Watch The Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin free until 8/30/20
PBS is making it’s documentary, The Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin free to watch through 8/30/20! Ursula K. Le Guin was a trailblazer writing about complex and interesting societies, her stories reflected the deepest questions that mainstream society has only recently begun to face in meaningful ways. The Left Hand of Darkness (winner of both the Hugo and Nebula awards) in particular is a must read.
View it on the Open Culture web site before it goes away.
American Gothic Literature, a new kind of horror story
A Review of “American Gothic Literature”
Ruth Bienstock Anolik, 2019, McFarland & Company Inc. 306 pages
Like the genre it examines, this work is insightful, inspiring, exhilarating, and challenging. However, it is not for the faint of heart! A somewhat exhaustive look at the history and current state of American Gothic literature, Ruth Bienstock Anolik takes the reader on a tour of not just a uniquely American literature, but of the emergence of an American identity derived from its Old World beginnings.
Unlike many other mainstream works it has an emphasis on the marginalized and powerless peoples of America that is uncommon. While it does not attempt to allow these peoples to speak for themselves, as might expect of a work of a literary history, it does effectively revel many stories through an examination of academic works. While this might sound dry the author makes excellent use of broad overarching themes contrasted with small details that draw the readers’ attention. For example, the work effectively moves between examinations of 17th and 18th century European folk tales and modern American Gothic/Science Fiction novels to point out “hidden” themes of feminism, alienation, oppression and dispossession that might otherwise be lost to readers of both types of literature. In this way the author links such disparate works as Toni Morrison’s “Beloved” with Horace Walpole’s “The Castle of Otranto” and “He, She and It” by Marge Piercy to show how they inhabit a shared space and each contributes to American Literature in unexpected ways. Gothic tropes are examined, placed in context to their world and re-examined to show how they contribute to the understanding of our (modern American) world.
American Gothic’s central theme is that Gothic literature, although confined to it’s own tropes is also very flexible, further, America has produced it’s own version of Gothic literature. This version grew out of the English and American writers who have dealt with this situation since the birth of our country. “American writers are haunted by feelings of inadequacy, and of guilt, as American literature finds itself haunted by the looming ghost of its predecessor, English literature.”1 In spite of this, American Gothic has evolved to become a mature literature that is used to explore American issues. As Ms. Anolik points out, while examining an American classic Uncle Tom’s Cabin:
“in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the slave Cassy takes possession of herself by appropriating the Gothic narrative; in materializing Legreee’s fears, Cassy is able to make her escape and repossess her body from the bonds of chattel slavery. These examples illustrate the uses of the Gothic for the disposed and insecure American writer.”2
Ruth Anolik is not afraid of drawing conclusions from her source material, this is more of an essay meant to persuade us of a point of view than a history textbook. Her conclusions are logical and placed within the context of what she examines, and they are likely to surprise some people. They range from the subtle and somewhat obscure; for example, she points out the association of the feminine with the dybbuk and the masculine with the golem, to the more controversial association of Vampires and Zombies to the modern American aristocrat. Her language is for the most part value-free; she relies on the example she chooses and the writers examined words to help her make her points. Even though much attention is devoted to issues of marginalization and feminism social commentary is subtle and can be easily missed if the reader does not pay attention. All-in-all, this is a well-researched work with valuable insights. This work is highly recommended to those who are interested in American Literature or the Gothic in general.
1 P. 10
2 P. 272
The Good
Interesting thesis
Well researched
The Bad
Occasionally gets lost in the details
Sometimes difficult to follow
#ShutDownAcademia
Via #Shutdownstem
On June 10, 2020, we will #ShutDownAcademia, #ShutDownSTEM, and #Strike4BlackLives.
In the wake of the most recent murders of Black people in the US, it is clear that white and other non-Black people have to step up and do the work to eradicate anti-Black racism. As members of the global academic and STEM communities, we have an enormous ethical obligation to stop doing “business as usual.” No matter where we physically live, we impact and are impacted by this moment in history.
