January 2010 Archives

In his The Big Picture, David Suzuki writes:

Imagine if you decided to throw away your cell phone, close down your Facebook account, disconnect your high speed internet modem, unplug your satellite television receiver, put away your Blackberry, shut down your iPod, turn off your DVD player and abandon your HDTV. Friends might think you've lost it. Family members might suggest counseling. "What's wrong?" they would want to know.

And you could tell them you're leading a completely modern life, circa 1995.

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Here Suzuki is asking us to perform what they call in philosophy a thought experiment. What points or questions do you think Suzuki is trying to raise through this experiment; or how would you feel about living in 1995.

Write your response--whatever it might be--in the comment spot below.

PLEASE NOTE:
WHEN YOU GO TO THE COMMENT BOX, DO NOT SIGN IN.
JUST WRITE IN YOUR FIRST NAME AS DIRECTED AND BE SURE ALSO TO PUT IN YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS  OR THE COMMENT WILL NOT APPEAR.

THANK YOU.

Nick

Pick a quotation from "Setting the Course."  A minimum of two sentences.  Type it into the comment space below, and then say why you picked the quotation.

Did it tell you something you didn't know or hadn't thought about?
Was it unclear to you?
Do you find what the author says debatable?
Do you think it particularly important to the argument of the piece?

Hi all:

"Why the Self is Empty" is an academic article.  It's too long, the print is too small, its full of citations and names you won't (and don't have to) know.

Forget that stuff and read for the main idea.  Cushman is trying to talk about how consumerism shaped identity as older and more traditional forms of identity formation slipped away.

Do as you did with the last blog comment.  Pick a quotation you find interesting and then write about why you found it interesting (you agree/disagree; something you had not thought about before; important to over all argument; no clear or confusing).

Thank you.

Hi all:

Please remember.  Paper 1 is not your research paper.  It is simply a response to the readings for the first part of the course.  No research is necessary.

But one may respond to these readings in different ways.

Using the writing you started in class (Wednesday) please write a couple of paragraphs that might suggest the angle you want to take on these readings.

Please post your writing asap.  That will give me a chance to look at what you are thinking about over our break and see what ways I need or don't need to assist.

So post an entry a couple of paragraphs long reflecting sort of: what are my thoughts to this point on the consumer society, what angle do I want to take in my reflections on this society.

Give it a go.

If you do this entry soon, all you will have to do over the long weekend is read the article "The True Cost of Gadgets."  It's not too bad.

Nick

Hi all:

For this comment, read "Introduction: Consumption, Narcissism, and Mass Culture," 29-3.

And, as before, find a quotation you find of interest and then write a few lines saying why you find it of interest.

Also, for paper 1, please read over my remarks on paper 1 on the assignment page.  If you have questions about paper 1, you could include them in this entry or email me.

Go here for my remarks on paper 1:

You will find at the end of these remarks a couple of examples of paper 1.  Read these over.

Stay dry!