Hello Minions:
We'll be doing our artistic observations in the Cullen Sculpture Garden next Thursday, March 3. Instead of meeting in our classroom, we'll meet at the garden. It opens at 9:00am, but I'll be there at the normal start time. Be ready to sign in and get started. Keep an eye out for a map next week. Here's the address:
1000 Bissonnet St (Montrose Boulevard), 77005
Sincerely,
The Master of the Universe
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Prepare for next discussion...
Indigenous Ecuadoran woman humbles US oil giant
by Valeria Pacheco Valeria Pacheco Wed Feb 23, 9:09 am ET
RUMIPAMBA, Ecuador (AFP) – She has no legal training, and doesn't speak the Spanish that dominates government in Quito but indigenous villager Maria Aguinda helped bring a landmark judgment against US oil giant Chevron for polluting the rain forest she calls home.
The diminutive grandmother whose modest home sits near marshes clogged for decades in sticky oil has been at the heart of the David-and-Goliath case, and spoke out after Chevron was slapped last week with a $9.5-billion fine, among the heaviest ever handed down for environmental damage.
"Before I die they have to pay me for the dead animals, and for what they did to the river, and the water and the earth," the 61-year-old Aguinda told AFP at her home in Rumipamba, a town in remote Orellana province where pollution caused by 30 years of oil drilling and petroleum accidents had become a sad fact of life.
Texaco operated in the area between 1964 and 1990, and was bought in 2001 by Chevron, which inherited Texaco's legal nightmare.
"The demand (for compensation) is going on track," said the ethnic Quechua woman, pointing to a nearby spot marked by spillage from an oil well run by Texaco in the 1970s.
"Mary Aguinda et al" are the opening words of the suit launched in 1993 on behalf of 30,000 residents of Orellana and Sucumbios provinces, in which they charge Texaco dumped billions of gallons of toxic crude during its operations, fouling rivers, lakes and soil and causing cancer deaths in indigenous communities.
Aguinda said she believes her husband and two of his 10 children died from effects of the pollution, which rights group Amazon Watch says has affected an area the size of the US state of Rhode Island.
Several of her family members "have skin problems, like fungus," Aguinda said as she lifted her granddaughter's foot off the dirt floor to show an outbreak on her leg.
Chevron blames state-run Petroecuador, with which Texaco formed a consortium from 1972 until the US firm departed in 1992, of not doing its part in the clean-up agreed with the state.
"When Texaco came we never thought they would leave behind such damage, never. Then it began to drill a well and set up burn pits," she said, helped in translation by her son William Grefa.
"It changed our life: hunting, fishing, and other food, it's all finished."
She skeptically eyes the ongoing cleanup of a marsh just meters from her house, where workers dressed in oil-stained yellow overalls dredge thick black ooze into suction pipes.
Aguinda said the spill is leftover from a Texaco storage pool which overflowed into the marshes during 1987-1990 operations of the Auca South 1 well about 200 meters (656 feet) from Rumipamba.
Texaco performed operational repairs in the area in the 1990s, and oil extraction continues in the region, according to Grefa.
Six months ago, a dozen workers from Petroecuador, which has managed the concession since 1990, began cleaning up the marshes, reviving bitter memories within the community of the slow-motion disaster.
The company "made arrangements, but they covered everything with sticks and earth and nothing more," said Grefa, a member of the Assembly of People Affected by Texaco, which represents the 30,000 indigenous people in the suit.
The operation has done little to improve conditions, Aguinda said.
"With the cleanup that Texaco left, the air is just unbearable. I can't live above the oil," groaned Aguinda, who grew visibly irritated talking about the disaster.
"If someone comes here from Texaco" he'll get "pepper in his eyes," she winced.
A strong petroleum smell permeates Rumipamba, home to nine families, some of whom complain of headaches. Several areas of Sucumbios are also contaminated, according to the plaintiffs, who argue that merely sinking a shovel into the ground yields a thick layer of crude.
Chevron, which has called the judgment "illegitimate and unenforceable," has asked a judge in Ecuador for clarification of the ruling as it seeks to appeal.
