I cannot believe I only have three weeks left of my undergraduate career. I feel as if I am suddenly made of heavy, wet tissue paper, leaving pieces of me everywhere, more sensitive somehow.
When considering how exactly to fit three years worth of reflection into a two page summary, I went back to our drawing board: our Paideia blogs. At the very beginning, our cohort was much larger, much louder, and much less crazed. It’s been an interesting case study in its own way, to see who survived, how they did it, and what they look like/act like/speak like/believe by the end of this program. Everyone seemed to not only become progressively different but also progressively more stressed (including Dr. Giuliano!) as we’ve approached this final semester.
My very first blog was submitted on Saturday, August 30th, 2008 and in the very next blog, I wrote on the basics of why I had decided to join Paideia.
“I signed up for Paideia because I thought it was a program that really championed the ideals of a liberal arts institution and that it would help me to become a person more accepting of other opinions as well as better able to form my own. I signed up for the Human Behavior group in particular because I think it will yield some wonderful benefits and open some great windows for me as an English major that I wouldn't otherwise get to enjoy.”
And, looking back, I sincerely believe that Paideia has fulfilled all of the hopes and expectations I had for it. Of course, our cohort went through some bumps and confusions along the way, but I truly believe that I have become a more confident, more open, more considering, and more articulate person. The first informal presentation I gave in my cohort examined the ethics of torture warrants (a popular issue of discussion during the Bush presidency). And in this blog I actually defend the idea of torture warrants under the hope that it would lessen torture generally – through shame, I suppose. But in rereading this blog I recognize my old suppositions and thoughts, I recognize their general cogency, and I realize that I now disagree with them. That, for me, is proof not simply that Paideia has made me a more considerate person, but also that I have enabled myself to change and grow. – Paideia has given me room to move.
Now, I know that some Paideia cohorts have stricter themes such as music or healthcare but, I must say, I found the breadth and variety of our cohort’s discussions exceptionally stimulating. As I remarked in one of my blogs:
“From Kandinsky to how our language forms our perspectives on the world (those articles are still blowing my mind) to introverts taking back the floor – it’s been an extremely diverse and yet well blended semester, I think, so far.”
This gave me personal room to discuss and better consider different perspectives within my own interdisciplinary major, American Studies. Actually, now that I think of it, Paideia is part of the reason why I decided to double my English major with American Studies. Paideia gave some real purpose, some real definition to my undergraduate education. It enabled me to think of things from different avenues including possible means of applying my education to actions, to ameliorating my community and even my country.
In high school I knew I was going to college. In college I knew I wanted to major in English and then maybe become a professor one day. Now, thanks to the mindset Paideia helped me adopt, I’m going to George Washington University to earn an MA in American Studies with the recognition that, though I could still be a professor one day, what I’d really like to do is move to Washington, volunteer at the Spokane Indian Reservation, and write. Or maybe move to Wyoming and become a National Park Ranger. Or maybe become a high school teacher and work on devising new ways of improving the public school system in Texas.
I feel as though the world has opened itself up to me in so many new and beautiful ways that I had never before considered. The main concern I keep hearing from people is that they don’t believe I’ll be able to find a job with my degree. Well, in part thanks to the reflection, mindset, and support given to me by my Paideia experience, I know they’re simply thinking too small – they are limiting me and my education because they can’t see the larger picture. The world is larger than school – as Peter Elbow once said, school is short and life is long. So, while Paideia has ensured that I will be a lifelong student, it has also ensured that I no longer view life as a recipe with set ingredients that make up a set outcome. It’s opened me up, exploratory, new, adaptable, tolerant, Paideia.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Amazing Live Show
When U2 was Rock
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/photos/rolling-stone-readers-pick-the-top-ten-live-acts-of-all-time-20110309/6-u2-0379360
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/photos/rolling-stone-readers-pick-the-top-ten-live-acts-of-all-time-20110309/6-u2-0379360
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Shilling Lecture Series: TOMS Shoes
Well, I didn’t quite know what to expect out Mr. Blake Mycoskie, but I did think he’d dress up a bit more than our student representatives. At any rate, I did come into the auditorium feeling much more distrustful and dissatisfied than I did coming out – Mr. Mycoskie did win me over in certain aspects of his lecture. For instance, since I participated in one of the pre-lecture salons over TOMS shoes, I went in knowing a bit more about the company and with many more questions than I would have otherwise – questions like: if the shoes are so cheaply made, why only give away a single pair of shoes for each pair purchased? And how is your business working to avoid “white savior” paternalism issues? However, the question I liked best, the question Dr. O’Neill came up with, the question that wasn’t answered: why the hell are they called “TOMS” shoes? Why not BLAKES? Any way, I digress.
I was rather frustrated with his storytelling approach to this lecture when, in fact, I had come expecting him to speak on more substantial matters such as: it’s been said that your company’s style of charity will change the face of capitalism – how is it that you think this can hold any water given that you yourself (Mycoskie) don’t trust anyone else to be true to your mission (hence his refusal to sell the company unlike his previous businesses)? Or, how can you (Mycoskie) say that there are limits to how much people are willing to donate to charity but no limit to how many pairs of over-priced shoes people will be willing to buy?
Don’t mistake me, I am very grateful for what Mycoskie is doing in the world – shoes for children around the world are a basic necessity and the world is a better place for Mycoskie to be here trying to supply those shoes. However, it doesn’t seem to me that his business model is all that sustainable. It’s true that things could go either way: people will buy a pair of shoes, feel satiated in their “good” deed, and thus ends their charity for the (week, month, or year) or people will buy a pair of shoes and then decide to turn all of their consumer purchases to more responsible and charitable companies. From where I’m standing, it seems that Mycoskie should be standing at the ready with another line of products to release to the public under the same One for One promise.
I felt that his Q&A session was much more substantial than his actual lecture – and that’s where he did the winning over avec moi. I was pleased to learn that he works with and subsidizes NGO’s to make sure that the shoes are being distributed appropriately; I liked that he works with “local” shoe manufacturers; I liked that his focus was on disease prevention and in getting children to school so as to aid in the end of some instances of cyclical poverty; and I liked that, due to the NGO’s, he was redistributing larger shoes to children as they grew out of the ones he’d already given them. I was also glad to learn why his shoes are priced the way they are (for paying the retailers, the donated pair, transporting the donated pair, etc) as well as why he hadn't simply sold this company the way he has sold his previous businesses.
I was also particularly impressed with our student representatives and just how crisp and eloquent their questions were -- especially the question about if he believed he was competent or ready for actually maintaining a business given his lack of experience with that type of management. Very well done, Rosie and Brad!
But, overall, I found Blake Mycoskie charming, goofy, frustrating, misleading, naïve, a few shades away from the colors of a benevolent dictator, paternalistic, and, generally, a good person trying to do something good for others (while turning a profit).
I was rather frustrated with his storytelling approach to this lecture when, in fact, I had come expecting him to speak on more substantial matters such as: it’s been said that your company’s style of charity will change the face of capitalism – how is it that you think this can hold any water given that you yourself (Mycoskie) don’t trust anyone else to be true to your mission (hence his refusal to sell the company unlike his previous businesses)? Or, how can you (Mycoskie) say that there are limits to how much people are willing to donate to charity but no limit to how many pairs of over-priced shoes people will be willing to buy?
Don’t mistake me, I am very grateful for what Mycoskie is doing in the world – shoes for children around the world are a basic necessity and the world is a better place for Mycoskie to be here trying to supply those shoes. However, it doesn’t seem to me that his business model is all that sustainable. It’s true that things could go either way: people will buy a pair of shoes, feel satiated in their “good” deed, and thus ends their charity for the (week, month, or year) or people will buy a pair of shoes and then decide to turn all of their consumer purchases to more responsible and charitable companies. From where I’m standing, it seems that Mycoskie should be standing at the ready with another line of products to release to the public under the same One for One promise.
I felt that his Q&A session was much more substantial than his actual lecture – and that’s where he did the winning over avec moi. I was pleased to learn that he works with and subsidizes NGO’s to make sure that the shoes are being distributed appropriately; I liked that he works with “local” shoe manufacturers; I liked that his focus was on disease prevention and in getting children to school so as to aid in the end of some instances of cyclical poverty; and I liked that, due to the NGO’s, he was redistributing larger shoes to children as they grew out of the ones he’d already given them. I was also glad to learn why his shoes are priced the way they are (for paying the retailers, the donated pair, transporting the donated pair, etc) as well as why he hadn't simply sold this company the way he has sold his previous businesses.
I was also particularly impressed with our student representatives and just how crisp and eloquent their questions were -- especially the question about if he believed he was competent or ready for actually maintaining a business given his lack of experience with that type of management. Very well done, Rosie and Brad!
But, overall, I found Blake Mycoskie charming, goofy, frustrating, misleading, naïve, a few shades away from the colors of a benevolent dictator, paternalistic, and, generally, a good person trying to do something good for others (while turning a profit).
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Brown Symposium: Think * Converse * Act
Well, this past week was pretty wild pour moi just given exams, my thesis, and the Brown Symposium (for which I acted as the only student liaison for Dr. Robert Watson, professor of Shakespeare at UCLA). However, I couldn't be more grateful to have gotten to crown my senior year with this experience. I was invited to attend the Wednesday night Inaugural Performance (got to see Dr. G stand up and be recognized for her honor and role as a future Brown Symposium director (Go, Dr. G! Whoop!)) and actually saw Dean Gaffney do some acting! A small group of orchestra students played up some very rockin' Stravinsky during which the Dean gave a dramatic reading (the script detailed a soldier who unwittingly makes a deal with Satan (the script was awful but the Dean was fantastic, a great prelude acting-wise to the upcoming Into the Woods (which has a phenomenal script))).
