Tuesday 16 January 2024

"মোহিনী চ্যাটার্জী" - ইয়েটস এর কবিতা

"I have been a king, 
I have been a slave, 
Nor is there anything. 
Fool, rascal, knave, 
That I have not been, 
And yet upon my breast 
A myriad heads have lain.''

Mohini Chatterjee / মোহিনী মোহন চ্যাটার্জী / মোহিনী চ্যাটার্জী কে নিয়ে লেখা ইয়েটস এর কবিতা। Here is the link to an article written by Asim Dutta F Mohini Kalidasa and Yeats

Saturday 17 June 2023

Literature and Law

There are a number of books in literature that makes use of law as a central point of discussion. Here are some books that deals with law's many faces. All these novels are available online. 

  1. Crime and Punishment - greatest novel about law and human life.
  2. Hard Times - shows the 19th C. society with all its faults and follies.
  3. Billy Budd - one of the most complex novels about crime and punishment and moral responsibility. 
  4. To Kill a Mockingbird - great American novel about social and legal justice.
  5. The Sea-Wolf - a great American novel about lawlessness and morality
  6. Bartleby, the Scrivener - short novella about lawyers who work in the Wall Street.
  7. The Trial - Kafka's terrifying story of totalitarian misuse of Law and existential crisis. 
  8. The Farm - popular John Grisham novel about the world of Lawyers.
  9. Anatomy of a Murder - Robert Traver's classic courtroom thriller. 
There are two more books that discuss Law's connection with Literature and these two are also available online. (1) Law and Literature by Richard A Posner; (2) The Structure of Law and Literature by Jeffrey Miller. The last two books "The Farm" "Anatomy of a Murder" are in the popular fiction tradition. However, both novels are great entertainment if you are fond of the inner workings of firms and courts. If you are unable to find a digital version of the above texts, just let us know. We can send. 

The above notes have been created for use by students who are looking for additional materials to work on apart from voluminous Law Books and Digests. I strongly suggest that the novels should be read and discussed in detail in class. 




Friday 9 June 2023

Practice Essay Topics

In the past week we discussed "Society as Spectacle" and Baudrillard's Simulacra. After this "Heavy" infiltration, we are now going to write a couple of essays
  1. We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it. (400-450 words). 
  2. Describe the world you come from; for example, your family, clubs, school, community, city, or town. How has that world shaped your dreams and aspirations? (1000 -1200 words).

It is important to acknowledge that WRITING requires us to think and meditate the ideas that we intend to bring forward for public display. Automated writing is to be completely avoided at all costs. Only nuanced writing is acceptable. Nuanced writing include following elements:

Wit - Method in Madness - Simplicity


Saturday 27 May 2023

Discussions today = Why Major + Covid Essay + Sample Add Info Essay

Three major items were discussed today. 

SAT

  1. The next two dates for SAT are on Oct 7 & November 4. Therefore, it would be more appropriate to opt for the November 4 date. 
  2. It is important to begin the day with 40 minutes of digital SAT from Khan Academy and Collegeboard. It must be in the early MORNING, when our minds are blank. 
Significant Activity
  1. We just started new Significant Activity Essay. A brief essay was attempted in the class. Assignment given to complete a 400-600 words essay to be submitted tomorrow.
WHY Major
  1. Several attempts have been made to prepare Why Major Essay. But today we discussed WHY this is one of the MOST challenging Essay that one can attempt during application season.
POETRY
  1. Earlier we have done a couple of small POEMS. Today, W. H. Auden's poem "An Unknown Citizen" has been assigned for reading and appreciation. [Link Here]
Reading Activities
  1. Emperor of Maladies [Link of 27 pages]
  2. The Selfish Gene [Full Book]
  3. Selfish Gene is here [Summary ]
  4. Worldly Philosophers [Critical Study GUIDE]
  5. Robinson Crusoe (discussed in detail as to WHY this is a MAJOR text of Western Civilization, and how this apparently simple tale incorporates ideas from Capitalism + Colonialism + Religious Doctrine (specifically the doctrines of Sin + Atonement + Redemption cycle of Christianity.) [Illustrated Abridged]

Friday 26 May 2023

Essay Discussion Today

 We talked a few things in (dis)order. 

