pl send lesson notes for 8, 9&10 On Jan 3, 2018 9:29 AM, "Gurumurthy K" <itfc.stfk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Dear Teachers > > How can we alert our students about the greatest danger to our existence > ... the destruction of our environment based on our blind faith in ruthless > exploitation of nature, and in technocratic solutions to problems ..... > this is something every subject teacher should plan to include in every > lesson .... > > read the article below > > regards, > Guru > IT for Change > source - https://www.nationofchange.org/2018/01/02/life-without- > limits-delusions-technological-fundamentalism/ > > > > In a routinely delusional world, what is the most dangerous delusion? > > Living in the United States, I’m tempted to focus on the delusion that the > United States is the greatest nation in the history of the world – a claim > repeated robotically by politicians of both parties. > > In a mass-consumption capitalist society, there’s the delusion that if we > only buy more, newer, better products we all will be happier – a claim > repeated endlessly in commercial propaganda (commonly known as > *advertising* and *marketing*). > > I’m also white, and so it’s understandable to worry about the delusion > that white people are superior to non-white people. And as a man, I reflect > on the delusion that institutionalized male dominance is our fate, whether > asserted to be divinely commanded or evolutionarily inevitable. > > But all these delusions that rationalize hierarchies within the human > family, and the resulting injustices that flow from those hierarchies, are > less frightening to me than modern humans’ delusion that we are not bound > by the laws of physics and chemistry, that humans can live beyond the > biophysical limits of the ecosphere. > 2018 Peace Calendars are here! > > GET YOURS > <https://secure.actblue.com/donate/peacecal2018-1?refcode=inline> > > This delusion is not limited to one country, one group, or one political > party, but rather is the unstated assumption of everyday life in the > high-energy/high-technology industrial world. This is the delusion that we > are – to borrow from the title of a particularly delusional recent book – > the *god species > <https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/215617/the-god-species-by-mark-lynas/9781426208911/>* > . > > This ideology of human supremacy leads us to believe that our species’ > cleverness allows us to ignore the limits placed on all life forms by the > larger living world, of which we are but one component. What we once > quaintly called “environmentalism” – which too often focused on technical > solutions to discrete problems rather than challenging human arrogance and > the quest for endless affluence – is no longer adequate to deal with the > multiple, cascading ecological crises that define our era: climate > destabilization, species extinction, soil erosion, groundwater depletion, > toxic waste accumulation, and on and on. > > Playing god got us into this trouble, and more of the same won’t get us > out. > > This inability to accept the limits that come with being part of “nature” > – a strange term when used to contrast with “human,” as if humans were > somehow not part of the natural world – was on my mind as I read two new > books about controversial topics that typically are thought of as social, > not ecological, issues: *Transgender Children and Young People: Born in > Your Own Body > <http://www.cambridgescholars.com/transgender-children-and-young-people>*, > edited by Heather Brunskell-Evans and Michele Moore, and *Surrogacy: A > Human Rights Violation > <http://www.spinifexpress.com.au/Bookstore/book/id=301/>*, by Renate > Klein. > > Both books offer a feminist critique of the ideology and practices of > these movements that herald medical/technological “solutions” to struggles > with gender norms and infertility. > > Brunskell-Evans’ and Moore’s book brings together researchers, activists, > mental health practitioners and parents who question such practices as > puberty suppression to block the development of secondary sex > characteristics as treatment for gender dysphoria. Are such disruptions of > a child’s development with powerful drugs warranted, given the lack of > testing and absence of a clear understanding of the etiology of > transgenderism? The authors challenge what has rapidly become the liberal > dogma of embracing medicalized approaches to the very real problem of > patriarchal gender norms (the demand that boys must act one way and girls > another) that constrain our lives. > > Klein marshals research and the testimony of surrogates to point out that > another liberal dogma – affluent individuals have a right to “rent a womb” > so they may have a child genetically related to them – involves > considerable risks for the surrogate mother (sometimes referred to as the > “gestational carrier”). The author’s assessment is blunt, but well > supported: modern surrogacy is a form of exploitation of women and > trafficking in babies. > > Both books demonstrate the enduring relevance of the radical branch of > feminism that highlights men’s attempts to control and exploit women’s > reproductive power and sexuality as a key feature of men’s dominance in > patriarchal societies. And both are critical of the naive celebration of > high-tech medicine to deal with issues that stem from patriarchy’s rigid, > repressive and reactionary gender norms. > > Those radical feminist challenges dovetail with a radical ecological > critique that reminds us that being alive – being a carbon-based creature > that exists within the limits of the ecosphere – means that we should be > skeptical of claims that we can magically transcend those limits. The > high-energy, high-tech, human-defined world in which we live can lull us > into believing that we are like gods in our ability to shape the world, and > to shape our own bodies. > > Of