surprise in House of Mirth

I find the ending of this book to be so moving. Wharton avoids easy fixes or even the unreal clarity that fiction can sometimes provide. I especially love the scene with Nettie. I am destroyed by poor Lily drifting off to sleep hallucinating about the baby. I am so interested to hear what the class will say about this ending!

Nothing is Impossible...

Sometimes as we read these philosophical texts, I get kind of down. It seems like we live in such a huge system; I can't comprehend it, let alone figure out a way to make it work well for everyone. But then I realize what amazing thinkers that are alive right now are doing to help us live better. This video is from TED Talks, and I have a dream of someday attending a real TED conference. Meanwhile, I continue to be inspired by the videos they post at their site. Watch the video of Hans, how he visualizes data to help SEE what exists now, and also how he defines "means" and "goals" and shows that we need to be clear on the distinction. And he gives us a surprise ending too!

Enjoy--and tell me what you think!

competition: what is the end goal?

I thought you might like this story that apppeared on a blog I read.
I think Ghandi and Marx would appreciate that story : )

If you get a chance, take a look at the videos these guys produce on how to use different kinds of tech tools. They call their business The Common Craft Show
and they have made a business of creating these unique short videos. It is a great wxample of how "less is more" since they use simple paper and marker techniques to explain complicated technologies in really useful ways. Be sure to watch the Zombie video : )

visual aids

Here is a blog that I like where a person with a good sense of humor makes excellent use of Venn diagrams to make her point. I am thinking that members of the group who try to create "visual aids" for us might be inspired by this.

Income distribution and effects on societyhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

Marx is saying that the gulf between burgoisie and proletariate creates tension and that the workers will unite and revolt.
This is a long video but very current and interesting. Robert Reich talks about income distribution and asks: "Will the economy 'snap'?"

If you want to shorten it, skip the first 5 minutes.

trying to visualize where we are

This short video might help us to visualize income distribution.

Marx and Property and UR

I got to hear President Ayres speak at a faculty meeting recently. I mentioned some facts and figures that I am only approximating here, but they capture the gist of his remarks. UR's tuition increase has not hurt numbers of applications. IN terms of economic deversity, a weird thing has happened. There are still wealthy folks who can pay the tuition. There are more folks from the lower economic strata who receive scholarships. UR is one of the only universities in the country with 100% Need Blind Admission and we give more more financial aid that almost any other institution. But Ayers remarked that we do seem to have a problem: we lack middle ground. Famililes that make, say 100-150 thousand a year can't afford the tuition but are not eligible for aid. He is working on that issue.
I think it is interesting how Marx would view this. For one, I think he would say "I told you so." This is the pattern that happens in the overall economy so that the middle class gets squeezed out, more people are forced down closer to poverty, but no more are added to the burgoise. Isn't this what he describes as the precursor to a class revolt? I know that at UR many of the tensions have been blamed on this economic divide.

haunted?

The more I think about it, the more that dorm life is a perfect experiment in civilization. I was surprised by the descriptions of male vs. female dorms. The dorm I lived in was co-ed by hall, and I wonder if having us in closer proximity to one another cut down on the differences. We had to "blend" more. But it got me thinking even more about the idea that civilization is our cage. Is it true that males need to be forced into civilization more than females? Is there really something about our natures that is essentially different? On an individual basis, I just don't see it, but in group settings, it seems to be more noticeable. Are we different depending on who we are around? Every time I have found myself in large groups lately, I find myself thinking about the different perspectives we have read, and wondering whihc one fits. At the marching band competition at the high school, at dinner with my sons, at the mall... And then I started thinking about the new social spaces that exist but don't exist: Facebook and email lists and the internet itself. We have seen how the same kinds of problems, "evils" errupt there (is there a "there?") I had a weird experience of only knowing someone through his blog and then meeting him in person. The in-person meeting was so much more powerful--voice and face and, I don't know how to explain it, but I guess you would say "physical presence." But I think it was all the more powerful for knowing him through his words first.
I wonder how cyberspace is changing civilization...

your next paper...

I have been spending a lot of time trying to come up with a good paper assignment. I want to give you some options and some room to say something you care about, and enough inspiration to motivate you to spend lots of time grappling with words and ideas.

Here are some thoughts I have been tossing around. I thought maybe you would like a chance to help me shape this assignment. Read my thoughts, and then post a comment. I'll write up the assignment before class on Monday, so comment soon!

