Cohen Course Notes

"'Honey I know how you feel.'

She elbowed him aside. No, she thought. You don't. She broke the eggs one by one into a bowl, beat them, and lit a fire under the skillet. That was the problem. He didn't know how she felt at all." (Ozeki 207)

"'Listen,' he said, 'I'm really sorry…'

'Yeah well I'm sorry, too… I'm sorry you had to flake out on me. Are those ready to go?'

Geek nodded.

I looked down at the spindly shoots, grown from Momoko's seed. Cucurbita pepo. Warted gourds. I carred them out into the sun to harden." (Ozeki 234)

In the context of the relations between Dill and other characters, how is Dill’s identity represented and explored throughout the novel?

Tolerance without labels

At the gardens we visited I could really see the contact zones that emerged from the contact the African and Puerto Rican communities made with both each other and with the communities of the United States. The beautiful and expressive murals really expressed the past and determination of the ancestors who created this contact zone.

In the context of the relations between Dill and other characters, how is Dill’s identity represented and explored throughout the novel?

Exploring Identity without Labels

I thought that this book was very interesting. I especially enjoyed the complex relations all the characters had with each other. This was especially so with the relationships between Dill, Billy, and Willa Mae. These relations were even more intriguing because of the pseudo family relationship of father, daughter, and mother that these three had. The love-hate relationship between all of these three created a complicated story with very complicated characters.

For the project of analyzing contact zones in the context of Bryn Mawrs history, I would like to focus on the college's past with LGBQIA+ members. I know that President Thomas was a lesbian, and that in itself was a progressive stance during her time, but I would like to know more of the details. Was she out during her time as president? Did she give leeway to other lesbian students? Also, who were the first students who identifies outside the standard "straight cis female" role? When did the college start accepting such students and did they go through the same struggles as the first Black students? How did the college deal with a student who decided to begin their transition during school?

Slipping through the Lens of Bloodchild

              In Butler’s Bloodchild, slippage was utilized as a method in which unspoken species-specific values were revealed to the audience. Slippage allowed the readers to witness a side of both species that was not directly indicated, and furthermore showed how corrosive the shown interspecies relationship was. Slippage also revealed a disturbing truth about those who were caught between the vastly different beliefs held between differing species. In all, the different types of slippage in Bloodchild exposed an underlying message about the dangerous nature of forcing different cultures to merge in order to hasten progress.

As we seen in many of the readings, there are quite a few issues that result from play. For one, adventurous and dangerous play may promote the continuation of dangerous/ illegal actions. This is especially in the case of young teens who are very attracted to this type of rebellious play. While going out of one's boundaries is important, encouraging actions that may be detrimental to one's self and/ or society is not something to take lightly.

Drifting away from play in humans, play can also be problematic and a bit confounding in animals. Play in animals often leads to the death of the young, due to some risk taking action. This is another example of how play can be problematic. 

Playing for the Identity

              Play is a concept that is deeply influenced by the individual and is vital to the development of not only the individual, but to society as well. Currently, there seems to be a large misconception that play applies only to children and is unnecessary. However, there is a deeper importance to play; an importance that cannot acknowledged without looking deeper into the interworking of play itself.

As a child, play could be practically anything. However, I explicitly remember how my imagination would always play a large role in my "play." Whether it be playing with polly-pockets, pretending to be mermaids, or hosting a fake car wash with miniature cars, I've always used my imagination to the fullest.