  1. We began with Run(a)e from Nagaland. 
  2. We moved to HAMNET and Bertleby the Scrivener. 
  3. We then talked about 'Reembrace' as an act of defiance against the 'Erasure of time'. We then listened to "A Tribute to Rituporno Ghosh". Listening to "Remember Me" poem by Christiana Rossetti can be a wonderful way of looking at men's desire for eternity through remembrance. Also recalled the greatest modern French Novel "Remembrance of Things Past."
  4. We then drifted into the world of songs - first, "Miss Sarajevo" by Bono and Pavarotti. Then the inevitable "Musee des Beaux Arts". Then we could do the ending of Keats' poem "Ode to the Grecian Urn", which makes reference to TWO types of truth - Beauty as Truth, and Truth as Beauty. This dichotomy can only be understood when we see that TRUTH is single-dimensional. That Truth can be understood only in Art, while Life is itself truth (whether ugly or beautiful). I would also love to go back to the unforgettable lines from Emily Dickinson's poem "Because I could not wait for Death." This is the link to a Wonderful Dramatization of the poem.
  5. Made a quick reference to Nietzsche's concept of Apollonian and Dionysian character in human beings. Apollonian characters are more logical, while Dionysian characters are more into physical pleasures. 
  6. By the end, Zaina and Progga are 'requested' to write something that will give them some clue to what is coming for them. This exercise will be of use when we go into many such long exercises.
  7. We all agreed that in writing ESSAYS, a beautiful thing can only surface, when there is a terrible depth of thoughts tugging at our hearts.  



Wednesday 24 May 2023

Application Season: 2023-24

 Yesterday we have started a new session for the 2023-24 session. The following items were discussed.

  1. Connection between Philosophy and Natural Sciences and Technology. We also gave a brief reading from Andrew Feenberg's "Philosophy of Technology". It is highly readable for a non-expert. The author RIGHTLY connects upholding democratic values for ensuring ethical use of frontier technology. Interestingly, this article, which was written in 2003, makes intelligent allusions to modern technology of the 2020s.
  2. Thereafter we read through the two articles by Yuval Noah Harari, both of which were published in FINANCIAL Times. These are excellent readings for someone new to the idea of how technology-dependence by governments on the pretext of security and surveillance can DRASTICALLY cut down on individual freedom. Here are the links - (1) World after Corona, (2) Big data and end of Free Will .
  3. From Noah Harari, we moved on the consideration of "Free Will" and the nature of it. We briefly discussed two novella - Metamorphosis and The Outsider - both of which are mid-Century European texts that discuss the question of Free Will in a world dominated by organized faith. 
  4. We also very slightly touched upon the Question of TRUTH as seen in the context of Epistemology. It will be discussed in greater detail in our next class. 
  5. I have assigned Andrew Feenberg article and a LONG reading on Style & Fashion from BBC. 
  6. Coming Friday at 9.30, we shall commence our first Application Essay. 


Friday 30 December 2022

Why College = How To

 Following article written by Arshiya Arman

When writing a why college essay, I submitted the 3/4 drafts and was met a disapproval. I got to changing and making a few adjustments, which was taking quite a long time. The next instructions were to check the blog, and the instructions Zuhan was given (for Georgia Tech) for his own essay to make the corrections. The process was not easy, since the college’s website was down, and was given ten minutes to finish the essay. I wrote what I could and submitted the next draft to complete it within the time given and started working on the next draft of it. The website finally started responding and I was able to make another draft with all the required information, which was approved and submitted to the college. I followed all the 4 points that Zuhan was given and this time my Why College essay got approved.

Advice for Zuhan to write Why Georgia Tech

Name of Department | Title of select Courses | Name of Favourite Professor | Technical Facility | Must mention this 4 points.| Otherwise I will reject | Just mention the 4 points, I will APPROVE

Sunday 20 November 2022

Still LEARNING (Replace Parenthood with Mentorhood)

 


Choosing a Right FIELD of Research - Unambitious Student Syndrome

Every year I ask students to begin their research by finding their favourite field. Most of the time, I spend around 2 MONTHS (yes, 2 months) trying to CONVINCE the students that DO NOT start a Lab Research - start a Review Research Paper. In my opinion a TOP Quality Review Research Paper can be done in a span of 3 days. 

