Transcript Why do we need the liberal arts?

Why do we need the liberal arts?
• Why are those who teach the liberal arts the
bitterest people?
• How can one convince others that liberal arts
are useful?
• What is the writer’s argument or thesis?
Traits of Science Fiction
– A setting in the future, an alternate time, or a past that is
different from our actual past
– A setting in space or an invented/alternate word.
– Characters may be human, alien, or some of each.
– Technology or scientific principles beyond current
advancements or that go against current laws of nature.
– Discovery or application of new scientific advances (time
travel, space travel, etc).
– New and different political and social systems.
Homi Bhabha(1949- )
• Indian theorist of postcolonialism
Bhabha’s biography
He was born in 1949 in a Parsi family in
Mumbay (India).
The Parsis, a minority with a worldwide
population of approximately 160,000, are
Zoroastrians who migrated from Persia to
India in the eighth century to avoid
persecution.
A principal characteristic of Parsi identity is
its cultural/linguistic hybridity, which
accompanies an economic mobility and
international experience.
Bhabha’s own educational background demonstrates
this mobility: he first studied at the University of
Bombay, before moving to the University of Oxford.
His teaching career has continued this mobility, taking
in the University of Sussex in the UK, before crossing
the Atlantic to Chicago and then Harvard.
He is now Anne F. Rothenberg Professor of English
and American Literature at Harvard University.
Homi K. Bhabha is best known for his central
contribution to the development of post-colonial
theory
Postcolonialism is the social, political, economical and cultural
practises which arise in response and resitance to Colonialism.
(Lye)
It can be seen as a deconstruction of the binary opposition
created by Colonialism to subordinate the colonized as
uncivilized, bad and decandent.
“Postcolonial" rather than indicating only a specific and
materially historical event, seems to describe the second half
of the twentieth-century in general as a period in the
aftermath of the heyday of colonialism.
Even more generically, the term "postcolonial" is used to
signify a position against Imperialism and Eurocentrism.
Main issues: identity, gender, race, racism and ethnicity
Edward Said
(1935-2003)
Orientalism (1978)
Gayatri
Chakravorty Spivak
(1943- )
The location of cultures (1994)
This book assembles several of Homi Bhabha's most significant essays.
Bhabha is perhaps most well-known for his theory of cultural hybridity,
which he develops in "Signs Taken For Wonders" and several other essays
included in this collection
Bhabha argues that hybridity results from various forms of colonization,
which lead to cultural collisions and interchanges. In the attempt to assert
colonial power in order to create anglicized subjects, "[t]he trace of what
is disavowed is not repressed but repeated as something different--a
mutation, a hybrid" (p. 111)
Philosophy and Literature 19.1 (1995) 196-197
The location of cultures (1994)
". . . the colonial presence is always ambivalent, split between
its presence as original and authoritative and its articulation
as repetition and difference" (107).
"Hybridity is a problematic of colonial representation and
individuation that reverses the effects of the colonialist
disavowal, so that other 'denied' knowledges enter upon the
dominant discourse and estrange the basis of its authority -its rule of recognition" (114). . . . "This partializing process of
hybridity is best described as a metonymy of presence" (115)
The Location of Culture. NY: Routledge, 1994.
Jules Verne
Born
Jules Verne was born in
Nantes, France on
February 8, 1828.
His father was a lawyer.
Curiosity
The young Jules Verne was a
very curious boy. He was
interested in the potential
of flying machines and
wanted to make an omnibus
in the form of a steam
elephant, no doubt inspired
by the “Dames Blanche”
carriages in his town.
Off to Sea
At a very young age, Verne
attempted board a ship
and sail away from
Nantes. His father
caught him and brought
him before the ship
took off. Verne vowed
to only adventure in his
mind from now on.
Paris
Verne ended up going to
Paris to study law like
his dad. He got a
degree in law, but
decided to pursue
literature. Verne’s
father saw his sons
potential and gave him
his blessing.
