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Scholarship Symposium Abstracts |
| February 14,
2008
“Which Life Would You Choose?”: A Pithy
Treatise on the Love of Wisdom in Plato’s Republic* When seeking to discover the structure of Plato’s Republic, many “Word and Image” students (among other philosophical neophytes) are left in a state of intellectual limbo, I unsure of how to proceed. In this paper, I provide the following suggestion: “Begin again, but this time, starting from the end.” Book 10 of the Republic, and particularly the Myth of Er, at first present the reader with a confusing, and seemingly contradictory, set of arguments. Why after decrying the dangers of poetry and exiling the poets from the city does Socrates tell, of all things, a story? I argue that the Myth of Er not only reveals the true trajectory of Plato's Republic as a text concerned with justice in the soul, but also provides an exemplary "chooser" of the philosophical way – Odysseus. In selecting the life of a private individual who does his own work, Odysseus demonstrates how wisdom, that which is sought after like a lover by true philosophers, not only informs but forms an entire way of life. As Pierre Hadot suggests, "wisdom is nothing more than the vision of things as they are…and also nothing more than the mode of being and living that should correspond to this vision." Only upon such a reading of the Myth of Er, and in turn the Republic as a whole, is the beauty of Socratic storytelling and the importance of Odysseus's choice for our own lives most clearly revealed.
Excerpts from Windstruck: A view of Chicago from the
sidewalks* As an avid people watcher, I have always been amazed by homeless
people. And, because of growing up in Chicago, there has never been
a shortage of subjects to observe. When I decided to start writing
a collection of creative works about Chicago, I was eager to talk
to my favorite Chicago inhabitants. After approaching a homeless
man, buying him lunch, and discussing my home city with him for
over an hour, I couldn’t wait to ask another. Three years
and many “lunch talks” later, I have composed a collection
of creative non-fiction works, short fiction stories, and memoirs
about Chicago through the eyes of the homeless and those that have
had memorable encounters with them
White Man's Tracks: The Use of Railroads to Secure
British Agency in Colonial India
The Possession at Dojoji: the Animating Principle in
Japanese Theatre The story of the possession at Dojoji, or Dojo Temple, details the consequences of those sated with the burning powers of lust. First, a woman is transformed into a serpent-like demon due to frustration at her inability to pursue her lover. Then, she uses her newfound demonic powers to roast her lover to death within the temple’s bell. This famous and well-loved Japanese story has inspired many and diverse versions of the consequences following the death of the serpent woman’s love. The Dojoji story has been dramatized for three of the traditional forms of Japanese theatre, Noh, Bunraku, and Kabuki. This myth actually typifies an essential facet of Japanese theatre: the theme of possession which involves a transfer of energy from person to object. Each form of Japanese theatre features an integral occurrence of possession when the actors must animate an inanimate object with their own spirits in order to create the characters onstage. Noh contains a shite, or masked figure, that must be possessed by the shite performer for the play to come alive; Kabuki contains a stereotypic painted character that must be possessed by the kabuki actor for the play to come alive; and Bunraku contains puppets which must be possessed by three puppeteers and a chanter for the play to come alive. This paper will explore how the story of Dojoji has been altered for each form of Japanese theatre so that the myth represents the particular type of possession, or exchange of energy, that occurs during the performance of the play.
J.S. Bach and Catholicism: BWV 18 and 126 and the B
Minor Mass Scholars have raised many questions concerning the original intentions of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Mass. Why did this Lutheran composer write what seems to be Roman Catholic in nature? And for what occasion and place did he expect it to be used? Further complicating the matter, we note that Bach had previously composed two cantatas BWV 18 and 126, which can be considered anti-Catholic in message. By considering these cantatas and by examining visual depictions of Roman Catholics circulating in Bach’s time, a vision of triumphant Lutheranism seems to emerge. This paper examines these seeming contradictions. In particular, Bach’s connection to and fondness for the unique city of Dresden, a Lutheran city governed by Roman Catholics, is explored. I seek to reveal Bach’s eventual disenchantment with Leipzig and the triumphant Lutheranism he himself propagated earlier in the cantatas. In considering the Mass as a response to anti-Catholic attitudes of his time and place, we find in Bach many issues of compositional process that parallel the Reformation in a new spirit.
A Return to the Covenant: On David Walker’s American
Prophetic Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World While the American identity appears to eternally revolutionize
itself as the melting pot stirs, judges reinterpret law, and citizens
elect presidents, timeless covenantal language describes Americans.
In religious literature, when a people stray from covenants, someone
emerges to remind and call the people back to their identity; such
a person is a prophet. For a society that does not solely rely upon
biblical or religious thought to order its political system, two
questions concerning covenants arise: if there is a covenant or
covenant-like document in American history, what is it and who are
the prophets who remind the people of their duty to the covenant?
David Walker’s Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the
World provides a clear representation of American prophecy
in Walker’s call to the American people, slave and free, back
to the covenant wrought by Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence.
