Why Is Othello Black?

To us today, the word “black” carries with it a specific cluster of associations informed by history, culture, stereotypes, and literature. Othello may have started in conversation with Shakespeare’s definition of blackness, but today, he speaks with ours. A much more interesting question, really, is: Why is Othello black? Why did Shakespeare write a domestic…

Sparkle unicorn "Winston" lends ethos to a presentation on moral agency on animals.

Similar:Ignorance Meets an Invisible DisabilityI’m sure my young, healthy-looking frien…CultureSiblings gotta sib.PersonalPICT's production of Jane Eyre has its first preview tonight.PersonalAn important day to remember.Never again.PersonalMore Adventures in Suburban AdultingAbout four years ago I bought an electri…CultureMy theory: Trump was composing therapeutic poetry, and got stuck on the last line. Personal

One of my students is demonstrating the perceived value of brand-name vs no-name products. The Oreos are gone. She can't give away all the off- brand.

  Similar:Sharing a root beer float with your dad doesn't fix everything that's wrong in the world, …AestheticsOut & About: Stage Right holds its annual Heart of the Arts Gala Source: Out & About: Stage Right…CultureShe was a musical ingenue Sunday, filmed a slasher movie past midnight Monday, and was pre…DanceThe Fantasticks (Oct 18-27, Theatre…

Celebration of Writing — a big presentation day for freshman writing classes.

Similar:I had already created the little utility craft on the lower left, but this weekend I expan…PersonalShort-range #neovictorian excursion craft, now with glowing power orbs! Over the past year…https://youtu.be/-cJp-kelrL8  AestheticsSupport the arts in your community! @geyer_pac Hello Dolly!AmusingSnape is not amused at this year's Hogwarts Feast.PersonalSibling Affection and Paternal Abstraction as Drawn By a Six-Year-Old;…

Audisee Presents: The War of the Worlds

As new age synthesizer music, a rich baritone narrates: “Audisee presents: The War of the Worlds. The year is 2015 A.D. From the first launching into space, in 1961, to the establishment of a base on Jupiter this year, man has not encountered extraterrestrial life forms.” When I was about 10 or 11, I loved…

Amazing show. Young lovers, a witty (but often stupid) servant, speeches, rants, exaggerated "takes," and no villain at all, just misunderstanding upon misunderstanding.

  Similar:Above the Forward Ops conference platform we see the chief engineer's station and a glimps…AestheticsHaving a rough day. But in a span of about 24 hours, three former students reached out to …One former student said I’m the only adu…AcademiaI love my students enough to teach them the difference between passive voice and past…

Where is the tipping point?

What if universities stopped buying academic journals, and put the money towards hiring editors who helped their faculty publish their scholarship in their own free, open-source journals? I don’t know how much labour goes into running a prestigious journal, but let’s say all the universities that really need those specialised mathematics journals sat down and…

Most Christians don’t actually care about Starbucks cups. Here’s what we do know.

No Christians in my social media feed care about the design of that cup. Lots of people in my social media feed have reposted stories critical of the silly Christians who get all worked up about the design of the cup. Full disclosure: I don’t drink coffee. [C]ontrary to a few breathless media reports, most Christians…

Reading should not carry a health warning

Similar:Where the press is free, and every man able to read, all is safe. —Thomas JeffersonEducationMaking Interactive Fiction Mainstream: ReadersJon Ingold describes the gamelike storyt…AestheticsDestroying trust in the media, science, and government has left America vulnerable to disa…From The Brookings Institution (non-prof…CultureLet's talk about AI art (long, scrollworthy post from The Oatmeal)https://theoatmeal.com/comics/ai_artAestheticsSomewhere out there, somebody…

Hanging with the rude mechanicals @setonhilluniversity

A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Similar:Busy NYC Restaurant Solves Major Mystery by Reviewing Old Surveillance Restaurant studies surveillance foot…BusinessThe Left has a post-truth problem too. It's called comedy.As I gear up to teach about memes and fa…CultureLiving Room PhysicsI’ve blogged before about my eight-year-…EducationSocrates envisaged a time when we would forget how to remember.From Daisy Dunn’s…

Surprise: Humanities Degrees Provide Great Return On Investment

The conventional wisdom is that humanities majors are wasting all that tuition money and dooming themselves to lives of underemployment. The conventional wisdom is wrong. Humanities degrees are actually worth well more than the cost of college. […] The present value of the extra earnings that graduates in humanities majors can expect over their lifetime…

Seton Hill takes on Shakespeare’s ‘Dream’

Students in my Shakespeare class will be attending this play. Student actors at Seton Hill University are off on a journey through one of William Shakespeare’s most popular romantic comedies, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Not even the writing style of the Bard — sometimes difficult to master for those new to the playwright’s poetic verse…