BLOG for the week:
Lead poster – Go to www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia
Write a review of this site – 30 words minimum. You should point out the strengths and weaknesses of the site. Be specific about the details of the site in your review.
All others – look at the same site and the review of it. Again by using the detail of the site say whether you agreed or disagreed with review of the lead poster. (30 words minimum)
If you're not sure who the next poster is, check who the last one was; we're just circling round to keep it fair!
Best wishes,
Devon
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Hay no one has dont the blog so i thought i would.
From the website www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia I found that it had mostly strengths in it, as it was sponsored by businesses like The Bankers Trust and The Fannie Mae Foundation. It is also funded by National Endowment for the Humanities which to me means this must be a good site, The site is well laid out and even though the information from historians are shot it gives a lot of detail.
Sarah
Sarah
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Wednesday's seminar
Wednesday’s lecture will be on the American Dream. To tie in with the work you are doing on Nickel and Dimed, in the seminars we will look at the American corporation Wal-Mart and its relationship to the contemporary version of the American Dream.
1) For the seminar please read the dialogue “Is Wal-Mart good for the American Working Class?” between Barbara Ehrenreich (no) and Jason Furman (yes)
http://www.slate.com/id/2144517/entry/2144521/
2) Please Google the terms “American Dream” + “Wal-Mart” and explore – DO NOT JUST VISIT THE FIRST PAGE OF RESULTS.
Two examples to give you an idea of what I mean in terms of length and depth:
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0827-06.htm
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Nickel and Dimed websites
Due to the nature of the task it is impossible not to find a website on 'Nickel and Dimed' that contains a book review of some sort. So rather then focusing on the book itself I decided to focus on the huge issue of poverty and America's wealth distribution.
The website http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html gives you a clear indication of who owns the wealth; and probably more importantly who doesn’t. It gives us horrific graphs and a chart displaying openly that as a nation, America’s wealth distribution is severely uneven. It clearly states that in 2001, the bottom 80% of the nation owns just 15.5% of the wealth. This is shown rather graphically in ‘Nickel and Dimed’ as the novel focuses on the people at the “bottom of the food chain”; people who because of where they have been brought up, educated or even what families they have been born into have been discriminated against.
The website as a whole is also very interesting to look at as it shows us who has the power in modern America. Professer G. William Domhoff explores the funding giving to the inner cities of America and shows what is going on to try and bring these people out of poverty. I found it very interesting to look at the perspective of someone who does have a lot of power in their field discuss what is wrong with America.
This is a website which supplements a book so it may be interesting to acquire the book and delve deeper into the power struggle of the United States of America.
(Although this isn’t relevant or to do with Nickel and Dimed but I have found a picture which shows that if American states were countries of the world, where would the wealthiest places be?)
The website http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html gives you a clear indication of who owns the wealth; and probably more importantly who doesn’t. It gives us horrific graphs and a chart displaying openly that as a nation, America’s wealth distribution is severely uneven. It clearly states that in 2001, the bottom 80% of the nation owns just 15.5% of the wealth. This is shown rather graphically in ‘Nickel and Dimed’ as the novel focuses on the people at the “bottom of the food chain”; people who because of where they have been brought up, educated or even what families they have been born into have been discriminated against.
The website as a whole is also very interesting to look at as it shows us who has the power in modern America. Professer G. William Domhoff explores the funding giving to the inner cities of America and shows what is going on to try and bring these people out of poverty. I found it very interesting to look at the perspective of someone who does have a lot of power in their field discuss what is wrong with America.
This is a website which supplements a book so it may be interesting to acquire the book and delve deeper into the power struggle of the United States of America.
(Although this isn’t relevant or to do with Nickel and Dimed but I have found a picture which shows that if American states were countries of the world, where would the wealthiest places be?)
Monday, November 12, 2007
The Amendments
This first website http://www.opensecrets.org/news/guns/ focuses on the right to bear arms, and it displays a rather open mindedness about the subject. Refusing to be biased, this site shows both sides of the argument.
One particular part I found interesting, was the mention of the Columbine incident in April 1999. The event certainly highlighted the negative effects on upholding such an amendment, which has been reflected again in the April 2007 Virginia Tech massacre.
This is an extremely analytical source highlighting the problems faced by members of government in dealing with the Gun Control vs. Gun Rights issue.
I think that the significance of guns in America is not healthy for the nation, however I feel it would be difficult to alter such a strongly defended amendment.
My second website http://www.law.ucla.edu/volokh/harass/ discusses the problems faced with America’s freedom of speech, as laws on the workplace have been integrated.
The section on ‘What kinds of speech harassment law suppresses’ is particularly interesting as it states that people’s right of speech and religious freedom are being impeached, as more laws are implicated to cut down personal opinion being expressed in public.
I myself feel that the laws on harassment are sometimes too biased toward one person’s views. Therefore, I agree with the publisher that these laws are sometimes too strict.
I found both these sites useful. I hope you do too.
One particular part I found interesting, was the mention of the Columbine incident in April 1999. The event certainly highlighted the negative effects on upholding such an amendment, which has been reflected again in the April 2007 Virginia Tech massacre.
This is an extremely analytical source highlighting the problems faced by members of government in dealing with the Gun Control vs. Gun Rights issue.
I think that the significance of guns in America is not healthy for the nation, however I feel it would be difficult to alter such a strongly defended amendment.
My second website http://www.law.ucla.edu/volokh/harass/ discusses the problems faced with America’s freedom of speech, as laws on the workplace have been integrated.
The section on ‘What kinds of speech harassment law suppresses’ is particularly interesting as it states that people’s right of speech and religious freedom are being impeached, as more laws are implicated to cut down personal opinion being expressed in public.
I myself feel that the laws on harassment are sometimes too biased toward one person’s views. Therefore, I agree with the publisher that these laws are sometimes too strict.
I found both these sites useful. I hope you do too.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Howdy folks,
For this week, we are still talking about the Declaration of Independence/Bill of Rights to the Constitution. Here are the tasks for this week:
For the small group which follows the lecture:
Print up and bring with you copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights to the Constitution of the USA. In preparation for the meeting, research the background to these two great founding documents of America, discover what the attitude toward them is today in the US (find evidence!) and be prepared to debate their wording and their meaning.
For the Blog:
Lead poster – locate TWO websites, one pro and one anti any of the liberties identified in the first eight amendments of the Bill of Rights. Comment on how they present their case for and against, and justify which viewpoint you agree with - for instance, the death penalty, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, guns, trial by jury’ (150 -200 words)
Others – comment on the websites and state why you agree or disagree with the lead poster (100-150w)
Our lead poster this week is Maxine (we've all posted now, so we're just circling round again!); any questions, you know where to find me in cyberspace!
Best wishes,
Devon
For this week, we are still talking about the Declaration of Independence/Bill of Rights to the Constitution. Here are the tasks for this week:
For the small group which follows the lecture:
Print up and bring with you copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights to the Constitution of the USA. In preparation for the meeting, research the background to these two great founding documents of America, discover what the attitude toward them is today in the US (find evidence!) and be prepared to debate their wording and their meaning.
For the Blog:
Lead poster – locate TWO websites, one pro and one anti any of the liberties identified in the first eight amendments of the Bill of Rights. Comment on how they present their case for and against, and justify which viewpoint you agree with - for instance, the death penalty, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, guns, trial by jury’ (150 -200 words)
Others – comment on the websites and state why you agree or disagree with the lead poster (100-150w)
Our lead poster this week is Maxine (we've all posted now, so we're just circling round again!); any questions, you know where to find me in cyberspace!
Best wishes,
Devon
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