In my Western Civilization course, students and I discuss the biblical books of Genesis, Job, and Mark in several meetings of the course. We do this in order to examine what life was like living in the Ancient Near East
When I was younger, if I wanted to learn a fact I went to the encyclopedia. Of course it was a huge collection and only if you were fortunate did you have any in your house. But for school assignments I
It’s the first week of classes and it’s during this time that I attempt to sell my kids on philosophy. I want them to know what philosophy is and what philosophers do way before we actually get deep into material.
In my Philosophy 62 course my students and I have been reading out of Michael Sandel’s Justice. We have started the semester off discussing moral theories. I explained to my students, according to Sandel, that usually when we engage in
Well its Monday. There is no better way to start the week off than with some intellectual goodies about race, sex, and politics. In the Guardian there is a good chunk of a chapter of Faramerz Dabhoiwala’s book on the first
Ever wish you took that philosophy course in college? Ever wonder exactly what philosophy really is?? Thanks to the internet you can take a philosophy course at institutions like Harvard and MIT for Free!!! Now you will not get a
Today atheists and theists are always disagreeing. One believes in the truth of the divine the other think its ridiculous. One thinks the world is better because of religion the other thinks the opposite. Common ground has not been a
Well today is my first day of class for the spring semester. With every semester comes the opportunity to try new things and also to improve on the old. As a person who uses digital media in the classroom, I
If you look within American culture you will agree that greed and self-interest dominate our way of living. Greed echos in our music and on our TVs. It’s on 5th Avenue and on Wall Street. It seems that the American
In 2005, then U.S. Senator Rick Santorum compared gay marrage to “man on child, man on dog or whatever the case may be.” It seems that Santorum is still on a roll with his logic that suggest that the acceptance
I really enoyed this episode of Left of Black!!! Here Mark Anthony Neil talks to Eddie Glaude Professor of Religion and African American Stides and chair of the Center for African American Studies at Princeton University about the state of
Governor Rick Perry, Congresswoman Michelle Bachman, and Entrepreneur Herman Cain all said that God had told them to run for President. Recently, Pat Robertson announced that God had told him who the next president will be and also gave him
For those that know me, they are aware that I am in a season of bliss right now. On December 25th, the NBA basketball season began. Oh goodness, I’m smiling as we speak. I should be, my Miami Heat won
We can spend days talking about what is racism. If its merely an attitude, discriminatory and restricting actions based on race or if its direct or indirect disrespect of another’s ethnicity? I know words are powerful and although I don’t
I’m loving these videos from I’m Feminist Enough, a project created by Shannon Washington. In it, black women who consider themselves feminists, give us their mantras and their life codes. To me, feminism is realizing that women have value and
These last few weeks so much has happened among women and it is nothing to celebrate. From the Egyptian woman getting beaten by the military to Rihanna being called a racist and sexist epithet, women are catching hell and have
MUST READ ARTICLES OF THE WEEK Stephen Marche: Esquire We are Not All Created Equal Louise Antony: New York Times Good Minus God Zaheer Ali: The Root What About Poor White Kids H. Samy Alim: New York Times What if
Below is a comic and more funny version of Nozik’s “Utility Monster”. It’s one of several thought experiments used by Nozick to critique hedonism as a value and the ethical normative theory of utilitarianism. If utilitarianism is concerned with maximizing
Its the end of the semester officially. I gave my last exam yesterday and now its time to relax. But before I do, I thought I’ll snark with the video above. Students I love you but this is very funny.
Ron Paul is leading the pack in Iowa. Yes Im surprised as well. The Libertarian may have a chance. But when you are in the lead, look out because your past will come to haunt you or at least be
The people at Colorlines did a cool job documenting this year in race in America. They highlight Troy Davis, Occupy Wall Street, Illegal Immigration Issue, the entrepreneurial success of the likes of Oprah and Tyler Perry, students taking a stand
After procrastinating so many times about going to the limited theaters here in New York City to see the documentary and then being disappointed to find out that it was no longer showing, a victory for me has finally arrived.
In this episode of Left of Black, Professor Mark Anthony Neil talks with Sociologist, Professor Karolyn Tyson and Journalist, Ytasha Womack about the “acting white” myth and Post Black Era Identity Formation. Pretty interesting discussion. What do you think??
A few days ago, Essayist, Provocateur,and Atheist, Christopher Hitchens, died from cancer. I believe that his voice was powerful. If you didn’t agree with him, at least there is no doubt that he made you think or at least want
Feminist Jessica Valenti takes a look at what she calls the virginity movement: an effort to keep young girls dedicated to abstinence. Sounds alright doesn’t it? Well according to Valenti this purity movement is doing several things: 1) brainwashing young
This video reminds me of the time that I spenT working with formerly incarcerated and adjudicated adults and young people. For 11 weeks at a time, I introduced students to Philosophy(ethics and free will and determinism specifically) with the help