Thus, Walker’s Appeal reveals a proposed identity
of freedom for American citizens encountering questions of what
it means to live the truths they hold “to be self evident.” The Localization of Sailor Moon: Cultural
Changes and Their Cost
Conaway v. Deane and the Argument for Sexual Orientation
as a Suspect Class
On the Road to Thoughtfulness: Two Seniors’ Reflections
on Becoming Christ College Scholars Part autobiography, part research paper, and part two seniors entering a state of nostalgia for their quickly fading time as undergraduate students in Christ College, this joint presentation is a thoughtful reflection on the effect that four years of intellectual, moral, and spiritual formation in Christ College have had on our lives. This is not simply a unique and whimsical attempt at earning a spot in the coveted student scholarship symposium, but a serious look at why Christ College has been, and will continue to be, an integral component in the lives of those who graduate from the halls of Mueller. We will draw on our own personal experiences in and out of the classroom, as well as many of the texts encountered throughout the past four years, in our argument for the increasing need amidst higher education, especially Christian higher education, for the type of formation Christ College imparts upon its students. We will carefully consider what it means to pursue one’s vocation in life after Valpo, in light of having become scholars who are called to serve society in a multitude of ways.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child: A Christian Perspective
Through a Glass Dimly
Choosing Death in a Society of Life: Writing the Tragic
and Melodramatic Death Narratives It is said that two things are certain in life: death and taxes. While many political and economic theorists may argue against the necessary existence of the latter, only a lunatic would attempt to argue that the former, death, is in some way avoidable. Sherwin B. Nuland, in his book How We Die: Reflections on Life’s Final Chapter, further denies that anyone can avoid experiencing death, medically and biologically speaking, in the same, messy way. Nuland wants people to reject the romantic notion of death, the peaceful end-of-life slumber that one takes only after a period of complete reconciliation with all one’s loved ones and the world at large. Unfortunately, Nuland fails to offer an alternative writing of one’s “final chapter” in life, as he calls it. This paper, accepting Dan McAdams’ notion that people view their lives, and in this case their deaths, as stories, analyzes several of Nuland’s death narratives using David Mamet’s description of dramatic structure, re-evaluating them not as the romantic fairy tale endings that Nuland rejects, but as the final, somber scenes of powerful melodramas and touching tragedies that anyone can, and everyone eventually will, write as the last chapter of a life’s story.
______________________________________________________________ September 28 , 2007
A Platform of Reconciliation - The Truth Commission
as a Means of Making Things Right in Societies in Transition*
In Pursuit of Truth: Searching for Significance in
the Lives of Investigative Reporters* But what does it take to lead a significant life as an investigative journalist? Surely fame and fortune are not the sole deciding factors in determining one’s significance, but do lesser-known reporters also possess the capacity to lead a significant life? Additionally, any given profession has a large impact on a person, molding and shaping one’s identity and also to a certain extent limits one’s freedom, as political scientist Russell Muirhead argues in his book, Just Work. In what ways is the life of an investigative reporter changed by the profession, and what ramifications does this have on their significance—both as reporters and as people? This paper analyzes the personal and professional lives of three investigative reporters, including two nationally famous journalists, Woodward and Hersh, and one lesser-known reporter, Nicholas Thimmesch. The paper engages in a comparative discussion of the careers of these three men, then, following the arguments of Muirhead, analyzes the ways in which their careers affected their personal lives. Only then, by considering both the professional and the personal dimensions of their lives, can one truly capture the significance of the life of an investigative reporter. Such a discussion leads one to see that it is not the level of professional or economic success attained that makes a journalist’s life significant; rather, there are a multitude of additional elements to a reporter’s life that should be emphasized when evaluating the question of significance. Cultural Interactions and Tourist Attractions: The
Various Roles of the Mosque of Córdoba While the Great Mosque of Córdoba may not constitute the conventional “museum” space, it fulfills many of the desired ‘museum’ functions. A museum is a space which inspires, according to Stephen Greenblatt, some combination or progression of resonance and wonder; ideally, “a wonder that then leads to the desire for resonance.” It is a popular tourist destination, a center for spiritual reflection and pragmatic worship, a valid architectural relic, and a musée vivant in its own right. It is a temple and a forum. It is a grandiose structure, set off by its tangible—sometimes disconcerting—mélange of varying architectural styles and religious elements. Yet in its architectural incongruence, there is harmony—it is a cultural snapshot of the cultural symbiosis and visual hegemony of Spain. This, given the oft-contentious relations between Muslim and Christian nations within contemporary society, makes the Mosque a valuable anthropological object—and, in the context of cultural understanding, it merits more than a cursory study. Under closer examination and analysis, the mosque proves itself to be a veritable cultural showcase, a stunning physical and spiritual mélange of diverse architectural styles and artifacts from various stages in its complicated metamorphosis, a valuable site of cultural tourism, and a living manifestation of a pertinent and polymorphous museum space—much akin to the ever-changing world around it.
Welcoming the Other: Treatment of Gollum in J.R.R.
Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings
Choosing Wisely: Of Plato, the (In)formative Power
of Narrative, and the Erotic Lives of Philosophers
The Quest for Holistic Sustainability
Rosie Revised
Creating Redemption: An Analysis of the Character of
the Redemptive Self in 19th Century American Literature To better examine this question I have chosen five well-known texts from the heart of the Transcendentalist era (1850s) to analyze through the lens of the redemptive life narrative. This paper surveys Emerson’s “Self-Reliance,” Whitman’s “Song of Myself,” Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Melville’s Redburn and Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Emerson and Whitman’s texts are important because they are Transcendental works that expose ideological themes that are present in redemptive life stories. Stowe’s novel is crucial to examine for its immense popularity and because it addressed the leading national issue in America during the 1850s. Finally, I turn to Melville and Hawthorne’s subversive, “dark romantic” texts that probe readers to examine if redemption is even plausible in some lives. Although one cannot get a complete view of the Transcendentalist era from reading these texts, they exemplify the different types of literature people were reading and reveal characteristics of the redemptive self that might otherwise go unnoticed. This study shows that the impulse toward narratives of redemption is an American ideal that parallels with Christian belief. Despite the appeal of redemptive life stories, other writers have shown that redemption is not always possible or favorable for some. A Mighty King: A Kierkegaardian Search for the Self
Abraham Lincoln, God's Will, and the Gettysburg Address The paper argues that the God of the Gettysburg Address, at least in Lincoln’s intention, is the Christian God. Lincoln reaches an admirable understanding of God’s will, humbly acknowledging his own inability fully to grasp it, while remaining resolute in his belief that we must act strongly in accordance with what we best perceive to be God’s will. Based on this, an orthodox Christian is able to accept the Gettysburg Address’ vision of God and God’s will. Pride in Technology, Prejudice against Change: Analysis
of the 2005 Adaptation of Pride and Prejudice
"Then He Opened Their Minds": Scriptural
Fulfillment in the Eucharistic Assembly
Starbucks and Its Fair Trade Initiatives: A Fallacious
Front of Falsities With this question in mind, my paper will first demonstrate that Fair Trade is a successful way to economically empower third world coffee farmers. In addition, a careful comparison of Equal Exchange, a 100% Fair Trade coffee company, and Starbucks will illustrate how various coffee companies are utilizing Fair Trade. In the end, while Fair Trade benefits third world farmers in numerous ways and is an effective means of economic empowerment, first world coffee companies like Starbucks are using this emerging industry for their own benefit. All in all, through understanding Starbuck’s and Equal Exchange’s basic relationship to Fair Trade coffee, this paper will offer groundbreaking insights into why we as consumers must reevaluate and change our purchasing practices in relation to major corporations like Starbucks. Through a Glass Dimly
______________________________________________________________ February 22, 2007 As members of a nation on the brink of deep social change, nineteenth century women writers, through their expected roles as the religious idols of the home and society, used the genre of the spiritual conversion narrative to speak to social issues. In the face of limited outlets for their own opinions, these women took advantage of this spiritual agency and revealed dark truths of nineteenth century American society. Both Rebecca Harding Davis and Harriet Wilson particularly exemplify this process. The social concerns of their works, “Life in the Iron Mills” and Our Nig, may seem blatantly evident, suggesting that the social commentary would perhaps very well function on its own, with the spiritual narrative emerging as simply secondary. However, this paper finds that the social commentary is illuminated and deepened through the paralleling spiritual narrative, which provides the authors with an expanded opportunity to express their opinions. In addition, by intertwining spiritual narrative and social commentary, these authors create an ambiguity within the texts that allows for multiple interpretations of the texts, as one may choose to focus on one layer or the other, or study the two combined. Ultimately, the nineteenth century woman’s position at the top of a spiritual hierarchy provided her with a particular agency through which she could convey dissatisfaction with society’s treatment of a variety of issues.
What is Christian evangelism to do with Christ’s final injunction, “Go make disciples of all nations…teaching them everything I have commanded you,” if rational arguments in favor of the Christian faith are incapable of achieving certainty? In An Apology for Raymond Sebond, sixteenth-century philosopher and Catholic Michel de Montaigne denies human reason the ability to reach certainty in knowledge. On one view, Montaigne’s assertion is good preparation for the gospel because it calls for human reason to repent from its presumption. Yet his assertion makes evangelism, particularly to intellectuals, problematic. If reason is no longer able to provide certainty, how does a thoughtful unbeliever know whether to choose Christianity, or Buddhism, or simply no religion at all? What use are arguments in favor of the Christian faith if reason is ultimately unable to provide an answer with certainty? Examining Montaigne’s essays An Apology for Raymond Sebond and On Experience, and drawing as well on seventeenth-century philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal’s idea of the Wager, the answer turns out to be as provocative as the questions; unbelievers should be invited to assay—to try—a tradition, in order to discover its veracity. In order to encourage this, evangelism and apologetics ought no longer to be primarily concerned with creating convincing rational arguments. Instead hospitality, in the same sense used by the early church, ought to become the dominant mode of evangelism. What happens when a metaphor is no longer recognized as a metaphor by both speakers and hearers? Philosophers call such an expression a dead metaphor. For example, when one talks about the mouth of a river, no one begins to think about the orifice used for eating and speaking, attributing it in a metaphorical sense to a river. We simply know the geographical feature to which this phrase refers, and no further cognitive activity takes place. There are many examples of dead metaphors in language; I give three different characterizations: some metaphors become definite descriptions, as in my initial example, which name objects. Others remain conduit metaphors, through which we express ideas and understanding, and still others are idiomatic structures determined by culture. Dead metaphors are never recognized in conversation but are extremely prolific in everyday language. Such great a quantity of dead metaphors has certain repercussions on language, culture, and society. While some philosophers believe dead metaphors are detrimental to our ability to communicate and to our capacity to understand concepts, I believe they have positive effects on language itself, enriching meaning and making our language more vibrant and poetic. This belief is contingent upon dead metaphors acquiring a literal truth upon dying; otherwise, our primarily figurative language remains false and meaningless. The scope of dead metaphors is wide; they structure not only our language but also the development and transfer of ideas and scientific theories, making it easier for us to grasp and relate abstract concepts through familiar vehicles of dead metaphor. Ultimately, dead metaphors are beneficial to human beings and to our communication, even across language and cultural barriers.