  1. First day = 3-5 hours = search the area of your favourite Field of Inquiry
  2. 1st and Second day = 5-6 hours = identify the Top Papers in your research field. 
  3. 2nd and 3rd day = Collect all the info in your Word Document and also list the links to the latest and earlier Research BOOKS + Articles. 
  4. End of 3rd Day = submit your finding to me for guidance for approval of topic. 
But who cares about an Old Man's Plea?

What is the main deterrent year-after-year of students FAILING to submit their Research TOPIC at the beginning of their Application Season?
  1. Students FANTASIZE that their Research should look like a LAB research Paper. 
  2. They often think that their research will COMPLETELY Change the World. Phew!!!
  3. They are Physically INCAPABLE to work in Early Morning and continue throughout the day. 
  4. The time they start SEARCHING the Research Area, it is already 12 pm or 1 pm and that's the end. 
  5. They often SUFFER from Cold and Physical Weakness. So, academic AGGRESSIVENESS is for EVER MISSING in their attitude. 
  6. The KEEP their ROOM and DOOR shut, and take this Freedom of Seclusion to KILL time. 
  7. They are UNABLE to work in OPEN space under the scrutinizing EYES of a guide or parental care. 
  8. They don't either Eat Well, or SLEEP Well, or Drink Well. Some even don't bath well. Or even a few don't even Moshari well. 
  9. And they believe that their caregivers (Parents/Teachers/Guides/Peers) are their Filthiest Enemies.  
  10. Submit RESEARCH proposals within next 3 days. 


Friday 21 October 2022

A new start for Zakaria

 

I welcome Zakaria to our class for the 2022-2024 sessions. Zakaria has a unique opportunity as he will work with me for a length of about 14 Months. I am very glad to note that this will give me enough time to prepare him for college admission abroad. We have already planned to make a daily routine as Zakaria will try to accommodate activities such as Sports, Social Organization Work, Reading, and some amount of hobby such as Music or Mathematics.   

Sunday 17 July 2022

Preparatory Reading List for Literature & Psychology Undergraduate Program

This post is primarily intended Hridita and Ramisa, both of who are heading for MHC this fall. Every College/University has its own reading materials for the incoming freshmen. Mount Holyoke College for example, maintains a page where titles are listed for ALL college students to engage with. Here is the LINK.
However, for the Literature and Psychology students, a selective reading list can be immensely helpful. I am breaking down the reading list under a few headings. 
  1. A Short History of English Literature (Ifor Evans): One of the shortest and most readable history of literature written in English. 
  2. Norton Anthology of English Poetry: This can be replaced with poem reading from Poetry Foundation website. 
  3. A Selection of Novels: Tess (Thomas Hardy), Emma (Jane Austen), Scarlet Letter (Hawthorne), Moby Dick (Melville), Never Let Me Go (Ishiguro). All these are available online. 
  4. Non-fiction: A good introduction to Non-fiction is provided by the anthology titled Norton Short Prose. And then you can read regularly from Aeon.com
  5. Having regular interaction with the newspaper Guardian Unlimited is also definitely worthwhile. 
  6. Shakespeare: Watch the following Shakespeare of films = Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet (Directed by Branagh), Macbeth (Denzel Washington acted), The Tempest (Helen Mirren). For a good introduction to Shakespeare's Life watch this wonderful film Shakespeare in Love. 
  7. Check your college's Summer Reading List of previous 2 years and you will have a fair idea of what is coming. 
  8. For Psychology go through any Wikipedia entry on Psychoanalysis and Freud. But then you must shift to Jacque Lacan



Wednesday 13 July 2022

Russell's Paradox = A fascinating introduction to the world of Logic

Reading through Russell's Paradox in WikiWand was a revealing and riveting experience for me. I have often tried to "say something" on these issues to my SAT/Application class, but ultimately ended with incomprehensible statements myself. But deep down in my everyday thinking, I see flashes of what TRUTH is made up of, and it would be a crime not to share my "visions" with others. While the WikiWand is a very good starting point, it would be better if you drift into other scholarly Books. However, for the less adventurous mind, here is an article from INSIDER, which is still captivating. 

  1. WikiWand Article (Very Good Start) Click for Link
  2. Insider Article (Easier bite) Click for Link
  3. Finally, a youtube Explication of the Paradox Russell's Paradox LINK
It must too be mentioned that one of our former students used his "discovery" of Set Theory as a fundamental science of mathematics by writing a paper on Tom Stoppard's early play Rosenstein and Guildenstern are dead (a phrase borrowed from Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'). It would be a WONDERFUL idea if anyone from this year can make Set Theory the principal point of enquiry in any of their writings. 

Finally, there is a compendium of articles collected from International Munich Centenary Conference 2001 to commemorate 100 years of Russell's Paradox. The conference brought together scholars from Mathematical Logic, Set Theory, and Philosophy of Mathematics. I am leaving the PDF link in mediafire.  

SAT and US College Application Season Begins

We have soft started the SAT and US colleges application program for the year 2022-23. I have been able to work with the following in a couple of sessions and would like to lift-off within this month. One of our major meeting was based on how poetry should be read and interpreted and in that class I discussed a good number of poems and literary works that represent wester culture. 

  1. Poems = Ezra Pound's In the station of Metro, Auden's three or four poems, Byron's Darkness, and a few others. 
  2. A few novel titles were suggested = Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Metamorphosis, The Stranger, The Great Gatsby.
  3. Shakespeare's films were suggested = we shall later use these Shakespearean stories to build on political and ethical issues/questions of our time. 
In addition to these, I have also individually assigned tasks for Aryan, Tahana, and Arshiya. I hope to get updates on the works assigned this week. 

Sunday 29 May 2022

Maisha Maliha Joins my Class

 Maisha joins our class and we have planned to read 2 novels, 15 poems and 3 Dramas. For today we discussed the following two. We have also discussed an article from Business Standard.

  1. Pride and Prejudice
  2. Merchant of Venice
  3. A Singaporean Startup Rooted Firmly in Bangladesh

Sunday 2 January 2022

Romanticism - A Summary | "Masterful Images: English Poetry from Metaphysicals to Romantics" (1976)

The following link shall take us to a great summary of Romantic Movement. This page should be used as a companion piece with "Masterful Images: English Poetry from Metaphysicals to Romantics" 1976. The book in PDF available upon request. 

The link here: ROMANTICISM

This post has been specially created for those who hear the call of Poetry in their heart. Some may even have produced a full Book of Poems!

Thursday 7 October 2021

Lyotard+Foucault+Derrida and little bit of Guy Debord = All French Theorists

 Yesterday I took an early morning class with Mehjabeen, Adiba, Zawad, and Ramisa. I was unable to record the session but Ramisa kindly did a recording which she will share with me later this week. After this session I separately called Adiba, Zawad, and Ramisa and asked them to submit their thoughts on the French philosophers. Following three submissions are three different ways that the class can be understood. I mainly used Wiki entry but if anyone MORE intensely interested, can access Stanford University Online Philosophy Encyclopedia for FULL texts.

I am uploading Adiba's text today.


Date: 6/10/2021

Thoughts on Lyotard, Derrida and Foucault

By Adiba Alam


Our class today was mainly based on three white French male philosophers- Lyotard, Derrida and Foucault.

For Lyotard, we primarily focused on his book: The Postmodern Condition. It mainly talks about the loss of faith in metanarratives, mainly that of science and technology. The word ‘metanarrative’ is new to me and I found its meaning quite interesting. It is the interpretation of events, theories, and discoveries in the past that sets up a pattern and can be used to describe the future. So, it is like a grand, coherent story that describes all. It can be religious scriptures or scientific theories like that provided by Darwin or Freud. Postmodernists seek to reject the metanarratives of science which places science on a much loftier position than it should be and question all theories. I realized that we tend to use metanarratives as well for example, when one dismisses other’s beliefs as superstitions, when a feminist regards the patriarchal system to have always only oppressed women or when someone resorts to a certain drug as a cure for an illness without a second thought. On a broader scale, this can be seen by the influence of the West on world values and can be deemed as unjust because local beliefs, methods and procedures are disregarded. Science seeks to proof all faith systems as false, but itself is a faith system. I had not previously viewed science or religion as this universal scheme, but now I see how it is a metanarrative. I agree with the Postmodernist theory that rather than a grand, all-encompassing theory, we should have smaller, more local narratives because all people are different.