Nietzsche, Rives, and Ghandi


These three authors have lots to say about the nature of human connection and society. How is individual difference related to “goodness?” Can we be “good” in a group? Does our community create a cage for us, or do they provide the human connections which give us a reason to live?
How do we create community? What is necessary for its health? Can both the community and the individual be whole at the same time? What do we give up to live in groups? What is gained?
What is the role of language in having a good life?
IS civilization a sickness? What is the cure?

Take a look at the past Core Essay Contest winners to see the kinds of theses there, and try to figure out what the assignment might have been. Please help me to shape an assignment you will like!

great visual from class

This picture speaks a thousand words! Thank you to the group who created it for us.

Nietzsche's swamp:

Ghandi video

Debt and Goodness

This is a picture of the "courtyard" at Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin Ireland. My family visited this landmark about 3 years ago. Most people talk about this place because the famous martyrs of the Easter 1916 Rebellion were killed there. But I am haunted by other "residents" we learned about on our tour. The prison, like so many others of the time, served as a debtor's prison. But don't picture old men there; many of them were women and children. I remember the guide walking us out into a courtyard with slate flooring and explaining that the children would be sent out there for a walk once a day. But also, when someone would die in the prison, they would bury them in the courtyard by lifting up some stones, digging a little, putting the body down, covering it with quicklime, and then replacing the stones. So children would walk over the bodies of people they knew on the daily walk.


When I was looking over our readings this weekend, I was caught by N.'s discussion of the word "debt" and its link with the word "guilt." (p.63). Maybe more importantly, "innocent" is linked to being debt-free. We don't often think of it, but people who can't pay their debts can still be put in prison. More often though, because of our bankruptcy laws, people are given second chances. It is easy to think that is "not fair" that they are getting out of their debts. But I always remember what those laws prevent when I think of the children in the Kilmainham Gaol. The statistics on the people who are in our prisons now, however, show that the poor are WAY overrepresented in jails, and we have an enormous jail population. Have we really solved our problems?

Bad vs. Evil

Ever since Abby said in class on Friday "I'm not sure I get the difference between bad and evil" I have been bothered. I thought I understood that, but then it slipped away from me again. I hate to be defeated, so back I went to those parts of the text to try to work it our again.
I think I have a tenuous grasp again. It is all about perspective: who's making the statement? whose eyes are we seeing through? Since nobles define "nobility" and "good-ness" as themselves, all things not noble are "bad." I believe we can relate that to similar experiences of the 'haves" and "have nots" in our culture today. In America, the "goodness" and "nobleness" of someone is closely tied to their financial status (rather than their bloodline). I didn't realize how much I had these biases myself until I had one of those lightbulb moments. When my husband and I bought our first house, we were really proud. It had an unfinished upstairs and it needed a little work but we were assuming that that was "good," that we would earn the added value our house would get by putting in our own "sweat equity." We had used every penny we had to buy the house, and bought an "affordable" house--the bank easily approved our loan. But when we went to start putting in our "sweat" we realized we had a problem: sweat alone didn't cover the wood siding; one needs a good paint to do that, and paint costs money, as does brushes and buckets, etc. To our shock, we realized we couldn't do much at that time to improve on the house. It would have to wait until we had a little more money. When I walked out of the house after that, I didn't feel proud--I felt embarrassed at how it didn't look as nice as I thought it should and I worried about what people would think when they saw our "shabby" house. Not long after that, I was driving through a poor and not safe neighborhood downtown, and then noticing what it was that made me think that about this particular block. I realized it was the "shabby" houses, and I thought of my own house. And I thought, for the first time in my privileged life: "oh--maybe it isn't that these people are "bad" or "lazy" or "dangerous". Maybe they don't have enough money to buy paint, just like me!" I have not looked at life the same since that day.

But what about "evil"? Nietzsche only uses that term to describe what the aescetic priests say about the nobles. The priests are trying to guide (or some might say "whip up") the mob." Only when one is the "victim, like the lamb, can one see the "bird of prey" acting on its own instincts, as "evil." The interesting tie here is to the warrior/noble mentality vs. the aescetic priests who deny their own nature, and in not letting it out, they stuff it down, turning the violence in on themselves.

whew!

how to read Nietzsche

As we read "The Genealogy of Morals" it seems that we are struggling almost as much with HOW to read it as we are with the controversial ideas themselves! You can see that Chris has come up with a strategy

and Peyton notes a Nietzsche's own advice for us: ruminate. I think that Chris is giving us a concrete "how-to" which is really helpful.

