This is your sixth and final blog assignment. In the previous five, I have given you a strictly defined and delimited topic to write about; this time, however, I am giving you a carte blanche. You may write about your topic of choice, provided that your texts are coherent, focused, and structured.
The deadline for this assignment is Sunday, 24 May.
Monday 18 May 2009
Sunday 10 May 2009
Blog Assignment #5: Big Brother Is Watching You
In his dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell describes a totalitarian society in which a menacing Ministry of Truth, headed by the mysterious ‘Big Brother’, subjects all citizens to non-stop surveillance and thought control. Nineteen Eighty-Four has been immensely influential ever since its release a few years after the Second World War, and phrases like ‘Big Brother’ and ‘Orwellian society’ are used in the post-9/11 debate on the rights of the individual v/s national security.
On the one hand, many people oppose the attempts made by governments of Western countries to squash terrorism by subjecting their citizens to surveillance which greatly diminishes the freedom and personal privacy that we have come to take for granted. What is the point of defending democracy, one might ask, if our struggle to preserve it is ultimately going to destroy it?
On the other hand, supporters of the new stringent security measures argue that freedom and personal privacy is no good to you if you are dead, and that honest and law-abiding citizens have nothing to fear from surveillance and crime control. On this view, we must face reality and accept that terrorism is a much bigger threat to our personal freedom than a few cameras and monitored e-mail.
In your fifth blog, I would like to read your thoughts on this issue. What is good and bad about restricting the freedom of a democratic country in order to preserve democracy itself? Perhaps you have experiences of your own that you would like to share, or maybe you would like to argue that this is a non-issue.
The deadline for this assignment is Sunday, 17 May.
On the one hand, many people oppose the attempts made by governments of Western countries to squash terrorism by subjecting their citizens to surveillance which greatly diminishes the freedom and personal privacy that we have come to take for granted. What is the point of defending democracy, one might ask, if our struggle to preserve it is ultimately going to destroy it?
On the other hand, supporters of the new stringent security measures argue that freedom and personal privacy is no good to you if you are dead, and that honest and law-abiding citizens have nothing to fear from surveillance and crime control. On this view, we must face reality and accept that terrorism is a much bigger threat to our personal freedom than a few cameras and monitored e-mail.
In your fifth blog, I would like to read your thoughts on this issue. What is good and bad about restricting the freedom of a democratic country in order to preserve democracy itself? Perhaps you have experiences of your own that you would like to share, or maybe you would like to argue that this is a non-issue.
The deadline for this assignment is Sunday, 17 May.
Monday 4 May 2009
Blog Assignment #4: Grades
After 12 years of Social Democrat rule, the general election of 2006 gave Sweden a new government: the Centre-Right Alliance. Since then, the new government has introduced changes in many areas, including taxation, social security, defence, and education. One major reform that has attracted much media attention is the educational reform, especially the introduction of grades in primary school. Previously, Swedish school children did not receive grades until 8th grade—at the age of 14. In comparison with other European countries, this is remarkably late. Now, however, school children will receive grades in 6th grade, and schools may choose to give parents written reports of their children’s academic progress as early as in 1st grade. The proposal has not met with universal approval, though.
The supporters of this reform argue that parents have the right to be informed and that a laissez-faire attitude does not benefit the child. On this view, a child who does not receive sufficient feedback on their academic development and achievements is consequently often deprived of the necessary help and support while still young enough to benefit from it. However, if you catch the problems early, you can fix the problems early.
On the other hand, many people argue that children should be allowed to be children as long as possible. There is surely enough pressure on young people nowadays, the argument goes, without adding the extra burden of being graded on academic performance. Children’s sense of self is often connected to their achievements, and a child who learns early on that he or she does not perform adequately may never break free of that negative self-image. Is that really the legacy we want to leave our children?
The issue is complex but the ideology behind it is fairly simple—do grades build you up, or do they break you down? I would like to know where you stand on this issue. In your fourth blog assignment, I want you to argue for or against the grading of children in primary school. Give reasons, acknowledge any relevant counter-arguments and try to refute them—in short, try to write an argumentative text following all the guidelines we’ve discussed.
The deadline for this assignment is Sunday, 10 May.
The supporters of this reform argue that parents have the right to be informed and that a laissez-faire attitude does not benefit the child. On this view, a child who does not receive sufficient feedback on their academic development and achievements is consequently often deprived of the necessary help and support while still young enough to benefit from it. However, if you catch the problems early, you can fix the problems early.
