Discussion Post 8: Chapters 24-30

Respond to one (or more if you are behind in posting) of the following prompts:

1.  Chapter 24 talks extensively about the state of books and literature in this world.  What is unique about their system?  What about their system resonates as familiar within our own society regarding what gets published and why?

2. What, according to Chapter 24, is Vonnegut's attitude towards psychiatry?  Is it true that "somebody's just got to be maladjusted; that somebody'sgot to be uncomfortable enough to wonder where people are, where they're going, and why they're going there?"  How does this relate to our society and views towards psychology? Are they similar?

3.  Look at Chapter 26, page 255, 2nd paragraph starting with "Paul shook his head...".  What are the moral implications of man fighting next to machine?  What are the positives and negatives of this, and are we headed in this direction today?  What could this mean for our society?

4. Look at Chapter 30, page 300-303, which is Van Neumann's speech to the outside world.  What principles does he affirm about technology?  Do you agree with these principles?  Are there any of these principles that could potentially be problematic?

Discussion Post: Chapters 20-23

For Tuesday, choose a passage from the book, dialogue or event that you found interesting and discuss what you felt to be interesting or insightful about the passage.  If possible, relate it to the themes and events of the book thus far and discuss its impact on the novel, or expound on its relevance to Ilium society and/or our society today.  (When discussing the particular passage, provide either a quote, or chapter and page number.)

Digital Nation Part 2: Virtual Worlds

Virtual worlds divide and connect us, create new realities, and alter our present realities.  What, then, is your verdict?  Are these new virtual worlds good or bad?  Explore this through using examples from the video, or answer one of the following questions:

1. In World of Warcraft, Everquest, and Second Life, you can change your identity and live a completely different life.  Or can you?  Are these games helping to connect and expand ourselves, or assisting us in hiding or refusing to confront our own personal identities?

2. How is video conferencing, such as IBM's use of Second Life, changing our world?  Is it different from meeting face-to-face?  What is lost by this and how is it important?  What about the use of Virtual Reality to either change our memories, such as in the whale test in children, or alter our perceptions of ourselves, such as altering height measurements in the Virtual World in order to assist in debates in the real world? 

3. How is combat changing based on drones and fighting a remote war?  Could this potentially change how we fight and the mentality with which we do so?

Digital Nation Part 1: The "Dumbest Generation"

Are we actually the "dumbest generation" or are we just creating new ways of thinking?  Studies say that we are reading more varied and shorter bits of information, as opposed to novels, and our longer essay writing is being replaced with shorter idea blurbs, thanks to blogs, Facebook, and Twitter  Just as print culture made us worse at using our memory, are we losing something important?  Are we gaining something?  Use examples from the video to explain.

Discussion Post 4: The End

Interpret the last chapter of the book.  Is the ending tragic or hopeful?  Does this matter?  What does the epilogue do the change or modify the meaning of the book?  How does ending the book in a voice other than Offred's change the narrative? (Answer any or all of these questions.)

Discussion Post 3: History of Oppression

Ann Cudd discusses in the first seven pages of our packet the historical evolution of the term "oppression", starting with Plato and Aristotle and moving to the 18th century Enlightenment writers of Hobbes, Rousseau, and Locke, the 19th century conceptual shifts in thinking, John Stuart Mill's The Subjugation of Women, and 20th century ideologies such as by Mary Wollenstonecraft and Simone De Beauvior regarding women's oppression and Hume's psychological studies.  Which of the historical movements or writings do you believe to be the most influential in the understanding of oppression, particularly as it relates to The Handmaid's Tale, and why?  Be sure to use quotes from either the packet or the novel.

Discussion Post 2: The Handmaid's Tale Chapters 5-9

For this post, I would like you to choose a quote in the book or observation about the reading that you think is important to write about.  This can be important to the rest of the novel, or it can in some way relate to our society today.  After writing a paragraph about this, I would like you to comment on another classmates post about their reading and incorporate your own opinion of this portion as well.  In this way, this will be an assignment containing two posts.  Please email with any questions.