Here’s the thing about racism (sexism, ableism): the obvious stuff is easy. When an individual standing next to you at a bus stop says, “I hate your kind”, you know that some kind of ‘ism’ is at play. The latter happened to me at a bus stop in East Lansing a decade plus ago. But…
In an attempt to have my students learn about the rhetorical triangle (audience, writer, issue), I have them create memes (which are attuned, hopefully, to their audience). Here are a few from class today.
From the Manifesto: §20. In our universities, the nurturing of care and curiosity will be equally true of our teaching. Since research turns all answers into questions, it cannot be taught as if the questions were already answered. Truth is never given in advance; it is rather a horizon of attainment that ever exceeds our…
“I wanted to be loved because I was great; A big man. I’m nothing. Look at the glory around us; trees, birds. I lived in shame. I dishonored it all, and didn’t notice the glory. I’m a foolish man.”
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[What follows is a guest column I wrote for The Crescent News (Defiance, OH). It was published on Jan. 18, 2016.] While many celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr., his complexity has been largely erased from our memories. He has been sentimentalized to such an extent that the radical nature of his message has been lost. Even…
JSTOR Daily is featuring my 2005 essay on The Big Lebowski. You can grab a free pdf of the essay at this link. Enjoy.
Killing the Buddha has published my recent piece on “Defying the Certainty of the Christian Right.” Check it out.
“Certainly, the longevity of our union also owes a great debt to honest communication and creative problem solving. The wedding photo is a good example. We put it up only after we grew tired of deliverymen and repairmen and housecleaners asking if she was my sister, or my nurse. Some have even called her a…
“I believe in Jesus Christ, the Christ who was a loser in human history — destroyed by this world — whose life reveals in its generosity and tragedy the most complete and challenging version of theism I know. What the New Atheists do not comprehend is that the crucifix cannot be mocked. It is itself…
