E316K -- Bremen

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The Road Not Taken or The Poem Not Written? Robert Frost vs. Monster.com.

Author Function-Reader Function. The old, communication model vs. an idea of an Author Function intersecting with a Reader Function to bring the Text into being.

The Boy Who Cried Wolf? How about The Girl Who Was Scared by the Danielbeast? For all you YouTube fans, here's the saga of lonelygirl15.

Art from Art. Just as Frost rewrites Emerson in "After Apple Picking," here's a more modern example of artistic revision: Chuck Berry's reprise of "Johnny B. Goode" (1957)--"Bye Bye Johnny" (1960)--and Bruce Springsteen's memorial to the death of Elvis, "Johnny Bye Bye" (1983).

After Apple Picking and two videos -- Robert Frost reading the poem and some critical commentary from Frost himself, Seamus Heaney, and Richard Wilbur.

We Won't Get Fooled Again. What does Frost Mean when he says that people who haven't been educated by poetry "don’t know when they are being fooled by a metaphor, an analogy, a parable"? What's the true definition of "Freedom of Choice" and what's its connection to a New York City billboard? And metaphor meets cognitive science meets politics in "The Framing Wars" (2005).

Metaphor Monopoly. Bill Gates has been educated by poetry; here's an even thornier metaphorical issue -- Intelligent Design (and a link to a series of articles on the Evolution Debate); novelists, psychologists, and scientists all struggle with the mind as metaphor in "What's On Your Mind?"; and even Einstein's famous equation, we're told, needs to be explained with a metaphor, if it's to be fully understood.

Four articles from The New York Times that link the tragedy in New York to the concerns of this course: The Simile, The Villain, and First, Define the Battlefield, and from 2002, the late Susan Sontag's Real Battles and Empty Metaphors.

I f there were ever a single-page statement of what this course is about, it's this 2005 Commencement Address by David Foster Wallace.

For your further reading, writing, thinking, listening, and viewing pleasure: Losing My Religion with three paintings by Caravaggio that look like models for the "renaissance" part of the video.

A quick guide on How to Search On Line Successfully and another on How to Use Wikipedia.

Come Back to the Raft Ag'in, Papa Honey. As a young boy, Hemingway not only identified with Huck Finn, he actually dressed up like Huck to go hunting and fishing. He also got dressed up in dresses with his sister, Marcelline.

Paintings by Giotto, Masaccio, and Piero della Francesca.

Andrea Mantegna. Four pictures from this 15th c. Italian Renaissance Master -- mentioned prominently in Hemingway's "The Revolutionist" -- including "The Dead Christ" (c. 1490). Also, information on Horthy and Hungary from the Columbia Encyclopedia, and a link to Oxford University's Virtual Seminars for Teaching Literature, that focus on WWI and the poetry of Wilfred Owen.

A lesson in effective rhetoric from President Bush's speech writers: Stanley Fish explains how style can triumph over substance in "The Candidates, Seen From the Classroom."

The Modern Library's Choices for the 100 greatest books of the 20th century, including all of nine women, none women of color, and four male minority authors, along with their readers choices (who clearly love Ayn Rand but don't read anything but white authors), the 100 best works of nonfiction (ditto), the members of the Editorial Board who voted for the list, and a rival list from the Radcliffe Publishing Course..

Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Images of his wife, Elizabeth Siddal (1854), The Blessed Damozel (1875-78), Lady Lilith (1864-73), Ecce Ancilla Domini! (The Annunciation; 1849-50), where the Virgin Mary bears a strange resemblance to Kate Moss.

"The Queen's Looking Glass" The back of the box description of The Last Seduction, another picture of Kate Moss, a parodic look at Obsession, some pictures of Medusa that bear an uncanny resemblance to Glen Close in Fatal Attraction, and an article to contextualize Glengarry Glen Ross entitled, "Men Behaving Badly"; S & F Online: The Scholar and Feminist Online, published by the Barnard Center for Research on Women, with an especially interesting issue on HBO, The Sopranos, and Sex and the City; and a Women's Studies Database at The University of Maryland.

Of course things have changed since the 70s -- just read, "Toughness Has Risks for Women Executives," from the August 10, 2001 New York Times, or listen to what some of Fortune's 50 Most Powerful Women have to say, or what things are like in Academia and in the world of Science, Engineering, and Technology. Or for something completely different, here's John Tierney on "What Women Want" and Neil French on "One man's take on why women never seem to get ahead." And here's what some women at elite colleges say they want themselves (with a response from the male side of the equation and another from Jack Shafer at Slate).

A sports metaphor, a Huck Finn allusion, and a new take on gender: Susan Faludi looks at Hilary Clinton's candidacy in "The Fight Stuff."

An article/survey from Amy Sennet, called "Work and Family," that looks at the experiences of the Class of '75 (me) vs the expectations of the Class of '06 (you); the latest word (2007) on women in the workplace in The Feminine Critique; and the moment when gender reared its head in Hillary's campaign, the differing reaction it drew from one mother and daughter, and Judith Warner's complicated thought about feelings.

