People increasingly attempt to use biological determinism (or essentialism) to lock people into identities, identities that are actually assigned and determined by cultural mores. While people who are transgender or transexual (often abbreviated as just trans) are increasingly accepted by academia and by society–although we absolutely have a long, long way to go–such cannot beContinue reading “Biological Determinism and the Trans Debates: Gender, Sex, Race, and Ability”
Monthly Archives: June 2017
Power in Everyday life, Religion, and Politics – Things On My Mind Series, #7
Minimum Wage I’m often interested in what people ignore or don’t see that is right before them. Although it has been disproven with data again and again, people persist in believing that most minimum wage workers are teenagers looking for extra spending money. In reality, the vast majority of minimum wage workers are adults, theContinue reading “Power in Everyday life, Religion, and Politics – Things On My Mind Series, #7”
Ali Mroue and Life Before and After Being a University Student from Lebanon – Interview Series #7
The seventh installment in my interview series spotlights the experience and wisdom of (the future Dr.) Ali Mroue! I first met Ali in the Spring 2013 when he was a student in one of my United States History from 1877 Lab classes at the University of Houston. Ali was a remarkable student–in terms of hisContinue reading “Ali Mroue and Life Before and After Being a University Student from Lebanon – Interview Series #7”
Other Strange Rituals of the Nacirema
In almost all cases, this particular ritual occurred at least once every twelve years, once members of the Nacirema reached age 15 or 16 on the Gregorian Calendar. This ritual involved several steps but ultimately permitted them to legally steer large machines on rows of asphalt, concrete, or dirt. These machines went at unprecedented speedsContinue reading “Other Strange Rituals of the Nacirema”
This marks my 500th blog article!
Roughly 300,000 words* later and 345,159 hits later since my first blog on May 12, 2013, this post marks my 500th blog article. When I started blogging, I had no clue if I would actually end up blogging at all! (*For comparison, my dissertation was 110,000 words and was a hair under 400 pages.) BloggingContinue reading “This marks my 500th blog article!”
Exhausted: Being Very Cognizant has a High Cost
Have you ever had the experience of walking up to a line, waiting patiently, and the person in front of you suddenly–without looking or thinking–suddenly takes a few steps back and almost knocks you over? What about of walking toward a door with both hands full and the person in front of you–completely unaware ofContinue reading “Exhausted: Being Very Cognizant has a High Cost”
You are condemned to silence, to suffering, and to death.
Elected politicians who associate themselves with conservatism and the Tea Party/Republican Party continue to show that they are determined to condemn sick people to a life of absolute silence, of cruel suffering, and of swift death. And because they are not speaking out, their followers and voters are also condemning sick people to a life of absolute silence, of cruel suffering, andContinue reading “You are condemned to silence, to suffering, and to death.”
Promoting (Anti-)Violence with Violence in Shawn Mendes’s “Treat You Better” (2016)
Recently, I was listening to videos on YouTube for research, and I didn’t realize the “autoplay – up next” feature was on until I heard Shawn Mendes’s “Treat You Better.” The song bothered me. Once I looked, the music-video bothered me, too. It’s taken a few days to start put my finger on it, butContinue reading “Promoting (Anti-)Violence with Violence in Shawn Mendes’s “Treat You Better” (2016)”
Dr. Andrew Joseph Pegoda 