With or Without Heels: steps in feminism

Though this post is primarily directed at my younger sister, the outlook on early examples of equality, specifically, gender equality, is still very relevant and I hope many of you will find it interesting. I do.

The first book I remember you loving is The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan. You've never been much of a reader, in fact, you always say you hate reading, but love learning. You loved this book, though. I'd like to inspire you to do a little bit more reading by providing you with some of my learning about topics we both love: feminism and equality.

I was studying the Enlightenment and periods of revolution in the 18th Century and was very frustrated by the lack of women mentioned. With some further research I stumbled on the life of Olympe de Gouge, political activist, feminist, and abolitionist. She wrote plays about and against slavery and various political pamphlets. Initially in support of the French Revolution, she became disenchanted when equal rights weren't given to women and she was eventually killed by the revolutionists for speaking out against their policies. She was part of feminist groups, wanted women to have an equal say in marriage, and had a huge influence on people who knew her. My favorite thing about her is that when the French National Constituents Assembly put forth the document The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, she responded by writing The Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen. She wrote of how women were able to be punished the same as men, yet had not the same rights by stating, "Women have the right to mount the scaffold, they must also have the right to mount the speaker's rostrum." You should read it. 

She reminded me of you, in a way. We were talking the other day about how neither of us likes to share our opinions, especially online, because we don't like conflict, but I've seen you post feminist memes and quotations with vehemence, so why not with things that aren't so safe?  I think we should try to be a little braver. I was proud of you for speaking your mind after the recent attack in Orlando. You are right. People shouldn't jump to defending their right to have guns when people are still in shock and suffering. No one is trying to take guns away, and let's not talk about it while people are just reacting to something terrible. Compassion should be our first move. I think de Gouge is a good example because she never backed down, and as a woman in that time period it was risky and not the norm. I'm not saying we should endanger ourselves (I certainly don't want to go to the guillotine, even if it is just figuratively), but wanting to honestly support a cause can only be done if we are willing to talk about it. I propose that when something is really important to us, we speak out, and if we're afraid, we'll speak out together. People will argue and disagree no matter what we do, especially on social media, so we may as well be honest with ourselves and authentic in our worlds.

What do you think? Is it worth it?

One teacher changes education and you won't believe what happens next...

Dear UninterestedStudent295, 

I too have been in your shoes. School can be the most boring thing in this world, where staring at the clock seems run your mind torturously through all of the things you could be and would rather be doing, yet the time drags on. However, I'm here to convince you that there's a homie who can change all of that: Gideon Burton. 
G-Burt for short.  

I'm serious when I say this man has got some ETHOS. Receiving a PhD in Rhetoric, Linguistics, and Literature from USC may mean nothing to you, so let me paint a picture:

A man sits in some picturesque giant
 dusty library probably looking exactly like this--> 
He then goes and reads every single book on ancient teaching methods IN. LATIN. and compiles the best, most effective way of teaching. 
Taking the great teachers and thinkers he goes ad fontes--back to the original sources, the methods, techniques and speeches that have proved the test of time and have worked. 

This man then takes what he learned and applies it to the way he teaches. You'll enroll in his class. 

He'll then require you to make a painstakingly detailed account of your time spent doing homework. Wait, what? Yes. It's hard, and at times annoying, but he'll open up your mind to different ways of researching. For one, you'll go to a museum, having just read all about not the artwork there, but the time period in which it came out of: what were the theories? What were people thinking? What were they talking about? You'll see those common, run of the mill paintings like Cranach's "Fall and Redemption of Man" in a whole new light because now you know that in the Renaissance the "what a piece of work is man" idea is revolutionary, and that in turn changes how you go to museums in the future. 

You'll be asked to go out of your way and start a conversation with someone about what you are learning. This is homework? Yes. And it's effective. You'll call up these friends, acquaintances, sometimes strangers and ask for their opinion on your research, sharing what you have learned as well, which in turn helps you more than them. One time you may even call up a neighbor you barely know, ask about a concept you are struggling with which happens to be her expertise, and have a very meaningful conversation which ends in tears and hugs and walk out with a brand new friend. 