“The most powerful people in the world are old white men and pretty young women”: Postfeminism and Other Fairy Tales.

Girls Gone Wild. A review of Ariel Levy's book that argues that women have bought into unhealthy ideas of their own sexuality; and for you Sex and the City fans, "Throwing the Baby Out with the Bath Water: Miranda and the Myth of Maternal Instinct on Sex and the City."

"Delerium" Information on Mindy Faber's 1993 film at the Women Make Movies web site; a science report that tries to answer the question, "Is Hysteria Real?"; and the latest on Women, Depression, and Marriage from the Science News.

So What's A Modern Girl To Do? Here's Maureen Dowd with the answer and her answers to readers' questions.

The Jefferson - Hemings Controvery. Why were Jefferson scholars so reluctant to admit to Thomas Jefferson's relationship with his slave Sally Hemings? Here's a series of 1998 editorials that discuss the controversy surrounding Jefferson and Sally Hemings: Annette Gordon-Reed (author of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings) on the "objectivity" of History and historians; William Safire on the contemporary political implications of "Sallygate"; Orlando Paterson on Race, History, and what to make of the whole shebang; Brent Staples, writing in 1999 that there's still no place at the Jefferson table for the Hemings clan; a set of Jefferson - Hemings Resources at Monticello-The Home of Thomas Jefferson, including the Minority Report disputing the DNA findings; and just when you thought it was all over, Brent Staples again in 2005 with "Lust Across the Color Line and the Rise of the Black Elite."

A history of Literature and History that's a little bit, well, literary: Just the Facts, Ma'Am.

When Are You White? Lise Funderburg takes to the streets and asks this question of friends, strangers, and celebrities; a blog devoted to explaining the Stuff White People Like; and DNA testing shows students at Penn how complicated the concept of race can be.

Test the Roots of Your Prejudice. You say you're not biased? Take this test -- called the Implicit Association Test -- developed by researchers at Yale University and the University of Washington. Researchers created the test in 1995 to expose hidden thoughts and feelings. It can reveal unconscious attitudes that could affect how you interact with people of a different race. Also, a link to the IAT Home Page, that includes links to tests on Age and Gender implicit preferences; and an article by Robert Jensen on how "White Privilege Shapes the U.S."

A Project of the American Anthropological Association: RACE - Are We So Different? The project’s Web site presents quizzes, timelines and other interactive activities designed to consider questions on the history of race in America, human variation across the planet, and race as a “lived experience.” Both the project and the Web site underscore three key themes: How we define race has changed over time, and its very concept is of recent human invention and shaped by groups that hold power; Race is a cultural phenomenon that places people into groups according to arbitrary biological and cultural characteristics and does not accurately describe human variation; and Race and racism are embedded in our culture and shape our understanding of ourselves and those around us. It shows how racism is less overt than in the past, yet discrimination continues and racism holds sway over many of our daily choices.

How Race Is Lived in America: The New York Times series that documents the experience of race in America at the beginningt of the twenty-first century: "Shared Prayers, Mixed Blessings" by Kevin Sack; "Best of Friends, Worlds Apart" by Mirta Ojito; "Which Man's Army" by Steven A. Holmes; "Who Gets to Tell a Black Story?" by Janny Scott; "A Limited Partnership" by Amy Harmon; "At a Slaughterhouse, Some Things Never Die" by Charlie LeDuff; "When to Campaign With Color" by Timothy Egan; "Reaping What Was Sown on the Old Plantation" by Ginger Thompson; "Growing Up, Growing Apart" by Tamar Lewin; "The Hurt Between the Lines" by Dana Canedy; "The Minority Quarterback" by Ira Berkow; "Guarding the Borders of the Hip-Hop Nation" by N.R. Kleinfield; "Why Harlem Drug Cops Don't Discuss Race" by Michael Winerip; "Bricks, Mortar, and Coalition Building" (about Houston) by Mireya Navarro; "Getting Under My Skin" by Don Terry; and "America, Seen Through the Filter of Race" -- a series of editorial statements by Patricia Williams, Jack Kemp, Linda Chavez, and others.

Barack Obama's 2008 speech on race, "A More Perfect Union."

What I.Q. doesn’t tell you about race: "None of the Above."

"Tragedy in Black and White" How race played a role in Hurricane Katrina; an article on Race in America, 10 years after the OJ Trial; some staggering percentages on how different races see race in Tim Wise's "See No Evil'; and closer to home, "Welcome to the Neighborhood" -- a canceled reality show from Austin's own Circle C; a blog devoted to exploring the Stuff White People Like; and finally, Brent Staples again on "Census Categories That Don't Apply."

Moby. "Essay Two" from the liner notes of Everything Is Wrong. The same attack, quoting the same biblical passage, as Frederick Douglass in his "Appendix."

Signifying Monkey, as sung by The Big Three Trio (with Wiilie Dixon). Recorded on 3/11/47; a slighty racier version of a Signifyin' Monkey Poem, collected by Henry Louis Gates; and little Eddy has a joke to tell -- Here's Eddie Murphy's own bit of Signifyin(g): Thanksgiving 1968, from the movie, Raw.