On the other hand, many people argue that children should be allowed to be children as long as possible. There is surely enough pressure on young people nowadays, the argument goes, without adding the extra burden of being graded on academic performance. Children’s sense of self is often connected to their achievements, and a child who learns early on that he or she does not perform adequately may never break free of that negative self-image. Is that really the legacy we want to leave our children?
The issue is complex but the ideology behind it is fairly simple—do grades build you up, or do they break you down? I would like to know where you stand on this issue. In your fourth blog assignment, I want you to argue for or against the grading of children in primary school. Give reasons, acknowledge any relevant counter-arguments and try to refute them—in short, try to write an argumentative text following all the guidelines we’ve discussed.
The deadline for this assignment is Sunday, 10 May.
Monday 27 April 2009
Blog Assignment #3: Climate Change
Climate change has been on the world’s political agenda for at least fifty years—ever since scientist Gordon Dobson first began to measure carbon emissions back in 1956. If one disregards various alarmist exaggerations, the situation has been more or less clear from the start and the solution has been self-evident. However, the message has been remarkably slow in coming across.
This slowness manifests itself in many ways: despite overwhelming scientific consensus, the world continues to act as if climate awareness is just another trend—here today, gone tomorrow. Factories continue to spew out pollutions, politicians continue to discredit scientists and research projects on climate change, and ordinary people continue to turn a blind eye while consumer frenzy continues to spin out of control. Books, CDs, DVDs, MP3 players, iPods, clothes, shoes, accessories, cars, stereo decks, boats, houses, vacations… The list is endless. In the end, our desire to keep up with the Joneses might well be the end of the very lifestyle we seek to perpetuate.
In the meantime, who is to blame for this late awakening? Some travellers interviewed at an airport a few months ago said that they ‘booked this flight a year ago—long before the climate started changing’. This level of ignorance, whether self-imposed or otherwise, is perhaps not surprising. But where does it come from? Your third blog assignment is to try to explain why you think this realisation has been so slow in coming.
The deadline for this assignment is Sunday, 03 May.
This slowness manifests itself in many ways: despite overwhelming scientific consensus, the world continues to act as if climate awareness is just another trend—here today, gone tomorrow. Factories continue to spew out pollutions, politicians continue to discredit scientists and research projects on climate change, and ordinary people continue to turn a blind eye while consumer frenzy continues to spin out of control. Books, CDs, DVDs, MP3 players, iPods, clothes, shoes, accessories, cars, stereo decks, boats, houses, vacations… The list is endless. In the end, our desire to keep up with the Joneses might well be the end of the very lifestyle we seek to perpetuate.
In the meantime, who is to blame for this late awakening? Some travellers interviewed at an airport a few months ago said that they ‘booked this flight a year ago—long before the climate started changing’. This level of ignorance, whether self-imposed or otherwise, is perhaps not surprising. But where does it come from? Your third blog assignment is to try to explain why you think this realisation has been so slow in coming.
The deadline for this assignment is Sunday, 03 May.
Tuesday 14 April 2009
Blog Assignment #2: The Fascination of a TV series
Ever since TV made its way into people’s homes in the 1950s, it has become an increasingly dominant part of our lives—especially American TV series. Many people have a favourite series that they follow and a majority of those series, like it or not, are American, and their impact on Sweden and Swedish popular culture has been monumental.
One such TV phenomenon was Dallas. In the 80’s and early 90’s, this was one of the most talked-about TV series in Sweden and even people who didn’t follow it knew who the scheming J.R. was. This was the series that had it all: money and power, intrigue and whiskey, love and revenge, cowboy-hats and outrageous outfits… You name it—Dallas had it. Perhaps its appeal was partly due to the relative novelty and scarcity of American light-weight entertainment in Sweden. With only two channels to choose from, both of them public-service, frivolous TV series were fairly thin on the ground.
Today, however, the flood of American soaps, sitcoms and reality shows in Sweden is endless, and very few reach that almost universal appeal that Dallas had. Perhaps that is because, instead of having merely two state-owned TV channels, many people have several commercial channels as well and no longer have to wait a whole week for their next fix of American light-weight entertainment. More often than not, the supply far outweighs the demand. Viewers today can choose between Prison Break, 24, Grey’s Anatomy, CSI New York, Desperate Housewives, The Simpsons, Big Brother, E.R., America’s Next Top Model... plus all the re-runs, of course.
Personally, I am a die-hard fan of 24, that action-packed, heart-stopping, never-ending cliff-hanger in which CTU agent Jack Bauer chases bad guys across LA. I have always loved action films just as much as I have loved high-brow BBC historical dramas and Astrid Lindgren-style children’s series, and I think I always will. There is something quite alluring about losing yourself in a full-speed action thriller which does not require as much mental processing as, say, a dramatisation of Dickens’s Bleak House. But what about you? For your second blog assignment, I would like you to tell me what it is about your favourite TV series that makes you love it—or perhaps why you shun TV altogether.
