Thoughts on Memorials - Cory Smith

I have learned so much about many different memorials so far in this course.  One of the biggest things I've learned through this class is that every part of a memorial has a purpose or meaning behind it.  The directions that certain memorials face also matter.  These aspects of looking at and appreciating a memorial used to just completely skip over me, but now I come to look at all these different characteristics.

We have looked at all kinds of memorials so far in the class, from ones in the nation's capital to ones in the Far East.  Through my individual research with Holocaust memorials and museums, I have also learned about the creativity and symbolism behind many different memorials all focusing on a singular event.  My favorite memorial I have seen or researched while in this class would probably be the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.  Being of Jewish descent and having visited the museum in the past, I have gained further knowledge about the significance of the museum and its overall purpose of telling the narrative of the Holocaust while also striving to become the center for research about the Holocaust and mass genocides.

I look forward to the talk we will be having tomorrow about Buddhist stupas and their associated religious symbolism.  We got to visit a stupa in Natural Bridge earlier today and discussed the meaning of each part of the stupa.  I thought the best part about this stupa wasn't even a part of the actual structure, but it was the scenery around the stupa and the environment that it is situated in.  One can feel a calming sense of serenity at this site.