Sunday, September 9, 2007
The Epic of the Online Classroom
Communication and learning occur through many different mediums. Despite the swiftly changing channels through which communication is possible, one thing has remained constant. There have always been a set of socially accepted rules of etiquette one must employ when communicating with others. One of the earliest examples of writing is the Epic of Gilgamesh, a story that has survived for thousands of years which provided its original audience with lessons of morality and the consequences of disobeying those social norms. Epic stories were the very beginning of the laws that govern our society today. Similarly the Code of Hammurabi, the first known set of written laws, provided ancient Mesopotamians with clear guidelines for behavior and set consequences. The Code is the model for which modern laws are modeled. Even today, in our online classroom, there are rules and expected behavior. Having these expected behaviors is what makes civil and productive communication possible.
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2 comments:
Epic of Online Class (I can't find where to Post my own blog, so I'm commenting here)
The Epic of Gilgamesh appears to be an epic play, about a journey which tests the strength and courage of the hero. He has dreams which are interpreted by others. There are images of earth/wind/fire/water in the tests, which are ultimately about life and death. The Code of Hammurabi was a set of laws which detail an orderly society. There is an emphasis on honest dealings with individuals and in business. The laws do not include a prison system -- the penalty is death, banishment or restitution. The laws favor men and freedmen over women and slaves. For example, a man committing incest with his daughter is banished, but a woman committing incest with her son is burnt alive with him. The code seems to uphold many of our same values, but our punishments are more lenient. I would assume that the Babylonian crime rate was lower per capita than our own. Regarding Netiquette, there exists a code of courtesy, punishable only by polite criticism or, in some cases: banishment.
After reading your post, I saw another significant message in "The Epic of Gilgamesh".
To have the power to dominate another person, whether you are a king, physically strong, beautiful, wealthy, or part god, is no justification for taking advantage of your position.
As people were struggling to live together in peace and prosperity, this would have been an important value.
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