FINAL DEADLINE IS JULY 3, 11P

All the course materials are up on Angel and all the slides can be viewed in the sidebar here.

Assignments should be completed by Friday, July 3 at 11p.

If you cannot make this deadline, please contact me as soon as possible so we can make alternative arrangements.

COME BACK TO CLASS ON THURSDAY, JUNE 25

We will have class. I am not sure if I will be there or not but the movie Sicko will be shown and attendance will be taken in either case.

Pattie

Military Industrial Complex Speech

As promised, click on title for whole text.

This is the part we discussed in class:

A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction.

Our military organization today bears little relation to that known by any of my predecessors in peacetime, or indeed by the fighting men of World War II or Korea.

Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense; we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. Added to this, three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United States corporations.

This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.

Akin to, and largely responsible for the sweeping changes in our industrial-military posture, has been the technological revolution during recent decades.

In this revolution, research has become central; it also becomes more formalized, complex, and costly. A steadily increasing share is conducted for, by, or at the direction of, the Federal government.

Today, the solitary inventor, tinkering in his shop, has been overshadowed by task forces of scientists in laboratories and testing fields. In the same fashion, the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity. For every old blackboard there are now hundreds of new electronic computers.

The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present and is gravely to be regarded.

Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientifictechnological elite.

It is the task of statesmanship to mold, to balance, and to integrate these and other forces, new and old, within the principles of our democratic system -- ever aiming toward the supreme goals of our free society.

This Week's Slides & Study Guide

The slides for June 15 & 16 are up and so is this week's Quiz Study Guide. Homework & Guided Journal are on Angel as well.

Cheers,
Pattie

June 11 Slides are up...

here & online.

Don't forget, you can use the online forums for your group communication if you want to get a head start on getting your project approved.

Have a great weekend.

See you Monday!

Quiz #1 is available

I was a little late in getting Quiz #1 up online, but it is now available.

June 9 Slides are up

Also,

Thought you might find this interesting. It is from the first episode of our radio show which outlines why I think the movie, The Matrix is a great allegory for a sociological imagination. When you click on the link the .mp3 file may take a few minutes to load up.

June 8 Slides are up

On the blog (see side bar) and campus online system. Also the first Guided Journal is online. We will discuss it more tomorrow.

It was great meeting everybody today.

See you tomorrow.
Pattie

WELCOME SUMMER STUDENTS!

Today is the first day of class. It is going to be quite a ride since I'm cramming everything from a 16 week semester into 4 weeks. I hope it will be a fun journey!

Cheers,
Pattie

SUMMER SESSION

I am scheduled to teach in June this summer, one section of Soc 101. Here's the details:

Class: SOC 101 Introduction to Sociology
Section: HN422
Meeting: MTWR 9:40AM -12:10PM
Campus: Henderson
Room: C 133

Hope to see you there.