[edit: Never mind. I ran into someone who caught me up. I'm keeping the post up here for the Le Guin link below]
I was down in San Diego during class today. Could someone give me a super-brief run-down of what we talked about? (e.g. The impact of Black=normal on racial/political relations in Left Hand of Darkness, Le Guin's treatment of gender as ____, Soviet Union/USA metaphors, or whatever we ended up discussing). Thanks much!

I wanted to focus in on this claim that the Handmaid’s tale movie ‘blunts’ the scariness of the book through three particular explorations: the protagonist’s access to control and identity, the depiction of the handmaids’ indoctrination, and the protagonist’s relationship with Nick. (This is in equal parts a response to http://machines.pomona.edu/55-2008/node/92 and http://machines.pomona.edu/55-2008/node/91).

I began to think about the power of names early on when the website I was using to define some of the most obscure vocabulary made the point that the name Case might derive from how his body is no more than a case for his mind, just like the physical housing of a computer has little to do with the actual content. I think this reading into his name has merit, though, as multiple blog entries already attest to, Case's relationship with his body is quite complex.

Okay, so I'm a bit science and religion obsessed academically, but I think the discussion here could be fruitful. This really goes back to the class discussion about the "scientifically verifiable theory of morals" (p. 118). I think Riceguy20 is totally right to highlight the quote “Man has no moral instinct" (p. 117) as really important -- through the instrument of Mr. Dubois, Heinlein constructs the ultimate 'science trumps religion' universe.

To continue a discussion begun in class today, what is the function of violence in Starship Troopers?

Of note:
-Suffrage was available only to those who completed their 2(+) years of voluntary service.
-Those who wish to serve a term of service can participate in non-overtly-violent ways (as terraformers, technicians, logistics, and human guinea pigs).

So, is violence the only way to gain merit in this society?

Everything seems to be up and running smoothly, sweet.