An homage to T. S. Eliot: Crash Test Dummies sing "Afternoons and Coffeespoons" and a link to The Songs Inspired By Literature (SIBL) Project, Inc. -- described as "a creative nonprofit producing advocacy and educational materials exclusively for the literacy movement. We use music as a vehicle to engage, inspire and reinforce the magic of literature and the power of reading. We have launched an awareness and outreach campaign for one of this country's most critical, least discussed problems: adults who cannot read or write. Based in Northern California, we're made up of musicians, authors, teachers, and journalists. Our programs and projects inspire adults who need to improve their literacy skills, and attract volunteers and supporters on behalf of literacy providers, many of whom do not have the financial resources or expertise to launch such a massive public awareness campaign. Our partners include the California State Library, The Library of Congress and Friends of the Library USA. (see letters of support)."

Leda and the Swan. A variety of classical representations of Leda and Zeus.

A link to Salon Audio and to recordings of Langston Hughes reading and talking about his poetry, including "The Negro Speaks of Rivers."

"Who Says a White Band Can't Play Rap?" by Joe Wood in The Village Voice (1991). Asks the questions: Is racial identity a matter of consumption in the 90s? Who gets to produce culture? Who gets to consume it? Who gets consumed? Was Elvis the King or just the King of Tacky? Listen as Little Richard battles Pat Boone (with a little Elvis thrown in for comparison) in 1956. Wood also asks the question: is Chuck D an American poet? You be the judge. The lyrics and a video clip for "Can't Truss It" (1991). Did somebody mention Eminem? "A Season in Hell" is one of the best articles I've seen on the white-hot wonder, from Feed and here's a late word on rap and whiteness and violence from Brent Staples. And while Snoop might like the Gourds' version of "Gin and Juice" (here), the former members of NWA are less happy about Dynamite Hack. And here's the granddaddy of all white-southern-rap fusions: Bubba Sparxxx and the video of "Ugly"; the Seattle-based mc Macklemore explores the conundrum of being a white rapper on "White Privilege." Finally, a picture of the Young Black Teenagers; "A Short History of Class Antagonism in the Black Community" by Brent Staples; a series of articles on Class Matters (New York Times, 2005); a set of readings and resources on Minority Studies at the Voice of the Shuttle; and resources on Race in the US, courtesy of The English Server (Carnegie Mellon); a piece by Staples entitled, "Decoding the Debate Over the Blackness of Barack Obama"; the Chicano answer to the King: El Vez; and the latest look at Elvis (and Chuck D) in "How Did Elvis Get Turned Into a Racist?"

Border Crossings. An experiment in hypertextual relationships by Karla Tonella of the University of Iowa that explores the common ground between Cyborgs, Gender, LesBiGay, Dispora, La Frontera, Border Incidents and Other Borders.

With His Pistol in His Hand. Some information about "The Corrido on the Border" from Manuel Peña and Américo Paredes; The Américo Paredes Center for Cultural Studies here at UT, as well as The Center for Mexican American Studies; more information on Gregorio Cortez; an Américo Paredes page at a Chicano Literature site, maintained by Patricia Portales at San Antonio College; and a link to a recording of the Corrido de "Gregorio Cortez" Part 1 (Rocha y Martínez, 1929); and a link to Elijah Wald's page about the latest stage of the corrido, the Narcocorrido. Much like the Gangsta Rap on which they're based, however, these songs have come under fire, as the San Antonio Express-News attests. Also from Elijah Wald, Corrido Watch, a page of current topical songs, currently featuring corridos of Sept. 11, Osama bin Laden, and the war in Iraq; finally, a copy of Jenni Rivera"s "La Chacalosa" with the lyrics; a feature called "The Corrido North of the Border"; and "El Corrido de los Jaguares" from Economedes High School in Edinburg, TX.

A picture of Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales from "Imagenes Xicano," a historic collection of documentary photographs exploring political activism during the seventies from a Chicano perspective maintained by Jesús M. Mena Garza; and a section on Gonzales and his Crusade for Justice in Julian Samora and Patricia Vandel Simon's A History of the Mexican-American People, part of The Julian Samora Virtual Collection at The Julian Samora Research Institute.

Was Samuel Clemens the Trey Parker of the 19^th Century? A copy of Mark Twain’s "Date 16o1. CONVERSATION, AS IT WAS BY THE SOCIAL FIRESIDE, IN THE TIME OF THE TUDORS" with slightly modernized spelling. Written during the same summer (1876) that Twain began Huck Finn, this rarely printed, x-rated piece makes you wonder why people get so upset about South Park; and Mark Twain at BoondocksNet.com, edited by Jim Zwick: maybe the best single collection of Twain resources anywhere, with contemporary reviews of Twain's works, pictures, criticism, and more -- including a short piece entitled, "Mark Twain's Reparations for Slavery" and information about the "Twins of Genius" tour that Twain took with George Washington Cable from the Mark Twain in his Times site at the University of Virginia.

