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But how do you FEEL about that....

Posted by Katherine Swanson

First of all I would like to apologize for the lack of posting for the past few weeks. I got back from thanksgiving and then it was finals and then it was break and then classes started and I have felt uninspired. I’m sure you all understand. Anyways, let’s get on with it.

I read this article a few weeks ago about how the teachings of Sigmund Freud are taught in universities, but not in psychology classrooms. Humanities class, popular culture, and modern literature openly discuss Freud’s theories but psychology departments distance themselves from psychoanalysis. Apparently psychologists find him to be, “sexist, fraudulent, unscientific, and just plain wrong”. While “fraudulent” might be pushing it, ‘unscientific” is just fine by me.

I was first introduced to Mr. Freud my senior year of high school. Of course this introduction did not take place in a psychology class, but in an English class titled “Literature and Psychology”. Ms. Birdwell introduced our class to ... more »

Posted: February 10, 2008 5:25 pm | 0 comments
Tags: freud, New York Times, psychology, Science

Literacy

Posted by Katherine Swanson

Written for AST 313. Hope you enjoy this...

Sometimes the most important history lessons are hidden by teachers, school system, and history books. It being Black History Month, what better time is there to explore the hidden history of the Black struggle for literacy in the United States? While African Americans have been through many struggles in this country, none has been more taxing than the struggle for literacy. It is a history which has been internalized by those that fought for it. From slavery through the Civil War and beyond, literacy has had a unique meaning for Black Americans. A meaning perfectly summed up by Fredrick Douglass, one of the great literate men of the 19th century, when he discovered and first understood the importance of literacy. He spoke these words, “I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom” (Douglass, Narrative of the life of Fredrick Douglass, 34), and they have been repeated many times over by others that toiled for the right to read and hav ... more »

Posted: February 27, 2008 11:08 pm | 0 comments
Tags: african american, history, literacy, opinion