Masculinity / Masculinities

What is "masculinity"?  What are "masculinities"?  What defines these concepts?  Use examples from Orwell's 1984 as well as those drawn from popular culture, literature, advertising, and so forth to furnish your response.

Curtis' /Happiness Machines/ and Freud's /Civilization and its Discontents/

For both (or either) Adam Curtis and Sigmund Freud, is it possible to be happy?  Why?

or

For both (or either) Adam Curtis and Sigmund Freud, can we be trusted to take care of ourselves?

Socrates and Plato's /Apology/

This week we looked at Plato's Euthyphro, which helps sets the stage for what's to come in The Apology, specifically the trial and judgement of Socrates.   In anticipation of our discussion next week on the latter, please select one of the two topics below for discussion in your post this week.

1. Do you think these charges are legitimate?  Is this a fair trial?

2. Do you think Socrates is a man who is willing to die for his personal and philosophical beliefs, or do you consider him to be 'playing' the martyr figure in the extreme sense?  The former has connotations of personal conviction whereas the martyr-figure, in this instance, to quote a nearby dictionary (Apple's), is "a person who displays or exaggerates their discomfort or distress in order to obtain sympathy or admiration." Can we separate the two?

Blogs are due Monday at noon.

Heroes and Hero Figures

What in your opinion makes a hero?  Do you, yourself, have any heroes?  Are they human, or are they supernatural?  Do they live in the world of fiction, or have they walked this earth and made a difference (if that is your criteria, of course...)?

Please respond at some point this week (if you so choose)--responses to this blog are *not* for marks.  Provide examples of two kinds of heroes you have, both a real, historical or contemporary person, as well as a fictitious or mythological hero.

Le Guin Blog Topics

Choose one of the following three writing prompts for your first official blog response. Make sure they are done before next class, which is Tuesday, 20 September. Remember, your group members need time to collate and print these off, so please ensure they are done at a "reasonable" time in the evening the night before (Monday, 19 September).

1. If you were a citizen of Omelas, would you stay or would you walk?  Please explain and justify your decision.

2. Although the people of Omelas are fully aware of the child's suffering, those who remain in Omelas don't seem to feel any guilt. In fact, Le Guin reinforces this in her story.   Do you think it's possible to constantly feel guilty about the misery of others?  Please explain and provide examples.

3. To what extent is Omelas an analogy for our own society?  Please discuss and provide examples.

Remembering 9/11

Less than one day until the 10th anniversary of 9/11.  

I remember it well. Our students union building had recently installed overhead televisions for the purpose of keeping us up-to-date, or perhaps for on-campus advertising (I choose to consider the former option).  It was the first week of classes, and I was browsing for my course books before class. It had already happened while I was at home, and no one could quite believe it; in fact, many had not yet even heard of it.  Somehow, I managed to slip into the bookstore unseen.  When I emerged from the store, I was met by a gathering of hundreds of students who were collectively fixed to the images and news on these new televisions. I was speechless and, like them, somewhat immobile. Do I stay to take part in this group activity or do I continue on my way to the library to collect books for class.  Later that evening I attended class,  and I couldn't help but feel like it wasn't quite right to be holding an academic class. At least not today.  However, wasn't this just what we should be doing?  Or should we have been mourning collectively?   I still wonder.  What I do remember is feeling two overwhelming emotions: intensely sad for what had happened and fear of such an event taking place in Canada.

Do you remember what you were doing on 9/11?  Please share your thoughts.  Respond either to this blog or start a new posting on your own blog site. 

Welcome to University

The first week at university is full of hope, wonderment, change, and self-discovery.  The one sure thing is that it's entirely new, and you're likely to be different people by the end of this term, let alone next summer.

Take the time to consider your intellectual growth and your own role in the functioning of a university. Advanced university-level education is still uncommon for most people in the world.  You have joined a learning tradition that goes back several centuries. Revel in your involvement in this unique human project.

Consider the exhortation the University offers you: nous sommes prêts (we are ready).