Atsushi Akera (STS Department)

IHSS-1970 Nature/SocietyVasudha Seminar

Reflective learning• What have we discussed?• What would you like to talk about?• What issues are outstanding?

1. ONE: A Lie? Is there a Choice?1. Is Ishmael saying we’re living a lie?2. Is it possible for us as human beings to live in the way Quinn suggests3. Hunter Gatherer society is passe; what’s the better solution?

2. TWO: What is the Solution?1. Should we try to live in the way that’s suggested in Ishmael

2. Where are we going as a society?3. What is our ideal?4. What should it be?

3. THREE: Let’s Act!1. What can we do to steer ourselves in the right direction

4. FOUR: Are We At an End?1. Have we crossed that point of no return?2. What happens when we do crash? What’s going to be the results?

5. FIVE: The Modern (Progressive) Alternative?1. Is there a lack of knowledge in “taker” culture (is this really true?)2. How long can taker culture sustain itself, and by what means?3. Is it better to have lived a million years as hunter-gatherers, or to burn

and crash (assuming that we do)?

(this is my guess)• (A) Addressing broader questions and concerns

associated with Ishmael• (B) Biblical Interpretations• (C) Connecting the field trips to the readings

[Transition Topic]• What makes for effective seminar

conversation?• [What’s the value of a lecture—and things in

between?]

Facts Understanding Interpretation Criticism Contextualization Analysis (& Critical Judgment)

What makes for effective seminar conversation?[What’s the value of a lecture—and things in between?]

DO-S DON’T-S

CREATING A SAFE SPACE FOR ALL OPINIONS Don’t name anyone by name Listen, don’t react

• Try to understand another person’s position• (You already know what you know)

Jot down your thoughts• Go in a circle

DO-S DON’T-S

1-minute writing assignments

Sitting in a circle; giving everyone a chance to speak (and HEAR)

Listening is as important as speaking.

Breaking into smaller groups; easier when there are fewer people you have to connect with.

Ask questions when you don’t understand;

Don’t discount people’s ideas before they’ve had everything they’ve had to say

Don’t interrupt In you’re debating, don’t fight

it too long; agree to disagree (otherwise you exclude others from moving on.)

Don’t be repetitive; You can expound, say you agree, but don’t say the same thing twice (Listen!)

DO-S DON’T-S

Open speaking (“friends” tradition)

Speaking circle Guided queries Small groups / reporting out Variants

• Questions• Quiz

Which did you find most effective and why?

… and things in between?

1. “With man gone will there be hope for gorilla?” What are the possible meanings of this?

2. Why is the teacher a gorilla? (What is the author’s purpose? What does this allow him to do?)

3. What could the tiger pacing in his cage represent? 4. What is the significance of “Goliath” leaving Africa to

become “civilized”? 5. What are the different meanings of “captivity” in Ishmael?

6. Why is his name Ishmael? 7. “Nazi Germany was held captive by its myths.” What

does this mean? 8. “Takers”, “Leavers”, “Mother Culture” These

are key terms in the book. Think about what they mean to “Nature and Society”.

9. Think about the last sentence on page 46: “We have no creation myth. That’s a certainty.”

1. What is “mother culture”, what is the “taker thunderbolt”.

2. What was fact and what was “myth” in the student’s creation story? Do facts and myths interact?

3. Discuss Sahlin’s essay “The Original Affluent Society” in terms of Leavers and Takers.

4. What are your thoughts on this statement by Ishmael?

• “There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with people. Given a story to enact that puts them in accord with the world, they will live in accord with the world. But given a story to enact that puts them at odds with the world, as yours does, they will live at odds with the world.”