Without proper censorship and guidance the effects of advertising have the potential to be psychologically and physically damaging to children and adolescents. Children and adolescents of today have influence over more money than ever before and advertisers are making an immense effort to target this age group in advertising campaigns. This paper explores the methods advertisers use to target children and adolescents, the ability of children and adolescents to differentiate between the media and reality, and the possible issues that children and adolescents develop due to the self-image that they develop based on messages conveyed by the media. In order to minimize these effects, it is essential to enforce censorship on advertisements for physically damaging products such as alcohol, tobacco products, and unhealthy food, as well as carefully monitor the viewing habits of children and adolescents and educate them about the methods employed by advertisers.
Vietnam War novels are known for their surprisingly realistic accounts of the horrific events that transpired during a period of ambiguity and uncertainty, all in the context of an entirely fictional story. This realism has troubled many readers as authors assert that what they have written is true, when in fact, it is not. Veteran-author Tim O’Brien is notorious for pushing the boundaries in literary war fiction by blurring the edge between fact and fiction and writing story-truths to help his readers feel what the war was like. Some, however, feel that this narrative style – specifically in O’Brien’s novel The Things They Carried – is a deceptive ploy; they become irritated and confused while trying to weed through O’Brien’s stories for their definition of the truth. As we take a closer look at the motivation behind this controversial writing, we come to appreciate why Vietnam authors stretch, embellish and exaggerate their stories. Even more importantly, we see why the truth isn’t always black and white, but gray.
Geisha have an important role in Japanese culture to preserve tradition. Typically this role has been reflected in the arts that geisha practice and the customs of the geisha community. However, the familial roles between geisha are now emerging as an important tradition for geisha to preserve. As the roles of mother and sibling break down within the Japanese social structure, geisha still embody many traditional familial values in a way that other somewhat similar groups like hostesses do not. Even though geisha have an important function within Japanese society, the system will not last as it exists now. Changes in Japanese society have made some aspects of the old geisha system obsolete and no longer sufficient to keep geisha from vanishing as a distinct part of society. To truly lead to a resurgence of popularity for geisha, any new system must be formulated in a way that does not stifle the progress made by Japanese wives in their role in the family. Without interfering with the traditions that geisha embody, it is important to renovate the system to rejuvenate geisha popularity for the twenty-first century.
While many healthcare professionals celebrate the success of bringing spiritual care into medical practice, there remains a dangerous ambiguity of roles that Christians must address. Spiritual care came to the forefront of healthcare because of the principle of “holism.” Holism defines the patient as having inseparable physical, mental, and spiritual components; thereby placing the responsibility for spiritual needs on healthcare professionals. Healthcare, however, should not presume to replace religious care in providing for patient’s spiritual needs. For Christians, spiritual needs are not fully met until one encounters the living presence of God. This role is one which belongs exclusively to committed Christians, especially chaplains and deaconesses. Though this may include nurses and physicians, their primary role is the physical health of the patient. Spiritual, holistic care is in the best interest of Christians, but can only be provided within the context of faith.
_____________________________________________________________ October 26, 2006 For almost fifty years, Jack Chick has evoked visceral responses out of the American public by communicating his Fundamentalist Christian beliefs through the medium of comics in tract form. More recently, these responses have led to a unique visual culture emerging around Chick tracts in interactions between the tracts’ distributors and their iconoclastic critics. The iconoclasts in particular have become aggressive in their efforts against Chick tract distribution by both destroying and creating parodies of them. In response, Chick and his distributors have mocked these acts of iconoclasm and condemned the iconoclasts to perilous fates. This presentation examines why Americans respond so strongly to Chick tracts; it then analyzes how the tract producers’ response to iconoclastic acts point to both sides using propaganda rather than rational debate. Their reliance on propaganda has led to a lack of constructive communication allowing each party to continue criticizing the other without regarding the other’s reproach. This communication breakdown explains how even the well-intentioned act of a concerned Christian removing these tracts from public venues often leads to their wider distribution.
A world begins to build, populated by pseudonyms, whose boundaries lie as truly in Denmark and Copenhagen as they do in Genesis and Don Giovanni and Kierkegaard’s own recollected past and imagined present. But the world has, too, an interior trajectory, according to Kierkegaard—“becoming a Christian.” Which raises an interesting question. Because what isn’t clear, when he makes this claim, is whether the authorship seeks to describe this movement, or to effect it. Is a text (or even a set of texts) truly capable of accomplishing either of those things? What would such intentions mean, for the text ontologically and for the reader experientially? What would it mean for Fear and Trembling to be read as a Christian text?