Of course, on Thursday the true festivus for the restofus began. I attended the first lecture given by Dr. Beasley from Dartmouth (a French, Indian, Feminist, Literary Scholar), who discussed how the development of French literature and culture was affected and influenced by the 17th century salon culture/movement. She focused primarily upon the famous salonierre, Marguerite Hessein de Rambouillet, Madame de la Sabliere. And, I must say, interesting as the topic was, I found myself less interested in any of the specifics she gave (which were many) and more interested in how this broadly connected with Paideia. Because, after all, I feel as if my development as a literary and American cultural scholar has been greatly affected and influenced by the salon culture of our Paidiea group -- enabling me to think more holistically about my education and what I'm learning in each separate course (just as a I tried to connect and consider the Symposium as a whole, single entity). I got to focus on this question a great deal during this Symposium and even spoke to Jim Hunt about it at the President's Dinner Thursday evening (he was assigned to my table and we spoke a great deal about what the Paideia program has meant to me, etc. etc.).
At any rate, though the history of Indian textiles doesn't really grab my passions, it did interest me to think that clothing was such a heavy salon topic during the 17th century and that fashion was even of political concern -- King Louis' view that Indian fabrics as a threat to his absolutist rule reminded me of the importance of fashionable hats to the American women in the early 20th century working at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory (where the great NY fire of 1911 took place) and how the safety of those hats the women bought with their own incomes came to represent women's right to autonomy in the public and domestic spheres and how that dramatically affected the power structure in America (perhaps similarly to how Louis perceived a possibility in his power structure altering).
It made me wonder about what gives people strength, impetus, and passion to move forward; what makes people demand equality and knowledge? (Speaking of "Equality," we've been discussing this topic rather heavily in my American Politics class lately and, I have to say, I'm hooked. Dr. O'Neill mentioned to us this story by Kurt Vonnegut entitled "Harrison Bergeron." In the story, a futuristic America has decided to make everyone forcibly equal -- attractive people wear masks, intelligent people are given shock treatments, people with above-average singing voices have their voices distorted, etc. And I keep coming back to this story now, it's haunting me, because, as Dr. Beasely explained via Bernier: "diversity leads to knowledge" -- thus, we should take care in how we discuss equality and what we mean by desiring it and seeking after it. You all should really check out an article by John H. Schaar called, "Equality of Opportunity and Beyond" -- it's pretty astonishing.)
Anyhoo, Brady and I teamed up at one of the guest luncheons (with Jonah Lehrer in Howry (he's a science writer, young, handsome guy, dropped science for writing at the beginning of grad school which reminded me of our Mr. Steven dropping biology for philosophy (and I told Mr. Lehrer as much)) and that was a great deal of fun though we really didn't get to talk with him much at all (too many other people). However, it was nice to have that bit of background knowledge of him given his often broad remarks during the first salon concerning the origins of human morality and perception.
Being in this first salon really did remind me of our Paideia group. Thinking about the older purposes of salons which was often to inspire new legislation, music, books, and ideas generally made me recognize the successes of our Paideia group in doing the same -- in introducing us to new ideas in science, human behavior, art history, literature, and culture studies to inspire (at least for me) articles, a book, and even some artwork. It's helped me act as a theoretical salonierre, a negotiator of conversations between different classes and schools of thought in order to better understand them as a whole, hence papers like my "Steinbeck, Snyder, and Barthelme: Literary Perspectives on Urban Environments" which connects modern literature with urban studies and my thesis paper "Howling Coyote" connecting Allen Ginsberg with Native American trickster narratives.
The first salon concerned itself with "Arts - Sciences - Religions: Conflict or Convergence?" And right away this reminded me of Brady's surprise at people believing in both evolution and the Biblical text as explanations of the beginning of the world because, I truly believe, that this trio works beautiful in convergence and that it is only with ignorance and misunderstanding in people that they come to conflict with one another. Some of the most interesting ideas proffered during the salon, I thought, surrounded the image of Onca Mouse (I know that's misspelled, but I have no idea how to spell it -- Dr. Hobgood-Oster introduced the salon with this image of a mouse wearing a crown of thorns, possessing human limbs, and trapped in a windowed box while being carefully watched by human eyes peering inward). For me this image was interesting because Dr. Cooper continuously returned to the idea of "breaking down the 4th wall" between the lecturers and the audience in order to facilitate the best conversation possible, however, for Onca Mouse, we literally were the 4th wall of eyes peering inward upon the poor Mouse and there was no escaping that wall or our role as part of it.
But this observation in itself fits beautifully with the larger conversation that took place as people seemed to come to the consensus that it is the interpretation of facts (and not necessarily the facts themselves) that is essential to the progress of the human project (thus, art, science, and history do all work together or at least can given our multitudes of individual interpretations.
This reminded me of our own Paideia conversations and all the different interpretations and backgrounds we bring to the table over every subject and reading, how we only sometimes reach a consensus but always manage to agree on the fact that all opinions should be given some modicum of respect (although, given our last article about Republicans as a minority in academic circles may bring us to question just how true we are to this agreement :p).
I, sadly, had to miss out on the second salon in order to go to class. I think I could've actually contributed to that salon too, given what I learned while in Monterrey. The second salon brought issues of technology into the discussion and, in Monterrey, I sat privy to discussions about introducing electronic text books into the classroom between professors and text book publishers. Anyway, cest la vie.
The third salon, the closing salon, was entitled "Ethics, the Arts, and Public Policy." Dean Gaffney was the salonierre for this one and began with his own definition of art which I'll paraphrase here because I liked it so much:
"art is something selected, edited, arranged by a human being that communicates something that cannot be communicated in any other way." Post-defining art, he opened up the conversation with the question: what is art in a public policy sense?
This led into another interesting slew of conversations concerning the connections between art and democracy (which especially interested me given my current involvement in Dr. O'Neill's American Politics class). I played usher for Dr. Mariotti in this salon and found myself particularly impressed by many of her comments on the issue. She brought up questions of what democracy looked like in theory versus practice (demos-kratia translating to the people rule) and how both the concepts of art and democracy function as vital concepts to American culture given their invaluable role in prompting us to think in new, individual, and diverse ways. A democracy, she explained, requires critically thinking citizens, and art helps promote critical thinking.
There was also a great deal of talk over economics and whether or not the market decided what was and what wasn't art, but, given my English capstone paper over Shakespeare's use of intrinsic value versus "economic" value in his plays, I can't say that I think the two types of values are separated all that dramatically in our minds and thus, it's up to art to differentiate between the two -- thus, as someone pointed out (I apologize for not having a name) the truths of analytic and emotional dialogue: certain things simply cannot be quantified/valued by market forces but by individuals alone. This made me think, again, of the issues of Beauty and Equality, and how to define major concepts we all individualize without ever consciously recognizing we do. Romeo and Juliet serve as an excellent example of art as a social good in this context as it is a play discussing just this issue -- the issue of conflicting definitions over a single entity, the tension which arises between conflicting beliefs/perceptions/interpretations over names, definitions, and values. All of this then reminded me of James Madison, that wonderful man, who wrote in the Federalist Papers about the need for majority coalitions versus majority factions because factions could monopolize the democracy and thus destroy it -- and yet, to destroy the factions would be to destroy liberty itself and also destroy the democracy -- hence his own world of concentric paradoxes (and, the Constitution, I believe, is a work of art in and of itself) in which he discussed the ideas of art, ethics, and public policy (though perhaps without recognizing he'd entered the realm of art as well).
As Dr. O'Neill explained, liberty to factions is as air to a flame. And so, according to JMad, "ambition must be made to counter ambition" -- art, ethics, public policy, science -- all these things must work for themselves in recognition of the others, forcibly progressing as a whole by existing in a world of simultaneous competition and cooperation. It's how are Congress is supposed to work and, I think, how a great deal of our Southwestern works as well.
What do you think?
Of course, on Thursday the true festivus for the restofus began. I attended the first lecture given by Dr. Beasley from Dartmouth (a French, Indian, Feminist, Literary Scholar), who discussed how the development of French literature and culture was affected and influenced by the 17th century salon culture/movement. She focused primarily upon the famous salonierre, Marguerite Hessein de Rambouillet, Madame de la Sabliere. And, I must say, interesting as the topic was, I found myself less interested in any of the specifics she gave (which were many) and more interested in how this broadly connected with Paideia. Because, after all, I feel as if my development as a literary and American cultural scholar has been greatly affected and influenced by the salon culture of our Paidiea group -- enabling me to think more holistically about my education and what I'm learning in each separate course (just as a I tried to connect and consider the Symposium as a whole, single entity). I got to focus on this question a great deal during this Symposium and even spoke to Jim Hunt about it at the President's Dinner Thursday evening (he was assigned to my table and we spoke a great deal about what the Paideia program has meant to me, etc. etc.).
At any rate, though the history of Indian textiles doesn't really grab my passions, it did interest me to think that clothing was such a heavy salon topic during the 17th century and that fashion was even of political concern -- King Louis' view that Indian fabrics as a threat to his absolutist rule reminded me of the importance of fashionable hats to the American women in the early 20th century working at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory (where the great NY fire of 1911 took place) and how the safety of those hats the women bought with their own incomes came to represent women's right to autonomy in the public and domestic spheres and how that dramatically affected the power structure in America (perhaps similarly to how Louis perceived a possibility in his power structure altering).
