I wanted us to have class in Rock common room because we had not met there before and because it is a space I enjoy studying in. I think the common room was a good place for discussion. I like how the common room has a sliding wall that separates the larger room into two and how we were able to use that to our advantage by using the smaller room and mostly closing off the other room. Having a smaller enclosed space that was just big enough for the whole class made it easier for people to hear each other speak as well. There are also a lot of comfortable chairs in the common room, which I think helps create a more comfortable atmosphere that goes along well with the comfort we've developed with each other as a class. 

When I chose Taft Garden, I wanted to choose somewhere that we hadn't met, which was difficult at this point in the semester. We have gone to many of the common rooms and other public spaces that haven't required permission to use. However, when I was writing the email telling you all to go to Taft Garden, I remembered it was the first stop (after TGH) on the Black at Bryn Mawr tour. That tour generated a lot of criticism and negative feelings about how it was constructed/focused, so after inviting you all to Taft Garden, I thought maybe being there, our class could reclaim the space. It would no longer be M.

For my shaping the silence activity, I decided to introduce the class to some yogic breathing. To give some background, I first learned yogic breathing when I was about nine or ten years old, from my grandfather. I was a rather anxious kid and my grandpa was convinced that learning controlled breathing would be really beneficial to me. He was right; it's a tactic that I use even now to help control my stress, focus, and center me. 

I began by telling the class to sit up straight to allow full breaths and place both feet on the floor. Hands could go on laps, or on the table; whichever was most comfortable. We did two different versions of yogic breathing:

Sitali Pranayama

Upon reading Elizabeth Kolbert's profile of Van Jones and his philosophies and plans in regards to the archaic climate crisis, we wonder if perhaps his plans could have been effective in slowing the collapse of Western Civilization .Jones is right- the problems created by climate change is a long walk. But his approach to how the government could have aided the climate crisis take ACTION, directly and in small measures, so the general feeling is not one of dispair and cynicism is less likely to infect the society of the time.

I.

Our discussion of the Paris attacks engaged a number of important topics. I noted the following:

Van Jones,

Howdy all. Here are some readings that I would suggest (all of which, I should not, come recommended by my good friend Laura Grattan with the exception of the Coates essay on reparations). Please add your own suggestions as comments.

            Earlier this year, I had the privilege of visiting the National September 11^th Memorial. The museum opened in late 2011, and is built on the World Trade Center site, the former location of the Twin Towers, which were destroyed during the September 11^th attacks. The museum architects strove to preserve what was remaining of the wreckage after 9/11, and many of the original architectural structure of the building, such as the survivor staircase, are still remaining. Central to the museum was an enormous exhibition art piece shaped like a cube, with another inner cube. When entering, visitors can see, projected on the vast walls, the faces of the almost 3,000 who died.

While reading Personal Politics by Sara Evans, I was immediately struck by the liberal use of the term “women”. Throughout the book, although intersections of gender and class and race are acknowledged at time, Evans speaks of “women” as if there is a shared experience of women in the U.S. My understanding of modern mainstream feminism is that it’s very exclusionary and focused mostly on upper/middle class white women and does not often consider the needs of a majority of women in the U.S. I believe that the specificity of the women’s liberation movement of the late 20th century directly informs mainstream feminism in the United States today.

From “Mammy” to “Mama”:

Black Female Service Before, During and After the Civil Rights Movement