You'll be asked to use sources other than Google and Youtube, and that will make you stretch, a lot. But you're asked to research a topic you actually care about, and that changes everything. You find out that there is a world beyond those two platforms that have taken over the world, and the information available becomes exciting, you look forward to researching, you look forward to homework--wait what? Yes. You look forward to homework because it's something you actually care about.

So when you're bored looking at the clock thinking it will never end in classes in the future, remember that it's all about how you approach your homework, find the element that excites you and take it and run. 

Your friend,

Jordan

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

Hello little brother!

I'm sure you've struggled as I have in finding relevance in school to your own personal world. A lot of the academic is boring and dry, and with the exciting and fast pace of the digital world we now live in, it's easy to think of such things as irrelevant to our lives. History in particular is easy to discount as irrelevant- who cares about what happened so long ago, when our times are so different from then anyways? It's easy to forget how we have all this technology in the first place.

Curiosity Killed the Cat, But It Also Discovered Gravity

To a student younger than myself:

I’m sure you know who Isaac Newton is. I saw his grave at Westminster Abbey a year ago on study abroad, and it seemed rather magnificent and forbidding. Father of modern physics and calculus, mathematical genius, honored as one of the most influential men of the modern period. All of that is true. Newton was a mathematical genius. He did revolutionize physics. And he is as influential as everyone says. But did he start out as a genius? How did he get there?  

It turns out that Cambridge, where Newton was studying, was shut down for two years because of an outbreak of the Black Plague and so he had lots of time to do whatever he wanted. In this time, he studied physics, optics, and mathematics. This is when he made one of his earlier discoveries: white light breaks into colors when it hits a prism. (So in addition to the theories of gravity and laws of motion, we also owe that one Pink Floyd album cover to Newton.)

Curious about seeing his handwriting and the way that Newton learned and made so many discoveries, I looked up some of his papers. Studying his early manuscripts, I found this delightful page. It has a picture of a snowflake and several differently shaped flowers. It was one of the cutest things I had ever seen. I do a lot of doodling myself, in my spare time, and I was surprised by two thins. One, Newton is not very good at drawing. Some of his flowers are a tad lopsided. Second, I couldn’t believe that the same wigged and stern-faced man that had created calculus had doodled some flowers into his notebook. I started reading through the pages, curious what had prompted these drawings. Was it boredom? Did he get tired of math and take a break?

It turns out that Newton came up with all of his theories not by simply imagining that it had to be true, but by carefully studying the world around him. He was intensely curious. Many of his early manuscript pages, like the one I found, are long detailed descriptions of how nature works. He describes the motion of mills, the petals of flowers, the fractal patterns of snowflakes, etc. It’s no surprise that he was inspired to consider gravity by an apple falling on his head.

I realized Newton wasn’t a stuffy old genius, locked in a cupboard furiously scribbling out first second and third derivatives. He was really in the world, enthralled by what he saw around him. He wanted to understand everything, from the movement of the sun to the wind in the grasses. As I read I was inspired and humbled. Reading those pages made me realize that Newton wasn’t successful because he was smart, he was successful because he was passionate and curious.

The momument above Newton's grave, by an artist quite
frankly much better than himself. 

And lucky for us, he wasn’t alone. Europe in the 1600s and 1700s was experiencing a flowering of curiosity, intellectual thought, philosophy, education, and discovery. Men, and a few women, across Europe started using curiosity and questions to figure out how the world works. Today we call this period the Enlightenment, because people applied their minds to bring greater light and knowledge into the world. The Enlightenment was a movement created by individuals who were driven to learn. These people provided the basis of modern science, law, mathematics, philosophy, economics, and political theory. If those topics seem boring to you, imagine life without your cell phone, without car engines, or without property rights. These were all ideas and discoveries that took place because someone, a few hundred years ago, was curious.

I stood in front of this monument a year ago, and my perspective on it has changed a lot. I used to see it as a monument to a man who was as grandiose as this suggests. Now I see the human being, curious about flowers, that is behind this greatness. He wasn't so different from me or my friends. So learn about the world. Study what’s happening. Ground everything in life and its experiences, and great things will come from that. 