It made me wonder about what gives people strength, impetus, and passion to move forward; what makes people demand equality and knowledge? (Speaking of "Equality," we've been discussing this topic rather heavily in my American Politics class lately and, I have to say, I'm hooked. Dr. O'Neill mentioned to us this story by Kurt Vonnegut entitled "Harrison Bergeron." In the story, a futuristic America has decided to make everyone forcibly equal -- attractive people wear masks, intelligent people are given shock treatments, people with above-average singing voices have their voices distorted, etc. And I keep coming back to this story now, it's haunting me, because, as Dr. Beasely explained via Bernier: "diversity leads to knowledge" -- thus, we should take care in how we discuss equality and what we mean by desiring it and seeking after it. You all should really check out an article by John H. Schaar called, "Equality of Opportunity and Beyond" -- it's pretty astonishing.)
Anyhoo, Brady and I teamed up at one of the guest luncheons (with Jonah Lehrer in Howry (he's a science writer, young, handsome guy, dropped science for writing at the beginning of grad school which reminded me of our Mr. Steven dropping biology for philosophy (and I told Mr. Lehrer as much)) and that was a great deal of fun though we really didn't get to talk with him much at all (too many other people). However, it was nice to have that bit of background knowledge of him given his often broad remarks during the first salon concerning the origins of human morality and perception.
Being in this first salon really did remind me of our Paideia group. Thinking about the older purposes of salons which was often to inspire new legislation, music, books, and ideas generally made me recognize the successes of our Paideia group in doing the same -- in introducing us to new ideas in science, human behavior, art history, literature, and culture studies to inspire (at least for me) articles, a book, and even some artwork. It's helped me act as a theoretical salonierre, a negotiator of conversations between different classes and schools of thought in order to better understand them as a whole, hence papers like my "Steinbeck, Snyder, and Barthelme: Literary Perspectives on Urban Environments" which connects modern literature with urban studies and my thesis paper "Howling Coyote" connecting Allen Ginsberg with Native American trickster narratives.
The first salon concerned itself with "Arts - Sciences - Religions: Conflict or Convergence?" And right away this reminded me of Brady's surprise at people believing in both evolution and the Biblical text as explanations of the beginning of the world because, I truly believe, that this trio works beautiful in convergence and that it is only with ignorance and misunderstanding in people that they come to conflict with one another. Some of the most interesting ideas proffered during the salon, I thought, surrounded the image of Onca Mouse (I know that's misspelled, but I have no idea how to spell it -- Dr. Hobgood-Oster introduced the salon with this image of a mouse wearing a crown of thorns, possessing human limbs, and trapped in a windowed box while being carefully watched by human eyes peering inward). For me this image was interesting because Dr. Cooper continuously returned to the idea of "breaking down the 4th wall" between the lecturers and the audience in order to facilitate the best conversation possible, however, for Onca Mouse, we literally were the 4th wall of eyes peering inward upon the poor Mouse and there was no escaping that wall or our role as part of it.
But this observation in itself fits beautifully with the larger conversation that took place as people seemed to come to the consensus that it is the interpretation of facts (and not necessarily the facts themselves) that is essential to the progress of the human project (thus, art, science, and history do all work together or at least can given our multitudes of individual interpretations.
This reminded me of our own Paideia conversations and all the different interpretations and backgrounds we bring to the table over every subject and reading, how we only sometimes reach a consensus but always manage to agree on the fact that all opinions should be given some modicum of respect (although, given our last article about Republicans as a minority in academic circles may bring us to question just how true we are to this agreement :p).
I, sadly, had to miss out on the second salon in order to go to class. I think I could've actually contributed to that salon too, given what I learned while in Monterrey. The second salon brought issues of technology into the discussion and, in Monterrey, I sat privy to discussions about introducing electronic text books into the classroom between professors and text book publishers. Anyway, cest la vie.
The third salon, the closing salon, was entitled "Ethics, the Arts, and Public Policy." Dean Gaffney was the salonierre for this one and began with his own definition of art which I'll paraphrase here because I liked it so much:
"art is something selected, edited, arranged by a human being that communicates something that cannot be communicated in any other way." Post-defining art, he opened up the conversation with the question: what is art in a public policy sense?
This led into another interesting slew of conversations concerning the connections between art and democracy (which especially interested me given my current involvement in Dr. O'Neill's American Politics class). I played usher for Dr. Mariotti in this salon and found myself particularly impressed by many of her comments on the issue. She brought up questions of what democracy looked like in theory versus practice (demos-kratia translating to the people rule) and how both the concepts of art and democracy function as vital concepts to American culture given their invaluable role in prompting us to think in new, individual, and diverse ways. A democracy, she explained, requires critically thinking citizens, and art helps promote critical thinking.
There was also a great deal of talk over economics and whether or not the market decided what was and what wasn't art, but, given my English capstone paper over Shakespeare's use of intrinsic value versus "economic" value in his plays, I can't say that I think the two types of values are separated all that dramatically in our minds and thus, it's up to art to differentiate between the two -- thus, as someone pointed out (I apologize for not having a name) the truths of analytic and emotional dialogue: certain things simply cannot be quantified/valued by market forces but by individuals alone. This made me think, again, of the issues of Beauty and Equality, and how to define major concepts we all individualize without ever consciously recognizing we do. Romeo and Juliet serve as an excellent example of art as a social good in this context as it is a play discussing just this issue -- the issue of conflicting definitions over a single entity, the tension which arises between conflicting beliefs/perceptions/interpretations over names, definitions, and values. All of this then reminded me of James Madison, that wonderful man, who wrote in the Federalist Papers about the need for majority coalitions versus majority factions because factions could monopolize the democracy and thus destroy it -- and yet, to destroy the factions would be to destroy liberty itself and also destroy the democracy -- hence his own world of concentric paradoxes (and, the Constitution, I believe, is a work of art in and of itself) in which he discussed the ideas of art, ethics, and public policy (though perhaps without recognizing he'd entered the realm of art as well).
As Dr. O'Neill explained, liberty to factions is as air to a flame. And so, according to JMad, "ambition must be made to counter ambition" -- art, ethics, public policy, science -- all these things must work for themselves in recognition of the others, forcibly progressing as a whole by existing in a world of simultaneous competition and cooperation. It's how are Congress is supposed to work and, I think, how a great deal of our Southwestern works as well.
What do you think?
Friday, February 11, 2011
The Loss & Recovery of Texas Slavery
Hello all, I'm in Dr. Stockton & Dr. Evans' Texas Slavery (Literature) course this semester and I just thought I'd throw out the address for our class' blog if anyone was interested in the civic engagement/film/history/literary project we're currently working on (it seemed very Paideia-esque to me, given it's interdisciplinary and civic engagement focuses).
http://slaveryintexas.wordpress.com/
I think the work we're doing there, the project that Dr. S & E have created, is really going to be something special. I had my own doubts about how much I would actually learn/enjoy/personally appreciate this class, but all those reservations have been blown away. I'm not a group-work kind of person, but this is really turning out to be an exciting opportunity and experience that I thought you all might want in on :]
till Tuesday :]
http://slaveryintexas.wordpress.com/
I think the work we're doing there, the project that Dr. S & E have created, is really going to be something special. I had my own doubts about how much I would actually learn/enjoy/personally appreciate this class, but all those reservations have been blown away. I'm not a group-work kind of person, but this is really turning out to be an exciting opportunity and experience that I thought you all might want in on :]
till Tuesday :]
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Hope Alliance Seminars
I literally had no idea what type of seminar or situation I was walking into today when I showed up for Paideia in the Ballrooms but I can safely say that I was excited the moment I found out :] My first seminar (as I believe was for most everyone in our group) was the Gender Identity Seminar, dealing with the definitions and cultural occurrences of homophobia, heternormativism, and heterosexism. For me it was a bit too large of a group to truly feel comfortable sharing such intimate information as personal experiences dealing with sexual abuse, assault, or oppression, but I do agree that such exercises in discussion are of paramount importance. After all, gay culture may be proliferating through our mainstream media nowadays but the primary depiction of homosexuals tends to be wealthy, white, and educated -- leading plenty of uneducated people to believe that the Gay Rights Movement is over and, in fact, seeking out special treatment. This depiction of homosexuality in our media obfuscates the fact that gays are not protected against discriminatory hiring and firing practices or that a great deal of the homosexual, bisexual, and, especially, the transsexual populations are poor and either under- or simply unemployed.
But beyond this, what most interested me, was simply in trying to derive a rhetoric or conversation opener I could utilize when I find myself presented with people who are homophobic simply to protect them and myself from my own tendency to be immediately critical rather than inquiring or constructive. Whenever my grandmother mistakenly or unwittingly says something heterosexist or prejudicial, I do ask her why she feels that way but I haven't yet been able to ask her in a non-accusatory fashion or tone -- and she is a generally loving and accepting woman who simply doesn't recognize the cognitive dissonance of some of her statements -- I'm just the one who doesn't recognize how to speak to her about my disagreements or offense at these remarks. I am self aware enough to know that I can quickly become heated and generalize when I come across something that offends me, and this is something I'm still trying to work on -- especially as a future teacher.
However, I did find that beyond the actual phrase, "heterosexism," there wasn't much said that I hadn't already heard. The same goes for the second speaker who focused on the "Personal is Political." Of course, I don't think that presenting "new" information was necessarily the goal of these seminars -- being in a forum of such discussion and remaining aware of the fact that these problems and cultural issues (and cultural "boxes," such as "Be a Man") persist seemed to be the primary goal, a goal I absolutely agree with and value.
