Meet Cornel West at Barnes & Noble (Hint: He dissects political fictions!)

I know and respect Cornel West for his enlightened, clear and articulate views on race, civilization and life in general.  Among those with "West" for a last name, it is Cornell who should get your attention most.  Kanye has much to learn from Cornel, too, humility chief among them and having a values-centered philosophy of life is another.

This Mr. West, Mr. West, Mr. West (a reference to a lyric on Kanye's "College Dropout") has tackled issues of hip hop's place in our culture, has rapped a few songs of his own and is a a professor at Princeton University.

Now, he shares his memoirs in a new book "Living & Loving Out Loud: A Memoir."  And he will read from the book and be available for signings and conversation this Wednesday, September 30 at Union Square Barnes & Noble.

If you are starving for something richer than the usual playlist of your life, consider heading over to B & N by 6:30pm to get a seat.  Mr. West is very funny, very accessible - he talks plainly and truthfully - and you will surely become a fan of his too.  When you do become a fan there is a treasure of previous books to dive into but start with "Democracy Matter" for the chapter on hip hop culture and American society.  It will open your eyes and, no, he does not bash it, he sees it in a different light.

Will you give yourself the chance to see life in a different light, too?

Here for the Barnes & Noble event website for details

Here to read excerpts from "Living & Loving Out Loud: A Memoir" 

Here for Cornel West on the web (including audio and video) 

Here for Cornel West on Wikipedia 

Our First Class & Next Week

Have we answered everybody's questions about course texts, in-class writing and requirements for the papers?

Great meeting all of you and I look forward to a love/hate relationship with you as a group...just kidding...glad we got off to smart start.

For next week:  Visit the Pace computer lab for your printing needs.  You'll need to bring copies of the George Orwell's essay "Politics & the English Language" and James Baldwin's short story "Going to Meet the Man."  We will have separate discussion on each of these texts but connect them with our course theme and talk about how they represent core issues for our work together.

The Orwell essay - considered a classic - will give us the basis for talking about government involvement in creating political fictions as well as the abuse of language.  Has anybody else noticed this trend:  "patients" and "customers" are often replaced by the term "clients"?  Embedded in such shifts in language is a demand the we also shift perspective and roles in the transaction (between doctor/patient or seller/customer).

The Baldwin story will go a long way in explaining how a person can grow up surrounded by political fictions - the air he breathes - and let it go unquestioned, unchallenged and then face unpredictabel consequences for participating in the fiction.  In this case, a white police officer in the South is forced to confront his racist upbringing and its deeply personal impact on his ability to...make love?

Next week we will also be much more specific about the topic for Paper 1.  The general topic is "the personal IS political."  Write about ways that power is used - positive or negative - to aid or hurt individuals who seem to be powerless to change the situation because the control over it is so powerful (the political). 

You will be asked to make a choice of the following:
1.  Write an autobiographical paper in which you identify a a personal political fiction. It can be in your own family or in  a friend's family (so you are a witness or a bystander).
2.  Write a paper in which you identify a political fiction (there are many) in the Baldwin story.  Describe the situation, how it is a political fiction, what has caused it to become a reality, who or what is impacted, what has been the response (if any) and what ahs been the outcome.

Take a moment, too, to read what I have at the top of the blog in the Welcome message for more on a definition of political fictions.  I believe this is an engaging approach to an English class and I hope you are able to find something in the course materials that keeps you interested!

Orientals" are carpets, not people: Ban on usage becomes NY Sate law

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 9, 2009

GOVERNOR PATERSON SIGNS LEGISLATION TO ELIMINATE THE USE OF “ORIENTAL” IN STATE DOCUMENTS 

Law Ends Use of Disparaging Term in State Forms and Preprinted Documents

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Governor David A. Paterson today signed legislation that will eliminate the use of the term “oriental” in reference to persons of Asian or Pacific Islander heritage in forms or preprinted documents used by State government, public authorities or municipalities. The law directs that existing forms be amended no later than January 1, 2010.