Realism vs. Romance. Some definitions from the OED: realism, real, realistic, romance, and romantic (note: these links work only if you are on an ISP that subscribes to the UT library or the OED), and some definitions from Ambrose Bierce's Devil's Dictionary; an explanation of Romance (vs. the Novel) from Nathaniel Hawthorne and an explanation of the Real (vs. the Romantic) from Henry James; and then there's the whole James Frey debacle: "Can Oprah Change the Phoney-Memoir Culture?" Finally, what reality really means to the Bush administration and why the "laws of language [and metaphor] are hard to defy" from George Lakoff.

2019: Off-World. A great collection of Blade Runner articles, information, and resources, connected to CinemaSpace , a site devoted to all aspects of Cinema and New Media and the primary link for resources from the UC Berkeley Film Studies Program; and a way to understand California politics through the "fear of Blade Runnerization."

How hard is it to find a good man? The lyrics and a recording of "Nebraska" -- a song Bruce Springsteen wrote about Charlie Starkweather, who shot ten people on a killing spree with his girlfriend. Springsteen had been reading Flannery O'Connor when he wrote the song. And speaking of O'Connor, here's a link to The Catholic Encyclopedia to check out those words (like ACCIDENT) that you thought you knew the meaning of.

Pablo Picasso. An image of Picasso's "Demoiselles D'Avignon" (1907).

Modern - Postmodern. Some illustrations to accompany Fredric Jameson's "Postmodernism, or The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism"; and a set of resources and links called Postmodern Thought.

Unheard Voices. From a site called "Slashdot: News for Nerds. Stuff that matters" -- a link to Voices from the Hellmouth, a collection of e-mails from self-proclaimed "geeks, nerds, and oddballs" that give voice to the unheard part of the conversation surrounding the tragic events at Columbine HS and tell a disturbing story of the witch hunt that's developed as a result; "Our Violent Inner Landscape," a New York Times editorial by Gregory Gibson, that looks at the connections between Columbine, Rambo, and Richard III; Bob Herbert on Charles Whitman, Cho Seung-Hui, and the deadly combination of misogyny, homophobia, and guns; Mike White (School of Rock) wonders about what's involved in making violent movies in "Making a Killing"; a look at the recent trend of "women who kick ass" in "Everything a Man Can Do, Decapitation Included"; a look at Fight Club through the lens of Richard Slotkin's thesis of "regeneration through violence"; and a reaction to the women who tortured at Abu Ghraib by Judith Warner in "Escape from the Gender Ghetto."

Alternate Endings. Some different looks at Tarantino in "The Unbearable Lightness of Being Cool" and an interview with Tavis Smiley that takes on Tarantino's view of race.

A look at how homophobic discourse structures masculinity (with a mention of fraternity life here at UT) in "'Dude, You're a F-g'"; and Steven Pinker answers the question, "Why We Curse."

Copies of an interview with and an article about Toni Morrison, a link to an essay on Sula entitled, "Revolutionary Suicide in Toni Morrison's Fiction" by Katy Ryan, from a site dedicated to Morrison, and the words, music, and history to "Shall We Gather at the River."

La Familia. Art from Carmen Lomas Garza, a Kingsville, TX native who uses her childhood memories and experiences to create work which recalls the traditions and folklore of Tejano Families. Carmen's paintings and prints have the power to make us remember our own childhood as they express her pride in her Latino/a heritage. Also, a link to a bio page on Lomas Garza at her web site; and a "thematic, inquiry-based art education resource" called "Chicana and Chicano Space" (worth checking out), sponsored by the Hispanic Research Center at Arizona State University and the CIMD (Coalition to Increase Minority Degrees). The CIMD site includes links to finamcial aid resources and minority expert databases. Finally, links to CMAS (the Center for Mexican American Studies) and LLILAS (The Teresa Lozano Long Institute for Latin American Studies) here at UT.

Sandra Cisneros's page at Voices from the Gaps: Women Writers of Color (UofMinn); another informative site on Cisneros at Las Mujeres; a feature article in Rooted Magazine, called "The House on Guenther Street," that documents the troubles Cisneros has had with her (purple) house in San Antonio; an article about the controversy surrounding Cisneros' winning a MacArthur Foundation Award called "Genius Can Come in Many Colors"; and Cisneros's answer to Anne Bradstreet, "Loose Woman."

What's in a name? Manuel Muñoz explains in "Leave Your Name at the Border."

Lone Star meets the Searchers, Sam Deeds meets the Duke. It's not bad enough that Sam Deeds has to contend with the ghost of his father, Buddy, but as his gesture in the Jailhouse (scene 7) shows, he's got the ghost of John Wayne (in John Ford's, The Searchers - one of the most influential movies in American film history) to contend with as well. And, as we hear in a clip, the Duke was paying homage to his cowboy hero, Harry Carey, when he struck the pose; and "Borders and Boundaries: An Interview with John Sayles," where Sayles talks about the influence of Américo Paredes and the Alamo on Lone Star.