I would like to add, however, a little something to the "Personal is Political" seminar -- I contend that, instead of LOVE YOURSELF being the most important realization to come to in fostering healthy relationships, I posit that being SELF AWARE is as if not more important than loving oneself. In fact, I would say that becoming better self aware is the first and larger step necessary before the step to loving oneself may be truly made. Loving yourself may make you more comfortable and happier with who you are, but becoming fully self aware enables you to better understand not only yourself, but how to articulate your feelings and opinions as well as constructively respond the the feelings and opinions of others. This is probably the largest and most valuable lesson I've come to terms with in college.
And, by the by, thank you again Dr. Giuliano not only for the encouragement and recommendation letter (which was utterly amazing and exceptionally generous), but for making sure I listened to the panel discussion over taking care of oneself. I did find our masculinity speaker particularly articulate and helpful in his explanation of why it is so vital to make sure that everyone, activists, students, and the rest, all take care of themselves in the midst of their battles to better the world. Taking care of yourself, as he explained, isn't selfish but a necessity -- and, in a society as absorbed with motion, binge dieting, drinking, and danger as ours, taking care of oneself can be a radical act and activism all on its own*** (this was his two cents that I found particularly insightful).
Channeling Columbo,
one more thing...
Did anyone else find it peculiar and potentially problematic that almost every photograph included in the "Men Can Help End Gender Violence" pamphlet, flattering or unflattering, is of a young black man?
Just thought I'd throw it out there for further consideration...
But beyond this, what most interested me, was simply in trying to derive a rhetoric or conversation opener I could utilize when I find myself presented with people who are homophobic simply to protect them and myself from my own tendency to be immediately critical rather than inquiring or constructive. Whenever my grandmother mistakenly or unwittingly says something heterosexist or prejudicial, I do ask her why she feels that way but I haven't yet been able to ask her in a non-accusatory fashion or tone -- and she is a generally loving and accepting woman who simply doesn't recognize the cognitive dissonance of some of her statements -- I'm just the one who doesn't recognize how to speak to her about my disagreements or offense at these remarks. I am self aware enough to know that I can quickly become heated and generalize when I come across something that offends me, and this is something I'm still trying to work on -- especially as a future teacher.
However, I did find that beyond the actual phrase, "heterosexism," there wasn't much said that I hadn't already heard. The same goes for the second speaker who focused on the "Personal is Political." Of course, I don't think that presenting "new" information was necessarily the goal of these seminars -- being in a forum of such discussion and remaining aware of the fact that these problems and cultural issues (and cultural "boxes," such as "Be a Man") persist seemed to be the primary goal, a goal I absolutely agree with and value.
I would like to add, however, a little something to the "Personal is Political" seminar -- I contend that, instead of LOVE YOURSELF being the most important realization to come to in fostering healthy relationships, I posit that being SELF AWARE is as if not more important than loving oneself. In fact, I would say that becoming better self aware is the first and larger step necessary before the step to loving oneself may be truly made. Loving yourself may make you more comfortable and happier with who you are, but becoming fully self aware enables you to better understand not only yourself, but how to articulate your feelings and opinions as well as constructively respond the the feelings and opinions of others. This is probably the largest and most valuable lesson I've come to terms with in college.
And, by the by, thank you again Dr. Giuliano not only for the encouragement and recommendation letter (which was utterly amazing and exceptionally generous), but for making sure I listened to the panel discussion over taking care of oneself. I did find our masculinity speaker particularly articulate and helpful in his explanation of why it is so vital to make sure that everyone, activists, students, and the rest, all take care of themselves in the midst of their battles to better the world. Taking care of yourself, as he explained, isn't selfish but a necessity -- and, in a society as absorbed with motion, binge dieting, drinking, and danger as ours, taking care of oneself can be a radical act and activism all on its own*** (this was his two cents that I found particularly insightful).
Channeling Columbo,
one more thing...
Did anyone else find it peculiar and potentially problematic that almost every photograph included in the "Men Can Help End Gender Violence" pamphlet, flattering or unflattering, is of a young black man?
Just thought I'd throw it out there for further consideration...
Monday, December 20, 2010
1638
Tonight's the night, folks! This is the first full lunar eclipse to take place on the winter solstice since 1638! Be out between 12:30 and 1:40 for a cosmic cool experience that hasn't been enjoyed for 372 years :]
dig it!
I found this image online (from muslimmatters.org), here's a little hint at what the moon should look like throughout that midnight hour.
dig it!
I found this image online (from muslimmatters.org), here's a little hint at what the moon should look like throughout that midnight hour.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
End of Semester Reflection, 2010
Well, I must say, this has been quite the fucking coyote crazy semester, my friends. I have enjoyed it but am also glad to get moving onto something a bit breezier (scary to think that my first overload semester may be easier than this one :p). I’ve been a bit more crazed than usual this semester due to a variety of factors – my boyfriend is graduating this semester (couldn’t be prouder of him), I’ve delved into many classes outside my academic comfort zone (i.e. Economics and Astronomy, no English), I’ve dealt with graduate applications and GRE work (that’s a lifetime I’ll never get back), normal class work stresses (pure enjoyment – no sarcasm, I mean it), got my book contract guaranteed and signed up (now I just have to finish writing the thing :p), I started an actual semi-extracurricular with the Paideia Conversations group, and then beyond this I have had quite a bit of family issue comin’ at me from the home front. But, overall, I cannot complain. After all, I was greeted with enthusiastic recommendation letter writers – shout out BIG thanks to ours truly, Dr. Giuliano, Dr. Gaines, Dr. Tahm, and Dr. Bednar – and my family is still alive and well and financially sound (though my grandpa did have a few run-ins with the hospital during this semester and my brother’s fiancé is now pregnant).
Basically, Paideia has helped keep me sane and moving this time around. Our conversations have given me a wonderful environment in which to ventilate, discuss project ideas, paper ideas (thank you, Michelle, by the way, as your presentation reading over bioethics has now become my major final paper topic for my Rhetorics of Resistance class – I can send you the final work if you want), and just general mental well-being. You all are a wonderful and joyous group to be surrounded by; getting the fresh air of new topics and lively conversation (which I am definitely not getting out of many of my new and younger classmates) left me feeling empowered after each class this semester. So, this Thanksgiving, I am particularly thankful for Paideia and you all in my cohort especially.
I again appreciated our system of dedicating one class to one person and their chosen topics/readings, though next semester I know I’d appreciate it if we could also use that time to perhaps faux-present our final project for Paideia and get feedback. I already presented on my thesis once in CA but, to be honest, presenting at the Student Works Symposium terrifies me much more than CA ever did. By n’ by, when and how do we go about getting a slot to present at the Student Works Symposium next semester?
I’ve still got a fair amount of work ahead of me – the last 35-40 pages of my thesis need to be edited by Friday, a Macro final exam, and then there’s a presentation and 12 page paper for Rhetorics of Resistance. But, overall, this is a blessing of a cool ending. Monday I have my next session with the Paideia Conversations group – I really should get crackin’ on the readings for that one :p – and then it’s just meetings and classes.
The thought of our Paideia group entering its final semester really does give me pause. It saddens me in a deep way I hadn’t anticipated. I really do love being a student at Southwestern; it’s such a safe and clean and encouraging environment, and you all have been a blessedly constant source of reassurance. It’s frightening and sad, the thought of losing our Tuesday meetings and our strange tangential conversations – but I suppose the good thing about a group so malleable as Paideia is that we don’t have to stop simply because we aren’t officially registered for the class. A prospective student’s parent asked me the other day if Paideia was simply a semester by semester type deal. And I told her, happily, no. Our blogs and Dr. G helped me so greatly while I was depressed out of my mind in New York City this past summer. I apologize for not being more involved in all of your blogs and summer activities – but I can’t thank you enough for being with me in New York even only in blog-ghost form.
You all have helped me greatly and widely. I am thankful for you and our time and times together.
See you Tuesday
Basically, Paideia has helped keep me sane and moving this time around. Our conversations have given me a wonderful environment in which to ventilate, discuss project ideas, paper ideas (thank you, Michelle, by the way, as your presentation reading over bioethics has now become my major final paper topic for my Rhetorics of Resistance class – I can send you the final work if you want), and just general mental well-being. You all are a wonderful and joyous group to be surrounded by; getting the fresh air of new topics and lively conversation (which I am definitely not getting out of many of my new and younger classmates) left me feeling empowered after each class this semester. So, this Thanksgiving, I am particularly thankful for Paideia and you all in my cohort especially.
I again appreciated our system of dedicating one class to one person and their chosen topics/readings, though next semester I know I’d appreciate it if we could also use that time to perhaps faux-present our final project for Paideia and get feedback. I already presented on my thesis once in CA but, to be honest, presenting at the Student Works Symposium terrifies me much more than CA ever did. By n’ by, when and how do we go about getting a slot to present at the Student Works Symposium next semester?
I’ve still got a fair amount of work ahead of me – the last 35-40 pages of my thesis need to be edited by Friday, a Macro final exam, and then there’s a presentation and 12 page paper for Rhetorics of Resistance. But, overall, this is a blessing of a cool ending. Monday I have my next session with the Paideia Conversations group – I really should get crackin’ on the readings for that one :p – and then it’s just meetings and classes.