The court last week announced a penalty against Chevron of $8.6 billion with an additional 10 percent for environment management costs.
The plaintiffs, too, plan to appeal, saying the ruling fails to adequately compensate for certain damages and illness. They were seeking more than $27 billion in their suit.
by Valeria Pacheco Valeria Pacheco Wed Feb 23, 9:09 am ET
RUMIPAMBA, Ecuador (AFP) – She has no legal training, and doesn't speak the Spanish that dominates government in Quito but indigenous villager Maria Aguinda helped bring a landmark judgment against US oil giant Chevron for polluting the rain forest she calls home.
The diminutive grandmother whose modest home sits near marshes clogged for decades in sticky oil has been at the heart of the David-and-Goliath case, and spoke out after Chevron was slapped last week with a $9.5-billion fine, among the heaviest ever handed down for environmental damage.
"Before I die they have to pay me for the dead animals, and for what they did to the river, and the water and the earth," the 61-year-old Aguinda told AFP at her home in Rumipamba, a town in remote Orellana province where pollution caused by 30 years of oil drilling and petroleum accidents had become a sad fact of life.
Texaco operated in the area between 1964 and 1990, and was bought in 2001 by Chevron, which inherited Texaco's legal nightmare.
"The demand (for compensation) is going on track," said the ethnic Quechua woman, pointing to a nearby spot marked by spillage from an oil well run by Texaco in the 1970s.
"Mary Aguinda et al" are the opening words of the suit launched in 1993 on behalf of 30,000 residents of Orellana and Sucumbios provinces, in which they charge Texaco dumped billions of gallons of toxic crude during its operations, fouling rivers, lakes and soil and causing cancer deaths in indigenous communities.
Aguinda said she believes her husband and two of his 10 children died from effects of the pollution, which rights group Amazon Watch says has affected an area the size of the US state of Rhode Island.
Several of her family members "have skin problems, like fungus," Aguinda said as she lifted her granddaughter's foot off the dirt floor to show an outbreak on her leg.
Chevron blames state-run Petroecuador, with which Texaco formed a consortium from 1972 until the US firm departed in 1992, of not doing its part in the clean-up agreed with the state.
"When Texaco came we never thought they would leave behind such damage, never. Then it began to drill a well and set up burn pits," she said, helped in translation by her son William Grefa.
"It changed our life: hunting, fishing, and other food, it's all finished."
She skeptically eyes the ongoing cleanup of a marsh just meters from her house, where workers dressed in oil-stained yellow overalls dredge thick black ooze into suction pipes.
Aguinda said the spill is leftover from a Texaco storage pool which overflowed into the marshes during 1987-1990 operations of the Auca South 1 well about 200 meters (656 feet) from Rumipamba.
Texaco performed operational repairs in the area in the 1990s, and oil extraction continues in the region, according to Grefa.
Six months ago, a dozen workers from Petroecuador, which has managed the concession since 1990, began cleaning up the marshes, reviving bitter memories within the community of the slow-motion disaster.
The company "made arrangements, but they covered everything with sticks and earth and nothing more," said Grefa, a member of the Assembly of People Affected by Texaco, which represents the 30,000 indigenous people in the suit.
The operation has done little to improve conditions, Aguinda said.
"With the cleanup that Texaco left, the air is just unbearable. I can't live above the oil," groaned Aguinda, who grew visibly irritated talking about the disaster.
"If someone comes here from Texaco" he'll get "pepper in his eyes," she winced.
A strong petroleum smell permeates Rumipamba, home to nine families, some of whom complain of headaches. Several areas of Sucumbios are also contaminated, according to the plaintiffs, who argue that merely sinking a shovel into the ground yields a thick layer of crude.
Chevron, which has called the judgment "illegitimate and unenforceable," has asked a judge in Ecuador for clarification of the ruling as it seeks to appeal.
The court last week announced a penalty against Chevron of $8.6 billion with an additional 10 percent for environment management costs.
The plaintiffs, too, plan to appeal, saying the ruling fails to adequately compensate for certain damages and illness. They were seeking more than $27 billion in their suit.
