Matt Raimondo, Blog 8

What makes a nation?  It feels like yesterday was the first day of the semester, and that original blog post seemed so recent, yet here we are addressing it for a final time!  Anyway, I remember that I wrote some sort of Government major response to that question, something along the lines of "state boundaries, culture and an active citizenry make up a nation".  Not to say that this answer was wrong, but I feel that after my time in the class that a nation can be both the definition I wrote in my first post as well as something completely separate.  For example, one might call our class itself it's own small nation; after all, we have boundaries, a distinct in-class culture and quite an active citizenry.  As to a nation's purpose, why not simply say that a nation's purpose is to create a sense of belonging and inclusion amongst a population?  Some of our early films, such as Nathan Adolfson's Passing Through,  approached the topic of inclusion, and learning to discover just where someone truly belonged.  We have explored this concept through other films like La Noire de Black Girl, where Diounna wants to be French, but ends up literally dying to return home as well.

In regards to where I personally fit in within our own community, I feel quite attached to the class.  Our discussions tend to bring up excellent points, and we have many frequent speakers in our classroom discussions.  I personally rarely share my opinions, but that does not mean that I am simply daydreaming off in the distance; instead, I am comparing my own thoughts to what others share in class.  I have often found myself really remembering what a few individuals have said simply because their views seem to have so well coincided with my own thoughts and opinions.  Even those that present opposite opinions receive merit in my eyes; all views are important, and those that feel inclined to share them should do just that.  I guess that I am trying to say that just because some of us are silent does not mean that we feel detached from the class.  Rather, I feel like I belong just as much as anyone else, I just happen to rely on my thoughts rather than my words.    

I think that a project that we could do to foster enhanced bonds of community could fall with a group or  partner situation.  For example, in the Business School we do so much work in groups; often, you either live or die by this group.  As a result, one usually does whatever he/she can to find a role in the group, even if the members do not necessarily get along.  In our class, I believe that we would find just as much value in group work as with our current set-up.  For example, random groups would be excellent for the "Imagine Me(Us) Teaching My Community" because many perspectives could be illustrated in one project.  I love how our class is currently structured, but maybe groups wouldn't hurt in the future!