A new word for learning: Ako

A guy who does what I do (faculty development) wrote this on a listserve I read today:
Our indigenous people in NZ (the Maori) have a particular word 'ako' that incorporates the concept of teaching and learning as one idea.
It is regarded as poor treatment of the student to ask a question that the 'elder' knows the answer to.
The T&L process is deeply embedded in dialogue, story telling and narrative.
The written word is not as highly regarded.
There is further a set of attitudes and values around the concept of authority, age and leadership that I don't feel qualified to comment on...There are huge issues in NZ with some international students who see teaching and learning as a "teacher tells, student listens and learns, student regurgitates content".

This reminded me of our talks about Socrates. So many of you mentioned that you didn't like him because of his asking leading questions, of having hidden, pre-decided answers. The Maori would not think of this as Ako.
Do you think our culture is more like the culture of the Maoris or more like the "foreigners"? What would you think of a teacher asking you a question that the teacher did not know the answer to?

Myanmar, Monks and Tao

This article in the NYT today made me think about the different ways that the TAO is lived out by different groups. The monks in Myanmar go out each day with empty bowls and the people put in food. The people view this as a chance to do a good deed, to collect good karma. As the protests have gone on, the monks have turned their bowls upside down, not accepting food and, as the article says, effectively excommunicating people. The symbolism of the upside down bowl is so powerful, and it is very real to the people in Myanmar. The Tao Te Ching says:
Therefore the Sage says:
I do nothing
And people transform themselves.
I enjoy serenity
And people govern themselves.
I cultivate emptiness
And people become prosperous.
I have no desires
And people simplify themselves. (57)

NY Times on Pamuk

The link above is to a nice piece in the NYTimes Review of Books today. The author is Pico Iyer, a really good writer so it is a nice read. I was intrigued to learn that Pamuk lives in spot overlooking a bridge which kind of "links" east and west. I have a better sense of Pamuk and his writing now!

bird song and learning

I saw Lexi's blog post about listening to birds, and it reminded me of this article.
I read about this parrot last week when Libby sent me an article about the parrot passing away, and it made me so sad. Apparently I wasn't the only one affected. There has been lots of coverage. We are fascinated ny things that seem to "speak our language!" I am fascinated by the misconceptions about nerve cells that have been corrected because of our study of birds. Turns out: a brain that is elastic like a bird's is a fabulous brain to have.

What's a "long tail"?

I was encouraging my fellow Core travelers to keep blogging, and now to try to connect to each others' blogs. I saw my friend Gardner had a great post that describes beautifully what can happen in our wonderful, webby world. So--I link that post here and hope that you will read and enjoy as I did, and that it might inspire you to "Only Connect..."

Another article for Darwinians

If you click the title you should be able to get to this article about humans and their instincts. I have read about other studies like this before and this one seems to affirm what others have: that we are still operating with old models because change happens so slowly through natural selection. This particular study shows that we recognize change much better in people and natural scenes than we do in scenes which are "inanimate." So I still react with more fear to lions and tigers despite the fact that I am much more likely to be killed by a speeding bus!

This article in the New York Times talks about a book written by a psychologist at UVa. His theory is that "morality" is genetically driven, that it is part of how we have evolved as humans. I wonder about how this works for individuals versus for the community. Darwin says:

IT must not be forgotten that although a high standard of morality gives but a slight advantage to each individual man and his children over the other men of the same tribe, ... There can be no doubt that a tribe including many members who...were always ready to give aid to each other and to sacrifice themselves for the common good, would be victorious over other tribes; and this would be natural selection." (246)

Yet we think of morality as an individual thing, good for our souls. The article says that perhaps that is what religion does for humans--causes them to behave in ways that are actually better for the common good than for individual gain.

