A primary facet of the American literacy consciousness is the ideal of American innocence and the tragic consequences if that innocence is lost. Yet many American authors remain deeply troubled by the role of sexuality within that conception of American identity, and more importantly, the role of those desires that have been deemed deviant. When Vladimir Nabokov first … [Read more...] about Incest and Innocence
The Empty Chair: Looking into the Eyes of Marina Abramovic
Performance artist Marina Abramovic’s retrospective collection, “The Artist is Present,” debuted in March 2010 at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Comprised of over fifty pieces of her work from the last forty years, the exhibition calls attention to the divide between artist and audience, observer and participant, and repetition and stillness. Using the human body as a medium, … [Read more...] about The Empty Chair: Looking into the Eyes of Marina Abramovic
OMT, OMG! Osteopathy Makes It Better
*Note: This paper was written before the implementation of health care reform by the Obama administration in 2010. However, this does not in any way lessen the importance or timeliness of the claims being made. Atul Gawande, endocrine surgeon and author of Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance, has said that it takes a certain ingenuity and innovation to excel in health … [Read more...] about OMT, OMG! Osteopathy Makes It Better
Teach for America
As a teacher-training program for failing public schools, Teach for America (TFA) has become an increasingly prestigious non-profit for graduates from elite universities. However, criticism has plagued the organization from the beginning. When TFA celebrated its fourth birthday in 1994, leading author and educational policy researcher Linda Darling-Hammond lambasted it as a … [Read more...] about Teach for America
Iron Will
Pump Pump Pump away now. 200 300 400 now. Bare-chested, Shrewd, 100 percent mirror looks and What-will-they-thinks? Yes, what will They think? You loved me Love me How scandalous— Wrong. So, Pump Pump Pump away now. Conceal me, Hide me. But know I’m too strong. Adonis can’t conceal me. … [Read more...] about Iron Will