For class discussion 2/24/2011
Babies in Frontier States Have More Unusual Names
Jeanna Bryner
, LiveScience Managing Editor
LiveScience.com Jeanna Bryner
, Livescience Managing Editor
livescience.com Wed Feb 23, 5:15 pm ET
Babies born in newer U.S. states have more distinctive names compared with their counterparts in older regions such as New England, a new study finds.
It turns out, the same values that pushed adventurous individuals into new territories as our country was being populated may still show up in the names their descendants give to babies, a new study finds.
In more recently established states, such as Washington and Oregon, parents tend to choose less common baby names, while parents in "older" areas, such as the original 13 states, go for more popular names.
Frontiers typically have fewer established institutions or infrastructure, and often occupy harsh environments. Early pioneers couldn't rely on others for help in such sparsely populated areas.
These factors "select for people who are high in individualism and foster and reward individualistic values such as uniqueness and self-reliance," said lead researcher Michael Varnum of the University of Michigan. "This leads to regional cultures which perpetuate these values, which in turn shape behavioral practices, such as baby naming." [Most Popular Baby Names in History]
Psychologist Jean Twenge of San Diego State University, who studies baby naming, applauds Varnum's study on frontiers and unique baby names, which is detailed in the February 2011 issue of the journal Psychological Science.
"It's a really fascinating illustration of the impact of regional culture on naming choices," said Twenge, author of "The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement" (Free Press, April 2009).
"Even though other people who came later may not have been so individualistic, that culture was set up," Twenge told LiveScience. "That legacy of the frontier is going to live on, and that shows up in baby names."
What names say about culture
The names we choose for our children do often reflect parents' values. "It's a very heartfelt choice and a noncommercial choice of what's important to us," said Laura Wattenberg, author of the book "The Baby Name Wizard" (Three Rivers Press, 2005) and creator of the website BabyNameWizard.com.
Wattenberg's recent research showed that the meaning conveyed by a baby's name (what it tells others about the parents' tastes and background) has surged over the last 25 years as baby names have become more diverse and numerous.
"I'm convinced they're absolutely right in the core data that there's no question that the American frontier is a naming wonderland," Wattenberg told LiveScience. "Sarah Palin, even though she talks about traditional values, she's a perfect representative of frontier naming." Her kids are named Track, Willow, Trig, Bristol and Piper.
Even so, it's not simple to draw a causal connection between the character of a particular state and the naming conventions there. "Leaping from that to the idea that it represents the spirit of independence, I think there are a lot of other factors you need to consider when drawing that conclusion," Wattenberg said.
Baby names moving west
In the new study, Varnum and his University of Michigan colleague Shinobu Kitayama compared the commonness of popular baby names between relatively recently settled regions of the United States and older areas. The team used 2007 baby-name data collected by the Social Security Administration.
In New England states, more babies were given the most popular boys' and girls' names than they were in frontier states – those in the Mountain West and Pacific Northwest.
Statistical analyses showed the longer ago a state had achieved statehood, the more likely it was to have a higher percentage of people with one of the top 10 most popular baby names. The results held even after the researchers accounted for other factors that might impact baby-name choices, including population density, ethnicity of a state and median income.
The following is the study's ranked list of U.S. states where prevalence of common names is lowest (with No. 1 being the most individualistic), based on percentage of babies who had one of the top 10 most popular names of that year.
Boys' names:
1. Hawaii
2. Wyoming
3. Louisiana
4. Idaho
5. Oklahoma
6. Montana
7. Colorado
8. Nebraska
9. Washington
10. Oregon
Girls' names
1. Hawaii
2. New Mexico
3. Mississippi
4. Nevada
5. Georgia
6. Wyoming
7. Arizona
8. Alaska
9. Maryland
10. South Carolina
In contrast, these are the states where common names are most prevalent (with No. 1 being the least individualistic):
Boys' names
1. New Hampshire
2. Rhode Island
3. Connecticut
4. New Jersey
5. Massachusetts
6. West Virginia
7. Maine
8. New York
9. Tennessee
10. Kentucky
Girls' names
1. Maine
2. Vermont
3. New Hampshire
4. Rhode Island
5. West Virginia
6. North Dakota
7. Massachusetts
8. Connecticut
9. Kentucky
10. Iowa
The researchers found a similar naming phenomenon in Canada, where the country's eastern regions (which were settled earlier) — such as Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec — had a higher percentage of babies given popular names than the western, more recently settled regions, including Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
However, the link was much stronger for boys' names than for girls', and after the researchers accounted for population density, the effect of eastern or western region on girls' names was negligible.