Our responsibility starts with our role in society. In academia, our thoughts and words turn into new ways of knowing. Our research papers turn into media releases, books and legislation that reinforce anti-Black narratives. In STEM, we create technologies that affect every part of our society and are routinely weaponized against Black people.
Black academic and Black STEM professionals are hurting because they exist in and are attacked by institutional and systemic racism. Black people have been tirelessly working for change, alongside their Indigenous and People of Color allies. For Black academics and STEM professionals, #ShutDownAcademia and #ShutDownSTEM is a time to prioritize their needs— whether that is to rest, reflect, or to act— without incurring additional cumulative disadvantage.
Those of us who are not Black, particularly those of us who are white, play a key role in perpetuating systemic racism. Direct actions are needed to stop this injustice. Unless you engage directly with eliminating racism, you are perpetuating it. This moment calls for profound and meaningful change. #ShutDownAcademia and #ShutDownSTEM is the time for white and non-Black People of Color (NBPOC) to not only educate themselves, but to define a detailed plan of action to carry forward. Wednesday June 10, 2020 will mark the day that we transition into a lifelong commitment of actions to eradicate anti-Black racism in academia and STEM. We join with members of Particles for Justice in calling for a #Strike4BlackLives.
To be clear: #ShutDownSTEM is aimed at the broad research community who is not directly participating in ending the global pandemic, COVID-19. If your daily activities are directly helping us end this global crisis, we send our sincerest gratitude. The rest of us, we need to get to work.
Share your detailed plans and actions with the global community using the hashtags #ShutDownSTEM and #ShutDownAcademia.
Our collective efforts will lead to eradicating anti-Black racism because Black lives depend on it.
No Income? No Problem! How the Gov’t Is Saddling Parents with College Loans They Can’t Afford
By Marian Wang, ProPublica, Beckie Supiano and Andrea Fuller, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Oct. 4, 2012, 7:22 p.m. This story was co-published with The Chronicle of Higher Education. More than a decade after Aurora Almendral first set foot on her dream college...
How I Passed My U.S. Citizenship Test: By Keeping the Right Answers to Myself
by Dafna Linzer ProPublica, Feb. 23, 2011, 4:31 p.m. This story was co-published with Slate. Last month, I became an American citizen, a tremendous honor and no easy accomplishment, even for a Canadian. After living here for 12 years, I thought I knew everything. Then...
40 years ago, we left the moon
I'm on the surface; and, as I take man's last step from the surface, back home for some time to come—but we believe not too long into the future—I'd like to just (say) what I believe history will record. That America's challenge of today has forged man's destiny of...
Let’s Teach Actual Science
"By teaching our kids actual science, we can guarantee the future of this country and its economic growth. By hiding it from them, by equivocating about it with them, by providing false balance between reality and wishful thinking, what we guarantee is a future...
Fun with Polls
To many people think politics is boring, yet nothing gets their attention like finding out how much money a candidate will be worth to them. Can you say "economic stimulus"? If that's to esoteric how about "tax refund"? Or perhaps finding out who agrees (or...
Robot Hall of Fame is Looking for your Vote
The Robot Hall of Fame ("powered by Carnegie Mellon" University) is asking the public to help pick the winners from it's 2012 induction class. The contestants are divided into Education and Consumer, Industrial and Service, Research and of course Entertainment...
Ray Bradbury Has Past On
In honor of Ray Bradbury who past on today June 6th 2012, here is my favorite Ray Bradbury quote: "Any owner of cats will know of what I speak. Cats come at dawn to sit on your bed. They may not nip your nose or inhale your breath or make a sound. They simply sit...
Capitalist Development and Democracy, Great Ideas but a Difficult Read
Capitalist Development and Democracy. Rueschemyer, Dietrich and Evelyne Huber Stephens and John D. Stephens. University of Chicago Press, Chicago 1992. 387 pages. Capitalist Development and Democracy by Rueschmyer, Stephans and Stephans is an ambitious work which...
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