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		The Road Not Taken or The Poem Not Written? Robert Frost vs. Monster.com. Author Function-Reader Function. The old, communication model vs. an idea of an Author Function intersecting with a Reader Function to bring the Text into being. The Boy Who Cried Wolf? How about The Girl Who Was Scared by the Danielbeast? For all you YouTube fans, here's the saga of lonelygirl15. Art from Art. Just as Frost rewrites Emerson in "After Apple Picking," here's a more modern example of artistic revision: Chuck Berry's reprise of "Johnny B. Goode" (1957)--"Bye Bye Johnny" (1960)--and Bruce Springsteen's memorial to the death of Elvis, "Johnny Bye Bye" (1983). After Apple Picking and two videos -- Robert Frost reading the poem and some critical commentary from Frost himself, Seamus Heaney, and Richard Wilbur. We Won't Get Fooled Again. What does Frost Mean when he says that people who haven't been educated by poetry "don’t know when they are being fooled by a metaphor, an analogy, a parable"? What's the true definition of "Freedom of Choice" and what's its connection to a New York City billboard? And metaphor meets cognitive science meets politics in "The Framing Wars" (2005). Metaphor Monopoly. Bill Gates has been educated by poetry; here's an even thornier metaphorical issue -- Intelligent Design (and a link to a series of articles on the Evolution Debate); novelists, psychologists, and scientists all struggle with the mind as metaphor in "What's On Your Mind?"; and even Einstein's famous equation, we're told, needs to be explained with a metaphor, if it's to be fully understood. Four articles from The New York Times that link the tragedy in New York to the concerns of this course: The Simile, The Villain, and First, Define the Battlefield, and from 2002, the late Susan Sontag's Real Battles and Empty Metaphors. I f there were ever a single-page statement of what this course is about, it's this 2005 Commencement Address by David Foster Wallace. For your further reading, writing, thinking, listening, and viewing pleasure: Losing My Religion with three paintings by Caravaggio that look like models for the "renaissance" part of the video. A quick guide on How to Search On Line Successfully and another on How to Use Wikipedia. Come Back to the Raft Ag'in, Papa Honey. As a young boy, Hemingway not only identified with Huck Finn, he actually dressed up like Huck to go hunting and fishing. He also got dressed up in dresses with his sister, Marcelline. Paintings by Giotto, Masaccio, and Piero della Francesca. Andrea Mantegna. Four pictures from this 15th c. Italian Renaissance Master -- mentioned prominently in Hemingway's "The Revolutionist" -- including "The Dead Christ" (c. 1490). Also, information on Horthy and Hungary from the Columbia Encyclopedia, and a link to Oxford University's Virtual Seminars for Teaching Literature, that focus on WWI and the poetry of Wilfred Owen. A lesson in effective rhetoric from President Bush's speech writers: Stanley Fish explains how style can triumph over substance in "The Candidates, Seen From the Classroom." The Modern Library's Choices for the 100 greatest books of the 20th century, including all of nine women, none women of color, and four male minority authors, along with their readers choices (who clearly love Ayn Rand but don't read anything but white authors), the 100 best works of nonfiction (ditto), the members of the Editorial Board who voted for the list, and a rival list from the Radcliffe Publishing Course.. Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Images of his wife, Elizabeth Siddal (1854), The Blessed Damozel (1875-78), Lady Lilith (1864-73), Ecce Ancilla Domini! (The Annunciation; 1849-50), where the Virgin Mary bears a strange resemblance to Kate Moss. "The Queen's Looking Glass" The back of the box description of The Last Seduction, another picture of Kate Moss, a parodic look at Obsession, some pictures of Medusa that bear an uncanny resemblance to Glen Close in Fatal Attraction, and an article to contextualize Glengarry Glen Ross entitled, "Men Behaving Badly"; S & F Online: The Scholar and Feminist Online, published by the Barnard Center for Research on Women, with an especially interesting issue on HBO, The Sopranos, and Sex and the City; and a Women's Studies Database at The University of Maryland. Of course things have changed since the 70s -- just read, "Toughness Has Risks for Women Executives," from the August 10, 2001 New York Times, or listen to what some of Fortune's 50 Most Powerful Women have to say, or what things are like in Academia and in the world of Science, Engineering, and Technology. Or for something completely different, here's John Tierney on "What Women Want" and Neil French on "One man's take on why women never seem to get ahead." And here's what some women at elite colleges say they want themselves (with a response from the male side of the equation and another from Jack Shafer at Slate). A sports metaphor, a Huck Finn allusion, and a new take on gender: Susan Faludi looks at Hilary Clinton's candidacy in "The Fight Stuff." An article/survey from Amy Sennet, called "Work and Family," that looks at the experiences of the Class of '75 (me) vs the expectations of the Class of '06 (you); the latest word (2007) on women in the workplace in The Feminine Critique; and the moment when gender reared its head in Hillary's campaign, the differing reaction it drew from one mother