Suggested Readings for Assignment Three

As before, these are not required reading. That being said, your ideas for this essay only stand to benefit from perusing the works of those who have tread a similar path.

Understanding a Sensibility

Notes on "Camp" by Susan Sontag (1964)

While reading, consider how Sontag captures and describes a "sensibility." Also, see if you can find any threads of philosophical thought that seem to resonate with the ideas of the philosophers that you've studied.

Image and Representation

Arguably one of the most beneficial experiences of college is being exposed to the esteemed representatives of various modes of thought. Of course, in our modern age, one can attend such appearances fully armed and prepared with material not only from the horse's mouth, so to speak, but also that of his critics.

D'Souza and his supporters on his book, The End of Racism (1996)

VS.

A liberal college take on D'Souza and his works

In both cases, it might be helpful to examine the language used by both his detractors and his supporters. Also, ask yourself, a) what is the gist of the argument (i.e. the MLA), and b) what question does each text?

Prompt #4: What Celebrity has influenced your notion of the Good Life?

For the purposes of the question, "celebrity" will refer to any reasonably famous person that the rest of us are likely to know (or be able to Google; incidentally, isn't it interesting that Google-ability is an indicator of renown?) Also, should you, by chance, despise a certain celebrity's way of life, note that such revulsion can constitute an influence on your notion of the good life.

Also #2 and #3: Make sure to address the "why" and "how" of the prompt.

Answers to this prompt and classmate comments are due by 10pm on Friday, February 23th.

P.S. Out of curiosity, would you prefer this be due Monday, February 26th, in order to pull some material from the Oscars?

Imponderables, Round Two

Sometimes, when wandering through the aisles of the grocery store, I stumble upon a slice of reality that frankly, seems quite absurd. Thus, today's imponderable:

The Clamato