International study
To see if the same phenomenon held across entire nations, the team looked at baby-name data from 2007 for nine European countries (Austria, Denmark, England, Hungary, Ireland, Norway, Scotland, Spain and Sweden), and four frontier countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States).
A similar pattern was found on this front as well, with the newer countries generally sporting more diverse names. In addition, countries that scored higher on an "individualism index" also had fewer babies who were given the most popular names at the time, compared with the countries that scored low on individualism.
But Wattenberg cautioned that the same factors may not be at work since some countries have rules for what parents can name their babies.
For instance, Denmark has a baby-naming rule list translated as the List over Personal Names. If a desired name is not on the list, a family can submit a written application to get consent from the Personal Names Committee under the auspices of the Danish Language Council. Names that aren't considered "personal names," including nicknames and "names, which can be feared to be a burden to the bearer," cannot expect to be approved, the committee states on its website.
Sweden, Hungary, Norway and other countries also have baby-naming laws.
"The idea of attributing a difference to some basic character when in fact, in one case, there are legal limits and in another case there aren't – they are not fundamentally comparable," Wattenberg told LiveScience.
Wattenberg said while she wasn't criticizing the study, she was pointing out that there could be other reasons behind some of the findings, particularly the international ones. For instance, she has found maternal age impacts baby names, where moms from urban, more affluent areas tend to choose more traditional names, which correlates with them waiting until they're older to have children. [Today's American Moms Older, More Educated]
More unique baby names now
Twenge said she saw a connection between her own work and the regional and demographic patterns in names found by Varnum.
Rather than looking at the popularity of common names across regions, Twenge studied the trend over time. It turns out, compared with decades ago, parents these days are choosing more unusual names for kids, which could suggest an emphasis on uniqueness and individualism.
Twenge's latest research, detailed in the January 2010 issue of the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, revealed that about 40 percent of boys received one of the 10 most common names in the 1880s, while now fewer than 10 percent do. For girls, the percentage of those with a name in the top 10 dropped from 25 percent in about 1945 to 8 percent in 2007.
Jeanna Bryner
, LiveScience Managing Editor
LiveScience.com Jeanna Bryner
, Livescience Managing Editor
livescience.com Wed Feb 23, 5:15 pm ET
Babies born in newer U.S. states have more distinctive names compared with their counterparts in older regions such as New England, a new study finds.
It turns out, the same values that pushed adventurous individuals into new territories as our country was being populated may still show up in the names their descendants give to babies, a new study finds.
In more recently established states, such as Washington and Oregon, parents tend to choose less common baby names, while parents in "older" areas, such as the original 13 states, go for more popular names.
Frontiers typically have fewer established institutions or infrastructure, and often occupy harsh environments. Early pioneers couldn't rely on others for help in such sparsely populated areas.
These factors "select for people who are high in individualism and foster and reward individualistic values such as uniqueness and self-reliance," said lead researcher Michael Varnum of the University of Michigan. "This leads to regional cultures which perpetuate these values, which in turn shape behavioral practices, such as baby naming." [Most Popular Baby Names in History]
Psychologist Jean Twenge of San Diego State University, who studies baby naming, applauds Varnum's study on frontiers and unique baby names, which is detailed in the February 2011 issue of the journal Psychological Science.
"It's a really fascinating illustration of the impact of regional culture on naming choices," said Twenge, author of "The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement" (Free Press, April 2009).
"Even though other people who came later may not have been so individualistic, that culture was set up," Twenge told LiveScience. "That legacy of the frontier is going to live on, and that shows up in baby names."
