#professorclaman

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Homework Journal #11: OBJECTIVITY!

To be objective is to “not be influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts”. At times, I can be objective. However, I feel that there is a strong attraction towards not being objective that is always present. As Mahatma Gandhi once said “it's easy to stand in the crowd but it takes courage to stand alone.” In other words, the easiest way out is often following the crowd and therefore it's the path most often chosen. This is what I believe causes/contributes to not only my lack of objectivity but possibly everyone’s. Looking back at Raymond Williams’ Modern Tragedy can relate back to how others react to me. Modern Tragedy helped me understand the concept that there is a lack of communication and interaction between people nowadays which is the tragedy. Personally, I feel that along with a lack of communication there is an abundance of judgement. Living in a judgmental society does not allow for much objectivity and in fact actually causes most people to remain quiet about their true thoughts and therefore in a sense forces them to assimilate with the majority. The fear of being judged or looked at differently can cause a person to lack objectivity. A perfect scenario to describe a situation like this would be a classroom setting. Students tend to follow the majority most of the time even if they are wrong. Sometimes a person may know that they do not agree with a statement or idea they will agree anyways which shows they have a lack of objectivity whether they are aware of it or not. Another example, would be when going into a situation or reading a book after a friend has told you about it. It is almost impossible to not take into consideration what you were told beforehand. As presented in Susan Sontag’s Against Interpretations essay, people tend to look for a explanation they are not foreign to and therefore we take away from what is actually there because of our bias (which may be caused by prior-influence). I don't think many people,including me, can say that they have always been objective and have voiced their opinion to their will. My lack of objectivity depends on the situation. However, now as I think of it and become more self aware, I realize my objectivity represents my opinion and I voicing when I objective something will show my belief in my opinion. Hopefully after becoming more aware, like the narrator in the beginning of The Great Gatsby, of my lack of objectivity will allow me to be more objective where necessary. 

[danishadebie-blog]

Homework Journal #7: Favorite songs from R+J

Out of Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet soundtrack, my favorite three songs came down to be the following: “You and Me”, “Young Hearts Run Free” and “Everybody’s Free”. “You and Me” by the Wannadies was one of my favorites because of its lyrics. I think that the lyrics really touch upon some of the ideas that we spoke about in class. For example, though it is a type of love song, something i found interesting is when the song has the lyrics “you tell me I’m a real man and try to look impressed...I love it.” If I were to think of this from Romeo’s point of view,then it is true he is not much of a man. He not only is behind on his thoughts when compared to Juliet, but as we said on Tuesday, had he been a man and acted as one then it’s possible that Mercutio did not have to die. Then the end of the song says “you and me always...forever” which relates back to the idea that Juliet may have known somewhere at sometime, that their actions would go down in the books and their love would in a way last “eternally”. Candi Staton’s “Young Hearts Run Free”, really got me thinking because she points to the negative points of being in a marriage but her technique of using a upbeat song is what got me. She says that women in marriages may end up as “another lost and lonely wife” and that they’ll have their kids but won’t have their “man”. This song makes me imagine if Romeo and Juliet did not die is it possible that this would’ve happened to Juliet, because of the hasty decisions they both made as their “young hearts” ran “free”. When listening to the song, I liked the fact that some negative points were made through such a positive and upbeat song. The last song, “Everybody’s Free” by Quindon Tarver, that I liked was because of the scene it played during. This song was sung by the church choir during Romeo and Juliet’s wedding. I’d like to think that during their marriage Romeo and Juliet were “free” and therefore they got married. The song has the words “Brother and sister...whenever I can”, which i think may have served as what the bride and groom may have been thinking. There’s also an innocence behind the singer’s voice just as their is an innocence behind Romeo and Juliet. These three songs really got me thinking about Romeo and Juliet’s thoughts as well as their marriage which is why they are my favorites from the soundtrack.

[danishadebie-blog]

Homework Journal #2: Williams’ Modern Tragedy

When I first read Modern Tragedy by Raymond Williams, I was very confused as the chapters were difficult. However, when I reread the chapters, after the discussion in class, it became easier to grasp what Williams was saying. The idea that relationships no longer exist and that humanity is beginning to cease in existence is one that is clearly evident in modern times. The fact that society is allowing for humanity to slowly decline, is truly devastating. Reading Modern Tragedy, made me think for once about how my silence in certain situations is contributing to this loss of humanity. Aristotle says tragedy is something that must evoke pity and fear. So for us to have pity on others instead of actually making attempts to help them is a loss of humanity. What humanity is, is to actually speak up and help those who are in need of help. Williams introduces an idea that was not too foreign to me; the idea that there is a loss of connection between people which is tragic. Everyone is aware that there’s a disconnect between people nowadays an evident situation is when people are at a family party where everyone has gathered for “quality time” but yet everyone remains on their phones, not even aware of their surroundings. Williams’ Modern Tragedy proposes the ultimate question: “What is justice?” After reading these chapters, has changed my way of thinking and I will definitely try to no longer contribute to this loss of humanity in small ways.