Love, Death, and Beautiful Dead Girls: Analyzing the
Prose Works of Nicholas Sparks and Edgar Allan Poe
_____________________________________________________________ February 1, 2006 Americans understand consumerism. The United States' powerful market-driven economy is based on an assessment of the worth of our treasure, time, and talent. But Americans place value on more than material items: we also make value judgments on ethical choices regarding life decisions from marijuana use to abortions. What makes the things in our lives so valuable, and what can be sacrificed for a greater good? Philosophers such as Jean-Paul Sartre and economists like Adam Smith have advanced several important theses on the nature of valuation, though always restricted to their chosen field. This paper will offer groundbreaking insights into a new environment of ethical supply and demand and create a new theory of free-market morality. It examines critical issues, such as whether actions have a priori worth, the plausibility and necessity of arbitrary value judgments, and an economic-existentialist method that most humans apply without realization. Illustrated with charts and graphs, this presentation demonstrates why microeconomic theory is pivotal in the study of ethical choices, and contends that the process of American value selection is no different with morals than it is with motor vehicles.
Since its creation in 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has remained
high on the United States' hostile nations list and even received
the distinction in 2002 of being listed alongside Korea and Iraq
as part of the Bush administration's Axis of Evil. It is surprising
therefore that President Jimmy Carter, mere months before the 1978-79
Iranian Revolution began, praised Iran as an "island of stability"
in a tumultuous, anti-Western Middle East. In reality, he had every
reason to believe this. Iran enjoyed a pro-Western regime that,
although oppressive, did not seem to be faltering in any way, one
of the most powerful military forces in the region, and the highest
GNP growth rate in the world. This paper questions current historical
perceptions of Iran as a merely anti-Western, anti-secular power.
By examining historical texts which discuss Iran's judicial and
educational systems' relation to Shi'a Islam, it shows Iran to be
a nation struggling to find a balance between modem political ideology
and its own religious heritage and comes to the controversial conclusion
that the current Islamic Republic is a historical hiccup and that
a secular state may be on the horizon for Iran after all. In his writing, Fyodor Dostoevsky describes a decomposition of the family in nineteenth century Russia which he and many of his contemporaries blame for leading their beloved country toward cultural disintegration. According to Dostoevsky, political unrest, widespread rejection of faith, and tendencies toward materialism and egocentricity plagued the nineteenth century Russian people. He traces these evils to the crisis of family which he believes is responsible for the generation of young Russians ill-equipped for beneficial participation in society. In works such as The Brothers Karamazov and A Raw Youth, Dostoevsky demonstrates the effect a loss of family has on the individual and consequently on society. This paper analyzes Dostoevsky's critique of nineteenth century Russia and comments on his implicit plea for social change. By looking beyond the generally accepted, contemporary definition of family, Dostoevsky suggests that family must be more than consanguinity; it must be perpetually created by effort, by active love. The specific love learned in family is a necessary step toward applying that love universally, and even unconditionally. Dostoevsky's insight into the role of family in society, viewed against the political and cultural climate of his day, provides a timeless glimpse into the basis of humane social progression.
The camel, an animal famous for its resilience and usefulness in
harsh terrains, earned itself the nickname, "ship of the desert."
Why then did an experiment to introduce camels into the American
West in the 1850s shipwreck? How did an animal that had proved so
essential in desert climates not find its place in the desert areas
of America? The story of the camel in America is not simply an account
of whether it could cope with the natural environment. The camel,
like many other species of the West, would also have to become a
commodity and compete for its place in the culture of the American
West. Although the camel proved itself physically suited to thrive
in the American West and passed the tests, it failed to sustain
a presence in America because the outside human factors of politics,
mismanagement, and culture undercut the experiment and its possible
uses. This operationally successful experiment, led by future Confederate
Jefferson Davis, ended up ironically as a failure, which proved
that whether a species thrived had little to do with direct ecological
adaptation and more to do with factors involving humans. In addition
to the heavy loads of human misunderstandings and mismanagement,
the coming Civil War was just the straw that broke the camel's back.
It was Soren Kierkegaard who reminded us we were not done dealing with Abraham of the Bible. A prophet and covenant-bound forefather of the nation of Israel, Abraham enjoys a checkered career: among other adventures, he disputes with God himself on a hillside (Genesis 18) over the fate of two cities full of strangers, Sodom and Gomorrah, and he walks up a mountain just four chapters later to offer his only son as a sacrifice -- to that same God - without a word of protest (Genesis 22). ...What? It's been posited that this is just a flaw in character development
- two separate legends woven together during Genesis' composition
stage and given the same protagonist. But there are a host of good
reasons to conclude this is not the case, and this paper constitutes
a formal exploration of them. It deals with the text at its earliest
stage, the Abraham Cycle original to Genesis, as well as reactions
to it throughout history, by writers of other, later portions of
the Bible, by the rabbinical scribes of antiquity who thought they'd
change its wording a little, and by students of these texts from
traditions both Jewish and Christian, ancient and contemporary,
to argue that these two episodes, apparently at odds, are the two
hills and one journey at the very heart of the Abraham story, and
the meaning he holds for the people who call themselves "children
of Abraham." Feminism has long been suffering from an image problem. The movement
faces a number of current dilemmas, including a decline in supporters,
a negative and nebulous connotation, and a perception that the entire
feminist movement is based on radical and lesbian feminism. In addition,
many Americans believe that gender equality has already been achieved
or that there is no purpose in fighting inequality as a collective
group. This leads to the obvious question, is feminism dead? No.
