On the Trail of the Evasive MZ in Macedonia
I think I would be a little disappointed if the weather was any different: 50 degrees, raining, windy. There is no better welcome to Skopje, the capital of Macedonia. The city was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1963, a time when Macedonia was a republic of Yugoslavia. As a result, Skopje has some… [Continue Reading]
Abstract Redux: Mozi as a Utilitarian and What He Can Teach Us About the Relationship Between Chinese and Western Philosophy
Long title, basic concept: Mozi, an ancient Chinese philosopher (ca. 470 BC – ca. 391 BC), founded the school of Mohist thought in opposition to that of Confucianism and Daoism. His basic ethical teachings can be summed up in ten theses, the most famous of which is the injunction that one ought to be concerned… [Continue Reading]
In the beginning…
Today I am starting my research project and in an effort to hold myself extremely accountable I am going to officially declare it online so there’s no shirking off. My attack plan is thus: My adviser recommended Trottier’s The Screenwriter’s Bible and since Barnes and Noble is too tempting a place, I also bought another… [Continue Reading]
Abstract: The Socioeconomic Divide in the Arab-American Community of Dearborn, MI
A suburb of Detroit, Dearborn has a modest population of less than 100,000. It’s a city known for being the birthplace of Henry Ford and the auto industry that made Detroit “Motor City.” It also, however, has the highest proportion of Arab-Americans in the United States. With 40,000 residents identifying as Arab-American, almost half of… [Continue Reading]
The Birth of Tragedy in the Context of Nietzsche’s Frühwerk
As I begin my research, one of the first problems that presents itself is the curious position of The Birth of Tragedy alongside the works that precede and follow it in Nietzsche’s oeuvre. While The Birth of Tragedy finds its way into the Kritische Studienausgabe of Nietzsche’s “philosophical” writings (i.e. not his early philological work)… [Continue Reading]
Abstract: Putting the holy in Holy Land
My interest is sparked by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, instead of focusing on politics and the peace process, I want to examine the conflict from a religious angle. I am curious as to how legitimate, if at all, the respective religious claims to the land are. Legitimacy in religion is a tricky concept. My operational… [Continue Reading]