History

Here are some links to material on Howard Zinn:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1524095

The article assigned for this week that takes a critical look at Zinn's work:
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/07/lies-the-debunkers-told-me-how-bad-history-books-win-us-over/260251/

It strikes me that the author starts from a logical fallacy in comparing two books by authors with drastically different credentials (Zinn has Ph.D. in Political Science and taught at Boston U, Barton is a minister with no credentials in history or law).  He also compares the passion ignited by the books by citing the mention of Zinn's book by Matt Damon in "Dead Poet's Society" (a movie and a fictional character) and comparing it to Mike Huckabee's comments on Barton's book, stating that children should be "forced at gunpoint" to read it (real life politician).  Hardly a reasonable comparison.

Here is a short video trailer of a show that was based on Zinn's book--check it out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qpm6aw5OWw

Fake it 'til you make it.....

Check out the TED talk about body language and the chemical changes that happen in the body as a result:

http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are

If you are interested in code-switching (which can be verbal and non-verbal), this npr blog is an excellent source:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2013/04/13/177126294/five-reasons-why-people-code-switch

This episode of TED Radio Hour brings together several aspects of communication that are highly relevant to our culture today:

http://www.npr.org/2013/12/13/248190652/spoken-and-unspoken?showDate=2014-05-02

Social Media and Culture

Here is the Clay Shirky talk that Malcolm Gladwell is (in part) reacting to in his New Yorker article:

http://www.ted.com/talks/clay_shirky_how_cellphones_twitter_facebook_can_make_history

and some comments from Gladwell:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6j7YvDXotpo

Links to some interesting articles on the role of social media in the "Arab Spring":

http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/what-the-arab-spring-tells-us-about-the-future-of-social-media-in-revolutionary-movements

http://www.dailydot.com/lifestyle/malcolm-gladwell-social-media-revolutions-twitter/

Ideology and Falsity

Here is the article I mentioned about a study from Princeton and Northwestern U. that suggests America is no longer a democracy.

Commentary on the study:

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-27074746

And, for those of you who need the original study:

https://www.princeton.edu/~mgilens/Gilens%20homepage%20materials/Gilens%20and%20Page/Gilens%20and%20Page%202014-Testing%20Theories%203-7-14.pdf

This TED talk explores the idea that fiction can overcome identity politics:

http://www.ted.com/talks/elif_shafak_the_politics_of_fiction

On political correctness:

https://www.facebook.com/PoliticallyIncorrectHydeParkConfessions?filter=3

http://www.blackyouthproject.com/2013/04/the-unsuprising-racism-at-elite-universities/

Tabula Rasa

Here are some links on the concept of the "blank slate"--including the TED talk we watched on Wednesday:

http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_pinker_chalks_it_up_to_the_blank_slate

Check out the comments section for criticism, support and more to think about.

Also, a couple of reviews of Steven Pinker's book that also give a brief history of the issue:

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2002/11/25/021125crbo_books

http://home.uchicago.edu/~rjr6/articles/Sunday%20New%20York%20Times.htm

Stephen Jay Gould  was a strong proponent of "the blank slate" and strong oppositional voice against biological determinism (look it up if you don't know what this means).

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/2011/06/24/defending-stephen-jay-goulds-crusade-against-biological-determinism/

http://www.psych.utoronto.ca/users/reingold/courses/intelligence/cache/carroll-gould.html

Cosmolicious!

During today's discussion it struck me that many of you may not know about the remake of the old television show "Cosmos."  Astrophysicist Carl Sagan wrote and narrated the original show, taking viewers on a mind-blowing journey through space and time.  The show has recently been brought back to life by Seth MacFarlane (yes, the "Family Guy" dude) and Neil deGrasse Tyson (Astrophysicist and all-around amazing translator of science for the general public).  Science is cool, people--join the party and watch the new "Cosmos:  A Spacetime Odyssey" on Fox or Hulu.

http://www.cosmosontv.com/

Writing Resources

Here are some sources for writing college papers.

General Guidelines:

http://writing-program.uchicago.edu/resources/collegewriting/

https://www.mcla.edu/library/uploads/textWidget/1460.00019/documents/mlw_manuscript1.pdf

Chicago Manual of Style:

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/01/

http://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/turabian/turabian_citationguide.html

Use the sources here at SCCC:

The Writing Center

http://seattlecentral.edu/learningsupportnetwork/?page_id=132

The SCCC Library

http://www.seattlecentral.edu/library/

Presentation Programs (Software):

Students can download the Microsoft Office Suite free!

http://seattlecentral.edu/~ymoh/MicrosoftSoftware.html

Prezi for students is also free:

http://prezi.com/

Experts and Authority

Here is the TED talk we watched on Monday (April 13):

https://www.ted.com/talks/noreena_hertz_how_to_use_experts_and_when_not_to

An article on art and expertise:

http://bigthink.com/insights-of-genius/the-experts-ear-expertise-and-aesthetic-judgments

And some thoughts on the role of authority in America.

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/06/why-david-brooks-is-right-about-authority/258506/

Please feel free to make comments on these entries!

The Trouble with TED Talks.

Here are a couple of criticisms of TED, including a TED talk about the problem with TED.

http://www.newstatesman.com/martin-robbins/2012/09/trouble-ted-talks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo5cKRmJaf0