Wednesday, November 30, 2011
12/9 Social Justice Book Swap
Monday, July 25, 2011
7/26 Rights of Indigenous People
6:30pm in the MU Student Center
Reading:
1.The Last of the Tribe: The Epic Quest to Save a Lone Man in the Amazon by Monte Reel. I read this book earlier this summer. It is really amazing. It is a story about a group of guides who spent 15 years trying to protect one man and their journey. The following link is a 'look inside the book' [http://www.amazon.com/Last-
2. who is who? This explains some basics about indigenous people http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
3. The Gods must be crazy. This film was directed by Jamie Uys came out in 1980. It has sense been watched by so many people. This link has the first 15minutes, but you can find the whole movie on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?
4. National Geographic interview with Alona Yefimenko about indigenous people of the Arctic Council about food and conservation struggles. http://newswatch.
5. Democracy Now covered a story on Zapatista in Mexico. In South America, some countries have had small triumphs for their indigenous people, but for the most part governments tend to suppress their rights among them land.
- http://www.democracynow.org/
2004/1/2/the_zapatista_ uprising_1994_2004_a - http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=CUpcuM95t5M
6. Housing: There are a lot of obstacles facing indigenous people, one being housing. Partners in Health is building houses for Twa in Rwanda. The programs such as these, intending to assimilate indigenous people into society, have been heavenly criticized and are usually not likely to succed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Online resources
a. http://www.indigenouspeople.
b. http://
Questions to ponder
1. What is civilization?
2. How is one civilized?
3. What role do societies play in cultural evolution?
4. How are non-indigenous societies endangering/harming the lives of indigenous people
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Domestic Partnerships vs. Marriage
Marriage is a Mixed Blessing
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/24/opinion/24franke.html?_r=1
I Wish I Wasn't Married
http://www.good.is/post/domestic-partnerships-should-be-an-alternative-to-marriage-for-all-couples/#
Friday, July 15, 2011
7/19 Pop Music as Activism
6:30pm, MU Student Center 2200
Rihanna:
Man Down video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
No Means No: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Lady GaGa:
Born this way video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Portrait of a Lady: http://www.advocate.com/
Gaysi, Legacy of Lady GaGa: http://gaysifamily.com/2011/05/16/the-legacy-of-lady-gaga/
Bono:
All Star Tribute, Whats going on Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Stop Saving Africa:
http://www.american.com/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Homework: think of some women empowerment anthems of the last 30 years. Now look up who wrote the lyrics. Does that influence your opinion of the song?
Sunday, July 10, 2011
7/12 Racism and the LGBTQ+ Movement
http://standingwatch.net/2009/08/31/hate-101-racism-in-the-lgbt-population/
http://twodown48togo.wordpress.com/2008/11/24/prop-8-town-hall-it-was-almost-a-dismissive-response/
http://www.365gay.com/blog/090110-pastor-accuses-lgbt-organizations-of-racism/
Advocate Cover Stories (Do you see any patterns?):
http://www.advocate.com/PrintIssue/CoverStories/
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.429209273854.222930.6030918854 (Facebook album of covers)
Wanda Sykes: "It's harder to be gay than black."
http://www.queerty.com/is-wanda-sykes-right-when-she-says-being-gay-is-harder-than-being-black-20110604/ (video)
http://www.theroot.com/buzz/wanda-sykes-its-harder-be-gay-black
http://racerelations.about.com/b/2011/06/04/wanda-sykes-says-its-harder-to-be-gay-than-black.htm
List of Comments from LBGT-themed blog, Queerty:
http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2009/03/queerty-transphobia-racism-and-white.html
How-to guide(?) on fighting racism in the LGBTQ+ Community:
http://lesbianlife.about.com/cs/workschool/ht/racism.htm
"Racism in the Gay Community and Homophobia in the Black Community: Negotiating the Black Male Experience" (77-page thesis)
http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-05222008-112356/unrestricted/ClarenceEBrownIII2008Thesis.pdf
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Insanity Defense: Psychopaths
How to spot a psychopath:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/21/jon-ronson-how-to-spot-a-psychopath
"I wondered if sometimes the difference between a psychopath in Broadmoor and a psychopath on Wall Street was the luck of being born into a stable, rich family."
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
7/5 Prisons
MU Student Center 2200
Workings of the U.S. Prison System:
The United States Prison System
http://library.thinkquest.org/06aug/00342/The%20Prison%20System.html
Summary of the Findings by the Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons
http://prisoncommission.org/pdfs/prison_commission_summary.pdf
Solitary Confinement and its Effects
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/03/30/090330fa_fact_gawande
Masked Racism
Disproportionate Incarceration of Young Black Women
SCOTUS Ruling on Overcrowding in CA Prisons
America’s Addiction to Incarceration
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-slovick/addicted-to-incarceration_b_868473.html
Conditions Vary between Lifers and Death Row Inmates
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11179/1156707-53.stm
Alternatives:
Problem-Solving Courts:
http://www.nadcp.org/learn/what-are-drug-courts/models/problem-solving-courts
Drug Courts:
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/campaign/166311-drug-courts-save-lives-tax-dollars
10 Alternatives:
http://www.forbes.com/2006/04/15/prison-justice-alternatives_cx_rd_06slate_0418alter.html
Norwegian Prison System
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1986002,00.html
Flogging?
http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2011/06/20/flogging_interview
Prison Vouchers
Saturday, June 25, 2011
6/28 Controversies in Art
MU Student Center 2200 (study rooms near traditions lounge)
Controversies in Art
Ethics of buying and selling art:
http://thegazette.com/2011/03/
http://www.jrank.org/history/
Cultural and jurisdictional ownership rights:
http://gogreece.about.com/od/
http://www.spiegel.de/
Gender and culture concerns:
http://msmagazine.com/blog/
http://paintingsgalleries.
The implications of forgeries:
http://www.archaeology.org/
http://www.spiegel.de/
What is Art?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
http://www.philosophytalk.org/
Friday, June 17, 2011
6/21 Drug Decriminalization
June 21st, 6:30pm, MU Student Center Traditions Lounge
There are a lot of articles here, so just read what you have time for. Try to balance the pro & con opinions to get both sides.
Commentary on the 40 year Anniversary of America's War on Drugs
Jimmy Carter
White House National Drug Control Policy
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
Tax and Fiscal Issues
Obama: Legalizing Pot Won't Grow Economy
Social Cost vs. Government Spending
Pro/Con
Central American Crime
America's Third World
Guatemala's State of Siege
Myths about Mexico's Drug War
Health
UN Backs Decriminalization
Portugal
Harmful Health Effects
US Policy
US Congressman Backs Marijuana Legalization
Don't Legalize Drugs
2011 Summer Update
A note on the format: SJRG is not a book club for two reasons. The first is cost, it gets expensive to require all the members to buy books. The second is sustainability. We can cut down on the environmental impact by passing along books after we read them. On that note... we're also doing book swaps this summer. Anytime you have a book you want to lend out, bring it to a meeting!
Meetings will be every Tuesday at 6:30pm, location TBD (but probably the MU Student Center).