Tag Archives: Dianna Sittidet

Poetics of Planetary Water

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Reading Mentz’s essay on The Blue Humanities, while more extensive than the Gillis article from the week before, really helped but into perspective how vast the train of thought towards the topic can be. The gears only turned in my head after reading this specific chunk, “The reason to study the water today, as I would phrase the point now, is that we are going to be seeing more of it, closer up, in the future. Rising sea levels and high-intensity rainstorms are making our environment wetter.” Water is an ever-changing substance, and even thanks to the long lasting impacts of global warming, water is what fuels life, yet is something that can also destroy it. Water is everywhere, and just as Mentz put it, is close to us in many ways, shapes, and forms. Whether or not we choose to acknowledge what water can do for us is up to the individual, but blue humanities, as it turns out, is starting to shape the way I think about tackling Moby Dick. Sure, I can simply think about water as a simple substance that I drink or as a recreational thing to swim in or exist by, but why is the human relationship towards it so important? What drives human nature to want to “bond” with a liquid of life? Honestly, it’s human nature to want to discover the unknown. People fear what they do not understand, and even though we’ve discovered many things about the land, the sea, and the sky, I do believe the sea is still the scariest there is. It is lots of uncharted territory, but needing to strive towards the knowledge of how to approach it safely, I’m certain humans aren’t ever going to stop. It’s ego, it’s hubris, it’s passion, all in all, tackling the vast blue of the ocean through the lens of humanities rather than science seems a little more humbling. Our environments change because of water, and while science gives us the numbers, arts and words allow for a sort of empathy that’s required to even spare the blink of an eye.

Extra Credit:Steve Mentz Questions

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1.) What importance does Blue Humanities hold for you? How would you say this topic works along existing fields of marine science?
2.) Despite a primary focus on the ocean, are there any other bodies of water that you think humans can explore just as in depth?
3.) Why does poetry offer such a lens into planetary waters in comparison to essays or other academic leaning books?
4.) Are there any other notable authors you look towards when speaking about or studying Blue Humanities besides Melville or Gillis?
5.) If you could chose one word to describe human relationship with the ocean, what would you pick and why?

What Moby Dick Means To Me – W3

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Hoare really makes a case to proving that Moby Dick is a hotshot of a book. I can immediately tell how passionate he is about it with every single word he uses to describe it. Simply calling it “good” seems a bit too simple, but I can’t necessarily judge it until I’ve obviously read it. His opening line is what really helped me form my initial opinion. “For years, ‘Moby-Dick’ defeated me.” I can already imagine not only the length of the book, but the boredom to get to me quickly in the midst of reading about a mutiny, a whale, and a dude named Ishmael. Even so, I think the way he puts Moby Dick on such a high horse pedestal sounds a little too far? Sure, a book can be life changing to this extent, but can I really expect this about Moby Dick?

Hoare mentions how “It’s barely a book at all. It’s more an act of transference, of ideas and evocations hung around the vast and unknowable shape of the whale…” and honestly, based off of my initial knowledge, I’d have to slightly disagree with that statement. A book is a book, and while a book could be different for someone else, it’s still something that tells a story. A story is already ideas, evocations, and unknowable to anyone but the author and intended audience. There’s no incorrect way to read something, but then again, why is a whale such a center part in the 1800’s? What’s missing other than sitting down and cracking the book open to dive right into the vast ocean? With the way Hoare speaks about it, I’m just sincerely hoping that the book really does knock my socks off. I’d kind of hate to be disappointed after being hyped up after reading his article. I hadn’t necessarily though about the book’s impact on others either, it just goes to show how lots of different pieces of literature stand the test of time.

Hello guys, gals, and other pals!

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Hello everyone! The name is Dianna Sittidet (She/They). I am 22 years old and a transfer student from Mesa College. This is my 3rd semester as an ECL major at SDSU since transferring. I’m excited to tackle my ability of withstanding larger books with Moby Dick considering it is such a classic within the literary world. I genuinely do not know much about it other than it being about some “guy” pursuing and being obsessed with a whale. That description alone didn’t sound too engaging to me, but now that a class is requiring it, why the heck shouldn’t I analyze it further and give it a chance to potentially and seriously wow me? 

I’m not entirely sure as to what I fully want to do after graduation, but all I know is that I want writing to be involved. I’m always finding ways to inspire myself from different pieces of media, whether it be books, games, movies, TV shows, I’ll never fail to stare at something and have it creatively affect the way I write or explore the world. If that didn’t explain it, I am very much into video games and TTRPGs such as D&D and Monster of the Week. I do not stray away from calling myself a nerd with interests! I’m currently playing through Persona 5 Royal and Nier:Automata, but if we really wanted to get into my most solidified interest, I am a HUGE fan of the horror genre. Psychological, supernatural, analog, you name it. I’m always looking for new things to give me a freight, and while the interest can get a little morbid, I think the horror genre can be one of the most interesting things out there with how versatile it is. 

I’m writing this in the midst of discovering a new band called Inkubus Sukkubus, and I’d recommend their song Vampyre Erotica. (If I had to pinpoint another horror interest, I’m big into vampires.) 

I cannot stress enough how stoked I am to hear about everyone’s opinions on the book rather than the book itself, especially those who have not picked it up before. I know I myself will be brutally honest about my review this semester, especially with our seminar set up. 

And in case I don’t see you, good morning, good afternoon, and good evening!

Dianna Sittidet during Christmas of 2023, wearing an ugly christmas sweater featuring Ghostface from the Scream franchise.