Blog #12 - Final Words on The Republic and Justice

 

Due: Wednesday at the end of the day

Minimum words: 450

Minimum Direct Quotations from The Republic: 1
Minimum links (or connections to outside events or sources): 1

When I originally selected Plato's Republic for this class, I knew it would be challenging - both in the way it is written and the concepts that it contains. I wanted a piece of literature that would stretch us and make us work. However, I also wanted this work to be worthwhile - to lead us to some deep discussions and conversations about the nature of morals and justice. 

In this blog post, please reflect on your thinking about The Republic and the concepts that you found most important or interesting. Please go beyond whether or not you "liked" the book.

Here are some concepts and potential questions for you to consider if you need some help getting started:

• What is the true nature of Justice?
• What is the nature of Goodness?
• What is wisdom and where does it come from?
• The Forms.
• The Allegory of the Cave
• The Tripartite Soul
• The value of a Philosopher king
• The role of luxury in a just society
• Wisdom, Honor, and Appetite 
• Censorship and "The Noble Lie"
• Creators, Makers, and Imitators
• Restorative Justice versus Punitive Justice
• What is justice?
• What does it mean to be a just person?
• What should more people understand about justice that would help make the world a better place?
• What value is there in studying this work from 2300 years ago in a modern context?

Why is "goodness" so hard to understand or describe?

How have the philosophies in this book influenced things, beliefs, or systems you encounter in your life?

Can you connect the ideas presented in this book with current situations?

Why is justice so important to us but so difficult to describe or obtain?

Why must Socrates describe a just city in order to shed light on a just person or the concept of justice in general?

What quotations or concepts stick out to you when you look at key quotations from The Republic? 

Blog #11: Things Fall Apart - Culture, Identity, and Change

 Due: Monday, November 9

Word Count:
Efulefu (1/C) level: 350 words and a quote from the novel
Unoka level (2/B): 450 words and two quotes from the novel
Okonkwo level (3/A): 550 words and two quotes from the novel and one reference to an outside source.
Chukwu level: (4/A+): 700 words and at least two quotes from the novel as well as multiple quotes and references from other works.

Things Fall Apart is about a culture on the verge of dramatic change. However, it's about more than that. It's about identity, fear, family, values, perspective, empathy, and the power of story. We see how the prospect of change affects individuals within a culture. Some people seem to embrace change while others resist. We see how disruptions can impact institutions and the way that values, norms, laws, and ceremonies play when an outside disruption enters the picture. We see how who tells a story dictates what stories we see and the ideas we develop. This book is a classic because we can take so many paths when we analyze it. 

In class and at home we looked at:

• Things Fall Apart
• Washington's Farewell Address
• Anthropological ideas like ethnocentrism, normative cultural relativism, and descriptive cultural relativism.
• Structuralism and Structural Functionalism and the way cultures communicate and strengthen values. 
• Ideas about Masculinity and Femininity. 
• Our political identity and the way that culture shapes our political values.

For your blog, consider the following themes to explore:

A Culture On the Verge of Change

• What forces are at play?
• What connections can you make to things happening now?
• What role do tradition, ritual, and ceremony play in maintaining a culture and what role do they play during a time of change?
• What effect does status play in cultural change?
• How does push and pull influence people?

The Pace of Progress

• In what ways does the idea of progress shape the novel?
• How does the idea of a single story play into the idea of progress?
• What connections can you make between the way that progress can be painful?

The Value of Tradition, Shared Values, and Norms

• How does tradition perpetuate and thrive from one generation to the next?
• What does this book have to teach us about our own culture and the moment in history that we are in?
• What has this story taught you about the role of story in history?
• What has studying this book made you think about in terms of the way our society and institutions (including your own families and social groups) function?
• How can the latent functions of an institution be helpful and harmful to individuals? When can trying to do everything "right" lead to dissatisfaction? 

If none of these questions work, here are some questions I stole from a great school and teacher in Pleasanton, California. If you are the teacher who wrote these questions, you are getting the titles of our village. May Chukwu bless your people and your traditions - in both your motherland and fatherland. I tried to find you to ask permission and thank you, but I couldn't.

1. How does the father-son relationship throughout three generations shape the personalities of Okonkwo, and Nwoye? Comment on their characteristics and the role their father plays in making them who they are.
2. "The story of Okonkwo is in a way the story of our culture; he pays a price because he places too much emphasis on strength and manliness." Discuss this quote as it applies to both the novel and our own modern American culture.
3. One of the themes of Achebe's novel is striving after titles, trophies, and status in general. Write an essay commenting on the presence and importance of status symbols in Okonkwo's world and today's world. Explain their appeal and how searching for status symbols is a negative force in life.  
4. Discuss how the District Commissioner symbolizes intolerance and disrespect for cultures he considers inferior.
5. Okonkwo suffers because he does not understand himself.  Do his experiences help lead him to self-awareness or not, and why?
6. "[Okonkwo's] whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure, and of weakness."  Explain how fear, in an ironic way, is the catalyst for destruction and failure in the novel?
7. Comment on how Achebe, through this novel, counters the Imperialist stereotypes on Africa as an uncivilized continent.  What aspects of Ibo culture contradict this commonly held stereotype?  Perhaps use the District Commissioner’s comments to help convey the imperialist view.