The deadline for this assignment is Sunday, 26 April.
One such TV phenomenon was Dallas. In the 80’s and early 90’s, this was one of the most talked-about TV series in Sweden and even people who didn’t follow it knew who the scheming J.R. was. This was the series that had it all: money and power, intrigue and whiskey, love and revenge, cowboy-hats and outrageous outfits… You name it—Dallas had it. Perhaps its appeal was partly due to the relative novelty and scarcity of American light-weight entertainment in Sweden. With only two channels to choose from, both of them public-service, frivolous TV series were fairly thin on the ground.
Today, however, the flood of American soaps, sitcoms and reality shows in Sweden is endless, and very few reach that almost universal appeal that Dallas had. Perhaps that is because, instead of having merely two state-owned TV channels, many people have several commercial channels as well and no longer have to wait a whole week for their next fix of American light-weight entertainment. More often than not, the supply far outweighs the demand. Viewers today can choose between Prison Break, 24, Grey’s Anatomy, CSI New York, Desperate Housewives, The Simpsons, Big Brother, E.R., America’s Next Top Model... plus all the re-runs, of course.
Personally, I am a die-hard fan of 24, that action-packed, heart-stopping, never-ending cliff-hanger in which CTU agent Jack Bauer chases bad guys across LA. I have always loved action films just as much as I have loved high-brow BBC historical dramas and Astrid Lindgren-style children’s series, and I think I always will. There is something quite alluring about losing yourself in a full-speed action thriller which does not require as much mental processing as, say, a dramatisation of Dickens’s Bleak House. But what about you? For your second blog assignment, I would like you to tell me what it is about your favourite TV series that makes you love it—or perhaps why you shun TV altogether.
The deadline for this assignment is Sunday, 26 April.
Monday 23 March 2009
Blog Assignment #1: Childhood Memories
Growing up greatly affects our personal attitudes and ideas. We form our world-view on the basis of what we have seen and experienced. As a result, we often grow up with a very firm opinion of what children need and what is good for them.
As for me, my attitudes and opinions reflect my own roots in the nineteen seventies and eighties. When I see young children of today play computer games, I reminisce about the very first TV game I ever saw, but I also shake my head a bit and wish the youth of today could be a bit more like the youth of yesterday. I feel that children don’t do enough playing or fishing or running around anymore—like most people, I’ve fallen into the trap of thinking nothing is right unless it is the way I’m used to. As a result, I have turned into my own grandmother. Any day now, I will start wagging my finger at innocent schoolchildren and I will say things like “When I was your age, I had to walk three kilometres through the snow to get to school, and when I got there we worked our fingers to the bone!”
Of course, things were not always better in the olden days; still, I must admit there are things I would like to preserve for future generations. I feel that, on the whole, our generation had a healthier lifestyle than children of today—there was less TV time and more exercise, less sugar and more sit-down family dinners. On the other hand, maybe there was also more boredom.
All of you will have your own personal views of what is good and bad for children. For your very first blog assignment, I would like you to tell me what experiences you would like the children of the world to have as they grow up. What is the most important thing for a child? What are the responsibilities of the adult world?
The deadline for this assignment is Sunday, 12 April.
As for me, my attitudes and opinions reflect my own roots in the nineteen seventies and eighties. When I see young children of today play computer games, I reminisce about the very first TV game I ever saw, but I also shake my head a bit and wish the youth of today could be a bit more like the youth of yesterday. I feel that children don’t do enough playing or fishing or running around anymore—like most people, I’ve fallen into the trap of thinking nothing is right unless it is the way I’m used to. As a result, I have turned into my own grandmother. Any day now, I will start wagging my finger at innocent schoolchildren and I will say things like “When I was your age, I had to walk three kilometres through the snow to get to school, and when I got there we worked our fingers to the bone!”
Of course, things were not always better in the olden days; still, I must admit there are things I would like to preserve for future generations. I feel that, on the whole, our generation had a healthier lifestyle than children of today—there was less TV time and more exercise, less sugar and more sit-down family dinners. On the other hand, maybe there was also more boredom.
All of you will have your own personal views of what is good and bad for children. For your very first blog assignment, I would like you to tell me what experiences you would like the children of the world to have as they grow up. What is the most important thing for a child? What are the responsibilities of the adult world?
The deadline for this assignment is Sunday, 12 April.
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