1) Huntington writes that ..."a crucial test of a paradigm's validity and usefulness is the extent to which the predictions derived from it turn out to be more accurate than those from alternative paradigms.
"Many important developments after the end of the Cold War were compatible with the civilization paradigm and could have been predicted from it."
Which developments?
2) What are the alternative paradigms (to the competing civilizations paradigm) does Huntington suggest existed to explain world politics after the end of the Cold War?
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Ecological Design
In Cradle to Cradle, McDonough and Braungart argue that the conflict between industry and the environment is not an indictment of commerce but an outgrowth of purely opportunistic design. The design of products and manufacturing systems growing out of the Industrial Revolution reflected the spirit of the day-and yielded a host of unintended yet tragic consequences.
Today, with our growing knowledge of the living earth, design can reflect a new spirit. In fact, the authors write, when designers employ the intelligence of natural systems—the effectiveness of nutrient cycling, the abundance of the sun's energy—they can create products, industrial systems, buildings, even regional plans that allow nature and commerce to fruitfully co-exist.
Cradle to Cradle maps the lineaments of McDonough and Braungart's new design paradigm, offering practical steps on how to innovate within today's economic environment. Part social history, part green business primer, part design manual, the book makes plain that the re-invention of human industry is not only within our grasp, it is our best hope for a future of sustaining prosperity.
In addition to describing the hopeful, nature-inspired design principles that are making industry both prosperous and sustainable, the book itself is a physical symbol of the changes to come. It is printed on a synthetic 'paper,' made from plastic resins and inorganic fillers, designed to look and feel like top quality paper while also being waterproof and rugged. And the book can be easily recycled in localities with systems to collect polypropylene, like that in yogurt containers. This 'treeless' book points the way toward the day when synthetic books, like many other products, can be used, recycled, and used again without losing any material quality—in cradle to cradle cycles.
Today, with our growing knowledge of the living earth, design can reflect a new spirit. In fact, the authors write, when designers employ the intelligence of natural systems—the effectiveness of nutrient cycling, the abundance of the sun's energy—they can create products, industrial systems, buildings, even regional plans that allow nature and commerce to fruitfully co-exist.
Cradle to Cradle maps the lineaments of McDonough and Braungart's new design paradigm, offering practical steps on how to innovate within today's economic environment. Part social history, part green business primer, part design manual, the book makes plain that the re-invention of human industry is not only within our grasp, it is our best hope for a future of sustaining prosperity.
In addition to describing the hopeful, nature-inspired design principles that are making industry both prosperous and sustainable, the book itself is a physical symbol of the changes to come. It is printed on a synthetic 'paper,' made from plastic resins and inorganic fillers, designed to look and feel like top quality paper while also being waterproof and rugged. And the book can be easily recycled in localities with systems to collect polypropylene, like that in yogurt containers. This 'treeless' book points the way toward the day when synthetic books, like many other products, can be used, recycled, and used again without losing any material quality—in cradle to cradle cycles.
God and World Politics
People’s beliefs about God have always played significant roles in determining the nature of world politics. Religion has had a particularly significant and changing impact on politics in many areas of the world since the end of the Cold War at the end of the last century. The growth of evangelical Christianity in the United States, and of Islam in the Middle East and Europe has been particularly notable in the past few decades, and has complicated world events.
We will read Sam Harris’ The End of Faith: Religion, Terror and the Future of Reason, and Samuel Huntington’s The Clash of Civilizations: Remaking of World Order to try to assess the importance of varying beliefs about God on the political landscape of the world, and upon the increasingly complex relationships among nations. We will discuss the impact of religion on terrorism and American foreign policy. The reading will be supplemented with documentary films about religion, including The Passion of the Christ, Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West, The Mormons, The Legacy of a Prophet, and The God Who Wasn’t There.
There will also be a substantial writing component of the program. We will continue to utilize The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing, by Michael Harvey, to facilitate instruction and practice in writing in private, public and academic contexts, this course helps students understand and successfully engage with college-level writing tasks.
We will concentrate this semester on the research process, culminating in one long research paper.
God and World Politics Spring Semester Learning Objectives:
1. Increase the student’s understanding of the core beliefs of some of the leading religions
2. Increase the student’s understanding of how the major religious belief systems affect contemporary global affairs.
3. Become more self-aware of the student’s beliefs about God and religion
4. Increase student’s ability to read, think, speak and write critically
Learning Experiences:
In conjunction with the readings assigned for the course, we will engage in both lecture/discussion classes (in which the instructor will direct the discussion) and seminars (in which the students will be expected to be prepared to participate as equals in the discussion). We will view and critically discuss a number of documentary and feature films that delve into the themes of the course. We will hold a number of writing workshops in which the instructor will work with each student, in group and individually, on the writing assignments for the class
I will also try to get the class involved in helping to create and maintain a blog, both to communicate quickly about ideas for the class, and to give students one more informal arena for writing. The blog is located at www.godandworldpolitics.blogspot.com. Consult it the evening before every class!
Required Texts and Materials:
Sam Harris, The End of Faith
Michael Harvey, The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing
Samuel Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations
We will read Sam Harris’ The End of Faith: Religion, Terror and the Future of Reason, and Samuel Huntington’s The Clash of Civilizations: Remaking of World Order to try to assess the importance of varying beliefs about God on the political landscape of the world, and upon the increasingly complex relationships among nations. We will discuss the impact of religion on terrorism and American foreign policy. The reading will be supplemented with documentary films about religion, including The Passion of the Christ, Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West, The Mormons, The Legacy of a Prophet, and The God Who Wasn’t There.
There will also be a substantial writing component of the program. We will continue to utilize The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing, by Michael Harvey, to facilitate instruction and practice in writing in private, public and academic contexts, this course helps students understand and successfully engage with college-level writing tasks.
We will concentrate this semester on the research process, culminating in one long research paper.
God and World Politics Spring Semester Learning Objectives:
1. Increase the student’s understanding of the core beliefs of some of the leading religions
2. Increase the student’s understanding of how the major religious belief systems affect contemporary global affairs.
3. Become more self-aware of the student’s beliefs about God and religion
4. Increase student’s ability to read, think, speak and write critically
Learning Experiences:
In conjunction with the readings assigned for the course, we will engage in both lecture/discussion classes (in which the instructor will direct the discussion) and seminars (in which the students will be expected to be prepared to participate as equals in the discussion). We will view and critically discuss a number of documentary and feature films that delve into the themes of the course. We will hold a number of writing workshops in which the instructor will work with each student, in group and individually, on the writing assignments for the class
I will also try to get the class involved in helping to create and maintain a blog, both to communicate quickly about ideas for the class, and to give students one more informal arena for writing. The blog is located at www.godandworldpolitics.blogspot.com. Consult it the evening before every class!
Required Texts and Materials:
Sam Harris, The End of Faith
Michael Harvey, The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing
Samuel Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations
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