What names say about culture
The names we choose for our children do often reflect parents' values. "It's a very heartfelt choice and a noncommercial choice of what's important to us," said Laura Wattenberg, author of the book "The Baby Name Wizard" (Three Rivers Press, 2005) and creator of the website BabyNameWizard.com.
Wattenberg's recent research showed that the meaning conveyed by a baby's name (what it tells others about the parents' tastes and background) has surged over the last 25 years as baby names have become more diverse and numerous.
"I'm convinced they're absolutely right in the core data that there's no question that the American frontier is a naming wonderland," Wattenberg told LiveScience. "Sarah Palin, even though she talks about traditional values, she's a perfect representative of frontier naming." Her kids are named Track, Willow, Trig, Bristol and Piper.
Even so, it's not simple to draw a causal connection between the character of a particular state and the naming conventions there. "Leaping from that to the idea that it represents the spirit of independence, I think there are a lot of other factors you need to consider when drawing that conclusion," Wattenberg said.
Baby names moving west
In the new study, Varnum and his University of Michigan colleague Shinobu Kitayama compared the commonness of popular baby names between relatively recently settled regions of the United States and older areas. The team used 2007 baby-name data collected by the Social Security Administration.
In New England states, more babies were given the most popular boys' and girls' names than they were in frontier states – those in the Mountain West and Pacific Northwest.
Statistical analyses showed the longer ago a state had achieved statehood, the more likely it was to have a higher percentage of people with one of the top 10 most popular baby names. The results held even after the researchers accounted for other factors that might impact baby-name choices, including population density, ethnicity of a state and median income.
The following is the study's ranked list of U.S. states where prevalence of common names is lowest (with No. 1 being the most individualistic), based on percentage of babies who had one of the top 10 most popular names of that year.
Boys' names:
1. Hawaii
2. Wyoming
3. Louisiana
4. Idaho
5. Oklahoma
6. Montana
7. Colorado
8. Nebraska
9. Washington
10. Oregon
Girls' names
1. Hawaii
2. New Mexico
3. Mississippi
4. Nevada
5. Georgia
6. Wyoming
7. Arizona
8. Alaska
9. Maryland
10. South Carolina
In contrast, these are the states where common names are most prevalent (with No. 1 being the least individualistic):
Boys' names
1. New Hampshire
2. Rhode Island
3. Connecticut
4. New Jersey
5. Massachusetts
6. West Virginia
7. Maine
8. New York
9. Tennessee
10. Kentucky
Girls' names
1. Maine
2. Vermont
3. New Hampshire
4. Rhode Island
5. West Virginia
6. North Dakota
7. Massachusetts
8. Connecticut
9. Kentucky
10. Iowa
The researchers found a similar naming phenomenon in Canada, where the country's eastern regions (which were settled earlier) — such as Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec — had a higher percentage of babies given popular names than the western, more recently settled regions, including Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
However, the link was much stronger for boys' names than for girls', and after the researchers accounted for population density, the effect of eastern or western region on girls' names was negligible.
International study
To see if the same phenomenon held across entire nations, the team looked at baby-name data from 2007 for nine European countries (Austria, Denmark, England, Hungary, Ireland, Norway, Scotland, Spain and Sweden), and four frontier countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States).
A similar pattern was found on this front as well, with the newer countries generally sporting more diverse names. In addition, countries that scored higher on an "individualism index" also had fewer babies who were given the most popular names at the time, compared with the countries that scored low on individualism.
But Wattenberg cautioned that the same factors may not be at work since some countries have rules for what parents can name their babies.
For instance, Denmark has a baby-naming rule list translated as the List over Personal Names. If a desired name is not on the list, a family can submit a written application to get consent from the Personal Names Committee under the auspices of the Danish Language Council. Names that aren't considered "personal names," including nicknames and "names, which can be feared to be a burden to the bearer," cannot expect to be approved, the committee states on its website.
Sweden, Hungary, Norway and other countries also have baby-naming laws.
"The idea of attributing a difference to some basic character when in fact, in one case, there are legal limits and in another case there aren't – they are not fundamentally comparable," Wattenberg told LiveScience.