Balloons
After some years, Verne became
unhappy with his own works. His
turning point was an article he
wrote on a massive balloon being
contructed called the “Geant.”
Verne came up with a story about
a fictional balloon called the
“Victoria” and took his
manuscript to a publisher named
Hertzel. His book was titled “Five
Days in a Balloon.” Hertzel signed
Verne to a long term contract.
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Hertzel liked Vernes
fantastical style so
much he pressed him
for more. In 1864 he
published his first full
length narrative
“Journey to the Center
of the Earth”
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Shortly after his first book, Verne
became intent on writing a novel
about the oceans. He published
“20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”
in 1868. His inspiration for this
work was the purchase of his first
boat, the laying of the transAtlantic cable, and a disastrous
submarine experiment. The main
character of the novel, Captain
Nemo, is believed to represent
the thoughts that Verne had on
the revolution in France in 1848.
Around the World in 80 Days
In 1872 Verne published
“Around the world in 80
Days” about a man who
bets he can do what the
title says. The book was
published serially at first.
One of his most famous
novels, the book had people
believing that Verne was
depicting an actual trip
around the globe.
Later in Life
Toward the end of his career, Verne’s
publishing become more
pessimistic. In 1886 his nephew
shot him in the leg after a mental
breakdown. Verne walked with a
limp for the rest of his life. He
spent most of his days on his
yacht he bought with his earnings
off of “Around the World in 80
Days.” Verne died in 1905 at the
age of 77.
Critcism
Jules Verne is often considered the father of modern
science fiction along side his British counterpart H.G.
Wells. Critics admired Verne for his vivid narrative
style, use of technology in stories, and his ability to
think outside the box. The technology and the uses
for it that he thinks of are still spellbinding readers
today. Many agreed that Verne’s impossible
adventures were ahead of the time for which he
lived. Even today, many people share that same
belief.
H. G. Wells
 Considered one of the
most influential 20th
century writers.
 Words that describe Wells:
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Novelist
Essayist
Futurist
Historian
Socialist
Teacher
Biographical background
• B. September 21, 1866
• Kent County, England
• Mother: Sarah Neal, maid to
the upper classes
• Father: Joseph Wells,
shopkeeper and professional
cricket player
• The Wells were very poor
• Parents had troubled
marriage and eventually lived
apart
The Writer Emerges
Novels:
Common themes:
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Evolution: Is human civilization
advancing or degrading –
physically, intellectually, ethically?
•
Science Progressivism: When and
how much should scientific
technology intervene to
“improve” humanity?
•
Socialism: What happens when
the upper classes exploit the
lower classes?
•
The future: What would it be like
to travel to the future? The
moon? To meet an alien?
Quotations from Wells
• “History is a race between
education and catastrophe.”
• “Adapt or perish, now as ever,
is nature's inexorable
imperative.”
• “If we don't end war, war will
end us.”
• “You have learned something.
That always feels at first as if
you had lost something.”
The World-Renown Author
•
1914: Predicted the atomic bomb
•
Coauthored a 3-volume reference
book with his son, zoologist and
author, George P. Wells, and biologist
Sir Julian Huxley, The Science of Life
[microbes to human life].
•
Became a well-travelled celebrity,
meeting with world leaders and other
exceptional authors.
•
Died August 13, 1946 at his home in
Regent’s Park, London
•
Though not engraved on a tombstone
(his body was cremated and ashes
were dispersed over the sea), he
wrote his own epitaph: “I told you so.
You damned fools.”
Cyberpunk
The beginning of a long, strange
voyage into the future.
Cyberpunk is a science fiction genre noted for its focus on “high tech and low life.”
The name, derived from “cybernetics” and “punk,” was originally developed as a
marketing term and coined by Bruce Bethke in his short story “Cyberpunk”
written in 1980.
"Classic cyberpunk characters were marginalized, alienated loners
who lived on the edge of society in generally dystopic futures where
daily life was impacted by rapid technological change, an ubiquitous
datasphere of computerized information, and invasive modification
of the human body.”
