The immediate context is this article called, “Necessary Edges; Arts, Empathy, and Education” was published on the World-Post, created through a partnership between the Huffington Post and the Berggruen Institute of Governance. Yo-Yo Mama, the writer of this article, was famous for several years, producing more than 90 albums and receiving several awards of achievement. He is not only talented but also book smart, graduating from the Juilliard School and Harvard University.
The imposed context is to learn about the roles of arts in the world and why is it important. He further discusses the elements of empathy which are essential to a balanced thinking needed in the STEM world (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). He also mentions the addition of STEAM, adding art into the mix. We then learn about how art and science create an equilibrium.
The internal context is Yo-Yo Ma is attempting to explain why art is so important to this STEM system. He does this by explaining his switch from STEM to STEAM, the equilibrium idea, the necessary edges, globalization, and how we are more than we can measure. He is telling people how art made an impact in his life personally to further why art should also be incorporated into our lives. He provides several examples to explain the importance of art.
Virtuosos: a person highly skilled in music or another artistic pursuit (Google)
Invigorate: give strength or energy to (Google)
Interdependence: dependence of two or more people or things on each other (Google)
One Comment
elishaemerson
Hannah,
I want to help you clarify some ideas that you mentioned in your internal context discussion. Be careful, because art is not important to the STEM system. It is not a part of the STEM system. When he wrote the essay, Ma had not switched from STEM to STEAM, because he is not an educator (as far as I know). He was proposing the idea.
Hopefully, our class discussion cleared up some of this. If you have any remaining questions, please reach out.
Hannah,
I want to help you clarify some ideas that you mentioned in your internal context discussion. Be careful, because art is not important to the STEM system. It is not a part of the STEM system. When he wrote the essay, Ma had not switched from STEM to STEAM, because he is not an educator (as far as I know). He was proposing the idea.
Hopefully, our class discussion cleared up some of this. If you have any remaining questions, please reach out.
3/3