Windmills & Giants

Keep the cute titles coming, Stallings.

I just found a great article [spoiler warning] on Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go by Margaret Atwood. (For those who have never read her, she is a brilliant writer, fiercely feminist, and her stories rarely have a happy ending. You have been warned; check a review of any book you wish to read that she has written.)

We will write our first essays tomorrow. If you would like a prompt, here are a few. Pick one:
1) Simulation and hyper-reality are prevalent in Don DeLillo's White Noise. Explain how these concepts reflect an aspect of current popular culture, using one of your articles [or one you find tonight] as evidence of this.

2) Human cloning is a very complex issue―one which involves moral choices and the direct application of manufacturing to human beings. What does Ishiguro's stance on the cloning issue in Never Let Me Go seem to be? How does he use pathos to argue this stance? During their time at Hailsham, the students are asked to create original art. Why is this? Is this part of Ishiguro's argument?

3) Explore the theme of consumption versus creation in society using an article and one of the books -or- two chosen articles. Which is more prevalent? How does consumption or reflection factor into a person's identity, according to the texts?

These essays require insights into the novels and the world around us and evidence from the texts to support your arguments. Do not write a personal editorial. This means no anecdotal evidence from your lives and no personal pronouns. Keep the tone formal; you have ideas, so do not hesitate to state them without qualifiers. We will do a bit of review before the exam tomorrow. If you have any questions, post them here or bring them to class. Read More......

Okay, lame title. I know. We do love our advertisements, though. I blame the media.

Quick overview for those interested:

I mentioned in class that postmodernism is a slippery term, as it means different things when applied to different aspects of culture. What we will be focusing on in relation to our books (DeLillo's specifically, though Never Let Me Go has postmodern aspects as well) is the application of postmodern theory to consumerism. More specifically, the aspect of the consumer aura placed around an item, the item's reproducibility, and how these apply to image consumerism. These can often be applied to White Noise: What is Jack's position at the university? To what does Murray compare the supermarket? What do we think of Babette? And if you've read to part two: What is odd about the major event of this section (trying to be subtle here; don't worry if you aren't this far yet. We have plenty of time.)?

For Never Let Me Go: What is odd about the school that the students attend? How are they shaped by the rules and regulations? (More as we delve; much on identity. Everyone hates a spoiler.)

We briefly discussed the simulacrum as it applies here and generally. If you are having difficulty understanding the term, think Disneyland. In Introducing Postmodernism, there are four steps to Baudrillard's (the name I was trying to remember earlier) outline of the progression into hyper-reality, where items become simulacra of simulacra:

1. The image is a reflection of a basic reality
2. The image masks and perverts a basic reality
3. The image marks the absence of a basic reality
4. The image becomes a postmodern simulacrum, bearing no resemblance to the object's original purpose

If this is confusing, don't worry. Postmodernism is a slippery term. We'll discuss more in class. Just keep in mind: Does this apply to my life? Can I see these ideas in the world around me? What can/should I do about it?

Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. We want to know as much about that which persuades us as we do about how to persuade.

Fin. Read More......

for tomorrow, here are a few to get you started:

Good idea? Ads on your car?

Global warming computer error?

Space gas may have us redefining "life."

"When people gazed at an illusory image of themselves through the goggles and were prodded in just the right way with the stick, they felt as if they had left their bodies" (NYTimes).

Oh, this is good. "How Ads Affect Our Memory," from TechnologyReview.com via NYTimes
If you want, we can talk about this tomorrow. Chan Yun Yoo calls the two types of memory implemented in passing visual recall "implicit" and "explicit," but Eco has discussed a similar theory before.

From the same NYTimes article as above, American Environics has completed a demographically relevant survey of Americans and their stance on the environment. This pdf shows the results. Environmental issues are huge recently; do you think this is a fad, or has America found a lasting concern for Earth? Read More......

Hey, in case anyone missed the announcement, here is the standing assignment for Tuesdays and Thursdays:
Find an article that covers a topic that is connected to your book. Support, refute, or qualify the position an article takes on an issue. Keep a copy of your response and article for the in-class essay on Friday. Read More......