and daughter, and Judith Warner's complicated thought about feelings. “The most powerful people in the world are old white men and pretty young women”: Postfeminism and Other Fairy Tales. Girls Gone Wild. A review of Ariel Levy's book that argues that women have bought into unhealthy ideas of their own sexuality; and for you Sex and the City fans, "Throwing the Baby Out with the Bath Water: Miranda and the Myth of Maternal Instinct on Sex and the City." "Delerium" Information on Mindy Faber's 1993 film at the Women Make Movies web site; a science report that tries to answer the question, "Is Hysteria Real?"; and the latest on Women, Depression, and Marriage from the Science News. So What's A Modern Girl To Do? Here's Maureen Dowd with the answer and her answers to readers' questions. The Jefferson - Hemings Controvery. Why were Jefferson scholars so reluctant to admit to Thomas Jefferson's relationship with his slave Sally Hemings? Here's a series of 1998 editorials that discuss the controversy surrounding Jefferson and Sally Hemings: Annette Gordon-Reed (author of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings) on the "objectivity" of History and historians; William Safire on the contemporary political implications of "Sallygate"; Orlando Paterson on Race, History, and what to make of the whole shebang; Brent Staples, writing in 1999 that there's still no place at the Jefferson table for the Hemings clan; a set of Jefferson - Hemings Resources at Monticello-The Home of Thomas Jefferson, including the Minority Report disputing the DNA findings; and just when you thought it was all over, Brent Staples again in 2005 with "Lust Across the Color Line and the Rise of the Black Elite." A history of Literature and History that's a little bit, well, literary: Just the Facts, Ma'Am. When Are You White? Lise Funderburg takes to the streets and asks this question of friends, strangers, and celebrities; a blog devoted to explaining the Stuff White People Like; and DNA testing shows students at Penn how complicated the concept of race can be. Test the Roots of Your Prejudice. You say you're not biased? Take this test -- called the Implicit Association Test -- developed by researchers at Yale University and the University of Washington. Researchers created the test in 1995 to expose hidden thoughts and feelings. It can reveal unconscious attitudes that could affect how you interact with people of a different race. Also, a link to the IAT Home Page, that includes links to tests on Age and Gender implicit preferences; and an article by Robert Jensen on how "White Privilege Shapes the U.S." A Project of the American Anthropological Association: RACE - Are We So Different? The project’s Web site presents quizzes, timelines and other interactive activities designed to consider questions on the history of race in America, human variation across the planet, and race as a “lived experience.” Both the project and the Web site underscore three key themes: How we define race has changed over time, and its very concept is of recent human invention and shaped by groups that hold power; Race is a cultural phenomenon that places people into groups according to arbitrary biological and cultural characteristics and does not accurately describe human variation; and Race and racism are embedded in our culture and shape our understanding of ourselves and those around us. It shows how racism is less overt than in the past, yet discrimination continues and racism holds sway over many of our daily choices. How Race Is Lived in America: The New York Times series that documents the experience of race in America at the beginningt of the twenty-first century: "Shared Prayers, Mixed Blessings" by Kevin Sack; "Best of Friends, Worlds Apart" by Mirta Ojito; "Which Man's Army" by Steven A. Holmes; "Who Gets to Tell a Black Story?" by Janny Scott; "A Limited Partnership" by Amy Harmon; "At a Slaughterhouse, Some Things Never Die" by Charlie LeDuff; "When to Campaign With Color" by Timothy Egan; "Reaping What Was Sown on the Old Plantation" by Ginger Thompson; "Growing Up, Growing Apart" by Tamar Lewin; "The Hurt Between the Lines" by Dana Canedy; "The Minority Quarterback" by Ira Berkow; "Guarding the Borders of the Hip-Hop Nation" by N.R. Kleinfield; "Why Harlem Drug Cops Don't Discuss Race" by Michael Winerip; "Bricks, Mortar, and Coalition Building" (about Houston) by Mireya Navarro; "Getting Under My Skin" by Don Terry; and "America, Seen Through the Filter of Race" -- a series of editorial statements by Patricia Williams, Jack Kemp, Linda Chavez, and others. Barack Obama's 2008 speech on race, "A More Perfect Union." What I.Q. doesn’t tell you about race: "None of the Above." "Tragedy in Black and White" How race played a role in Hurricane Katrina; an article on Race in America, 10 years after the OJ Trial; some staggering percentages on how different races see race in Tim Wise's "See No Evil'; and closer to home, "Welcome to the Neighborhood" -- a canceled reality show from Austin's own Circle C; a blog devoted to exploring the Stuff White People Like; and finally, Brent Staples again on "Census Categories That Don't Apply." Moby. "Essay Two" from the liner notes of Everything Is Wrong. The same attack, quoting the same biblical passage, as Frederick Douglass in his "Appendix." Signifying Monkey, as sung by The Big Three Trio (with Wiilie Dixon). Recorded on 3/11/47; a slighty racier version of a Signifyin' Monkey