Collie's Bestiary

Originally posted May 2004 Credits: Thanks to Bob, clear-sighted as always, as well as to George for kindness, and Ian for perspective. Also, if this subject interests you, I recommend my "Firestarter" titled Tolerance FAQ, take II.

by Barbara Ehrenreich & Deidre English A review of one of my textbooks: a tiny little pamphlet — less than 50 pages! – with a powerful message that's both creepily and effectively illustrated with a few small woodcut reproductions. Operating under the premise that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it, the authors [...]

Truth is a slippery concept. The only thing slipperier I can think of, at this exceedingly late hour, is contested memory fought over to define truth. It's funny the things that stick in your mind. Think of something incredibly meaningful to you as a small child, then ask a parent about it. Odds are they [...]

I'm reading a fascinating book for class. It's titled "Women's Rites, Women's Mysteries" by Ruth Barrett, and the part I'm currently most enjoying is the deconstruction of several of this culture's rituals. The issues with marriage, bridal showers, birthdays, and baby showers are not new to me; I've considered and mentally struggled with them for [...]

Enter Shiloh Sophia McCloud into the search box to see all the available books written by the instructor of this class. Amazon.com Widgets One of my classes in the Women's Spirituality Master's Program that I'm taking is called "Art as Sacred Practice." It's a curious oddity of most Western religious traditions that the creation of [...]

I've finished one of my required readings for class: Rita Gross's fascinating Feminism & Religion. I wish I'd read this book years ago. One of the most critical points the book makes, which was a sort of "aHA!" moment for me when I read it, was that a religion which purports to welcome and offer [...]

It's always entertaining to re-read old college papers, especially when you've learned more since then. In the case of Feminism & the Bible: Examining the Christian Myth of Creation, the handful of later realizations or learnings I had were interesting enough to me that I thought I'd relate them here. For example, most people know [...]

This is a class assignment to critique Huber's article "Biodiversity vs. Bioengineering?" solely on the issue of whether the use of deception was sound argumentation technique. Huber's short but fascinating article appears in The Environmental Predicament, shown to the left. From the article, I quote the most personally relevant portions:

Originally written December 2003: more of a grumble than usual… As you probably don't know, by profession I am a web site designer. I take pride in my work, as I assume most competent craftspeople do. However, recently I've had the most incredible frustration in my job — on this very web site! — due [...]

Originally written in the late 1990's for a "Popular Culture" Anthropology class. In her book Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy, and Popular Literature, Janice A. Radway explores the apparent fascination of romantic fiction to many women, and examines the needs this literary genre fulfills for its readers. Our required reading was the Introduction and the [...]