Day: September 30, 2020

Hi all,

In class today, I talked about a proposal I am putting together to get pre-med, pre-vet, pre-dental, and any other pre-professional STEM individual or STEM major to have a Diversity, Inequality, and STEM Ethics requirement. I will post the little blurb about our purpose as well as the link here for you to join if you are interested in providing more information and/or want to share!

“Purpose: This document is here to compile a list of resources, references, courses, and ideas on how to structure a Diversity, Inequality, and STEM Ethics requirement for all STEM majors to ensure the acknowledgment of the history of STEM and the various consequences of its applications to prevent discrimination, marginalization, exploitation, and ostracization of those who are impacted by the next generation of STEM professionals.”

Furthermore, for any student, there is a new Science Communication and Public Engagement minor that just opened this January. I am a senior and will be able to graduate with the minor. The faculty are understanding for upperclassmen who are interested. I will link the website here. Sorry for digressing from the original theme of this course, but I thought I would share it in case anyone is interested!

Check out these images and videos to talk about how maps are made and why they have intentionally made Africa look smaller than it is.

https://www.vox.com/world/2016/12/2/13817712/map-projection-mercator-globe

 

I thought this film would be a good talking point for this class because it discusses the American dream within an Asian immigrant context. It is about a Korean family who moves to Arkansas in order to make a living for themselves. Let me know what you guys think about it. I am personally very excited to see this on the big screen.

I mentioned Monty Python’s skit last class and Prof Goffe asked me to post about it, so here it goes:

I learned about Monty Python from a young age from my Dad, who loves them.  They were a British sketch comedy troupe and their distinctive style has had a huge impact on comedy today, seen in shows like SNL.

The skit in question is called SPAM.  The list of the restaurant’s offerings that all curiously include SPAM devolves into a Viking song.  It’s a commentary on the British post-WW2 food rationing that lasted into the 60s.  Rationing meant that SPAM was a staple, and used in many foods. Please watch, it’s pretty short and very funny.

Monty Python actually has a many food-based skits. Aside from one of my favorite insults of all time (“Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries”) from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, they did the cheese shop sketch. This is one of my favorites!
In this sketch, a customer visits a cheese shop shockingly lacking in cheese:

Another Monty Python sketch that’s in an exercise in repetition and back and forth is Mr Creosote (mostly known as the “Wafa Thin” sketch), in which a gluttonous man visits a restaurant. WARNING: this one is extremely gross, and I still remember the shock of seeing it for the first time as a kid. If you’re squeamish, just skip it.