A brief history of feminism shows that there have already been two
major "waves" of feminism, with a significant period of
retrenchment in between. Currently, feminism seems to be standing
in another period of retrenchment, waiting for a third wave. However,
from examining contemporary American culture as it presents itself
in the media, the business world, and institutions of higher learning,
it seems that in order for a third wave of feminism to occur it
must first overcome its negative connotation by convincing the average
American, middle-class person - not just academics and activists,
and not just females - that there is a continued need for
a collective feminist movement. After such analysis, it follows
that if the feminist movement wants a third wave, as it deserves,
it would be making a grave strategic mistake to insist on using
the term "feminism."
Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat and The Cat in the
Hat Comes Back have entertained children for generations. Unbeknownst
to these children, they have also subconsciously and symbolically
learned the proper resolutions to important developmental conflicts.
Through their engaging of Seuss's texts, children learn of the Oedipal
Crisis, repression of sexual feelings for mother, castration anxiety,
identification with the father, dispersion of desires for mother
to women in general, and the formation of a healthy ego able to
moderate the desires of the id and the demands of the superego.
Importantly, this learning is only available if both volumes of
the work are read, yet the former is much more widely known than
the latter. Many adults struggle with improper resolutions of the
Oedipal Crisis who might possibly have avoided these struggles if
they had had the opportunity to read the second volume and learn
the immensely important psychodynamic lessons contained therein.
This presentation highlights the psychosexual allegory in Seuss's
two-volume work, asserts the necessity of Seuss's writing the second
volume, and applies these developmental lessons to common practices
of childrearing.
The story of the Sea Peoples of the Mediterranean is one of the
most compelling dramas in ancient history. During the 13th and 12th
centuries BC, a crisis swept the Mediterranean. Several civilizations
went into decline, including the Mycenaeans of Greece. Egyptian
records indicate that they were attacked by a marauding band of
raiders that have since been termed the Sea Peoples. These Sea Peoples
were a conglomerate of different displaced nations that raided settled
areas in their search for plunder and a place to live. Piecing together
the historical record of what happened is quite the challenge for
today's historians, who debate who exactly the Sea Peoples were
and to what extent Mediterranean decline can be blamed on their
raiding activities. This forms a very interesting case study of
the methods used by historians to piece together the mystery of
the past. The clues are archaeological, textual, and artistic, and
the interpretations of these clues are incredibly diverse, with
some claiming that the Sea Peoples didn't even really exist and
others claiming that they were a juggernaut that steamrolled over
the Mediterranean area and irreversibly changed the course of history
as we know it. At the turn of the fourth century, shortly before the First Ecumenical
Council of the Catholic Church would be held at Nicaea, The
Enneads of Plotinus were published. Within this text, Plotinus
details his entire metaphysical theory, exemplifying the Neo- Platonist
pantheistic metaphysic, which understands being to result from an
emanation, a "spilling out," from the Good. This theory
has unmistakable similarities to the Christian doctrine of the Trinity;
namely the resemblance of the Divine Triad (The One, Nous, and the
Soul) to the Trinity (God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit).
However, when compared with arguments for creation presented by
both Saint Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, a number of significant
flaws are revealed in Plotinus' metaphysical theory. Of particular
importance is his failure to adequately address, do to what I believe
is a misunderstanding of, the act of intellection. This presentation
reveals the principle fallacies of Plotinus' metaphysical theory
based on emanation and demonstrates how the Christian understanding
of creation by a Trine God, three in one, satisfies these objections.
