Atsushi Akera (STS Department)
IHSS-1970 Nature/Society
Vasudha Seminar
 Reflective
learning
• What have we discussed?
• What would you like to talk about?
• What issues are outstanding?
1.
ONE: A Lie? Is there a Choice?
1.
2.
3.
2.
TWO: What is the Solution?
1.
2.
3.
4.
3.
Where are we going as a society?
What is our ideal?
What should it be?
What can we do to steer ourselves in the right direction
FOUR: Are We At an End?
1.
2.
5.
Should we try to live in the way that’s suggested in Ishmael
THREE: Let’s Act!
1.
4.
Is Ishmael saying we’re living a lie?
Is it possible for us as human beings to live in the way Quinn suggests
Hunter Gatherer society is passe; what’s the better solution?
Have we crossed that point of no return?
What happens when we do crash? What’s going to be the results?
FIVE: The Modern (Progressive) Alternative?
1.
2.
3.
Is there a lack of knowledge in “taker” culture (is this really true?)
How long can taker culture sustain itself, and by what means?
Is it better to have lived a million years as hunter-gatherers, or to burn and
crash (assuming that we do)?
 (this
is my guess)
• (A) Addressing broader questions and concerns
associated with Ishmael
• (B) Biblical Interpretations
• (C) Connecting the field trips to the readings
 [Transition
Topic]
• What makes for effective seminar conversation?
• [What’s the value of a lecture—and things in
between?]
 Facts
 Understanding
 Interpretation
 Criticism
 Contextualization
 Analysis
(& Critical Judgment)
What makes for effective seminar conversation?
[What’s the value of a lecture—and things in between?]
DO-S
DON’T-S
CREATING A SAFE SPACE FOR ALL OPINIONS
 Don’t
name anyone by name
 Listen, don’t react
• Try to understand another person’s position
• (You already know what you know)
 Jot
down your thoughts
• Go in a circle
DO-S





1-minute writing
assignments
Sitting in a circle; giving
everyone a chance to speak
(and HEAR)
Listening is as important as
speaking.
Breaking into smaller
groups; easier when there
are fewer people you have
to connect with.
Ask questions when you
don’t understand;
DON’T-S




Don’t discount people’s
ideas before they’ve had
everything they’ve had to
say
Don’t interrupt
In you’re debating, don’t
fight it too long; agree to
disagree (otherwise you
exclude others from
moving on.)
Don’t be repetitive; You can
expound, say you agree,
but don’t say the same
DO-S
DON’T-S
 Open
speaking (“friends” tradition)
 Speaking circle
 Guided queries
 Small groups / reporting out
 Variants
• Questions
• Quiz
 Which
why?
did you find most effective and
…
and things in between?









1. “With man gone will there be hope for gorilla?” What are
the possible meanings of this?
2. Why is the teacher a gorilla? (What is the author’s purpose?
What does this allow him to do?)
3. What could the tiger pacing in his cage represent?
4. What is the significance of “Goliath” leaving Africa to
become “civilized”?
5. What are the different meanings of “captivity” in Ishmael?
6. Why is his name Ishmael?
7. “Nazi Germany was held captive by its myths.” What does
this mean?
8. “Takers”, “Leavers”, “Mother Culture” These are key
terms in the book. Think about what they mean to “Nature and
Society”.
9. Think about the last sentence on page 46: “We have no
creation myth. That’s a certainty.”




1. What is “mother culture”, what is the “taker
thunderbolt”.
2. What was fact and what was “myth” in the student’s
creation story? Do facts and myths interact?
3. Discuss Sahlin’s essay “The Original Affluent Society”
in terms of Leavers and Takers.
4. What are your thoughts on this statement by Ishmael?
• “There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with people. Given a story to
enact that puts them in accord with the world, they will live in accord
with the world. But given a story to enact that puts them at odds with
the world, as yours does, they will live at odds with the world.”