[danishadebie-blog]

Homework Journal #1: Susan Sontag

Susan Sontag's "Against Interpretation" calls for a new and unique twist on what the definition of interpretation is as well as what its effects are. Through her essay, Sontag explains how interpreting a work of art is a way of questioning its true meaning. For example, Sontag says "Interpretation thus presupposes...resolve that discrepancy" meaning because we do not see a clear and or immediate definition, as a means of solving the confusion, we tend to come up with our own possible definitions. This is why in the essay, interpreters are labeled as being the "defenders of art". Sontag's theory of interpretation being "an altered meaning" of the text, is a key point to remember throughout the semester. In other words, while reading different tragedies, it is important to remember that if the text is not the original, then what is being read is simply only "one" interpretation or one take on what is being said. Romeo and Juliet is a perfect example of how one text may have many different versions. In fact after reading Sontag's essay, one may feel the necessity to always read the original text and allow for their own understanding and interpretation to take play as discussed in class. Sontag proposes that there are two styles of interpretation (old versus new) that exist, which is a valid as well as an agreeable point. However, one contradictory statement made by Sontag is that the interpreter alters the text, "but can't admit to doing this." This is contradictory because as she says, people automatically tend to make assumptions and look for a deeper meaning whether it be in artwork, texts, or even actions. Nowadays society, possibly unknowingly, tends to be more judgmental and over analytical. We must remember that without setting up a "shadow world of 'meanings'", it does not seem, as Sontag says, possible "to turn this world into this world."

[muhammadalam12-blog]

Somebody Else’s Atrocities

When reading Noam Chomsky’s “Somebody Else’s Atrocities,” I was very interested. What he was saying is a trend that is visible in various nations across the world. I especially see the US and their allies do this, mainly because I live here, so I’m going to see the US do this more. I have no doubt other nations do this as well. The US and allies usually are the first to speak out when one of their enemies commits an atrocity yet when we do it, we’re the last to speak out, we even defend our actions. For example, in the Democratic debate the other day, Hillary Clinton mentioned in the question about Syria, how Vladimir Putin doesn’t have any jurisdiction in Syria, he shouldn’t be there. Yet, she was one of the people who voted yes to the wars and to the bombings in Iraq and Afghanistan where WE had no jurisdiction. What about Vietnam, did we have jurisdiction then to use Agent Orange? Where was this when WE did it? Another example would be the Iran Nuclear Deal. Despite getting the deal done, we still have people criticizing the deal because they distrust Iran, which is understandable. Yet, Iran is one of the only countries in the world who have legal documentation saying nuclear war is unethical and can’t be done. Have they tried to make a bomb? Perhaps, but even then, that documentation says we will not strike first. The US is the only country to date that has used this weapon and WE have the authority to tell people that they can’t do this? I have had teachers in elementary school who have condemned the Holocaust, with the prison camps, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and terrorists torturing Americans to death. Yet, they quickly applauded sending Japanese Americans to camps, or torture in Guantanamo Bay, or the use of the nuclear bomb itself! This is really a big reason why we butt heads with other countries. We’re not really a country which hasn’t done anything they haven’t. We did what they did and even more sometimes, so many other countries view us as the world’s biggest hypocrisy. This hypocrisy leads to propaganda, which was a big part of the American Dream during the Cold War. The thing is, the American Dream isn’t dead, it’s just that some people would rather support the definition with propaganda.

[eveningdreamdetritus-blog]

Assignment 6

Write a second draft of your thesis (the thesis of your first paper assignment), as well as ideas you'd like to include in your paper, that incorporate some of the tactics employed in the essays you read for Monday.  In addition to tactics you observed on your own, I would suggest you use more imagery, make unexpected connections and references, include yourself as both the person providing facts AND the person feeling deeply.

Let yourself go down the rabbit hole.  Think of this as more of an experimental draft of your thesis and ideas to be explored in your paper.  I want you to go wild, or as wild as you are comfortable going, in considering the idea of the American Dream arrived at through various experiences belonging to you, and to those you interviewed.

Please submit this assignment by 9am Wednesday morning.

[eveningdreamdetritus-blog]

Assignment 3

Pick one of the three pictures above, then set to writing (please title your post the picture you have chosen).  Ideally you will try out what is often called “automatic writing” and you will just keep your hands on the keyboard typing away until you are done.  I think it would be useful to keep the picture open in a window while you write, and keep in mind ideas from our discussions (materialism, the state of the American Dream [intact or degraded], self-improvement, opportunity, never settling, feeling that what you have is never enough, etc.).  Please post your assignments on your tumblr accounts by 4pm Wednesday.  

  —EC

[eveningdreamdetritus-blog]

Regarding Reading For This Week

The reading for this week will be emailed to you tomorrow.  It may strike you as long, and I do not expect you to make it through the entire section, but I expect you to have read at least five pages, and to have selected at least one page which you will be able and prepared to talk about with the class on Monday.