Chicago Groupings

In general, most areas of Chicago according to these maps were heavily racially grouped. This is most noticeable with the Italians, African Americans, and the "Bohemians" (a nationality I'm a bit unfamiliar with). There seems to be some correlation with wealth as well- there are several streets in which the Americans own the outward homes, and in general wealth increases as you move toward the street on the map. A few things surprised me- by and large the italians seem to be very poor, though they often lived in neighborhoods with the English-speaking Irish and Americans. Contrastingly, only half of the "colored" areas were poor- half seemed quite affluent, which is surprising given my understanding of the prejudices and circumstances of the time.

In the attached readings, there are several ways described in which people stay seperate and intermingle. Religious practices often set cultures apart, such as the greek easter procession and the simple street shrines of the italians. Groupings prevented a lot of intermingling, as did work schedules- the main time for social interaction would have been at the end of the factory shifts, and most workers were content to head straight for home. The children of these workers had plenty of time for interaction, as during the day the streets were packed with children of all nationalities, playing with a freedom unbounded by social constraints and nationality- who probably had to be around each other either way due to the lack of open space.

Jane Adam's Spirituality

Jane Adam's social work is not, I believe, religiously motivated. Spiritually motivated, perhaps. But more than that her desire to do good seems to stem from a very deep, strong sense of simple human morality- that all humanity has worth in itself with or without that worth being assigned by god. We should take care of each other as people because- I think we can all agree- that we would like others to take care of us.

One example I will cite of Jane Adam's resistance towards religion was her refusal to be converted into the "missionary field" despite every attempt of her superior's at school. The influence of her father- who she admired greatly and was not part of any church- and the solidarity and intellectual rationality of her peer group kept her from becoming more than interested in religion. Her interest, even, is more intellectual than spiritual. She describes being fascinated with the texts of the religion, and with the history of the catacombs later on.

This is not to say she is against the practice of religion at all- her prolonged study of it confirms her belief in at least a partial usefullness. In chapter 4 she describes her desire for an "outward symbol of fellowship"- though when she considers christianity as an option its appeal lies mostly in its connection to democracy. She spent much of her time traveling to locations of great religious import, but again she is searching for a sense of a more philosophical than religious ideal- the "universal comity" and "supreme humanity" of the positivists.

What I can safely say is that she believed religion was a good way of systemizing and solidifying otherwise stratified moral/philosophical ideas. What she hopes for is a "cathedral of humanity" "capacious enough to house a fellowship of common purpose", with a "vision of human solidarity". If a religion were approximating this, or moving towards it, I would assume that she would be all for it, if not particularly attached to its poetic, spiritual aspects herself.

Week 8 Rasta video

There are several crucial differences between the boboshanti community shown here and the rastafarian culture and community described in the book- though they clearly share the same basic values and principles. The first thing I noticed is the fact that it is a seperate community- much of the Rastafarian way of life is about defying the "babylonian" culture that surrounds you- here there is no oppressive force to struggle against. This calls into question whether Rastafari is dependent on this- once the struggle is won, once repatriation is successful and there is nothing to fight against, would you still call it Rastafari?

You can see this reflected in smaller ways in the video as well- I particularly noticed the turbans which covered the boboshanti's symbolic dreads. These turbans are inspired by african headwear, and thus are consistent with the return to African roots, but they defeat the symbolic purpose of the dreads- traditionally a bold statement of courage and defiance. How can one shake one's dreads to destroy babylon if they are wrapped up? Wouldn't the cloth interrupt the link between the Rastas and Jah?

Another thing which seemed odd was the ritualistic prayer every 6 hours- this is abnormally realistic for Rastafari, it seems almost church-inspired (as do the bible quotes, of course- it is still not clear to me how much of Rastafari is Afro-Christian and how much is purely African). Rastafari seems to me to have a more freeform spirituality- not that it is taken any less seriously, but that it is more run by feeling than by schedule. Again, it simply seems this way, I may be jumping to conclusions.

Kebra Negast

The Kebra Negast seems to both give and take power and stature from Ethiopia, in that the old culture of Ethiopia (pre-solomon) seems to be seen in an inferior light. The fact that the child of King Solomon will now rule seems to be a "good" thing- it provides a connection between the country and such a powerful, wise, and clearly influential man. This and the conversion of Ethiopia to Christianity (through the influence of Solomon and Sheba) sort of allies the country with Israel- as any potential future conflict would therefore be between family members. It also lends spiritual significance (from a christian viewpoint) to Ethiopia- this is spelled out in the metaphorical dream solomon has in which the sun leaves Israel and goes to Ethiopa. The sun seems to represent a spiritual goodness and divine favor which Sheba will carry with her back to Ethiopia.

At the same time, the Kebra Negast does not give much credit to pre-solomon ethiopia. Sheba, as the main representative of Ethiopia, seems to grovel at his feet throughout- at his suggestion she is converted to his religion without hesitation. When she bears his child, she overrules the traditional form of government to ensure that Solomon's superior influence will remain concrete within Ethiopia. Her behavior in general with Solomon (perhaps because of the time the text was written and how women were often portrayed then) seems to be somewhat weak- although she does seem to get what she wants- and this reflects on the relationship between Ethiopia and Israel.

There is also the detail of what is taken back to Ethiopia by Sheba- it is written that she took treasures away carried by six thousand camels and wagons, a sea-vessel, and apparently some kind of flying vessel as well- though it gives no details on this. This seems to indicate some transfer of power (though given Solomon's wealth it is likely more charity than an actual shift) from Israel to Ethiopia.