A student--not mine, praise the higher being--recently made waves when he demanded to be taken out of an instructor's class because the instructor was teaching subversive material.
The "subversive material"? David Sedaris
A student--not mine, praise the higher being--recently made waves when he demanded to be taken out of an instructor's class because the instructor was teaching subversive material.
The "subversive material"? David Sedaris
Curious.Quoting Hugh_Grant (view post)
Subversive to whom?
...and the milk's in me.
To conservatives?
Apparently, the student objected to Sedaris's sexual orientation. He also complained about a reading on alternative families.
Students who complain about such material are not exactly rare, but this guy was very vocal. My boss, who is awesome, sent him this email about the importance of being open-minded in college.
A friend of mine who teaches Western Civ often runs into this problem when she teaches Darwin.
I went to a private religious university, so complaints weren't unheard of, but I would imagine that most people who go to college aren't dead set against being exposed to any ideas other than their own.
I do remember a girl complaining about Moll Flanders in one of my classes.
...and the milk's in me.
This is a public college, and whenever this sort of issue arises, I can't help but wonder why these students didn't go to a private college if this is obviously such a sticking point in their education. The last I heard was this student would be removed from the class, and he will have to wait a semester to take it again, and hopefully, the next instructor will not have David Sedaris on the syllabus.
My favorite story: A really irate parent called my former boss about what she felt was an inappropriate movie on her son's Introduction to Film Studies syllabus. The movie? Dr. Strangelove. This person just assumed that it was some sort of porno based on the title. Sigh.
Before I saw that film, I thought it was about some sort of James Bond villain.
...and the milk's in me.
I'd request to leave that class too, though I doubt for the same reason.
The severed arm perfectly acquitted itself, because of the simplicity of its wishes and its total lack of doubt.
I could never be that calm and tolerant with idiots. The moment someone objected to a piece on literature being taught on moral or religious grounds, I'd probably just buy a Vatican flag and a rosary and set them on fire in front of the whole class.
Halfway through John Dos Passos's The 42nd Parallel, the first in his USA trilogy. So far it's nicely moved beyond the socialist proletarian revolution that the first 100 pages argues toward, and actually seems to suggest that women desire something more than early 20th century materialism, which was his earlier book Manhattan Transfer's biggest failure. With Newsreel and Camera Eye sections splitting up the narrative it's formally ambitious, so hopefully it'll end strong.
The Boat People - 9
The Power of the Dog - 7.5
The King of Pigs - 7
During my vacation, spare time + availability of the books conspired to get me to read The Hunger Games trilogy. It was neither as good as I had heard, nor as bad as I had feared. They are certainly very readable and overall pretty fun, although the second one was the weakest, narratively.
Collins has some definite strengths. She writes action scenes brilliantly, and that's not easy. Some of the sequences had me breathless. She also has a knack for characterization. The heroine was surprisingly complex and engaging for a YA book (which often have wish-fulfillment lead females.) The two main guys were boring, but under them were a parade of interesting and likeable minor characters.
The main problems with the books were in the pacing. Sometimes fifty pages would go by with almost nothing happening, and then when action did occur, it didn't really fit in with the flow of the book. She has trouble building and sustaining suspense, and every single one of the trilogy has a false ending, with a new and ill-thought-out subplot introduced in the last twenty pages. Who does that? Seriously?
I was also annoyed by the romantic aspects of the book. Collins understands action, violence, peril, and gore. When she tries to be romantic, though, the writing feels forced and awkward. There is zero chemistry between the heroine and the two men vying for her. The book completely grinds to a halt when exploring romance, with all other action ceasing and people talking and thinking about their feelings for pages and pages and PAGES. It is unspeakably dull.
On the bright side, the third book moves away from the romantic subplots and is whizz-bang fun.
Overall, probably worth a look. I finished each book in under four hours, so there's minimal commitment. The social commentary and politics are a little facile, but come on, it's a young adult novel. At least it tries.
...and the milk's in me.
"Kraken" continues to be a very addictive read. Miéville's prose are unlike anything I've ever read before.
It's becoming a tad convoluted, but I have a feeling he's going to tie everything together quite nicely.
This one is taking me a little longer to get through because last week and this week are insane at work. Last week I clocked 35 hours in just the first 3 1/2 days.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
I wish I had more time to read The Corrections because every time I pick it up I don't want to put it down. Will definitely be reading Freedom soon.
Some contemporary authors besides Franzen I've been reading good things about:
Jonathan Lethem
Gary Shtynegart
Sam Lipsyte
Comments welcome if you've read anything by them.
Now reading: The Master Switch by Tim Wu
I've only read a couple of Lethem books, and both were, admittedly, pretty good Philip K. Dick pastiches; he's a big Dick fan. I haven't read any of his more mainstream fiction, like Motherless Brooklyn. I want to read more, and I have a few more of his books on my shelf. I've heard great things, but I've yet to experience the greatness. Gun With Occasional Music was good, but I couldn't help shake the feeling that it was just a pastiche of other new wave SF. I get the sense that he's a SF author that mainstream fiction readers feel safe with, in that he won't blow their lit-cred or something. He's a good writer, though; better than Dick in terms of prose, but from what I've read he lacks in novel ideas.
i'm really fond of fortress of solitude. it's one of my favorite books of the last decade. motherless brooklyn and chronic city are also very good. you don't love me yet not so much.
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