Monthly Archives: April 2020

For Future Hope, Orwell, Not Dickens

While Dickens looks to wealthy benefactors for the poor, Orwell argues for systemic overhaul. In that way, Orwell should be our future rather than Dickens.

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Trump & COVID? Think Ministry of Magic

Trump dealing with COVID-19 can be compared to the Ministry of Magic trying to deal with Voldemort.

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Passover: A Ritual for Wanderers

Henry Weinfield is deeply skeptical of a fixed Jewish identity but captures the wandering spirit in this Passover poem.

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Homer, Virgil & Dante Visit the Afterlife

In my Representative Masterpieces course, I conclude with Dante’s “Inferno,” where we see sinners creating their own hells.

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Cuomo Channels Shakespeare’s Henry V

Andrew Cuomo’s recent speech to the National Guard has echoes of Henry V’s St. Crispin’s Day speech on the eve of Agincourt.

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When Millenarians Meet a Pandemic

Mandel’s “Station Eleven” predicts the kind of religious language we can expect to hear from some as the pandemic deepens. It’s not pleasant.

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The Bard Answers Pestilence’s Challenge

In Emily St. John Mandel’s dystopia “Station Eleven,” people turn to Shakespeare in a world that has been devastated by pandemic.

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How Iago Corrupts Othello

Why is Othello so gullible. It may be that he has an underlying security, which Iago understands and preys upon.

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