starting Darwin

Tomorrow we start Darwin, and I am trying to think of ways to get into that text. It is an interesting one, I think, because there is so much misunderstanding of what Darwin actually said and how he made his discoveries. I relate to him most as a person who LOOKED, really looked at things around him. One of my all-time favorite essays is by Annie Dillard and it is called "Seeing" published in a book called "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek." In it she describes drawing a horse and really seeing it for the first time. I am a lousy artist, but I do draw sometimes because it causes me to slow down and really see. Most naturalists keep notebooks where they draw and take notes. Darwin's notebooks are quite famous; I would love to see them some day.
And in the way that connections have of happening--I looked up "Seeing" to see if it is in full text on the internet. Instead I stumbled across something almost as wonderful: an essay by Eudora Welty about Dillard's book. It mentions Darwin AND it is by Welty--whose book "One Writer's Beginnings" was the first book I ever read to try to figure out how to be a writer. Happy connections for me : )

Socrates and the Socratic Method

Here is an interesting article by a professor about how to use the Socratic Method in teaching. I wonder what you in Core think about it? We have talked a lot about Socrates being arrogant. He is not a very likable character, but is he a good teacher?
It seems to me that Socrates was criticizing teaching and teachers, at least as they were in his day. He says:

...I think it is a fine thing to be able to teach people as Gorgias of Leontini does...Each of these men can go to any city and persuade the young, who can keep company with any one of their own fellow citizens they want without paying, to leave the companey of these men, to join with [the teachers], pay them a fee, and to be grateful to them besides.

Socrates says he is NOT a teacher, and yet now we use his methods!

Real Eyes

I was reading Ben's blog and I connected to his connection : )
Now, I don't much like big white fake bunnies because they scare me, but there were other parts of this video and song that I found haunting. Seeing the elephant fall down was wrenching as the words ask "Do you realize that everyone you know will die?"
Ouch. It doesn't get more blunt than that. And that made me think of a story in a book I have been reading called "The Elephant's Rope and the Untethered Spirit. the author tells about being in India and seeing a huge elephant tied by a thin rope to a tiny bush. She asked the elephant's master why the elephant didn't just walk away. The master said that when the elephants are young they use a heavy chain on a large tree to train them. They try to escape for a while, but eventually give up. After a while, the masters only need to tie something around the leg of the elephant, and the elephants assume they can't break the tether, whatever it is. The author uses the story to illustrate her point that we can be our own worst enemy, victims of our own assumptions.
I think that this is what Socrates is trying to tell us. Even though it makes him unpopular and even costs him his life, he keeps pulling and questioning to see if what binds him is a rope or a chain.
So Ben's video title was interesting to me to and made me think of having "real eyes" to see the truth.

connection I made in class today

Honestly, I hadn't thought about the connection to Joseph Campbell's work until we were talking in class today! SO I went to wikipedia to see if they had a good summary of him and his work there that I could share with you. Of course, they did : )
You might be interested in his concept that I touched on today: monomyth
What most surprised me was that Campbell was inspired to his studies partly by reading the James Joyce novel, Finnegan's Wake. I never knew this! I am a huge fan of Irish literature, but have still never read this important novel. Now I think I have to move it up on my list of "must reads." The Irish really know how to do mythologies up right : )
But thinking about White Castle, I am not sure that there is a hero, nor that this is a hero's myth. It is more that Pamuk tells a story questioning "difference" and seeming to say that there is only sameness. It is a story about telling stories. This part, on p155 haunts me:

...by writing those kinds of tales, by searching for the strange within ourselves, we, too, would become someone else, and God forbid, our readers would too.

And then the narrator/translator says "But I wanted to!" To tell stories? To become someone else? This book is a story about storytellers, and, as one, I would just like to say that it freaks me out.

connecting to Sacks

I saw in the NYTimes on Saturday that Oliver Sacks has taken a job at Columbia. (Click on
the title to see the link.) What interested me most was that this position allows Sacks to broaden his work. He will be teaching a writing class as well as medical classes. This is interesting to me because my colleagues from the psychology department had a reaction to Sacks' writing that surprised me: they felt he was not representing brain science well with his writing. They seemed suspicious of his writing because it wasn't how researchers think about neuroscience. I think one of them was even skeptical of the value of reading his work because it wasn't "correct."
I was really bothered by this attitude because, as a creative writer, I believe that stories teach us truths that scientific writing can't. I understand the importance of research writing where peers read, analyze and build new knowledge, but I also believe that scientists NEED to find ways to communicate to the general public. And I also believe that scientists writing in a self-reflective way, trying to make sense of what they are seeing for themselves is crucial for the scientists and for our society. So I remain a fan of Dr. Sacks' writing, and I look forward to seeing how this new position brings new opportunities and connections for him that he can then share with us!

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