story telling

 The neurobiology of color perception has long been a subject of interest both in the scientific community and in popular culture. Color perception varies widely from individual to individual, though it is difficult to characterize and quantify those differences. The effects of color on the function of the nervous system other than those related to vision, such as its effects on emotion, also remain elusive despite ongoing research. In his book Shades of Grey, Jasper Fforde takes the complexities of color perception and stretches them to their extremes. The novel, set in a vague semi-apocalyptic future, is unique in that the society it depicts is built entirely around the differences in its individuals’ color perception. At first, this seems absurdly

At the beginning of this semester in House of Wits, I was amazed by how struck I was by Alice James’ diary. I immediately felt an inexplicable affinity with Alice, her commonplace book-cum-diary, and her infectious use of language. It was one of the first times that I explicitly recall feeling such camaraderie with an author, let alone one who penned her only published work (excluding her letters) nearly 120 years ago.

Vigil

The Death (or Life) of Alice James

By Arielle Seidman

April 29, 2010

House of Wits

Cast of Characters

ALICE – A dying diarist, who has spent most of her life in bed.

HENRY – Her brother, an unmarried novelist.

WILLIAM – Their brother, a conflicted philosopher, and teacher.

AUTHOR’S DISCLAIMER

It’s another depressing piece. I apologize. Next time, I’ll give you an example of my comedic writing. That stuff is much better.

(page under construction - sorry, had to remove the images due to copyright issues; that's what I get for asking permission!)

Brought to you by The Slippery Brain Sodality

What to do with William James?  His writings on psychology formed the primary textbook for that discipline.  The school of philosophy he developed, pragmatism appeals to philosophers and scientists alike.  Jacques Barzun identifies him as an American hero.  So it would seem that the works of William James have been assimilated into American culture and intellectual life.  If this is true, then what is the point of reading his original writings?  Or why should one use “The Writings of William James: A Comprehensive

Preface and Explanation

The following paper originally included photographs of pages from Marjane Sartrapi’s graphic novel “Persepolis.” I used these images to demonstrate my points to the reader. Upon glancing over the images, however, it occurred to me that I might make an even more effective point by attempting to describe the images in prose, rather than to demonstrate them in their original form.

For this project, I took one of what Gertrude Stein calls her “plays,” and considered what would happen if I were to try to stage and direct it. After reading through it, I attempted to break it down into characters, lines, and to imagine a setting in which it would logically take place.

But first, let’s look at “Captain Walter Arnold” just the way Gertrude Stein wrote it, without any additional directions from me.

Captain Walter Arnold

By Gertrude Stein

Do you mean to please me.

I do.

Do you have any doubt of the value of food and water.

I have not.

Can you recollect any example of easy repetition.