The thought of our Paideia group entering its final semester really does give me pause. It saddens me in a deep way I hadn’t anticipated. I really do love being a student at Southwestern; it’s such a safe and clean and encouraging environment, and you all have been a blessedly constant source of reassurance. It’s frightening and sad, the thought of losing our Tuesday meetings and our strange tangential conversations – but I suppose the good thing about a group so malleable as Paideia is that we don’t have to stop simply because we aren’t officially registered for the class. A prospective student’s parent asked me the other day if Paideia was simply a semester by semester type deal. And I told her, happily, no. Our blogs and Dr. G helped me so greatly while I was depressed out of my mind in New York City this past summer. I apologize for not being more involved in all of your blogs and summer activities – but I can’t thank you enough for being with me in New York even only in blog-ghost form.
You all have helped me greatly and widely. I am thankful for you and our time and times together.
See you Tuesday
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Astronomy
Check out the photos I took in Dr. Bottorff's Astronomy course! If you look closely at the Jupiter photo, you can see two of its Galilean moons. I was so impressed with Dr. B's cameras that they could pick those up along with some of the belts and zones.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Job Market -- College Degrees to Sop Up Tears?
Well, I apologize for how depressing my chosen article was but I feel like it was an important piece to share with my fellow near-graduates.
"How a New Jobless Era Will Transform America" by Don Peck from the Atlantic
is one of the best articles I've come across (thank you, Dr. Roberts) describing the actual issues and possible latent consequences of our actions right now as college graduates, whether we're moving back home, going to graduate school (fingers crossed!), or marching bravely into the job market.
I cannot tell you how frightening it is to know that my joining the job market while the economy is weak is tantamount to beginning my career $100,000 in debt compared to those who entered the job market during a healthy economy -- but what interested me most about this article was the cultural psychology it dipped into. From discussing the differences between how men and women are responding to joblessness, considering that men are culturally the breadwinners -- breadwinners which amount to 3/4 of our newly unemployed population -- to discussing the problematic cocktail of apathy and entitlement supposedly poisoning our generation's chances.
I'd like to focus, here, on this apathy/entitlement issue (as it more directly pertains to me as a member of this accused generation). I was very glad we got to spend so much time examining this problem because, despite the microcosm of aggressive workers at Southwestern University, it is apparent to me (from others I've known through high school and through media) that this problem does actually permeate our generation. The fact that many of our generation do not even know generally what the Federal Reserve is or does is an issue worth addressing. One would think that being born into an "era of joblessness" would make those of us entering the shit work harder to be more aware and knowledgeable about the economy and how it works. This is all partly why I decided to take at least an introductory course into micro and macroeconomics -- it just seemed too important and far too relevant to pass up. But the fact that this economic crisis hasn't shaken many of our peers out of the wealth mirage and into the reality that is lifetime barista-hood, troubles me.
I would like to reiterate, however, the point which Dr. Giuliano helped me come to that this mixture of apathy and entitlement to wealth really didn't begin with us and our generation, but with our parents. After all, what else but apathy for the future and entitlement to the wealth of now could've convinced people it was wise or even ethical to "purchase" houses on 90-100% borrowed money? When did we decide it was cool to switch from 30% of our income to beyond the entirety of our annual incomes? Isn't buying beyond our means (and knowing that a bubble is forming -- lookin' at you Alan Greenspan) a particularly keen example of American entitlement? If our model generation is spending and spending beyond its means because they believe they deserve to do so, why should our generation feel any less entitled?
It was simply nice to know that we aren't entirely to blame for our cultural make-up -- everything comes from somewhere, I suppose.
At any rate, if this cocktail, article, and economic shit has taught us anything, I hope it's the necessity of aggressive learning and pursuit of opportunities. Persistence is the key to success and apathy is apparently not only the lock from success but the mote filled with sharks as well. We must not be discouraged or demoralized -- we must fight for those jobs out there and we must begin to fight for each other. If we could just improve our schools and our health care (whoop, whoop, universal health care!), then America truly would be the land of opportunity.
Thanks for bearing with me through this mammoth of blues, this dark harbinger -- but things are looking up. According to the Wall Street Journal, businesses are gaining confidence which could mean an increase in investment spending which could lend businesses the boost needed to begin hiring more people. Plus, Ben Bernanke's $600 billion stimulus package will definitely help out, devaluing the dollar this way will increase our exports beautifully and should be another good promoter of business investment spending. Also, this is probably a good time to start investing in the EFA ETF -- foreign economies are probably going to pick up quicker than ours will.
Anyway, I'll keep praying for President Obama and Chairman Bernanke, and we'll see where we go.
ciao for now
P.S. Here's a link to the article again, if anyone needs/wants it.
http://people.southwestern.edu/~earlyd/su_only/principles/How%20a%20New%20Jobless%20Era%20Will%20Transform%20America.pdf
"How a New Jobless Era Will Transform America" by Don Peck from the Atlantic
is one of the best articles I've come across (thank you, Dr. Roberts) describing the actual issues and possible latent consequences of our actions right now as college graduates, whether we're moving back home, going to graduate school (fingers crossed!), or marching bravely into the job market.
I cannot tell you how frightening it is to know that my joining the job market while the economy is weak is tantamount to beginning my career $100,000 in debt compared to those who entered the job market during a healthy economy -- but what interested me most about this article was the cultural psychology it dipped into. From discussing the differences between how men and women are responding to joblessness, considering that men are culturally the breadwinners -- breadwinners which amount to 3/4 of our newly unemployed population -- to discussing the problematic cocktail of apathy and entitlement supposedly poisoning our generation's chances.
I'd like to focus, here, on this apathy/entitlement issue (as it more directly pertains to me as a member of this accused generation). I was very glad we got to spend so much time examining this problem because, despite the microcosm of aggressive workers at Southwestern University, it is apparent to me (from others I've known through high school and through media) that this problem does actually permeate our generation. The fact that many of our generation do not even know generally what the Federal Reserve is or does is an issue worth addressing. One would think that being born into an "era of joblessness" would make those of us entering the shit work harder to be more aware and knowledgeable about the economy and how it works. This is all partly why I decided to take at least an introductory course into micro and macroeconomics -- it just seemed too important and far too relevant to pass up. But the fact that this economic crisis hasn't shaken many of our peers out of the wealth mirage and into the reality that is lifetime barista-hood, troubles me.
I would like to reiterate, however, the point which Dr. Giuliano helped me come to that this mixture of apathy and entitlement to wealth really didn't begin with us and our generation, but with our parents. After all, what else but apathy for the future and entitlement to the wealth of now could've convinced people it was wise or even ethical to "purchase" houses on 90-100% borrowed money? When did we decide it was cool to switch from 30% of our income to beyond the entirety of our annual incomes? Isn't buying beyond our means (and knowing that a bubble is forming -- lookin' at you Alan Greenspan) a particularly keen example of American entitlement? If our model generation is spending and spending beyond its means because they believe they deserve to do so, why should our generation feel any less entitled?
It was simply nice to know that we aren't entirely to blame for our cultural make-up -- everything comes from somewhere, I suppose.
At any rate, if this cocktail, article, and economic shit has taught us anything, I hope it's the necessity of aggressive learning and pursuit of opportunities. Persistence is the key to success and apathy is apparently not only the lock from success but the mote filled with sharks as well. We must not be discouraged or demoralized -- we must fight for those jobs out there and we must begin to fight for each other. If we could just improve our schools and our health care (whoop, whoop, universal health care!), then America truly would be the land of opportunity.
Thanks for bearing with me through this mammoth of blues, this dark harbinger -- but things are looking up. According to the Wall Street Journal, businesses are gaining confidence which could mean an increase in investment spending which could lend businesses the boost needed to begin hiring more people. Plus, Ben Bernanke's $600 billion stimulus package will definitely help out, devaluing the dollar this way will increase our exports beautifully and should be another good promoter of business investment spending. Also, this is probably a good time to start investing in the EFA ETF -- foreign economies are probably going to pick up quicker than ours will.
Anyway, I'll keep praying for President Obama and Chairman Bernanke, and we'll see where we go.
ciao for now
P.S. Here's a link to the article again, if anyone needs/wants it.
http://people.southwestern.edu/~earlyd/su_only/principles/How%20a%20New%20Jobless%20Era%20Will%20Transform%20America.pdf
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Paideia Conversations Cohort with Dr. Brynes
Hello all! I thought I'd go ahead and write a blog about this even though it doesn't fully relate to our cohort because it does relate importantly to Paideia as a whole. I was recently invited to co-facilitate a freshman pre-Paideia cohort class called a Paideia Conversation Cohort. So I am co-facilitating with Dr. Melissa Brynes (from the history department) a course over her topic choice: "Demonization in our Public Discourse." It's pretty swanky and goes very well with what I am already learning in my Rhetorics of Resistance class with Professor Feyh as well as with the sort of things (protest rhetoric and literature) that I intend on studying further in graduate school. :]
So we had our first meeting last night with a group of 9 total, and everyone was just fantastic. It's very reassuring to be surrounded by such a wonderfully intelligent and energetic group as those 7 freshmen. We discussed everything from the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear to Tea Party rhetoric to Andrew Jackson to Paideia in general. To be honest, it was very hard for me to keep quiet and let them do more of the talking but -- though I do participate a bunch because I just can't help myself -- they certainly didn't let their own voices become subsumed. And yet I don't know if I've ever seen a more polite group of people talking about politics and religion who all had opinions and all wanted to share them.
I'm pretty sure we're only meeting once more this semester (which is kind of a drag, I think, since I loved it) but we are meeting more frequently next semester. I am very jacked up about this -- I think this next generation of Paideia students is going to be just rockin'! I hope everyone from this Conversation group digs it enough to give full-blown Paideia a shot; this is a really promising, sassy, perceptive, and foxy bunch of students.