Poem, collected by Henry Louis Gates; and little Eddy has a joke to tell -- Here's Eddie Murphy's own bit of Signifyin(g): Thanksgiving 1968, from the movie, Raw. An homage to T. S. Eliot: Crash Test Dummies sing "Afternoons and Coffeespoons" and a link to The Songs Inspired By Literature (SIBL) Project, Inc. -- described as "a creative nonprofit producing advocacy and educational materials exclusively for the literacy movement. We use music as a vehicle to engage, inspire and reinforce the magic of literature and the power of reading. We have launched an awareness and outreach campaign for one of this country's most critical, least discussed problems: adults who cannot read or write. Based in Northern California, we're made up of musicians, authors, teachers, and journalists. Our programs and projects inspire adults who need to improve their literacy skills, and attract volunteers and supporters on behalf of literacy providers, many of whom do not have the financial resources or expertise to launch such a massive public awareness campaign. Our partners include the California State Library, The Library of Congress and Friends of the Library USA. (see letters of support)." Leda and the Swan. A variety of classical representations of Leda and Zeus. A link to Salon Audio and to recordings of Langston Hughes reading and talking about his poetry, including "The Negro Speaks of Rivers." "Who Says a White Band Can't Play Rap?" by Joe Wood in The Village Voice (1991). Asks the questions: Is racial identity a matter of consumption in the 90s? Who gets to produce culture? Who gets to consume it? Who gets consumed? Was Elvis the King or just the King of Tacky? Listen as Little Richard battles Pat Boone (with a little Elvis thrown in for comparison) in 1956. Wood also asks the question: is Chuck D an American poet? You be the judge. The lyrics and a video clip for "Can't Truss It" (1991). Did somebody mention Eminem? "A Season in Hell" is one of the best articles I've seen on the white-hot wonder, from Feed and here's a late word on rap and whiteness and violence from Brent Staples. And while Snoop might like the Gourds' version of "Gin and Juice" (here), the former members of NWA are less happy about Dynamite Hack. And here's the granddaddy of all white-southern-rap fusions: Bubba Sparxxx and the video of "Ugly"; the Seattle-based mc Macklemore explores the conundrum of being a white rapper on "White Privilege." Finally, a picture of the Young Black Teenagers; "A Short History of Class Antagonism in the Black Community" by Brent Staples; a series of articles on Class Matters (New York Times, 2005); a set of readings and resources on Minority Studies at the Voice of the Shuttle; and resources on Race in the US, courtesy of The English Server (Carnegie Mellon); a piece by Staples entitled, "Decoding the Debate Over the Blackness of Barack Obama"; the Chicano answer to the King: El Vez; and the latest look at Elvis (and Chuck D) in "How Did Elvis Get Turned Into a Racist?" Border Crossings. An experiment in hypertextual relationships by Karla Tonella of the University of Iowa that explores the common ground between Cyborgs, Gender, LesBiGay, Dispora, La Frontera, Border Incidents and Other Borders. With His Pistol in His Hand. Some information about "The Corrido on the Border" from Manuel Peña and Américo Paredes; The Américo Paredes Center for Cultural Studies here at UT, as well as The Center for Mexican American Studies; more information on Gregorio Cortez; an Américo Paredes page at a Chicano Literature site, maintained by Patricia Portales at San Antonio College; and a link to a recording of the Corrido de "Gregorio Cortez" Part 1 (Rocha y Martínez, 1929); and a link to Elijah Wald's page about the latest stage of the corrido, the Narcocorrido. Much like the Gangsta Rap on which they're based, however, these songs have come under fire, as the San Antonio Express-News attests. Also from Elijah Wald, Corrido Watch, a page of current topical songs, currently featuring corridos of Sept. 11, Osama bin Laden, and the war in Iraq; finally, a copy of Jenni Rivera"s "La Chacalosa" with the lyrics; a feature called "The Corrido North of the Border"; and "El Corrido de los Jaguares" from Economedes High School in Edinburg, TX. A picture of Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales from "Imagenes Xicano," a historic collection of documentary photographs exploring political activism during the seventies from a Chicano perspective maintained by Jesús M. Mena Garza; and a section on Gonzales and his Crusade for Justice in Julian Samora and Patricia Vandel Simon's A History of the Mexican-American People, part of The Julian Samora Virtual Collection at The Julian Samora Research Institute. Was Samuel Clemens the Trey Parker of the 19^th Century? A copy of Mark Twain’s "Date 16o1. CONVERSATION, AS IT WAS BY THE SOCIAL FIRESIDE, IN THE TIME OF THE TUDORS" with slightly modernized spelling. Written during the same summer (1876) that Twain began Huck Finn, this rarely printed, x-rated piece makes you wonder why people get so upset about South Park; and Mark Twain at BoondocksNet.com, edited by Jim Zwick: maybe the best single collection of Twain resources anywhere, with contemporary reviews of Twain's works, pictures, criticism, and more -- including a short piece entitled, "Mark Twain's Reparations for Slavery" and information about the "Twins of Genius" tour that Twain took with George Washington Cable from the Mark Twain in his Times site at the University of Virginia. Realism vs. Romance. Some definitions from the OED: realism, real, realistic, romance, and romantic (note: these links work only if you are on an ISP that subscribes to the UT library or the OED), and some definitions from Ambrose Bierce's Devil's Dictionary; an explanation of Romance (vs. the Novel) from Nathaniel Hawthorne and an explanation of the Real (vs. the Romantic) from Henry James; and then there's the whole James Frey debacle: "Can Oprah Change the Phoney-Memoir Culture?" Finally, what reality really means to the Bush administration and why the "laws of language [and metaphor] are hard to defy" from George Lakoff. 