course, drugs, surgery and medical techniques routinely save lives and > improve our lives, in ways that are “unnatural” in some sense. To highlight > these questions does not mean that lines are easy to draw between what is > appropriate and what is ill-advised. But we invite serious miscalculations > when we embrace without critical self-reflection the assumption that we can > manipulate our human-centered worlds without concern for the limits of the > larger living world. > > Many of us have experienced this in end-of-life care decisions for > ourselves or loved ones. When are high-tech medical interventions that > prolong life without concern for quality of life a mistake? I have had long > conversations with friends and family about where the line should be drawn, > not only to make my own views clear but to search for collective > understanding. The fact that the line is hard to draw, and even harder to > face when arriving at it, doesn’t make the question any less relevant. The > fact that there is no obvious and easy answer doesn’t mean we can avoid the > question. > > Elective cosmetic surgery is perhaps the best example of the culture’s > rejection of limits. All living things eventually die, and human appearance > changes as we age, yet many people search for ways to stave off that aging > or to change their appearance for other non-medical reasons. In 2017, > Americans spent more than $15 billion on cosmetic procedures > <https://www.surgery.org/sites/default/files/ASAPS-Stats2016.pdf> > (surgical and nonsurgical), 91% of which were performed on women. The two > most common surgical procedures are liposuction and breast augmentation. > Although some people who get liposuction are overweight, it is not a > treatment for obesity, and breast augmentation is rarely related to > physical health. These procedures typically are chosen by people seeking to > conform to social norms about appearance. > > With this humility about high-tech human intervention in mind, how should > we understand the experience of feeling at odds with gender norms? How > should we reconcile the physical inability to bear children with the desire > to have children? There are no obvious or easy answers, but I believe that > as a culture we are better served by starting with the recognition that we > are *not* gods, that we cannot endlessly manipulate the world without > risking unintended consequences for self and others. How does the rejection > of limits impede our ability to first examine and then resist the > impositions of patriarchy, to find new understandings of sex/gender and new > social relationships for caring for children? > > At the planetary level, we have considerable evidence that our faux-god > attempts to dominate the ecosphere – which started most dramatically with > the invention of agriculture 10,000 years ago and intensified with the > exploitation of fossil fuels – now make the future of a large-scale human > population uncertain. The lesson some of us take from that is to turn away > from the “technological fundamentalism” that leads us to see all problems > as having high-energy/high-tech solutions and consider different ways of > living within the biophysical limits of the planet. > > That same perspective is compelling on the level of these questions around > gender and fertility. Here’s a sensible place to start: We should step back > from the hyper-individualism of neoliberal ideology and examine more deeply > how the institutionalized male dominance of patriarchy has shaped our > collective thinking about gender and identity, and about women’s status and > parenting. Such reflection reveals that the liberal ideology on > transgenderism and surrogacy embraces the technological fundamentalism that > embraces medical and market “solutions” rather than enhancing the sense of > integrity that we seek. > > *Integrity* is a key concept here because of its two meanings – adherence > to moral principles and the state of being whole. We strive to act with > integrity, and to maintain the integrity of both the living body and the > larger living world. In hierarchical systems that reward domination, such > as patriarchy, freedom comes to be understood only at the ability to > control, others and the world around us. Andrea Dworkin > <https://www.feministes-radicales.org/2013/08/05/andrea-dworkin-occupation-colaboration-intercourse-chap-7/> > captures this struggle when she writes: > > “Being an object – living in the realm of male objectification – is abject > submission, an abdication of the freedom and integrity of the body, its > privacy, its uniqueness, its worth in and of itself because it is the human > body of a human being.” > > Freedom in patriarchy is granted only to those in control, and that > control turns other living things into objects, destroying the possibility > of integrity-as-moral-principles and integrity-as-wholeness. Real freedom > is not found in the quest to escape limits but in deepening our > understanding of our place in a world with limits. > > Robert Jensen is an author and a professor in the School of Journalism at > the University of Texas at Austin. He is also a board member of the Third > Coast Activist Resource Center in Austin. > > IT for Change, Bengaluru > www.ITforChange.net > > -- > ----------- > 1.ವಿಷಯ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕರ ವೇದಿಕೆಗೆ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕರನ್ನು ಸೇರಿಸಲು ಈ ಅರ್ಜಿಯನ್ನು ತುಂಬಿರಿ. > - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSevqRdFngjbDtOF8YxgeXeL > 8xF62rdXuLpGJIhK6qzMaJ_Dcw/viewform > 2. ಇಮೇಲ್ ಕಳುಹಿಸುವಾಗ ಗಮನಿಸಬೇಕಾದ ಕೆಲವು ಮಾರ್ಗಸೂಚಿಗಳನ್ನು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ನೋಡಿ. > -http://karnatakaeducation.org.in/KOER/index.php/ವಿಷಯಶಿಕ್ > ಷಕರವೇದಿಕೆ_ಸದಸ್ಯರ_ಇಮೇಲ್_ಮಾರ್ಗಸೂಚಿ > 3. ಐ.ಸಿ.ಟಿ ಸಾಕ್ಷರತೆ ಬಗೆಗೆ ಯಾವುದೇ ರೀತಿಯ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳಿದ್ದಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಪುಟಕ್