Read it with Rasheeda

Assalamu Alaikum dear reader friends..!! And my dear students!! At last.. Alhamdulillah.. I’m back… I’m back… I’m baaaacckkk!!!! Today I’ve come here with an intention to discuss about the “Roaring Twenties” which was a landmark of modernism in the history of America. The 1920’s and 1930’s were characterized by various movements, wars, and rebellions which resulted in a sudden rise of knowledge and creativity. Friends, do you not agree with me when I say that deep emotions and sufferings result in works of great aesthetic value? Yes..!! Similarly, today we are discussing such a period of modernity in America which shakes the very foundations of art and artistry in the history of America. We can so relate to our contemporary times with this age of transition and Renaissance in America. In American literature we call this the “Jazz Age”. The age was characterized by shifting dance and music styles. The ‘Jazz’ is a kind of music which is a combination of European and African styles. It wa...

Assalamu Alaikum dear reader friends!! Happy to be back with a "sweet sounding" greeting for the New Year!! Wish you all a happpppyyyyy New Year filled with success and prosperity!!! Life has been going well dear amigos... with the help of books and music! What is life if one doesn't have time to read at least 50 pages or so, before going to sleep every night?! So friends this time I chose this beautiful treatise on "senses" by Diane Ackerman!!  The book is called A NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SENSES !!  Thanks a million Dr Kunhammad for introducing me to this growing genre called Sensory Studies !!   Special thanks to  Dr Rufus , our admin @ Readers' Rendezvous , for his stimulating ideas on Creativity which inspired me to write this post! Sensory Studies involve a cultural, anthropological, sociological, psychological, and an aesthetic approach to the study of senses .  In short, "The sensorium is a fascinating focus for cultural st...

ETHICS, SCIENCE, AND SCIENCE FICTION By Nancy Kress A very interesting and intriguing report Nancy Kress gives us on the role of Science Fiction( SF ) , in mending our realities. She very lucidly pulls out examples of different SF works, and elucidates in simple language, the impact of the writers on predicting the plausibilities of our future. She begins by defining SF as a “near-future story or novel” that takes a serious note of what is to be done with today’s available technological and scientific advancements. From movies like Star Wars and Star Trek , to works of magic realism by Borges and Garcia Marquez , Science Fiction is a very big galaxy, dealing with stories of space adventure, scientific puzzle, engineering speculation, and social extrapolation, with media tie-ins, explains Kress. Science Fiction raises many ethical questions on prevailing conditions of technology on how it is used, applied, and the outcomes of its role in the society. These ethical dilemm...