Fall 2009 Discovery Topics

Here is your chance to post your discovery topic and get some feedback as a result. First, why does this topic interest you? Does your topic concern the nation as a whole, or is it more of a local issue? Briefly explain why you're exploring this issue or what you hope to gain an understanding of. Lastly, what might be your first discovery or research question?

Please write informally (i.e., in first-person) and know that this response may even be used as your initial paragraph for the discovery essay. (I'm actually encouraging this.)

A Contrary Perspective

Recently a colleague of mine told me that he is boycotting the Whole Foods Market chain because of the following editorial, which was written by John Mackey, the founder and CEO of Whole Foods: John Mackey: The Whole Foods Alternative to ObamaCare - WSJ.com

I found my colleague's reaction interesting, especially after I read or "perused" Mackey's article published in the Wall Street Journal.

I understand that my colleague has freewill, and he can certainly frequent any store or establishment he chooses. I am not arguing here that boycotting Whole Foods is wrong. (Personally, I find Whole Foods' prices to be too high.)

Nonetheless, do you think my colleague's reaction to the above article is fair? What are your thoughts on Mackey's editorial?

John Mackey later responded to the public outcry against his ideas on healthcare reform. Here is his blog response: The CEO’s Blog » Blog Archive » Health Care Reform – Full Article

Has your position on John Mackey's healthcare proposal changed any after reading his blog response?

Orwell's "Politics and the English Language"

Here is your chance to rant or rave (or express indifference) over what you've just analyzed. Is Orwell's essay effective/persuasive? What points will you focus on in your Textual Analysis essay to support your conclusion?

Discovery Topics

What is your initial topic of discovery, and why are you interested in this topic? What might be your first exploratory question?

If you've not settled yet upon one topic to discover, perhaps you're considering two or three topics. What are they?

What Would You Do?

This is an interesting case: Aged-out foster child faces possible homelessness - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com

What would you decide to solve this issue? Is the cost of caring for this young man too great? Is the cost even important in an issue such as this?

Your Perspective

What is your reaction to Orwell's essay? Please be specific of course, and read as well the responses of others.

What faults, if any, does Orwell's essay contain?

What are the especially positive aspects of his essay?

In the past, have you made some of the same mistakes Orwell points out? If so, which?

(Blog responses here are informal, so write freely.)

Language and You

I have a friend who recently moved to Chile.  He now speaks Spanish extremely well.  (I've always admired his vocabulary and ability to communicate.)   Certainly learning a new language is a struggle, but I think it's well worth the effort.  

At any rate, my friend believes that language (i.e., the ability to communicate with each other using words) is divine or given to us by God.  He contends, though, that speech and language are two different things: "language" is the actual thinking process, for we think in words and to a great degree experience our reality in word concepts.  Thus, for him learning another language is about 15% "translation" and the other 80% or so is learning how to think in the other tongue; the "speech" aspect is merely the verbal expression of this process.

What I'd like to see from everyone is a response about language (true language distinguishes us from the animals, so I'm not referring to monkeys or parrots being taught to imitate language) and how important it is our being.  Does language and speech, as it is defined above, determine who we are as individuals?  Where do we learn best to communicate and think?   Is it through reading literature, instruction in writing and rhetoric classes, our everyday dialogue with friends, etc.?  Perhaps we have an open window early on in our life to learn and acquire language skills, and if we don't access this "window," or if we don't exercise our skills while this window is open, we will not develop as well as we could/should.

I'd like your random thoughts.   I'm not picky to be sure.  Just respond before Sunday evening.