What's An English Major To Do?
Every English major must, at some time and as a general rule, teach. Or go to law school. Or toil in marketing, F&B, or real estate. Call us cynical, or call us experienced. We taught at a boarding school in New England, which was a wonderful experience for many reasons. But teaching 11th graders, especially when we were barely 22 — well, not so much. In keeping with our academic stride, we check out The Atlantic’s report on Teach for America, and deconstruct a new book that examines Derrida’s “philosophy of disillusionment.” Naturally, we approve of literary reviews — those banners of university presses — but Mother Jones wonders if their day has passed. The Apple Tablet’s day has come. But has it already gone? Here’s more technology news: a collection of insulting right-wing PhotoShop images, fresh from Obama’s first year, is now percolating online. Yes, it’s good. And yes, it’s bad. And yes, it’s all on the syllabus. – Andrew Geer
– On August 25, 2008, two little boys walked into public elementary schools in Southeast Washington, D.C. Both boys were African American fifth-graders. The previous spring, both had tested below grade level in math. One walked into Kimball Elementary School and climbed the stairs to Mr. William Taylor’s math classroom, a tidy, powder-blue space in which neither the clocks nor most of the electrical outlets worked. — Teaching in The Atlantic
Derrida Will Deconstruct You
– In Who Was Jacques Derrida?, David Mikics provides a lucid, polemical intellectual biography of the French philosopher. He is also settling accounts. In the 1970s and 1980s, Derrida, who died six years ago at 73, was the most important and most polarizing figure in the humanities in America. — Derrida in The Tablet
– It’s inevitable. At a dinner party or on the sidelines of my son’s soccer game, someone well-meaning will ask what I do. “I edit the Virginia Quarterly Review,” I tell them. “It’s the literary magazine at the University of Virginia.” They nod politely, sometimes with the vaguest hint of recognition. — Literary Journals in Mother Jones
– Exactly one year ago today, Barack Hussein Obama stood in Washington, D.C and recited the oath of office. Ten minutes later, men and women across America immediately started ordering CD-ROM copies of Learn Adobe® Photoshop® with Video Professor. — Absurd Right-Wing PhotoShop in The Awl
– Fueling widespread speculation, Apple last week invited reporters to “come see our latest creation” but provided no other information. Pundits and analysts have guessed the gadget will feature a 10-inch touch-screen color display that’s designed for reading, watching video, browsing the Web and playing games. — Apple Tablet in The LA Times
Video: Steve Job Unveils the iPad