Moving on from Lyotard, we discussed Derrida and Deconstruction. This describes the relation between texts and their meaning. His concept was a little bit difficult for me to grasp. Upon researching online, I found that the definition of Deconstruction itself is complicated because it critiques the very language that is used to define it. I think it is to look into sentences and not take them at face value but rather challenge the sentence and its meaning. The question or challenge need not come from outside but rather from within the sentence itself. It is a bit paradoxical. I think one of Derrida’s quotes, "there is no out-of-context,” means exactly that. Every assumption that we make from a sentence, though not obvious at first, can be derived from that single sentence. There is rarely any definite truth in anything. It all depends on our perception.

Finally, we discussed about Foucault. “I don't feel that it is necessary to know exactly what I am. The main interest in life and work is to become someone else that you were not in the beginning” -I found this quote to be quite relevant to our lives. I think it aligns with the popular quote, “it’s not about the destination, and it’s about the journey (or rather how the journey can influence the destination).” Lyotard says we must be content without universal truth and Foucault says life has no fixed destination, both are kind of similar in the sense that there are no set rules that govern life. We also discussed Foucault’s book, ‘Birth of the Clinic’, which describes society’s need to create systems in order to contain revolutionary or ‘peculiar’ ideas. That is how power is exerted. This is done through mental clinics, asylums, jails and even schools where people are streamlined according to society’s laws. Schools participate in the oppressive regime that places the knowledgeable on a higher level than others. This is similar to how metanarrative puts science on a pedestal. Sir’s example of the recent protest in Dhaka and its ineffectiveness at minimizing crime in the long-run holds true and something that I have thought about previously. Punishing the offender is definitely important, but so is questioning the system that created that offender. People are hesitant to do so because it will mean changing a system that has been functioning for a long time. Yet, should we ignore transforming a system for the better just because of our reluctance to restructure?

Overall, I thought that all philosophers have very pessimistic views of the current society. Lyotard questions the pervasive and dominating nature of science, Derrida asks about the need to challenge meaning and Foucault makes one wonder about the effectiveness of the systems in place. I have been pondering over a lot of questions since our class today. Is society beyond repair at this point? Is it kind of like the climate crisis, where we have already crossed a threshold temperature and now only drastic action can save us? If we were to start implementing philosophies like those discussed today amidst our smaller circles, will it eventually be enough to make a larger social impact? If truth is fragmented and subjective and as we are delving farther away (much like entropy), is it possible to ever return to the absolute truth of something? While, I don’t know the answer to these questions, I realize that having such contrasting ideas, presenting challenges and asking questions is how we can improve ourselves and eventually move forward.


Above review has been prepared based on the following Notes during the 6/10/21 Class 

·       French speaking white male philosophers (some privileged, some disadvantaged)

·       Lyotard

o   Observation of modern society

o   Lost our faith in the metanarrative

o   Metanarrative

Ø  In the 19th century, people had faith in science and technology to fix everything

Ø  Religious scriptures give information about past, present and future (apocalypse, judgement day and the happiness achieved after)

Ø  These are metanarratives

o   Science and tech also created metanarratives: Darwin, Freud, Karl Marx

o   Postmodern people and views from the west influence others unjustly

o   Challenges moral, psychological and philosophical views of people

o   Metanarrative is unjust

o   Science is destroying cultures: religious faith system is defective; one is hurting other to help themselves.

o   “There is no single sentence on Earth that is not true.” -paradox

o   Science says all metanarratives or faith systems are false, but itself is one

o   Truth has become fragmented

·       Derrida

o   Deconstruct thoughts, beliefs, sentences only to find they have either no meaning or lots of meaning

o   Darwin’s theory challenged religious scriptures; Freud said man was not always rational (Freudian slip); Karl Marx challenged the belief that people were changing from barbarians to modern civilized society.

o   Bertrand Russell, analytical philosophy

o   Truth is fragmented and subjective

·       Modern Philosophy began in the 17th century

o   Renee Descartes- Mind and Body Dualism

o   Is the kidney a part of mind or body? Is it external or internal? It is part of body.

