Welcome...and initial guidelines...

This blog will be used in the spring of 2008 by 80+ students at Drexel University to investigate the effects of Iraq on culture and the reverse. Our goal will be to better understand why the US is in Iraq, and to question whether literature can help us on this journey.

Weekly plans and other materials will always be posted in Vista, not this blog. So go to Bb Vista to get the discussion prompts and other instructions.

I intend this blog to manage our discussions and track our collective investigation.

You should have received an email from me inviting you to become a contributor to this blog. The email was sent Monday afternoon to your official Drexel email address.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Blog 5: Week 1 and Bartleby

Bringing Bartleby in to a discussion about the Iraq war was unique, yet very thought provoking, and sensible. I can definitely see that there ca be a connection made between the inactivity of the lawyer and his struggle with how to cope with a nuisance like Bartleby is similar to how we are trying to deal with the war in Iraq. Also, it should be noted that the lawyer brought Bartleby to him, just as we brought the turmoil of the war on ourselves. Anyway there's a bunch of ways t connect and argue about the book and its relation to the war.
I noted that people have started to branch out into a lot of different directions, in comparison to the first week of class. we started relating the war to simple obvious things like our government, economy, racism, things typically having to do with any war, anywhere. And now there is a way to tie in movies, and shows like the real world into how we deal with the war and how the war itself effects us and leaves an impression, if any.
Gosh, its just great that you can take a book like Bartleby, fine similarities in the actions of the characters on the book and the ongoing war, and find solutions..."should we walk around it like nothing is bothering us and its not that bad and we'll find a way out slowly but surely, or should we just chop it off and kick out?"

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