I can't wait to converse with them again -- November 29th!
ciao for now,
Katie
So we had our first meeting last night with a group of 9 total, and everyone was just fantastic. It's very reassuring to be surrounded by such a wonderfully intelligent and energetic group as those 7 freshmen. We discussed everything from the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear to Tea Party rhetoric to Andrew Jackson to Paideia in general. To be honest, it was very hard for me to keep quiet and let them do more of the talking but -- though I do participate a bunch because I just can't help myself -- they certainly didn't let their own voices become subsumed. And yet I don't know if I've ever seen a more polite group of people talking about politics and religion who all had opinions and all wanted to share them.
I'm pretty sure we're only meeting once more this semester (which is kind of a drag, I think, since I loved it) but we are meeting more frequently next semester. I am very jacked up about this -- I think this next generation of Paideia students is going to be just rockin'! I hope everyone from this Conversation group digs it enough to give full-blown Paideia a shot; this is a really promising, sassy, perceptive, and foxy bunch of students.
I can't wait to converse with them again -- November 29th!
ciao for now,
Katie
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear!
This is truly something special. Watching this rally reinvigorated my appreciation for America and has even satiated some of my anger toward opposing groups simply by reminding me of all these other Americans out there who feel the same way.
God bless these good people.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/30/live-blog-rally-to-restore-sanity-andor-fear/?hp
Of course, I must say, it is rather silly that Fox News has decided to focus on the fact that this rally was, in fact, political. Of course it was Foxy. This isn't news to anyone else.
God bless these good people.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/30/live-blog-rally-to-restore-sanity-andor-fear/?hp
Of course, I must say, it is rather silly that Fox News has decided to focus on the fact that this rally was, in fact, political. Of course it was Foxy. This isn't news to anyone else.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
I have a book contract, baby! October 11th, 2011, I'm comin' for yah!
Mid-Semester Updates
Well, hello again! Time for the mid-semester report card:
I just took the GRE this past weekend and scored a 640 on the Verbal (91st percentile, baby!) and a sad little 550 on the math (but who cares when you’re going into history?), so I’m a very happy camper on that front. I’ve also just been invited to co-facilitate one of the new freshman Paideia Conversation cohorts with Dr. Melissa Brynes in the history department, which is exciting for teaching-experience purposes as well as just sounding like great fun :]
I’ve also just been informed that my book contract with McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers is in the mail to me now so I should have it in my hands within the next day or so :D And while this news makes me ecstatic, it also scares me because that’s another 100 pages tacked onto my schedule of things-to-do. It’s a good thing I enjoy it, right? I do worry sometimes that I’ve really bitten off more than I can chew this semester, I’ve been much more stressed than I normally am, but I think a lot of that has to do with the giant question mark that is graduate school. I very much love plans and schedules, even if they are vague ones, so this not knowing is really putting me uncomfortably on the edge of my seat. Of course, the emails I’ve been getting back from professors at graduate schools have been nothing but positive, so I am on an upswing of confidence currently.
But the book contract is a big boon and branch of my Paideia research project/American Studies capstone/American Studies Honor Thesis. For the thesis-thesis itself, the Paideia project, I’m turning in thirty pages of edited material a month to Dr. Bednar for his feedback before deciding which sections to send to my other committee members. I’m currently preparing the second set of thirty pages, and it’s time consuming, but highly enjoyable. It’s relaxing to work on something I have so much control over. Other people have eating disorders, I write books. It makes sense to me :]
Anyhoo, I’ve also decided to use parts of this thesis for my graduate school writing sample – and you wouldn’t believe how often Paideia has come up in my Statements of Purpose for graduate schools! This really is a gold mine of education and confidence-building exercises, I think. So, thank you, Paideia!
Beyond this, I would like to also say just how much I’ve enjoyed the class readings and discussions so far. From Kandinsky to how our language forms our perspectives on the world (those articles are still blowing my mind) to introverts taking back the floor – it’s been an extremely diverse and yet well blended semester, I think, so far. Especially the language and introvert/extrovert discussions, I found, went exceptionally well together. I would like more discussion in class about our research projects though, just to see what exactly people are thinking about, what questions have most arrested their interests, etc. I’m very excited to introduce my reading material in November though I still haven’t decided between another article over the Beats or an article over Native American studies.
But these readings so far have really pleased me and appealed to my sense of liberal arts & what Paideia (I believe) is supposed to be about. These readings, though easily connected to each other, are coming from very different perspectives and have yielded some very interesting conversations. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around the idea of introverts giving thought to how they feel – honestly, that’s not a bad thing or a insult, it’s just that that’s amazing to me. I feel that my tolerance and excitement for the differences of our world has been greatly expanded already this semester, causing me to rethink certain relationships and ideas and how I read and understand the works and ideas of people from other hemispheres and personality types.
I think it could be cool to speak more about any connections between these readings though – I’d be interested to see what connections people see or thought about between these articles and the German Art article, for instance. But I think we’re doing some very good work so far; I’m proud of us.
Till we meet again
I just took the GRE this past weekend and scored a 640 on the Verbal (91st percentile, baby!) and a sad little 550 on the math (but who cares when you’re going into history?), so I’m a very happy camper on that front. I’ve also just been invited to co-facilitate one of the new freshman Paideia Conversation cohorts with Dr. Melissa Brynes in the history department, which is exciting for teaching-experience purposes as well as just sounding like great fun :]
I’ve also just been informed that my book contract with McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers is in the mail to me now so I should have it in my hands within the next day or so :D And while this news makes me ecstatic, it also scares me because that’s another 100 pages tacked onto my schedule of things-to-do. It’s a good thing I enjoy it, right? I do worry sometimes that I’ve really bitten off more than I can chew this semester, I’ve been much more stressed than I normally am, but I think a lot of that has to do with the giant question mark that is graduate school. I very much love plans and schedules, even if they are vague ones, so this not knowing is really putting me uncomfortably on the edge of my seat. Of course, the emails I’ve been getting back from professors at graduate schools have been nothing but positive, so I am on an upswing of confidence currently.
But the book contract is a big boon and branch of my Paideia research project/American Studies capstone/American Studies Honor Thesis. For the thesis-thesis itself, the Paideia project, I’m turning in thirty pages of edited material a month to Dr. Bednar for his feedback before deciding which sections to send to my other committee members. I’m currently preparing the second set of thirty pages, and it’s time consuming, but highly enjoyable. It’s relaxing to work on something I have so much control over. Other people have eating disorders, I write books. It makes sense to me :]
Anyhoo, I’ve also decided to use parts of this thesis for my graduate school writing sample – and you wouldn’t believe how often Paideia has come up in my Statements of Purpose for graduate schools! This really is a gold mine of education and confidence-building exercises, I think. So, thank you, Paideia!
Beyond this, I would like to also say just how much I’ve enjoyed the class readings and discussions so far. From Kandinsky to how our language forms our perspectives on the world (those articles are still blowing my mind) to introverts taking back the floor – it’s been an extremely diverse and yet well blended semester, I think, so far. Especially the language and introvert/extrovert discussions, I found, went exceptionally well together. I would like more discussion in class about our research projects though, just to see what exactly people are thinking about, what questions have most arrested their interests, etc. I’m very excited to introduce my reading material in November though I still haven’t decided between another article over the Beats or an article over Native American studies.
But these readings so far have really pleased me and appealed to my sense of liberal arts & what Paideia (I believe) is supposed to be about. These readings, though easily connected to each other, are coming from very different perspectives and have yielded some very interesting conversations. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around the idea of introverts giving thought to how they feel – honestly, that’s not a bad thing or a insult, it’s just that that’s amazing to me. I feel that my tolerance and excitement for the differences of our world has been greatly expanded already this semester, causing me to rethink certain relationships and ideas and how I read and understand the works and ideas of people from other hemispheres and personality types.
I think it could be cool to speak more about any connections between these readings though – I’d be interested to see what connections people see or thought about between these articles and the German Art article, for instance. But I think we’re doing some very good work so far; I’m proud of us.
Till we meet again
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Off Campus Event: Healthcare Conferences -- Oh, November November
GO OBAMACARE! Or, as it's actually called, GO PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT! I still believe in you!
Well, stepping into the Austin Doubletree hotel for the Healthcare Conference was pretty intimidating. I had to skip Thursday and Friday classes to be there and while that was a disappointment, it was more than worth it. I’m in no way a healthcare buff and I’m just now breaking into the basics of Economics with my Principles class, but it was truly something. Especially Dr. Nancy Dickey – she’s the president of the Texas A&M Health Science Center and the vice chancellor for health affairs for The Texas A&M University System – and while I’m actually very against the creepiness that is A&M university, she was an amazing speaker.
Surrounded by well-dressed economists, teachers, chair people, CPPP people, healthcare professionals, Texas legislatures and the like, all their spoons tinkling in coffee cups and their lips all pursed in interest or boredom, I took notes over Dr. Dickey’s: “Who’s Got the Roadmap? Health Reform, TX Style.” I had my doubts about this as I’m not much of a “TX Style” person, but very quickly I became impressed. She stated the general September 23rd goals promised by Obama’s Healthcare as follows:
• Allow parents to keep children on insurance till age 26 (whoo-hoo!)