In Medea, The Greek Tragedian Euripides poignantly depicts a tension
every fifth century Athenian would be well aware of, the tension
between the oikos and polis. Although the two words have quite simple
definitions, the concepts and implications inherent in their usage
are quite complex. In his play, Euripides develops these words against
one another in a social experiment that seeks to discover whether
the two concepts they represent are at all compatible, or whether
their mixing necessitates a fate of destruction. This paper analyzes
the history and usage of the words oikos and polis in classical
Greek literature and comments specifically on how Euripides utilizes
their implications in the character of Medea. By vividly describing
how the weaknesses inherent in the oikos and polis are combined
destructively by Medea, Euripides' tragedy provides a startling
depiction of the danger which accompanies a poor balance between
these two boundaries. In doing so, Euripides subtly suggests a healthy
and positive manner in which one might resolve this troublesome
and eternal dilemma. Contemporary Lutheran attitudes toward ecumenism either offer an apparent harmony purchased at the price of truth or ignore the necessity of the unity of the body of Christ by refusing ecumenical dialogue. Using Kierkegaard's typology of "priestly" and "prophetic", I will develop an approach toward ecumenism that transcends the two prevailing opinions to form a more robust ecumenicalism directed toward organic union. Both the "priestly" and "prophetic" functions, I will argue, are necessary for a healthy church, understood as the institutionalization of a true, living MacIntyrean tradition, i.e. a historically extended, socially embodied argument about the goods which constitute that tradition. Then I trace the alignments of Lutheran and Catholic bodies with these two functions both at the time of the schism and now. While "priestly" Rome excommunicated "prophetic" Luther, the roles have now reversed: Vatican II and other ecumenical developments have placed Rome in the prophetic role to the priestly intransigence of Lutheranism. In light of these changes, Lutherans have an obligation to rethink their relationship to Rome. Furthermore, I will argue that if Lutherans engage in a robustly ecumenical dialogue, they will come to an understanding of themselves as not only catholic but also, and necessarily, Catholic. In my paper, I try to show that the grim connections that Dostoevsky
makes between freedom and suffering are in fact healthy ways to
view them. I begin by looking at the variety of ways in which Dostoevsky
incorporates freedom and suffering together in Notes from Underground
and The Brothers Karamazov. These include freedom being
proven by choosing suffering, the suffering that comes from getting
more societal freedom, freedom and causing self-suffering, freedom
and causing children's suffering, freedom as the cause of suffering
in general, and undeserved freedom causing suffering through guilt.
With each of these I use both textual and contextual information
to support my interpretation, where available, both in reference
to what Dostoevsky intended and what was the case in Russia at the
time. I then attempt to show that these ideas of suffering help
one to better understand the price of freedom, based on common perceptions
of freedom, helping one to appreciate it more.
In Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov, Ivan's
poem "The Grand Inquisitor" establishes a motif that echoes
Christ's temptation in the wilderness and repeats in various forms
throughout the novel. The three temptations of "miracle, mystery,
and authority" correspond to the primary motivations of Dmitri,
Ivan, and Alyosha, and two of the brothers undergo sets of three
ordeals individually. Alyosha faces a more literal temptation after
Zosima's death, but resists and emerges with his faith strengthened.
The temptation motif also makes room for a number of devil figures
in the novel, typically atheistic and self-destructive, but who
sometimes struggle with temptation themselves. These include the
Grand Inquisitor himself, Rakitin (to a lesser extent), Smerdyakov,
and the devil who appears in Ivan's nightmare before the trial.
Such devil figures are essential to the novel, as are the many temptations
the brothers face, because they provide a clear opposition that
catalyzes the action of the novel and reflect Dostoevsky's fascination
with all-or-nothing, truly "Russian" characters. At the
same time, the imagery of temptation, devils, and Christ's ordeal
in the wilderness meshes compellingly with Dostoevsky's existing
religious concerns. With rioting in Paris and high European unemployment, immigration has become a very important topic. This essay explores the historical background of immigration into France and Germany, examining the source countries, then analyzing the current political and economic situations. Colored immigrants have remained largely shut out from Germany society, finding it much harder to pass unnoticed and often marrying amongst themselves. German citizenship laws have made naturalization nearly impossible, leading to third-generation foreigners. During times of economic hardship and especially since German reunification, immigration tends to be a scapegoat, with both the media and politicians insisting that immigrants are taking away natives' jobs and have a higher rate of criminality. However, several economic studies concur that immigrants often have a positive effect. France is simultaneously dealing with obvious tensions within its community. A country that prided itself on integration without racism now faces an increasingly racist and un-integrated society. Facing similar problems, these countries have reacted to them differently. Both countries need to do more to improve the status of foreigners within their countries and combat xenophobia. If successful, France and Germany can be models for the developed world that is increasingly considering immigration as a means of population replacement. By way of voicing their own opinion against the conduct literature
and cult of domesticity in the mid-19thcentury, women writers in
England and America re-wrote the traditional Cinderella story with
unusually scandalous and controversial female heroines. The study
and comparison of texts from both sides of the Atlantic is a relatively
new and growing facet in the study of Victorian women writers. This
paper examines this "transatlantic conversation" using
two texts, the American Ruth Hall and the British Mary
Barton, as representatives of the characterization and use
of the female heroine in each respective country. The heroine in
Ruth Hall achieves success through transcendence of domesticity,
while the heroine in Mary Barton achieves success through
revisiting domesticity. By contextualizing the novels through the
lens of political conversations such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton's
Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions and R.J. Richardson's
"The Rights of Woman," the differences in each heroine's
sphere of action are attributed to the political sphere of the country
in which
October 27, 2005
Evolution or Intelligent Design? Why Debate is Doomed
