Ursinus Bonner Blog

Dear Bonners:

For those of you who attended Tim Wise’s lecture, please take a minute and share your reflections on our blog.  For those of you who didn’t get a chance to attend, please watch this clip– http://www.timwise.org/2011/08/short-presentation-on-white-privilegeracism-austin-peay-state-university-2011/– and comment on it.

Please build on the comments of your fellow Bonners, so our blogging becomes a virtual conversation!

Best,
Christian

Dear Bonners:

Please comment on the article I gave you in class.  Also feel free to draw on our discussions in class last week, if you wish.  I look forward to reading your posts!  Remember to read and reflect on the posts that have gone before you, so the blog becomes a conversation.

I am interested in your reactions to the lecture that we attended last evening.  I thought that some of his comments were thought-provoking.  I liked what he said about criticism:  that if you are not being criticised, you are probably not leading.

What did you guys take away from the lecture?  Did you find it effective?  What didn’t you like about the lecture?

The Vagina Monologues, in addition to its obvious entertainment value, attempted to raise some very important concerns with respect to women’s health and female sexuality.  Your assignment this week is to blog about what you thought of the performance.  Did you think the performance succeeeded in highlighting some critically important matters regarding women’s health and women’s rights?  Why or why not?

I was blown away by the play last night.  So powerful!  I was really shaken by Peter’s comment that, after the War, he would do everything he could to abandon his Jewish culture.  It struck me that sometimes monstrous regimes succeed by getting us to change ourselves.  In this sense, sometimes they are granted a posthumous victory.

Your comments on the play are welcome.  Did a particular scene speak to you?

Anita Pereira writes:

“The American government has created a warped definition of human rights.  ‘When the United States government uses the term human rights they limit its focus to political and civil rights.’ The American public has been misled to believe that human rights do not include the right to housing, healthcare, food and education.”

After reading the first two chapters of Nickel and Dimed, why do you think Americans have tolerated the presence of an underclass and a virtual absence of real workers’ rights protections?  In many developed nations, workers have a right to a job (and a certain minimal standard of living).  Why is America the exception among the developed nations when it comes to protecting workers’ rights? What clues does Ehrenreich offer in her text as to why this is tolerated?

Hi Everyone!

Please comment on the wealth inequality article that you were assigned to read.  It is an interesting piece, and I hope to hear your feedback.