• Eliminate lifetime limits on coverage
• And, I can’t believe this hasn’t always been outright illegal, prohibit insurers from rescinding benefits if beneficiaries become ill
And I’m happy to report that these have been met. And this is a big step forward. Of course, my major question continues to be that we all already know TX is a shit-lined black hole of health care, but how are we supposed to fix any of it without first fixing the absolutely deplorable evil education system issues in TX? Of course, then a woman on the panel made the absolutely stunning comment that “We all know Texas has a great education system” … and that’s when I realized how much of this was already lost. Much of the wonderful and impressive proposals and hopes put forward at this conference intimidated me in their scope and filled me with hope for America’s future healthcare systems and reform – but it also depressed me to hear such a great denial of such a large problem in TX that could greatly help in the solution of these related issues. Healthcare is not an island-problem. It’s a problem interrelated with class conflicts, education issues, poverty, etc, etc, etc. Of course, it was reassuring to hear all the great murmurings at my table of “Great education system? WHAT education system?”
Anyhoo, another big problem facing us is the Craven Physician Paradox: where “the public” everyone kept referring to either absolutely listen to their physician instead of outside clinical expertise while still stand in their physician’s way as what spooks them out of prescribing anything themselves and referring said spooky patients to those same specialists … At some point, it has to be the physician’s responsibility to simply diagnose and treat their patients – if they won’t trust their own educations then why I am even making a pit stop in their offices to begin with?
There was a great listing over those two days of issues upon issues within America’s healthcare system, but, I’m pleased to report, I’ve rarely found so many hopeful people. We have the means to fix this staggering problem – we’re all just waiting on November at this point.
But why should anyone have to wait any longer for healthcare reform? When do we all finally say: now is the time? We’ve waited long enough.
Here's the Center for Public Policy Priorities (they're the Good Guys) website for more information over the conference:
http://cppp.org/events/event_details.php?eid=274
ciao for now neighborinos
Well, stepping into the Austin Doubletree hotel for the Healthcare Conference was pretty intimidating. I had to skip Thursday and Friday classes to be there and while that was a disappointment, it was more than worth it. I’m in no way a healthcare buff and I’m just now breaking into the basics of Economics with my Principles class, but it was truly something. Especially Dr. Nancy Dickey – she’s the president of the Texas A&M Health Science Center and the vice chancellor for health affairs for The Texas A&M University System – and while I’m actually very against the creepiness that is A&M university, she was an amazing speaker.
Surrounded by well-dressed economists, teachers, chair people, CPPP people, healthcare professionals, Texas legislatures and the like, all their spoons tinkling in coffee cups and their lips all pursed in interest or boredom, I took notes over Dr. Dickey’s: “Who’s Got the Roadmap? Health Reform, TX Style.” I had my doubts about this as I’m not much of a “TX Style” person, but very quickly I became impressed. She stated the general September 23rd goals promised by Obama’s Healthcare as follows:
• Allow parents to keep children on insurance till age 26 (whoo-hoo!)
• Eliminate lifetime limits on coverage
• And, I can’t believe this hasn’t always been outright illegal, prohibit insurers from rescinding benefits if beneficiaries become ill
And I’m happy to report that these have been met. And this is a big step forward. Of course, my major question continues to be that we all already know TX is a shit-lined black hole of health care, but how are we supposed to fix any of it without first fixing the absolutely deplorable evil education system issues in TX? Of course, then a woman on the panel made the absolutely stunning comment that “We all know Texas has a great education system” … and that’s when I realized how much of this was already lost. Much of the wonderful and impressive proposals and hopes put forward at this conference intimidated me in their scope and filled me with hope for America’s future healthcare systems and reform – but it also depressed me to hear such a great denial of such a large problem in TX that could greatly help in the solution of these related issues. Healthcare is not an island-problem. It’s a problem interrelated with class conflicts, education issues, poverty, etc, etc, etc. Of course, it was reassuring to hear all the great murmurings at my table of “Great education system? WHAT education system?”
Anyhoo, another big problem facing us is the Craven Physician Paradox: where “the public” everyone kept referring to either absolutely listen to their physician instead of outside clinical expertise while still stand in their physician’s way as what spooks them out of prescribing anything themselves and referring said spooky patients to those same specialists … At some point, it has to be the physician’s responsibility to simply diagnose and treat their patients – if they won’t trust their own educations then why I am even making a pit stop in their offices to begin with?
There was a great listing over those two days of issues upon issues within America’s healthcare system, but, I’m pleased to report, I’ve rarely found so many hopeful people. We have the means to fix this staggering problem – we’re all just waiting on November at this point.
But why should anyone have to wait any longer for healthcare reform? When do we all finally say: now is the time? We’ve waited long enough.
Here's the Center for Public Policy Priorities (they're the Good Guys) website for more information over the conference:
http://cppp.org/events/event_details.php?eid=274
ciao for now neighborinos
Monday, September 20, 2010
On Campus Event: LaDonna Harris
I attended the September 7th Ballrooms lecture with LaDonna Harris on "Global Indigeneity and Indigenous Value-Based Leadership in the 21st Century." I was very pumped for this lecture given my interest in Indigenous studies as well as my great respect and appreciation for Dr. Tahmahkera’s work. However, I found myself actually coming away with more from Dr. Tahm’s introduction of Ms. Harris than from her actual lecture.
Her lecture was co-sponsored by nearly every department and its brother – apparently everyone wanted in on this rarer of the minorities action. Ms. Harris herself is a Comanche activist and stateswoman with the organization (she founded) called Americans for Indian Opportunity. She’s an older woman and beautiful, and she had a wonderful way of speaking and storytelling. However, it ended up being more story than informational substance within her lecture. There’s was a great deal of discussion about her family and personal experiences – which is cool, I have no problem with that, but I was expecting a much more detailed discussion about her activist organization’s history, it’s current work, and how we could potentially get involved.
She did discuss some of the issues with the “browning” of America and “how we have to change our literatures to be inclusive of others.” – a quote I actually found very cool given my thesis which also discusses the necessity of better including both Native American and Beat literatures within the general American literary canon (as it is taught within schools private and public) in order to improve general inclusiveness of both cultures. She had another good quote-moment: “I don’t have all the answers but I have some ideas.”
And while I greatly appreciated that sentiment, as I mentioned, I also found myself frustrated by the fact that she didn’t mention any ways for us – the bulk of “us,” her audience, being white and relatively wealthy – to get involved with helping bring those ideas into fruition. Also, I took a friend with me who posed some interesting questions about the lecture material and who discussed with me the issue facing most of us well-intentioned non-Natives:
How are we supposed to help without becoming a detrimental or assimilating force?
Some other poor kid managed to choke out something like this question before I could but even then her answer was less than satisfactory. I believe it had something to do with us finding and nurturing our medicine. And I do understand and appreciate the sentiment because if everyone continued to nurture their education throughout the entirety of their lives then perhaps we’d have a much more peaceful and tolerant world, but I just wanted wanted wanted something concrete.
I suppose, though, concrete is too easy – if there was a concrete answer or way, after all, I’m sure these sorts of prejudices and ignorance would no longer be such a plague and problem for our globalizing societies. But the problem of how to get further involved with the Indigenous cause without becoming a detrimental force or overstepping my boundaries continues to haunt me.
I just read this poem by Sherman Alexie (a Spokane author/screenwriter/filmmaker) from his collection “War Dances” entitled, “Go, Ghost, Go,” and though it’s probably illegal for me to post it up here I’ll just give a little snippit of the ending since it’s just so piquant and has spoken to me so cleanly:
(he’s discussing how strange it is for a white professor to speak so excitedly or agreeably about the Ghost Dance which is a dance that would, if performed properly, send all white men to hell and resurrect all Indians)
“I think that he thinks he’s the new Jesus.
He’s eager to get on that cross
And pay the ultimate cost
Because he’s addicted to the indigenous.”
As hard as it may have been (and continues to be) to think on the vagueness of Ms. Harris’s lecture and advice, perhaps it’s me who needs to reevaluate what exactly it is that I’m hoping to achieve or accomplish. Perhaps I simply need to narrow down my focus – that does seem to be the reoccurring issue within my statement of purpose for graduate school – I just want to do too many things and become a greater force than I am.
Her lecture was co-sponsored by nearly every department and its brother – apparently everyone wanted in on this rarer of the minorities action. Ms. Harris herself is a Comanche activist and stateswoman with the organization (she founded) called Americans for Indian Opportunity. She’s an older woman and beautiful, and she had a wonderful way of speaking and storytelling. However, it ended up being more story than informational substance within her lecture. There’s was a great deal of discussion about her family and personal experiences – which is cool, I have no problem with that, but I was expecting a much more detailed discussion about her activist organization’s history, it’s current work, and how we could potentially get involved.
She did discuss some of the issues with the “browning” of America and “how we have to change our literatures to be inclusive of others.” – a quote I actually found very cool given my thesis which also discusses the necessity of better including both Native American and Beat literatures within the general American literary canon (as it is taught within schools private and public) in order to improve general inclusiveness of both cultures. She had another good quote-moment: “I don’t have all the answers but I have some ideas.”
And while I greatly appreciated that sentiment, as I mentioned, I also found myself frustrated by the fact that she didn’t mention any ways for us – the bulk of “us,” her audience, being white and relatively wealthy – to get involved with helping bring those ideas into fruition. Also, I took a friend with me who posed some interesting questions about the lecture material and who discussed with me the issue facing most of us well-intentioned non-Natives:
How are we supposed to help without becoming a detrimental or assimilating force?
Some other poor kid managed to choke out something like this question before I could but even then her answer was less than satisfactory. I believe it had something to do with us finding and nurturing our medicine. And I do understand and appreciate the sentiment because if everyone continued to nurture their education throughout the entirety of their lives then perhaps we’d have a much more peaceful and tolerant world, but I just wanted wanted wanted something concrete.