– Lawrence Person
Cyberpunk plots often center on a conflict among hackers, artificial intelligences,
and mega corporations. They tend to be set in a near-future Earth. The settings
are usually post-industrial dystopias, but tend to be marked by extraordinary
cultural ferment and the use of technology in ways never anticipated by its
creators. Much of the genre's atmosphere echoes film noir, and written works in
the genre often use techniques from detective fiction.
The Setting
Cyberpunk writers tend to use elements from the hard-boiled detective novel
and film noir to describe the often nihilistic underground side of an electronic
society.
In some cyberpunk writing, much of the action takes place online, in
cyberspace, blurring the border between the actual and the virtual reality.
Another idea in the genre is a direct connection between the human brain and
computer systems.
Cyberpunk depicts the world as a dark, sinister place with networked
computers which dominate every aspect of life. The alienated outsider's battle
against a totalitarian is a common theme in cyberpunk.
"Anything that can be done to a rat can be done to a human being.
And we can do most anything to rats. This is a hard thing to think
about, but it's the truth. It won't go away because we cover our eyes.
That is cyberpunk.“ – Bruce Sterling, author
The Hero
Protagonists in cyberpunk writing usually include computer hackers, who are
often patterned on the idea of the lone hero fighting injustice: Robin Hood, Zorro,
etc. They are often disenfranchised people placed in extraordinary situations,
rather than brilliant scientists or starship captains intentionally seeking advance
or adventure, and are not always true "heroes.”
Many cyberpunk protagonists are manipulated, placed in situations where
they have little or no choice, and although they might see things through, they
do not necessarily come out any further ahead than they previously were. These
are anti-heroes —criminals, outcasts, visionaries, dissenters and misfits.
Society
The Internet, as seen in
some cyberpunk.
Cyberpunk is often used as a metaphor for the present day-worries about the
failings of corporations, corruption in governments, alienation and surveillance
technology. The power is nearly always clutched in the secretive hands of a wealthy or
corporate elite.
Cyberpunk stories have also been seen as forecasts of the evolution of the Internet.
The virtual world of what is now known as the Internet often appears under various
names, including "cyberspace", "the Wired", "the Metaverse" or "the Matrix".
Interesting questions about possible A.I. rights have been introduced using
cyberpunk stories as a springboard. Uploads of human minds consider themselves to
have intelligence and self-awareness. This raises the question as to whether
intelligence comparable to humans should give them comparable legal and moral
standing.
In many ways, Cyberpunk is now.
Cyberpunk
• TIME FIRST ARRIVED
-Emerged in the early 1980’s
-The name of the Genre was first used in 1982
with the short story ‘Cyberpunk’ by Bruce
Bethke
-William Gibson is said to be father of the
cyberpunk genre
• CONTEXT
----The cyberpunk genre emerged alongside the
development of the internet.
----The internet opened up another world, a virtual
reality operating alongside everyday life.
----- The cyber world grew and more and more began
to resemble the real world only with fewer rules, fewer
limitations.
-----Cyber crime emerged with hackers and Phreakers
(hacking into phones, use of public phones, tracing
phones, etc.). These were the cyberpunks.
-----The Space Age had emerged in America and there
were rapid technological advances. Many cyberpunk
novels deal with keeping the new technology in check
• CONVENTIONS
----Protagonist is someone who is marginalised by
society, often a computer hacker
----Generally Dystopic
-----Set in near future Earth, usually in a dirty, dark city
considered harsh and unfeeling
----Advanced technology which impacts life
-----Most action occurs in virtual realities within the
cyber world
-----Modifications to what is human/AI/Use of Genetics
to mix animal, human and technology
-----Information is means to power/money. The most
expensive commodity. Physical work is not valued as
machines can do it better, faster and cheaper.
-----Corporation states. Businesses not the Government
have power (eg. Blade runner)