• Reference to the Parable of the Sower from the Bible at the end of the text
    • Parable: A short story that imparts some sort of lesson; in a Biblical context, it conveys a religious concept
    • Told by Christ to his twelve disciples
    • The verse talks about how a sower throws seed around and how some of the seed does not grow (eaten by birds, infertile soil, destroyed by weeds)
      • Relates to people who learn from Jesus; some are taken by Satan (eaten by birds), some take the teachings at face value but don’t expand on it (infertile soil), some become misguided by the desires of the world (destroyed by weeds)
    • Not everyone will take Lauren’s word and “take root”; analagous to the religious Parable of the Sower
      • Could be considered a response to her father’s version of Christianity as a Baptist minister
  • Lauren uses prior texts and readings in order to develop Earthseed
    • Refers to old books that she’s read
    • The Parable of the Sower is literally about the creation of a book: Earthseed, The Books of the Living
      • Refers to both Christianity (Bible) and Buddhism (The Tibetan Book of the Dead)
      • Mixes different cultures, views, traditions
    • The idea of progress and changing forms Earthseed (God is Change), provides a foil to her father who wishes to stay behind the walls of the neighborhood
    • Has references to Greek philosophers; idea of flux is prominent (“you can’t step in the same river twice because it changes between the two steps”)
    • Buddhism - constant change (through rebirth), must embrace change in order to become enlightened
  • Two types of discourses
    • Primary Discourse: Used to make sense of the world, interact with others, gained from contact with parents or others, speaking casually
    • Secondary Discourse: Learn about the world in an academic sense, education, speaking to the larger world
    • Lisa Delpit argues that occasionally, primary and secondary discourse are combined (especially for more educated/wealthy people)
    • Paolo Friere argues that secondary discourse can only be achieved through dialogue rather than “banking”, or lecture
      • Investigate the world through discourse
  • Angela Davis at UCSD wanted to create college at UCSD that served people of color, as they didn’t have effective secondary discourses
    • Worldbuilding, creating an environmeny where people of color can thrive
  • Lauren preaches the Parable of the Inopportunate Widow/Unfair Judge, sings an old slave song during the sermon