I suppose, though, concrete is too easy – if there was a concrete answer or way, after all, I’m sure these sorts of prejudices and ignorance would no longer be such a plague and problem for our globalizing societies. But the problem of how to get further involved with the Indigenous cause without becoming a detrimental force or overstepping my boundaries continues to haunt me.
I just read this poem by Sherman Alexie (a Spokane author/screenwriter/filmmaker) from his collection “War Dances” entitled, “Go, Ghost, Go,” and though it’s probably illegal for me to post it up here I’ll just give a little snippit of the ending since it’s just so piquant and has spoken to me so cleanly:
(he’s discussing how strange it is for a white professor to speak so excitedly or agreeably about the Ghost Dance which is a dance that would, if performed properly, send all white men to hell and resurrect all Indians)
“I think that he thinks he’s the new Jesus.
He’s eager to get on that cross
And pay the ultimate cost
Because he’s addicted to the indigenous.”
As hard as it may have been (and continues to be) to think on the vagueness of Ms. Harris’s lecture and advice, perhaps it’s me who needs to reevaluate what exactly it is that I’m hoping to achieve or accomplish. Perhaps I simply need to narrow down my focus – that does seem to be the reoccurring issue within my statement of purpose for graduate school – I just want to do too many things and become a greater force than I am.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
addenda!
What if we also were able to get a change made to the course evaluations asking students if professors or how professors connected to a larger liberal arts idea(l)?
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Paideia 2010/2011 -- Senior Year
First of all... WELCOME BACK It's so wonderful to be back and learning with you all, my dear friends.
Well, I think I might like a weird goal for Paideia this semester to be to spur a social movement on campus – perhaps it’s a small one, a local one, but I’d like to try and brainstorm ways to make both Paideia and the campus as a whole a more efficient and true liberal arts environment. In all my years here, I’ve had count ‘em ONE professor ask me how their coursework interacted with what I was learning in my other classes. I believe this is fundamentally wrong for teachers at a professed liberal arts institution. People need to get out of the mindset that they are teaching in or majoring in a single department & remember that everything is interrelated and that by looking at this wider scope we may discover ways of truly and meaningfully changing social systems in the future.
I’m learning about a lot of this ahora in my Rhetorics of Resistance and Principles of Economics classes (Econ being the ONE class to try and reach out to my other classes) and I truly believe that this is something we as Paideia students should’ve been required to do from the beginning. I know this is a tres ambitious goal but I think it may also be a doable one – at least a Begin-able one – and one for which we are all uniquely apt candidates to strive for given that we are seniors and would (hopefully) be pissing off all the students and professors EXCEPT those writing our letters of recommendation :p I mean, what would it take? Some petitions, some advertising, a facebook group, a couple tables in the Commons, maybe a speech in the Cove instead of a concert series, some letters to the Admins up top, some rogue professor support, and all for professors to just ask the question:
“How does this tie in with what you’re learning in your other classes?”
And maybe even assign a short paper or two per semester about how the material is related or may be influenced or apt for some other coursework in another class – I haven’t had a single problem doing this on my own time with classes as putatively distant as Exploring the Universe and Shakespeare Topics to classes as already clearly linked as Principles of Economics and Urban History. This would force students to think more completely and liberally about what they’re learning and thus would help them better appreciate all fields and knowledge, AN APPRECIATION FOR LEARNING ITSELF, and would force professors to return to working and better communicating with each other – maybe even create interdisciplinary projects together one day – and thus break up this anti-liberal segmentation that’s so easy and become so popular.
What do you all think?
I think this could also double as our civic engagement project.
As to my Intercultural Experience – that’s what my previous five or six blogs has been about. I went this summer first to South Carolina for a family vacation/mini reunion, then to Monterey, CA in order to present my Honor Thesis (which is also my Creative Works Research Project for Paideia (as well as for my American Studies Capstone)) (and it went amazingly beautifully wonderfully, by the way), and then I flew directly from CA to NYC in order to study Comparative Ethnic Urbanisms with NYU. It was a terrifying and sobering experience which has led me to better narrow my goals for my graduate study which now reach to study history as a webbed entity using literary works as focal points and from their work both as a constant volunteer and author in social activism to aid in environmental causes as well as in aiding in the end of educational inequality. I was dropped in a class of 8 people from different cities and countries to study together the urban enclaves of Indians, Chinese, Vietnamese, Latinos (Salvadorian, Mexican, Dominican, etc), and Arab peoples – not to mention the variety of cultural parades I ended up walking into from the Gay Pride Parade to the Pakistan Independence Parade. It was a wild ride that has spurred in me a greater need to dedicate my wonderful education and career goals to social activism – it has also spurred in me a great dislike of NYC as a city of sad people in a wreaking environment that just happens to house some of the most magnificent museums on the planet.
As for my Creative Works Honor Thesis:
I am very proud to tell you all that by graduation this spring, I may have an official book deal/contract with McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. I turned in a proposal of my Honor Thesis to them & they really dig it & so now we’re have contractual discussions :D Of course, they want an expanded version of my (so far) 96page thesis, so my actual Paideia/Capstone project will remain focused upon specifically Ginsberg’s “Howl” and the influences of Native American trickster mythology within it but the separate expanded versions it will also discuss up to seven other poems as well as broader protest and social movement affects, implications, ect. I’ve already, as aforementioned, finished the rough draft so now I’m dedicating this semester and next semester to editorial work. I’ve also, as aforementioned, already presented on this project, but I’m hoping to also have the time to present it at next semester’s Student Works Symposium.
I’m so excited! :D
until Tuesday…
Well, I think I might like a weird goal for Paideia this semester to be to spur a social movement on campus – perhaps it’s a small one, a local one, but I’d like to try and brainstorm ways to make both Paideia and the campus as a whole a more efficient and true liberal arts environment. In all my years here, I’ve had count ‘em ONE professor ask me how their coursework interacted with what I was learning in my other classes. I believe this is fundamentally wrong for teachers at a professed liberal arts institution. People need to get out of the mindset that they are teaching in or majoring in a single department & remember that everything is interrelated and that by looking at this wider scope we may discover ways of truly and meaningfully changing social systems in the future.
I’m learning about a lot of this ahora in my Rhetorics of Resistance and Principles of Economics classes (Econ being the ONE class to try and reach out to my other classes) and I truly believe that this is something we as Paideia students should’ve been required to do from the beginning. I know this is a tres ambitious goal but I think it may also be a doable one – at least a Begin-able one – and one for which we are all uniquely apt candidates to strive for given that we are seniors and would (hopefully) be pissing off all the students and professors EXCEPT those writing our letters of recommendation :p I mean, what would it take? Some petitions, some advertising, a facebook group, a couple tables in the Commons, maybe a speech in the Cove instead of a concert series, some letters to the Admins up top, some rogue professor support, and all for professors to just ask the question:
“How does this tie in with what you’re learning in your other classes?”
And maybe even assign a short paper or two per semester about how the material is related or may be influenced or apt for some other coursework in another class – I haven’t had a single problem doing this on my own time with classes as putatively distant as Exploring the Universe and Shakespeare Topics to classes as already clearly linked as Principles of Economics and Urban History. This would force students to think more completely and liberally about what they’re learning and thus would help them better appreciate all fields and knowledge, AN APPRECIATION FOR LEARNING ITSELF, and would force professors to return to working and better communicating with each other – maybe even create interdisciplinary projects together one day – and thus break up this anti-liberal segmentation that’s so easy and become so popular.
What do you all think?
I think this could also double as our civic engagement project.
As to my Intercultural Experience – that’s what my previous five or six blogs has been about. I went this summer first to South Carolina for a family vacation/mini reunion, then to Monterey, CA in order to present my Honor Thesis (which is also my Creative Works Research Project for Paideia (as well as for my American Studies Capstone)) (and it went amazingly beautifully wonderfully, by the way), and then I flew directly from CA to NYC in order to study Comparative Ethnic Urbanisms with NYU. It was a terrifying and sobering experience which has led me to better narrow my goals for my graduate study which now reach to study history as a webbed entity using literary works as focal points and from their work both as a constant volunteer and author in social activism to aid in environmental causes as well as in aiding in the end of educational inequality. I was dropped in a class of 8 people from different cities and countries to study together the urban enclaves of Indians, Chinese, Vietnamese, Latinos (Salvadorian, Mexican, Dominican, etc), and Arab peoples – not to mention the variety of cultural parades I ended up walking into from the Gay Pride Parade to the Pakistan Independence Parade. It was a wild ride that has spurred in me a greater need to dedicate my wonderful education and career goals to social activism – it has also spurred in me a great dislike of NYC as a city of sad people in a wreaking environment that just happens to house some of the most magnificent museums on the planet.
As for my Creative Works Honor Thesis:
I am very proud to tell you all that by graduation this spring, I may have an official book deal/contract with McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. I turned in a proposal of my Honor Thesis to them & they really dig it & so now we’re have contractual discussions :D Of course, they want an expanded version of my (so far) 96page thesis, so my actual Paideia/Capstone project will remain focused upon specifically Ginsberg’s “Howl” and the influences of Native American trickster mythology within it but the separate expanded versions it will also discuss up to seven other poems as well as broader protest and social movement affects, implications, ect. I’ve already, as aforementioned, finished the rough draft so now I’m dedicating this semester and next semester to editorial work. I’ve also, as aforementioned, already presented on this project, but I’m hoping to also have the time to present it at next semester’s Student Works Symposium.
I’m so excited! :D
until Tuesday…
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