Feminism is Weird.....

Dear Former Roommate who thought 'women's power' was a bad thing,

When people hear the term 'feminist' today, the images that come to mind are not always pleasant. It can be associated with un-shaved legs, angry women, and the belittlement of men. However, the term feminism has been around for longer than this and is something that should be celebrated. The women's suffrage movement was an era that changed the course of American history for the better.

The Industrial Revolution

Cass,

I hope all is well with you back at home. The purpose of this letter is not merely for casual written correspondence, but I feel that it is important that I inform you of the influence of a certain historically significant event has had on our contemporary society. In our day where we take technology for granted, mass production is a norm, and reasonable working conditions abide, I find it necessary to give historical precedent for these issues, all of which are rooted in the Industrial Revolution.

As you may know from your high school European and U.S. History courses, the Industrial Revolution was a 19th century phenomenon that gave rise to new technologies such as the steam engine, the cotton gin, the automobile, and several others. I have included a link to a timeline that I came across in my own study to illustrate the many different innovations that occurred during this time period. Bright minds combined with new advances in scientific discovery, which allowed for this surge of machinery to be integrated into 19th century society. When I learned about this time period during high school, I failed to see it in the grand scheme of things. I remembered names like Eli Whitney and Adam Smith and even certain inventions, but I did not comprehend the impact that this revolution had that pervades through our own day.

In my own personal study of the Industrial Revolution, I realized that this gave way to the rise of consumerism in our modern society. I myself have gotten caught in the trap of wanting to buy the next new thing, like the iPhone or X-Box game. I think this made me want to study the roots of the issue even more. I found that the ability to mass produce goods with machines and lower the cost of labor allowed individuals to have their own things like we do now. Also, because people were looking for more efficient ways to do things, this gave rise to the invention of computers and the advent of the Internet as a means of distributing information.

I also realized that, though we have made great progress in our society, some of the negative elements of the Industrial Revolution still exist today. In this article, Marton Jojarth critiques businesses that still provide unsafe working environments and require unnecessarily long shifts from their workers. Overall, however, we have made great strides as a nation to insure that the individual is treated with fairness.

It is my hope that as you learn more about the Industrial Revolution, you will recognize the contributions of intellectuals during that time period that make our digital society possible today. When you’re using your personal computer, work your part-time shift, or buy the latest trendy article of clothing, remember that all of these aspects of your life have been influenced by the innovations of the 19th century and the lessons learned as a result of industrialization.

Sincerely,

Ryan

Final Reflections: Mary Dias

Dear Grandchild,

I am writing this on June 15th, 2016. This November, the nation will select the next President of the United States. This political season has been one of much hearsay and, for many voters, who should be our next president is not a clear choice. The nation is divided on several issues and there seems to be no way to make a decision. As you are faced with deciding who your leaders will be, I encourage you to look to John F. Kennedy as an example of a leader who inspired those who followed and unified our nation.

John F. Kennedy (JFK) became President of the United States on January 20th, 1961.  In his inaugural speech, he spoke some of the most unifying and historically significant words of US history when he said "Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country". In that speech he also emphasized the importance of unity and brotherhood between the US and foreign countries.  His presidency reflected that same spirit of unity and patriotism as he lead the nation through the Space Race, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the continued fight against communism. He was loved by citizens of the United States. This was made very apparent at the nation's reaction to his assassination in Dallas, Texas on November 22nd, 1963. The country mourned his death and rallied around his family.  An extensive investigation was set to be carried out regarding his accused killer, but the killer was gunned down before the trial could begin. The country was outraged by the killer's death because it left the country without answers or justice.

JFK was so loved because of his patriotism, his integrity, and his moral commitment. As you analyze the credentials of potential presidential candidates and leaders of other sectors, look to men who have the qualities John F. Kennedy had. A patriot, a person of integrity, and person with a moral basis is the best kind of person to follow. Learn from history and choose your leaders wisely.

Sincerely,

Grandma Mary