(no subject)
For now on Im spelling it "Teim" just so I can say that there is an "I" in it. People question that fact that there is no "I" or "me" or First Person reference in the word presently known as "Team" but they fail to question the most important thing...whether its got soul.
Ive got a bone to pick lately about my Black Radical Thought class. On the surface of things its a really cool class. We're reading about many "proto abololitionists" and "Classic Black Philosophers" and right now, basically the roots of 19th and 20th century Black Philosophers. The professors very nice although there are some things about his class that are starting to tick me off. The first and foremost has to be the fact that his discussion class is not much of a discussion class at all. Most times its just him lecturing to the class. The thing the bothers me most is how shallow(for lack of a better word) and uncreative his class is. The texts that he assigns us are very interesting (even though I have trouble keeping up with the class) although we only examine them on face value. The professor doesnt question any of the material or try to dig at any flaws or hidden meanings (if there are any) within the texts. There really is no discussion at all and the professor tries not to breed arguement and discussion in the class but rather attempts to show the students his point of view. I hate classes and professors that stifle student curiosity and creativity and attempt to make the students side with the professor wholeheartedly.
Another thing I can barely tolerate in a classroom is when a professor feels compelled to share his/her political view points with the students. Of course, Black Philosophy has much to do with current politics but what I cannot stand about this professor is how he views his thoughts as the singular right path and how he down plays other political views by implying that they are misinformed or unintelligeble. For one thing our professor thought to show us an example of Affirmative Action. Admittedly, I am a little bias as Im generally concerned about such a policy and am not such a big supporter of it. Regardless, our professor chose to make an example of Newt Gingrich's thoughts on such a policy (the only fact that my professor and I see eye-to-eye on is that we're both not big fans of Gingrich). Gingrich claimed that he felt such a policy was wrong as it based the individual by his backround and group affiliation rather than the individual himself (I pretty much agree with this view). In response to this we read an article by Roger or Richard Wilkins, I forgot his first name. Wilkins said that the American system already see's an individual by his group rather than the character himself. Furthermore he claimed that Martin Luther King would support such a view and agree that Affirmative Action is the right path toward a country that does not base the individual by where he comes from. The students (its a small class, only 10 of us) generally agreeed with the teacher and sided with Wilkins. The teacher made no attempts to investigate the Wilkins article but just accepted it on face value. Throughout the "discussion" I was dying to raise my hand and question how Wilkins was sure Affirmative Action would work in accords with MLK's dream as both seem contradictory to eachother. Affirmative Action seeks to rate an individual by his ethnicity and group while MLK wished for a society where the individual is seen by his character not by where he comes from. I wanted to say that how can Wilkins be certain that Affirmative Action will be a positive precursor to MLK's dream. I kept my trap shut however as it seemed I was generally outnumbered in the class and wanted to stay on my teachers good side.
Lastly I knew that when I was getting into this class some Black Philosophy can by a little antisemetic at times. I figured however that perhaps if I took a class on it I would be able to see that it isnt all that antisemetic as my parents and some friends have told me. During one class, the professor, who is Black himself, started to talk about Jews who lived in South Africa. He claimed that there were many racist theories that Jews owned slaves throughout the 18-19th centuries, one such theory that I myself have never heard before. He said that such a theory was untrue however. While Jews did not own slaves, he claimed they were at times the middle men who shipped slaves to slave traders. I really dont know how to interpret what my professor said. Perhaps Im shocked or in a little denial because of my Judaism myself. But the fact that Jews can do evil things isnt a new thing for me, no Jew is perfect. What bothers me is just why did he have to mention that to the class. I also may be too critical but perhaps he was insinuating that Jews are racists as well. Also he never mentioned any statistics, never back it up with any texts, examples or proof and never mentioned how many Jews we involved in the slave trade.
As a Jew myself and growing up in a moderate household where my parents said that some Black Philosophy is antisemetic or blames some problems on Jews I realize that I could be bias when approaching this class. I could be a bit more critical about this class because Black Philosophy and History is perhaps a hard pill to swallow. Whatever the case Im just not sure what to think about this class right now. All I know is that I have a hard time accepting some of the things the professor tells us in the class and his general approach to teaching the subject.