to Failure on its Present Terms * When Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species in
1859, he touched off an argument between the scientific and religious
communities that dwarfs anything since Copernicus suggested the
solar system was heliocentric. Through an exploration of how both
science and religion have overstepped their respective boundaries,
this presentation sheds light on the reasons behind the vitriolic
nature of the debate, and offers a few suggestions for removing
much of the rancor and restoring a constructive dialogue between
them. Toward this end, I explore the questions: What is the nature
of science? Is Intelligent Design really science? Are the arguments
used in the debate scientific? What is the relationship between
science and Truth? This presentation demonstrates that the reason
this debate is such a heated front in the American culture wars
is that the terms of the debate are inherently flawed: Intelligent
Design improperly presents itself as science, many arguments in
favor of or against Darwinian Evolution are formulated in explicitly
theological terms, and science has disingenuously positioned
itself as the infallible arbiter of Truth. These flaws must be addressed
before we can expect any significant progress toward agreement. Beethoven's Ninth Symphony stands in our culture as an archetype
of musical composition, a symbol of universal brotherhood, and an
inspiration to millions throughout history. Its themes of joy, peace,
and hope resonate in people of all cultures and backgrounds, and
yet at the same time it has served some very different ideas. Perhaps
two of the most extreme-and even perverse-uses of the Ninth occurred
during World War II when Jewish children imprisoned in Auschwitz
rehearsed the Chorale Movement ("Ode to Joy") at the same
time Hitler celebrated his birthday to the sounds of this triumphant
symphony. This presentation examines the context in which these
two distorted performances of the Ninth Symphony took place and
explores varying musical and ethical interpretations of the performances
themselves. While the prospect of both the perpetrators and victims
of the Holocaust performing the Ninth are alarming, this presentation
investigates the juxtaposition and reflects upon the themes and
variations of Beethoven' s masterpiece. The knife was raised over the child of promise, yet it never plunged
into his chest. For millennia the Aqedah, the Biblical story of
Abraham's near-sacrifice of Isaac, has proven to be one of the most
difficult passages to interpret in the Bible. Through my research
I came to the conclusion that the text demonstrates that faith in
God goes beyond three things: desire, logic, and ethics. Abraham
was required to sacrifice the son that he loved, even though the
son fulfilled God's covenant with Abraham. This demand for sacrifice
therefore violated both Abraham's deepest desire and his ability
to understand how God would keep his promise. On top of this, the
story demonstrates, as Kierkegaard argues, that faith in God requires
suspension of normal ethical concerns. This conclusion allows for
a closer relationship with God, but it has profoundly disturbing
implications, as demonstrated by a mass suicide of Jewish believers
during a Christian pogrom. In my presentation, I wish to explore
how the Aqedah exemplifies the paradoxical beauty and terror of
faith. Concern in the 1980s that mediocrity in the nation's public school
system threatened both the economic and political standing of the
United States spawned a nationwide movement of education reform.
States began critically reevaluating their approach to public education
and made many and varied attempts to improve their ailing systems.
One state that had been particularly hard-hit by the economic downturn
and that suffered from a long history of educational mediocrity
was Kentucky. There, growing frustrations among citizens, business
leaders, educators and politicians led to what would be one of the
most sweeping reforms of public education ever undertaken by any
state in the union. But before the legislation that called for these
reforms was even written, four political surprises occurred that
made true education reform in Kentucky possible. This paper examines
these four unexpected turns of events and shows that extreme shows
of persistence, courage and risk-taking were absolutely necessary
for the eventual passage of the Kentucky Education Reform Act. In
light of the findings of this paper, those interested in effecting
change in the realm of public education or any other major policy
arena should realize the importance of persistence, courage and
risk-taking when carrying out their work. Plato has been unjustly accused of denigrating the value of poetry. According to Plato, the best human life consists in a properly ordered their soul, with reason conquering the lesser desires of the appetitive and spirited parts. Thus Platonic education aims to develop in individuals a love of the truth. However, Plato realizes that an individual who has yet to properly harmonize the parts of his soul is subject to the strong influences of the sensible world, especially poetry. Though poetry may appeal to the appetitive part of the soul, this paper demonstrates how Plato argues that philosophers are immune to the "corrupting" effects of poetry and are able to utilize poetry in their pursuit of knowledge. Using examples from both his Phaedrus and Republic, I show how Plato himself is a writer of poetry that personifies the truths sought by philosophers. This paper exposes the general conception that Plato wishes to ostracize poetry as an erroneous interpretation of his works, and reveals that he argues not against, but rather in favor of poetry.
During the conflict over slavery, religion played a major role on both sides of the issue. Contrary to popular belief, many Christians supported slavery. Influential preachers were able to twist Biblical texts to create compelling justifications for slavery. Devereux Jarratt was a Virginian preacher who taught that God had created a hierarchy in humanity and through this, slaves were necessary for the support of not only the American nation, but the community of believers in Christ. The importance of these issues was so large that the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia, Stephen Elliott, published a sermon that would energize the South in their quest to win the Civil War. In the sermon, Elliott blamed slavery on the so-called "Curse of Noah" and justified it with St. Paul's letter to Philemon. Perhaps the most flamboyant pro-slavery preacher was Joseph Wilson, who preached an entire sermon on slavery. This sermon, Mutual Relation of Masters and Slaves as Taught in the Bible, took up Jarratt's view of slaves being necessary and appealed to slave owners to treat slaves with more-but less-than-humane-respect. The arguments and textual support of these sermons paint a different, if not somewhat compelling picture of slavery.
Historians call it the "Japanese economic miracle," the fact that, in less than fifty years, Japan rebuilt an utterly devastated nation into a flourishing modem country with an economic strength that is the envy of the Eastern world and the puzzlement of the Western one. The Japanese economy, |