San Francisco is planning to zone the skies above for residential use. This article describes a city commissioner's plan to build helium (not hydrogen) filled dirigibles for folk to call home.
My favorite line:

Leaving at any other time will require the use of a small gondola that descends on a cable. However, that ride could get a little hairy, especially during the brisk Santa Ana winds that blow through here during autumn and early winter.”

Read More......

We did it! Our first full week. The books we will be discussing next week are Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and White Noise by Don DeLillo. If you would like to read both (because of their excellentness), do so, but let us know when you have a copy here so I can keep track.

I'll be updating the link widget throughout the weekend, so look at your leisure.

Also, thoughts from the great Mr. E in the comments section of the ACT post. Check it out.

Enjoy the weekend! Read More......

Mr. Womack:

Go to the website at www.actstudent.org

Also, www.collegeboard.com Read More......

Great article!

What do you guys think? Did Davis overreact?

I love this:

"I think those high school kids shouldn't have been on his property," Lynch said. "But in this country, life is valued over property, and if someone is fleeing your property or on your property but not threatening you, you're not allowed to just shoot them."

We will talk about rhetorical fallacies later, but this is a big one. His argument is that while the "kids shouldn't have been on his property", he should not have shot them because "life is valued over property." He is applying his argument to one side only. It is reported in the article that Davis (the shooter) said,

"In a situation like that, you assume the worst-case scenario if you're going to protect your family from a possible home invasion and murder."

The Judge who made the top statement has redirected the intent from "protecting . . . family" to protecting property. Certainly shooting teens is a bad thing (apparently shooting a "pretty blonde high school cheerleader" is especially heinous; note the pathetic introduction and epithet), but was he unstable and shooting at whatever moved, or protecting his family? Was the amount of violence warranted? What do you guys think? Read More......

Fantastic class today, people! We will continue in that vein tomorrow, discussing the articles you brought that we didn't get to today, and discussing the Soto article. I made this neat chart for our rhetorical vocabulary, so it will hopefully make more sense:
I will explain tomorrow, but basically, the techniques are made up of various devices (both rhetorical and literary), and can be used to appeal to the audience's logic, emotions, or judgment of the speaker. If you want to look up anything unfamiliar on the chart, that would be a good thing. More discussion, less lecture.

How's the article coming? Is it everything you hoped for and more? If you missed class today, here is a copy of the article we're reading. Mark it for rhetorical devices, interesting parts, etc., and we'll discuss tomorrow. Here's a copy if you missed class. Read More......

This is an excellent overview (published in The Times Online) of Pierre Bayard's essay "How to Discuss Books One Hasn't Read." He mentions the stigma attached to "skimming" or "speed-reading" in supposed "academic" circles:

For example, “it would be almost unthinkable for professors of literature to admit – what is after all true for most of them – that they have merely skimmed Proust’s work”.

I would like, in the interest of full disclosure, to admit that I skimmed Proust in college. Load off my chest. Anyway, if anyone can track down a translated copy of “Paradoxe” (or could translate the French; anyone speak French?) I would love to read the full text.

The final quotation in the overview is the reason I bring it to your attention:

"in order to . . . talk without shame about books we haven’t read, we should rid ourselves of the oppressive image of a flawless cultural grounding, transmitted and imposed [on us] by the family and by educational institutions, an image which we try all our lives in vain to match up to. For truth in the eyes of others matters less than being true to ourselves, and this truth is only accessible to those who liberate themselves from the constraining need to appear cultured, which both tyrannizes us and prevents us from being ourselves."

This is important to remember. If you are forever forced to read things that you don't want to read, discuss topics that you have no interest in, these pastimes can become a chore. I have littered the reading list for this class with words like "suggested" and "possible" because I want you to read things that are interesting to you. The discussions will be richer, and the class will be better if you bring in things you are currently reading. That being said, if I do say, "Hey guys, take a look at this," keep an open mind. Maybe the reading will become a new interest. We never know.

Read More......