Ive got a bone to pick lately about my Black Radical Thought class. On the surface of things its a really cool class. We're reading about many "proto abololitionists" and "Classic Black Philosophers" and right now, basically the roots of 19th and 20th century Black Philosophers. The professors very nice although there are some things about his class that are starting to tick me off. The first and foremost has to be the fact that his discussion class is not much of a discussion class at all. Most times its just him lecturing to the class. The thing the bothers me most is how shallow(for lack of a better word) and uncreative his class is. The texts that he assigns us are very interesting (even though I have trouble keeping up with the class) although we only examine them on face value. The professor doesnt question any of the material or try to dig at any flaws or hidden meanings (if there are any) within the texts. There really is no discussion at all and the professor tries not to breed arguement and discussion in the class but rather attempts to show the students his point of view. I hate classes and professors that stifle student curiosity and creativity and attempt to make the students side with the professor wholeheartedly.
Another thing I can barely tolerate in a classroom is when a professor feels compelled to share his/her political view points with the students. Of course, Black Philosophy has much to do with current politics but what I cannot stand about this professor is how he views his thoughts as the singular right path and how he down plays other political views by implying that they are misinformed or unintelligeble. For one thing our professor thought to show us an example of Affirmative Action. Admittedly, I am a little bias as Im generally concerned about such a policy and am not such a big supporter of it. Regardless, our professor chose to make an example of Newt Gingrich's thoughts on such a policy (the only fact that my professor and I see eye-to-eye on is that we're both not big fans of Gingrich). Gingrich claimed that he felt such a policy was wrong as it based the individual by his backround and group affiliation rather than the individual himself (I pretty much agree with this view). In response to this we read an article by Roger or Richard Wilkins, I forgot his first name. Wilkins said that the American system already see's an individual by his group rather than the character himself. Furthermore he claimed that Martin Luther King would support such a view and agree that Affirmative Action is the right path toward a country that does not base the individual by where he comes from. The students (its a small class, only 10 of us) generally agreeed with the teacher and sided with Wilkins. The teacher made no attempts to investigate the Wilkins article but just accepted it on face value. Throughout the "discussion" I was dying to raise my hand and question how Wilkins was sure Affirmative Action would work in accords with MLK's dream as both seem contradictory to eachother. Affirmative Action seeks to rate an individual by his ethnicity and group while MLK wished for a society where the individual is seen by his character not by where he comes from. I wanted to say that how can Wilkins be certain that Affirmative Action will be a positive precursor to MLK's dream. I kept my trap shut however as it seemed I was generally outnumbered in the class and wanted to stay on my teachers good side.
Lastly I knew that when I was getting into this class some Black Philosophy can by a little antisemetic at times. I figured however that perhaps if I took a class on it I would be able to see that it isnt all that antisemetic as my parents and some friends have told me. During one class, the professor, who is Black himself, started to talk about Jews who lived in South Africa. He claimed that there were many racist theories that Jews owned slaves throughout the 18-19th centuries, one such theory that I myself have never heard before. He said that such a theory was untrue however. While Jews did not own slaves, he claimed they were at times the middle men who shipped slaves to slave traders. I really dont know how to interpret what my professor said. Perhaps Im shocked or in a little denial because of my Judaism myself. But the fact that Jews can do evil things isnt a new thing for me, no Jew is perfect. What bothers me is just why did he have to mention that to the class. I also may be too critical but perhaps he was insinuating that Jews are racists as well. Also he never mentioned any statistics, never back it up with any texts, examples or proof and never mentioned how many Jews we involved in the slave trade.
As a Jew myself and growing up in a moderate household where my parents said that some Black Philosophy is antisemetic or blames some problems on Jews I realize that I could be bias when approaching this class. I could be a bit more critical about this class because Black Philosophy and History is perhaps a hard pill to swallow. Whatever the case Im just not sure what to think about this class right now. All I know is that I have a hard time accepting some of the things the professor tells us in the class and his general approach to teaching the subject.