In the first act of Othello, we are given the impression that Iago and Roderigo are accomplices, and both seek to achieve their own goals through subversion. It quickly becomes obvious that Iago is the truly nefarious one, and Roderigo is more or less along for the ride. This becomes abundantly clear in act 4,… Read more Roderigo falls victim to a scam
Dan Harrison
This is America, Venice, and Cyprus
When Donald Glover, under the moniker of Childish Gambino, released This Is America, the public reaction was intense. Many of the video’s critics, however, seemed to miss the cultural context that is so essential to understanding the piece. A friend of mine wrote it off, disturbed by a graphic scene in which Gambino guns down… Read more This is America, Venice, and Cyprus
Final Reflection #1
My favourite project from this semester is my second (not yet posted), in which I draw a comparison between Shakespeare’s Othello and Childish Gambino’s This Is America. I felt that a lot of our discourse this semester addressed problematic themes in the literature and, though they are important conversations, they also raised the question of… Read more Final Reflection #1
Blazing World, Collab 2
The Power of Cooperation!
In class, we discussed what modern scientific questions we would ask the inhabitants of Cavendish’s Blazing World and discussed why. The questions on our padlet ranged from “how can we regulate temperature in our world?” (Sam, Mary, Griffin, Xen) to “How do we prove humans evolved from apes?” (Lauren, Imani, Alexina, Liv). This conversation led… Read more The Power of Cooperation!
Science or Satire?
After our discussion last class about Cavendish’s scientific pursuits and exclusion from the Royal Society, I’m led to wonder what her intention was in writing The Blazing World. It seems curious that most of the narrative is dedicated to the dialogue between the Empress and her various scientists. Is this the author’s way of asserting… Read more Science or Satire?
The Blazing World, collab 1
The Genreless World
Our class discussion about genre in Cavendish’s The Blazing World was fascinating. @jks1052 raised the idea of this story as a utopian narrative in their blog post, asking “us to consider what is rare about our world,” and questioning what we consider to be a utopia. The language used by Cavendish serves to suggest a… Read more The Genreless World
Are humans “perfect?”
While reading Cavendish’s “It Is Hard to Believe that there Are Other Worlds in this World,” I got the impression that Cavendish is attempting to portray humans as imperfect and flawed. Here, Cavendish claims: For many things our senses dull may scape,For they’re too gross to know each form and shape. – Cavendish, “It Is… Read more Are humans “perfect?”
Reflection for Nov. 17
I was quite interested by the padlet discussion regarding why Adam and Eve chose to eat the fruit. One group (Aidan, Colton, Tess, Lilian, Emily) made some great points about how Satan appealed to Eve’s sense of goodness. I agree with this, and noted how Satan worked to convince her that the fruit would allow… Read more Reflection for Nov. 17