Lectures

Please note that these lectures are property of the author, and any duplication or other use requires the author's permission..

Multiculturalism, or Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain 

This lecture takes a conservative view of multiculturalism, and argues against the notion that there is a link between race and culture. Focusing on economics, not race, would result in gains for all.

Women and Migration in Film 

This lecture looks at two films, The Border and El Norte, and argues that a fundamental conflict exists between the requirments of verisimilitude in film and the ideological presuppositions of the filmmakers.

Forrest Gump: I Laughed, I Cried, I Joined The Republican Party 

This is a brief, cranky review of a film that really annoyed me. My comments still stand.

"Drugs"

This rant attempts to provide some terminological clarity when talking about drugs. It suggests that the first question we should ask is, "To what degree should the government be permitted to control your consciousness?"

 

Drug Transactions and Their Metaphors

This follow-up rant tries to talk about the metaphors we use to talk about drugs, such as "drug lords" or "the war on drugs."

Exploration, Travel, Tourism and the Anti-tourist: Looking for Authenticity in All the Wrong Places

Borrowing Paul Fussell's categories, and a bit from Walker Percy and Martin Heidegger, this lecture looks at the relationship between travel and authenticity. I've since changed my mind about this idea, but this is a good jumping off point to talk about what's valuable about travel.

The Space of the Psyche in Peter Ackroyd’s The House of Dr. Dee

This is a lecture I gave in Germany on one of my favorite books. It's connected conceptually to the article (to be found under "Articles") on Paul Auster entitled "Mirrors of Madness."

The Life of Hannah Arendt

This biographical lecture examines the life and work of Arendt. I took the information from a published biography..

Hermeneutics and Postmodernism

This is a let's-find-out lecture on the historical origins of hermeneutics and its relation to postmodernism, suggesting that, hermeneutically, postmodernism is a type of intellectual fascism.

Jean Baudrillard's America

This is a little ditty I did on Baudrillard shortly after his book came out.

Travel in the Time of Cholera

This is a travel article about our visit to Ecuador during the cholera epidemic.

Jean-Luc Godard and Film as an Imitative Structure

This film explores what we mean when we say film "imitates" life.