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.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Similarities

When comparing Week 1's blog posts to now, I feel that at least for me, my views on the Iraq war have changed. I had said in my first blog that I wasn't really affected by the war in any way. Since we've been talking about war & art and how they influence each other, I have become more aware of subtle connections to the war in books, in movies and on tv. They may not be direct connections but oftentimes they can be related in some way to our feelings on the war, the soldiers themselves or the countries involved in the war. Bartleby is written by a lawyer, and being in business, alot of times you can't worry about other people and just have to take care of yourself. Business relationships are also not as personal, however, the lawyer cared about Bartleby and worried about him. That is why he didn't call the police and tell them to take him away, and that is why he told the chef at the jail to give him good food. I think that is similar to the U.S. in the Iraq war. The U.S. does worry about other countries and tries to get involved sometimes, even when maybe they shouldn't or maybe they aren't obligated to. Nevertheless, if our country sees a country that needs help, we will go to the rescue.

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