OR Entertainment has long taken the blame for violent behavior. In the late nineteenth century, some people blamed societal ills on the popularity of “cheap” literature, particularly novels. As this blog post illustrates, people complained that the deviant characters in novels influenced real people, particularly young men, to behave aggressively. It specifically refers to an … Continue reading
Posted in January 2013 …
Required Reading – Happy Birthday, Anton Chekhov: The 8 Qualities of Cultured People
Maria Popova shares a great letter Anton Chekhov wrote to his brother about what it means to be “cultured.” Perhaps more people should heed at least some of his advice: 4. They are sincere, and dread lying like fire. They don’t lie even in small things. A lie is insulting to the listener and puts … Continue reading
Required Reading – The Atlantic’s 1863 Case for Why Jane Austen is Great
Yesterday marked the 200th Anniversary of Pride and Prejudice. Read The Atlantic’s early reviews of this great novel.
Required Reading – Talking, Walking Objects
Carla Diana’s article “Talking, Walking Objects,” among other things, broaches the question of what defines communication through the example of Simon, a humanoid robot developed at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Some of our appliances already communicate with us in less nuanced ways. Our coffee maker automatically turns itself off. Our dryer will send us … Continue reading
Required Reading – Outlining in Reverse
In “Outlining in Reverse,” Aaron Hamburger writes: Over the course of my 17-year writing career, I began to give up on outlining — that is, before I write. I’ve come to prefer a more organic approach to creation, first laying out my raw material on the page, then searching for possible patterns that might emerge. … Continue reading
Required Reading – Powerful Allusions in Obama’s Inaugural Speech
Concluding excerpts from James Fallows’ great article about the rhetorical purposes of Obama’s use of allusions: The rhetorical and argumentative purpose of the speech as a whole was to connect what Obama considers the right next steps for America — doing more things “together,” making sure that everyone has an equal chance, tying each generation’s … Continue reading
Guns – “Little Death Sticks” vs. A Way of Life
Skimming through Sarah Vowell’s essay “Shooting Dad,” I figured I probably shouldn’t use it as a reading assignment for my AP English Language and Composition class. I work in an extremely rural area, one in which guns and hunting play a huge – and I mean HUGE – role. Vowell’s comparisons of guns with Satan … Continue reading
Requried Reading – Don’t Be Fooled, Hockey Fans: There’s No Such Thing as ‘Your Team’
Whose team is it anyway? Fetter is right. The NHL’s declaration that “your teams” will soon be playing hockey again is “no more than PR puffery that ignores – indeed denies – fans’ utter impotence when the really important decisions about that sport are being made.” As a Buffalo Bills fan, the nagging feeling that … Continue reading
Required Viewing – The Rumpus’ “Literary Puns”
Required Viewing – The Rumpus’ “Literary Puns”
Required Reading – The Atlantic’s “Don’t Call It ‘Gun Control'”
Required Reading – Don’t Call It ‘Gun Control’ Word choice – and the positive or negative connotations those choice of words embody – matters: Language in politics can be a powerful thing, shaping perceptions and framing the terms of debate. When President Obama and Vice President Biden announced the administration’s new gun proposals Wednesday, they … Continue reading
What Alana Found 