This will not be a long blog article. We all know very well that Thanksgiving is “problematic” because of its origins in the massacre of Native Americans. Indeed from 1492 until the 1890s, Europeans and their descendants did everything they could to completely annihilate Indians. Nonetheless, this point of view is not exactly helpful, so to speak, for aContinue reading ““The Ghost of Columbus Haunts This World”: A Perspective on Thanksgiving”
Monthly Archives: November 2013
Jane Sutcliffe, A Barack Obama Biography, and Looking at the Full Picture
Over the past several days various places on the Internet, places across political and educational spectrums, have been expressing outrage over the following two passages in Jane Sutcliffe’s biography of Barack Obama for children. Indeed, I was concerned when I saw these passages. I read this news article and these reviews on Amazon. All of these assert thatContinue reading “Jane Sutcliffe, A Barack Obama Biography, and Looking at the Full Picture”
Katy Perry and Neo-Blackface
I don’t have television (by choice). But last night I knew something was going on when so many people kept posting on Twitter and romacebook talking about some big, questionable, weird event. This morning I leaned that the controversy related to Katy Perry’s performance at the 2013 American Music Awards. Perry, whose career took offContinue reading “Katy Perry and Neo-Blackface”
From FDR to LBJ, Racism and Liberalism: A Very Brief Overview
The 1930s were turbulent times for much of the world. Unprecedented circumstances and the resulting fears caused by the Worldwide Great Depression called for equally unprecedented responses. Prior to the 1930s, the United States generally operated under the political philosophy we would recognize as libertarianism today. Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal programs gave liberalism theContinue reading “From FDR to LBJ, Racism and Liberalism: A Very Brief Overview”
(1)ne Drop: Shifting the Lens on Race: A Review and Reflection
Yaba Blay’s (1)ne Drop: Shifting the Lens on Race (2014) is a beautiful, first-hand look at the true complexities surrounding the ways in which societies and peoples racialize one another and the ways in which these are institutionalized. Due to an ambiguous and vastly tangled web of psychological, historical, and countless other reasons, everyday lifeContinue reading “(1)ne Drop: Shifting the Lens on Race: A Review and Reflection”
PBJ Sandwiches, Racism, and Hidden Power of Words Series, #4
Slightly over a year ago the Internet, liberals and conservatives alike, erupted in fury over Dr. Verenice Gutierrez’s comments about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the school where she is principal. These stories have been buzzing around the Internet again. (Surprisingly, I didn’t hear about it the first time around.) The controversy started whenContinue reading “PBJ Sandwiches, Racism, and Hidden Power of Words Series, #4”
The Rhetoric of Two Christmas Songs – Hidden Power of Words Series, #3
As a socially, culturally constructed celebration and more recently controversial holiday, Christmas tends to receive a great deal of attention from a variety of (dis)interested parties. In the blog article below, I primarily examine the rhetoric of It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas and thoughts resulting from this thought process. Songs, like films, mirrorContinue reading “The Rhetoric of Two Christmas Songs – Hidden Power of Words Series, #3”
19 Simple Questions for Judging a Movie
How do we determine if a movie is indeed a good movie? Here are 19 ways: 1. Is it entertaining? Does it keep your attention? 2. When you are finished watching it, do you feel good about how you spent the last two hours? 3. Would you see the film again? 4. Is the filmContinue reading “19 Simple Questions for Judging a Movie”
Dr. Andrew Joseph Pegoda 