History is history not because events happen, but because there are people there to witness and testify to it. However, since a single individual could not possibly know every detail surrounding any particular event while it happens, it is the role of the historian to see and understand history from as many angles as possible. Through the research process for this paper, I came to realize that events happen the way they do because each person present makes a specific decision to act a certain way. This is the story of that realization. Continue reading
The live studio audience laughs hysterically, its frantic clapping steadily increasing in the background as the flaming redhead on screen pouts her lips, tilts her head, crosses her arms, and groans loudly as she realizes her most recent mistake. Lucy’s newest scheme has blown up again and a laughing Ricky is standing next to her shaking his head, rolling his eyes.
At first glance the 1950s sitcom I Love Lucy portrays the comical, prank-filled marriage of an adorable couple: Lucy and Ricky Ricardo. While on the surface it appears as if Lucy is just a goofy character who always seems to be getting into trouble, further inspection illuminates the fact that her actions and their outcomes are so much more than just clever scriptwriting. Continue reading
Dear Mr. Keynes,
I am writing to address your notions on the current depressed state of the economy and your proposals concerning how to solve the difficulties the United States is facing. The Great Depression is an example of the instability that lies within capitalism. The law of accumulation has resulted in the elite class getting wealthier and Continue reading
On Saturday October 4, 1957, Americans all over the country listened at their radio sets to the sound of a beacon being projected from a 183-pound man-made satellite orbiting earth at 18,000 mph.1 Given their intensity, Americans might have been celebrating the first US satellite launch.2 Instead, the country erupted into a state of hysteria, as the fear was confirmed that the Soviet Socialist Republic had pulled ahead of the US in an event that what would later be referred to as the largest defeat of the Cold War. What occurred over the course the next year could be described as nothing short of a crisis in confidence of the American people and their way of life. Continue reading
How does an individual find their place in foreign territory, with different customs, and often a different language? These are only a few obstacles new populations must overcome to be associated with the dominant group. Historically the United States has, for the most part, welcomed immigrants and embraced the concept of a melting pot society where different people from different parts of the world share their cultures and enrich the diversity of America. Continue reading
Deep learning is by nature next to impossible to teach in school because it relies so heavily on students’ self-motivation. A deep learner can always be recognized by the way he articulates his scholastic experiences. Instead of recounting which books he was assigned for class, he recalls specific discussions or readings that struck him on a more personal note. In his book, What the Best College Teachers Do, Ken Bain mentions that deep learners will speak about “developing an understanding, making something their own, ‘getting into it’, and making sense of it all” (9). This is not easy for every schoolchild to do, however. Continue reading
This essay is missing from our archive, but we hope to locate it soon. Here’s an abstract:
A critique of Sue Williams’ recent documentary about the post-Tiananmen generation. Jonathan brings Marxist theory to bear on Williams’ Young and Restless in China in an effort to explain why Williams’ effort to let her subjects tell their own stories winds up inscribing them within a Western paradigm of economic progress.
This essay is missing from our archive, but we hope to locate it soon. Here’s an abstract:
A thoughtful analysis of the ethics of photojournalism. Using Richard Drew’s iconic photograph of one of the jumpers from the World Trade Center as his point of reference, Thomas takes note not only of the contributions which this photograph made to public discourse and grieving, but also a variety of difficult and complicated ethical dilemmas that both preceded and followed the image?s publication.
Often artists’ works speaks more to the human condition when they have a deep understanding of the human body’s physical makeup and how it relates to the mind and soul. Christine Borland, for instance, combines both scientific thought and medical research into her art in order to examine the ethics behind modern science. As both an artist and an apprentice to forensic scientists, she epitomizes the nexus between science and art Continue reading