2019: Off-World. A great collection of Blade Runner articles, information, and resources, connected to CinemaSpace , a site devoted to all aspects of Cinema and New Media and the primary link for resources from the UC Berkeley Film Studies Program; and a way to understand California politics through the "fear of Blade Runnerization." How hard is it to find a good man? The lyrics and a recording of "Nebraska" -- a song Bruce Springsteen wrote about Charlie Starkweather, who shot ten people on a killing spree with his girlfriend. Springsteen had been reading Flannery O'Connor when he wrote the song. And speaking of O'Connor, here's a link to The Catholic Encyclopedia to check out those words (like ACCIDENT) that you thought you knew the meaning of. Pablo Picasso. An image of Picasso's "Demoiselles D'Avignon" (1907). Modern - Postmodern. Some illustrations to accompany Fredric Jameson's "Postmodernism, or The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism"; and a set of resources and links called Postmodern Thought. Unheard Voices. From a site called "Slashdot: News for Nerds. Stuff that matters" -- a link to Voices from the Hellmouth, a collection of e-mails from self-proclaimed "geeks, nerds, and oddballs" that give voice to the unheard part of the conversation surrounding the tragic events at Columbine HS and tell a disturbing story of the witch hunt that's developed as a result; "Our Violent Inner Landscape," a New York Times editorial by Gregory Gibson, that looks at the connections between Columbine, Rambo, and Richard III; Bob Herbert on Charles Whitman, Cho Seung-Hui, and the deadly combination of misogyny, homophobia, and guns; Mike White (School of Rock) wonders about what's involved in making violent movies in "Making a Killing"; a look at the recent trend of "women who kick ass" in "Everything a Man Can Do, Decapitation Included"; a look at Fight Club through the lens of Richard Slotkin's thesis of "regeneration through violence"; and a reaction to the women who tortured at Abu Ghraib by Judith Warner in "Escape from the Gender Ghetto." Alternate Endings. Some different looks at Tarantino in "The Unbearable Lightness of Being Cool" and an interview with Tavis Smiley that takes on Tarantino's view of race. A look at how homophobic discourse structures masculinity (with a mention of fraternity life here at UT) in "'Dude, You're a F-g'"; and Steven Pinker answers the question, "Why We Curse." Copies of an interview with and an article about Toni Morrison, a link to an essay on Sula entitled, "Revolutionary Suicide in Toni Morrison's Fiction" by Katy Ryan, from a site dedicated to Morrison, and the words, music, and history to "Shall We Gather at the River." La Familia. Art from Carmen Lomas Garza, a Kingsville, TX native who uses her childhood memories and experiences to create work which recalls the traditions and folklore of Tejano Families. Carmen's paintings and prints have the power to make us remember our own childhood as they express her pride in her Latino/a heritage. Also, a link to a bio page on Lomas Garza at her web site; and a "thematic, inquiry-based art education resource" called "Chicana and Chicano Space" (worth checking out), sponsored by the Hispanic Research Center at Arizona State University and the CIMD (Coalition to Increase Minority Degrees). The CIMD site includes links to finamcial aid resources and minority expert databases. Finally, links to CMAS (the Center for Mexican American Studies) and LLILAS (The Teresa Lozano Long Institute for Latin American Studies) here at UT. Sandra Cisneros's page at Voices from the Gaps: Women Writers of Color (UofMinn); another informative site on Cisneros at Las Mujeres; a feature article in Rooted Magazine, called "The House on Guenther Street," that documents the troubles Cisneros has had with her (purple) house in San Antonio; an article about the controversy surrounding Cisneros' winning a MacArthur Foundation Award called "Genius Can Come in Many Colors"; and Cisneros's answer to Anne Bradstreet, "Loose Woman." What's in a name? Manuel Muñoz explains in "Leave Your Name at the Border." Lone Star meets the Searchers, Sam Deeds meets the Duke. It's not bad enough that Sam Deeds has to contend with the ghost of his father, Buddy, but as his gesture in the Jailhouse (scene 7) shows, he's got the ghost of John Wayne (in John Ford's, The Searchers - one of the most influential movies in American film history) to contend with as well. And, as we hear in a clip, the Duke was paying homage to his cowboy hero, Harry Carey, when he struck the pose; and "Borders and Boundaries: An Interview with John Sayles," where Sayles talks about the influence of Américo Paredes and the Alamo on Lone Star.

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