by Mark Naida I “The man gazed at the television. He finished his drink and started another.” – Raymond Carver, “Why Don’t You Dance?” In Dearborn, Michigan, there is a theme park for historians. Or more properly, a park full of old things – things to stare at, trinkets to buy, and elderly docents all too willing to dispense stories from their vaults … Continue reading Tangibility and the New Place of the Artist
by Birch Smith The history of the West for the last two hundred or so years is intricately tied up with the history of capitalism, and is thus in important ways a history of sharp disagreements. As far back as the Industrial Revolution, voices have been raised in criticism of some aspect or other of the capitalistic system. These criticisms, however, have almost universally tended … Continue reading Capitalism & Community: We Need Both
by Minte Irmer Once upon a time, I was a freshman. Everyone goes through that stage. Some have it worse, some have it better, but at the crossroads of life, I accidentally took the shortcut towards Capital-A Adulthood. If you don’t know what a Capital-A Adult is, you probably are one. I hate to say it, but you people are the worst. I simultaneously fear … Continue reading Bildungsroman
by Devin Creed 안녕하세요! This standard Korean greeting (pronounced “annyeonghaseyo”) literally translates as “I hope you are well/peaceful.” Though unassuming, this simple word reveals much about Korean society. “세”is an honorific marker which is used to show respect to the person being addressed. “요”is the polite ending for verbs. Whenever Koreans encounter an elder or a stranger, the honorific polite form of the greeting is … Continue reading Korea: Life as the Other
by Micah Meadowcroft Yi Seung-hun was baptized in 1784. Peter Lee, as he became called, returned to Korea from a diplomatic mission to Beijing accompanying his father, the country’s first convert, bearing books and items of devotion. A Silhak Confucian teacher had asked him to learn more about the faith they read of in the writings of Matteo Ricci, a Jesuit missionary to China. The … Continue reading War, Mission, & Memory: Dr. Somerville’s Childhood in South Korea
DISC 1 by Forester McClatchey The album begins with a swirl of static, disorienting. Screwed-down vocals say, “This is a test.” A test of sound, yes, but also a test for hip-hop, a test for newcomers (like Killer Mike), and fundamentally a test for ‘Kast: a split album, combining twice the creative energy with twice the risk of failure. After Stankonia dropped in 2000, it … Continue reading Music Review: Speakerboxxx | The Love Below
by Emily Lehman I watched the new Cinderella movie tentatively, waiting for vulgar humor, a sudden flamboyant display of CGI, or a swipe at traditional gender roles. Accustomed to the endless litany of remakes, sequels, and parodies, I expected that this movie would attempt to wink knowingly at the audience in one way or another, and waited for the jarring, if expected, blow. To my … Continue reading Movie Review: Cinderella
by Chris McCaffery If I had no choice about the age in which I was to live, I nevertheless have a choice about the attitude I take and about the way and the extent of my participation in its living ongoing events. To choose the world is not then merely a pious admission that the world is acceptable because it comes from the hand of … Continue reading “Wherefore poets in a destitute time?”: Part Two of Three
by Mark Naida There is a hole cut out of the ceiling on the second floor of a normal-looking house off of Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. This hole opens up a converted second floor bedroom into a cavernous attic. The echoes of the greats have swirled and beat their way into the thinly insulated attic walls. If you stand under this hole quietly, you … Continue reading Soul Music & Live Recording
by Sarah Reinsel Twentieth century writer and critic Susan Sontag addresses the omnipresence of visual material and photography in “In Plato’s Cave”, sharply warning against the knowledge gained through photographs. She says, The knowledge gained through still photographs will always be some kind of sentimentalism, whether cynical or humanist. It will be a knowledge at bargain prices—a semblance of knowledge, a semblance of wisdom . … Continue reading Retraining the Eye
Hillsdale Forum 