Instructions for January 22

To prepare for next week's class, please read or complete the following:

• Follow the links (you will need to go to the bottom of the page and click on "older posts") to examine Lysistrata, Slaughterhouse Five, and Mother Night to decide which book you would most like to read.  If some other book comes to mind, please email me to suggest it.
• Think about a film you would like include in the course.  Past classes have used or considered Gandhi, Gran Torino, Dr. Strangelove, Mother Night, Precious, and others.  Almost any film could qualify as long as you can make a case that it examines conflict and/or responses to conflict.
• Look at the Sociocultural Evolution chart detailing the historical periods outlined by Gerhard Lenski.  Try to get a general understanding of ways in which technology impacts society.
• Read "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love," "The Nymph's Reply," and the lyrics to the song "Apeman."  Think about what these works are saying about living in a technologically advanced society.
• Complete following short writing assignment:

1. Finish the following sentence to create a definition of what non-physical violence means to you: "Violence to me is..."
2. Provide a hypothetical example of the violence you are describing.

Sample assignment:

1. Violence to me is when people go out of their way to express disrespect for me and that there is nothing I can do about it.
2. Example: When I am bicycling and cars intentionally miss me by inches even when several lanes of room are available to pass me.  This feels to me like drivers are saying, "I don't approve of bicycles using public roads and expressing that to you is more important than your safety." 

If you have any questions, please email me at jfox@muskingum.edu.

Have a good week!