November 2009
31 posts
2 tags
Totalitarianism is Puzzling
Since my return from Berlin, I’ve been thinking a lot about our group tour of Hohenschönhausen Prison. But I haven’t been thinking about it in the way I feel like I normally would. In other words, I’m not thinking about Hohenschönhausen from the perspective of the victims who were detained there by the East German Ministry of State Security, the infamous Stasi.
While there is undoubtedly a...
October 2009
10 posts
3 tags
Bystanders? No Chance.
In a recent Twitter post, I made a comment about a news story on CNN.com that discussed the appalling gang rape of a high school student in California over the weekend. The article discusses the so-called “bystander effect,” which argues that the larger number of people gathered around, the less likely that anyone will get involved in a situation such as this.
This seems like a...
4 tags
Architecture and Philosophy
Having written about the presentation of Justice Albie Sachs, it remains to me to write a little bit about the second major speaker at this eleventh installment of the Berlin Roundtables on Transnationality, Daniel Libeskind. After Sachs’ stirring presentation, it would be easy to simply note that Libeskind does not have the same impressive stature and chalk up any disappointment to the fact that...
5 tags
Dining With Heroes
I am in Berlin this week to chair a series of academic workshops on transitional justice, put together by the Irmgard Coninx Foundation. While the experience has been very intellectually rewarding, I have to admit that one of the main motivations for attending this time was the opportunity to hear a series of evening lectures by some very impressive individuals. The Foundation typically does a...
3 tags
Heroes Wanted
Earlier this week, I gave a lecture to a small group of students on the subject of my new book project. In the book, which I’m sure I’ll write more about in the coming months, I argue that political thought can shed some light on why some people act on behalf of others. To make that case, I go back to what I argue are three archetypes of heroic behavior (Achilles, Odysseus, and...
3 tags
Obligatory Nobel Peace Prize Post
If I’m being honest, I have to admit that the list of things I don’t care about is pretty long. In fact, I might make that list into its own blog post. Keep your eyes open for that one.
That said, this morning I discovered that near the very top of that list is who wins the Nobel Peace Prize and why.
Apparently, though, I’m one of the only people who doesn’t care…or...
3 tags
Teaching with Twitter
I’ve never been one of those professors who uses a lot of technology in the classroom. I stayed away from PowerPoint and I only used BlackBoard to post things for students to read. As a political theorist, it never really made sense to me to do anything else. The best professors, in my experience, were those who came to class with a few pages of notes and discussed ideas with their students...
4 tags
What You Should Like
Here’s today’s half-baked idea: there are some elements of popular culture that people should like and some things they shouldn’t. This applies to movies, music, television shows, video games, sports, celebrities, food…and the like. It doesn’t apply to naturally occurring phenomena, like sunsets, mountains, or grandparents. Them’s the rules, folks. Nothing I can...
3 tags
Arguing With Idiots
Last week, I said something on Twitter about Glenn Beck’s new book. Basically, I think he’s a clown and I think that we’d probably be a lot better off if his show (and those like it, on both the Left and the Right) was branded an entertainment program and not, as some think, a news program. As with many of my tweets, it led to an exchange on Facebook and a discussion on the phone...
3 tags
Who Are These Guys?! Oh, Right.
I woke up this morning and, as usual, I flew my Spartan flag from the flagpole on my porch. I did so with some mixed emotions, as this season has so far been an unbelievable disappointment. Losses to Central Michigan, Notre Dame, and Wisconsin have left many Spartan fans questioning the commitment of the players and the wisdom of the coaching staff. The running game has been anemic, the QB tandem...