“The words we use matter. We in government recognize that what we print in official documents or forms sets an example of what is acceptable. With this legislation, we take action against derogatory speech and set a new standard,” Governor Paterson said. “The word ‘oriental’ does not describe ethnic origin, background or even race; in fact, it has deep and demeaning historical roots. I am pleased to sign this legislation and remove the phrase from preprinted forms and documents. I congratulate the work of Senator Johnson, Assemblywoman Meng and the community leaders who worked to bring this important bill to my desk.”

Senator Craig Johnson said: “Allowing derogatory and hateful language to linger in public discourse and gain legitimacy through its inclusion in official State documents is improper and inexcusable. I am proud to have partnered with Governor Paterson and Assemblywoman Meng to ensure that decency prevailed when this legislation became law.”

Assemblywoman Grace Meng said: “Thank you to all my colleagues for their support and to Governor Paterson for his vision and leadership on this historic legislation. I am especially proud that this bill was able to pass unanimously in the Assembly and the Senate. Derogatory and insensitive language, like that Senator Johnson and I are addressing with our legislation, should not be allowed to linger in official State forms. This bill will hopefully serve as an important vehicle to eliminate any future derogatory classifications of people from all ethnic backgrounds. We are all Americans regardless of our ethnic backgrounds and as such should not have to suffer being referred to in an offensive manner.”

The term “oriental” is widely considered a disparaging term, but has been used in some forms and preprinted documents issued by State government, public authorities and municipalities.

Yale Murder Story

The recent murder of the Yale student researcher, Annie M. Le, was strange from the start.  She was killed just days before her wedding in Long Island and her body was found stuffed inside a wall in Yale lab on the what should have been her wedding day.  And now it has gotten even stranger!

Police have arrested a Yale employee, Raymond Clark, for the murder.  He wasn't a stalker.  He wasn't another researcher.  He was the team leader of a crew assigned to the CARE, FEEDING AND WELL BEING OF LAB ANIMALS and it is believed that when he just couldn't take Annie's refusal to follow the procedures in the lab, he just snapped and killed her.

The New York Times runs a story today that pulls all of this into focus.  It is very interesting and shows a sharp contrast of two worlds:  those who take care of lab animals and sometimes grow attached and those who conduct medical research on same animals.  In one very sad instance these two worlds collided so badly that one person chose murder and another lost her life.

Here for the New York Times story

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Politics: A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.



Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914)

Upcoming Talk on Terror at Cooper Union

Reckoning with Torture: Memos and Testimonies from the “War on Terror”

With Matthew Alexander, Paul Auster, Don DeLillo, Eve Ensler, Jenny Holzer, Jack Rice, Amrit Singh, and Art Spiegelman

When: Tuesday, October 13
Where: The Great Hall at Cooper Union, 7 East 7th St., NYC
What time: 7 p.m.

Tickets: $15/$10 for PEN/ACLU Members and students with valid ID atwww.smarttix.com. Tickets may also be purchased at the door.

More here...

Watch Video of Toni Morrison Reading from A MERCY

Last May, Toni Morrison visited the John Adams Institute in Amsterdam to celebrate the publication of her novel A MERCY.  In this excellent video of her presentation, Ms. Morrison reads a chapter from the novel and discusses the writing process.

She explains that she wanted to go back to a time when slavery was happening - in the earliest years of pre-colonial America - before it became associated with the racism of slavery we know so well.

What makes this video and presentation most interesting is that she is speaking to a non-American audience (in English) and they show enormous respect for her place in world literature.

Here for the video 

Moustafa Bayoumi: Upcoming Local Lecture Date

One of the texts for our class is Moustafa Bayoumi's "How Does It Feel to Be a Problem?  Being Young and Arab in America"

Meet the author who will read from the book and takes us beyond the stereotypes into the lives of seven twenty-something Arab-Americans who reveal their dreams and realities in post-9/11 America.

An upcoming FREE appearance gives us the chance to hear directly from Moustafa and to ask questions.

Queens Library - Broadway Branch

Saturday, October 24, 2009, 3:30pm

40-20 Broadway

Long Island City, NY 11103

718.721.2462

Here for library website!