·       Foucalt

o   I don’t feel it is necessary to know who I am

o   Where there is power, there is resistance

o   Science has led people to feel superior/inferior

o   Book: Birth of the clinic

Ø  Clinics are created to control opposition in society

Ø  Mental clinics, psychiatric asylums, jails, schools, church

Ø  All revolutionary ideas will be suppressed so that one is streamlined

o   Medical Anthropology: medicine makes an impact on human mind

o   Books: Madness of civilization, Birth of clinic, Discipline and Punishment

o   We punish offender but bigger question is how did the offender come about? What circumstances led them to commit such an act?

Ø  Questioning this will result in questioning the entire system.

Ø  Prisons and schools are used to correct such systems to an extent

Ø  School participates in the suppressive regime that knowledge works in the apex of power

·       So, what is right?

o   Universal systems are wrong

o   All men are different

o   Trigger clock inside a human

o   If one doesn’t like a certain community, they should come out of it and form one of their own

o   We change community as we grow up and build our own families

o   It is true that tech has democratized the knowledge system

o   We are at the threshold of a volatile time

o   All scientific inquiries, thoughts, work are connected to philosophical model 

Thursday 30 September 2021

SAT Final Strategy List

Every SAT test taker has her own strategies to roll back on. Collegepanda.com is no exception. But what I liked most is the way the author has brought out each PROBLEM area and Categorised them under Headings. So, here it goes = a FRESH list of things you could just check over and compare them with your OWN PERSONAL list of things for SAT.

 Look at him!

College-Panda maintains a Blog-run of posts related to Tricky-problems in SAT = find the link Below
  1. SAT Math Trouble Areas
Secondly, there is a page where Panda keeps a list of things related to Writing. However, my favourite is the 18 Grammar Rules. I have done the same with you in the class. 
Finally, a list of Problem Area selections for Reading section. Panda suggests that you should read the passage first and then answer Q. But if it is Q first, and then Passage, you are probably a GOOD reader. I find this observation very solid. 
Panda, through his experience of SAT has gathered some wisdom about the Test. Here is a summary. Search your OWN list of wisdom as well. 
  1. Concept first = strategy and timing, second.
  2. Official Tests are Gold Standard = do it more.
  3. Look for wrong answers First.
  4. Your Vocabulary determines your Reading ability.
NOW = I have a list of LEAST Common Skills in Math areas, where you must put your footprint. Find more about making FULL Score on Math Section in the following link. It has some of the best strategy discussions. The table I have added is also from this link. 

Math 800+ Strategy link = Here

SkillFrequencyExpected Questions Per Test
Dividing polynomials1.72%1
Trigonometry, radians1.72%1
Absolute value1.29%0.75
Complex numbers1.29%0.75
Experimental interpretation0.86%0.5
Lines and angles0.86%0.5
Solid geometry0.86%0.5
Systems of equations with nonlinear equations0.86%0.5
Function notation0.43%0.25

Friday 27 August 2021

SAT Exam = Passport + Pencils + Breakfast


  1. PASSPORT – PASSPORT – PASSPORT
  2. Get 4-6 number of 2B Grade Pencils
  3. Eraser 
  4. Pens are NOT allowed for SAT Answer 
  5. Get the SAT Ticket printed 
  6. Get the direction to the Exam Venue on the Google Map. Make sure you can instruct the Driver.

7.    Take Solid Breakfast.

  • One soft-boiled Egg
  • A small piece of Bread and Butter
  • Half cup of Juice / Milk
  • Roti-vegetable OR Milk & Cornflakes
  • Small sips of Water: ½ litre
  • Take a Bottle of Water (250 ml) NOT more than this.
  • Try NOT to visit washroom.

Monday 23 August 2021

Logic & Reasoning

 Doing the class with Ramisa, Jannat, Mehzabin, Bishway, and Zawad.

  1. https://brilliant.org/wiki/conjectures/
  2. Types of Logic
  3. Logic of = Reasoning & Sentiments
  4. Examples of LOGIC 
I was also planning for a BIG day in Poetry and Philosophy. But it seems that we are already working with Heavy Loads. However, here some of the books that I wanted to talk about.