I'll always remember is that the settler colonizers never go home. They eventually claim the land and become the majority which was very interesting to learn, but disheartening at the same time. I feel for the people that were there before, and I personally believe we should be educating others on settler colonialism or recognizing the land we live on. In class we had a discussion regarding the land acknowledgement that is usually presented and read before each club or important event held by SCU or other organizations in California/ the U.S. To be honest, I am not sure if these acknowledgements are ...

       After reading all three parts of The Secret River, I do realize a large difference in the relationship between Will and Sal in part 1 and parts 2&3. In part 1, Will and Sal’s relationship is more fresh and they are in the “honeymoon phase” as most call it, and they get along very well without having any issues to disturb their relationship. In part 2 and 3, more complications arise that challenge their relationship, but Will tries his best to do best for his family despite the limitations he has. When they arrive in New South Wales, Sal shows how she does not like living there and her ultimate goal is to go back to London with her children. She does not like the idea of staying, but Will knows she can not go back. Over time their relationship brings up many red flags such as how Sal is so faithful and tries to be the best wife to Will and the best mother to their children, but Will does not see her side. I most sympathize with Sal because usually women ten...

       After watching the lecture on settler colonialism, I learned a large amount of information and watching the lecture helped me connect both There There and The Secret River. When I began thinking about the topic, I could not clearly differentiate between colonialism and settler colonialism, but with the information presented in the video, I feel more informed and educated on the subject. I appreciated learning about the Indian Removal Act of 1830, the Dames Act of 1887, and the Indian Termination Act.  These acts all connect because they were forced removals/ relocations of the Native people that forced these tribes and families to move without an option. As stated in the lecture, these are acts of congress that have the same effects of warfare, but it was wrapped in disguise as benevolence and the ultimate goal was to assimilate the whites. We see settler colonialism taking place in There There as the American colonists begin occupying and taking over the...

  One image that caught my eye in The Secret River is the image of the lions at the gate posts along with mentioning the church and religion. The lions are first mentioned on page 10 and it states,” On the gateposts there were snarling stone lions that his mother lifted him up to look at, but they made him cry out in fear.” This is the first instance of the lions and church being mentioned, but this sentence shows how Will is deeply afraid of religion and he sees God as a complex and powerful figure, but he can not understand God and the church. Usually we see many people using religion for comfort, but to Will, we see that the church deeply scared him. When Ma is sick, she has a hallucination that she is a child back at the gate posts, but this was a harmful hallucination for her. She then dies, but later on Will throws mud at the lions. On page 20 it states,” He got the muck out from under his coat and hurled it at the nearest one.” Will is frustrated because he sees the lions an...

  The first final project I began learning about was Isa’s project on Gender Inequality. I highly enjoyed clicking through this Neatline project because I am very interested in the topic Isa chose. Gender inequality is prevalent in the world today and the sources she used were powerful leading to a very strong and informational project. I appreciate how Isa includes texts that criticize or have controversial views on women such as Sigmund Freud. In comparison to the criticisms, I love how Isa included other texts of women who challenged gender roles. The next final project I viewed was John’s project on familial relationships. I appreciate how John used a variety of well-known texts. One of my favorite books is To Kill a Mockingbird,  and using this text strengthened his overall point of research. Another text I appreciated that was included in this project was King Lear. I read King Lear last year, and this text was a very good source to include in a project on familial rela...