Wattenberg said while she wasn't criticizing the study, she was pointing out that there could be other reasons behind some of the findings, particularly the international ones. For instance, she has found maternal age impacts baby names, where moms from urban, more affluent areas tend to choose more traditional names, which correlates with them waiting until they're older to have children. [Today's American Moms Older, More Educated]
More unique baby names now
Twenge said she saw a connection between her own work and the regional and demographic patterns in names found by Varnum.
Rather than looking at the popularity of common names across regions, Twenge studied the trend over time. It turns out, compared with decades ago, parents these days are choosing more unusual names for kids, which could suggest an emphasis on uniqueness and individualism.
Twenge's latest research, detailed in the January 2010 issue of the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, revealed that about 40 percent of boys received one of the 10 most common names in the 1880s, while now fewer than 10 percent do. For girls, the percentage of those with a name in the top 10 dropped from 25 percent in about 1945 to 8 percent in 2007.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Participation Credit: the meanings behind words
Please define (using an unabridged scholarly dictionary/encyclopedia) and discuss your thoughts about the following words and what they imply:
wight
black
white
colored
n*****/negro
wight
black
white
colored
n*****/negro
Don't forget...
Tomorrow (Wednesday) is the extra credit event! Check the last post for specifics. Hope to see you guys there. :)
Thursday, February 17, 2011
EXTRA CREDIT
A new extra credit assignment is available. Like the Gaby Pacheco event, this will require attendance at one of the two showings on Wednesday, February 23. You'd turn in a small blurb about it on Thursday, February 24.
-For Immediate Release-
The Urban Learning Center of the Robert J Terry Library at Texas Southern University and The Tulsa Project present a free screening of Before They Die! on Wednesday, Febru-ary 23, 2011 at 1:00pm and 6:30pm in the Walter McCoy Auditorium of the Barbara Jor-dan/Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs at Texas Southern University, on Cleburne off of Tierwester, parallel to event parking. The evening event will feature a 6:00pm re-ception and a panel discussion of the documentary film with its director Reggie Turner.
Filmmaker and social entrepreneur Reginald (Reggie) Turner presents his compelling documentary film, Before They Die! Turner and his production company, Mportant Films, spent over four years following the team of lawyers assembled by Harvard Law Professor Charles Ogletree, Jr. and his core of surviving clients around the country, docu-menting their life stories and bringing to life and light one of the most vicious attacks of domestic terrorism in American history.
On May 31, 1921 in Tulsa Oklahoma, Greenwood, the Wall Street of African America, was bombed, burned, looted, and destroyed in less than 18 hours. Through intimidation and with the support of the local and state governments, a conspiracy of silence concealed the loss of more than 300 lives and the displacement of more than 10,000 law-abiding citizens.
Combining his multifaceted career with his social activism, Stanford University and Georgetown University Law School graduate Reggie Turner seeks to create a vehicle for social change in America. Utilizing his network of athletes, celebrities and industry mo-guls, Turner works to bring them together, through his film, Before They Die!, to create resolution, closure and compensation for the victims of one of the worst cases of domestic genocide in 20th Century American history. This film is part of The Tulsa Project, a non-profit foundation established to raise awareness of the 1921 riots and seek restitution for its survivors.
Please email urbanlearningcenter@tsu.edu or call 713-313-7122 for more information.
Sponsored by ♦The Tulsa Project♦Robert J Terry Library of Texas Southern University♦
♦Mportant Films♦Urban Learning Center♦The Brown Foundation♦Amandla Productions♦
♦Mickey Leland Center on World Hunger and Peace ♦KPFT♦CAIR♦
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Field Trip Postponed
Just a reminder: No field trip Thursday. The weather's looking pretty nice, though. If it stays like this, we'll do the trip next Thursday. Otherwise, we'll just wait till the first week of March. Keep your fingers crossed!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
All Aboard ENGL 1302
Good morning, minions.
After you've joined the blog, please test out your posting abilities by writing any clever plays on the blog name. Ready, set, snark!
Sincerely,
The Master of the Universe
After you've joined the blog, please test out your posting abilities by writing any clever plays on the blog name. Ready, set, snark!
Sincerely,
The Master of the Universe
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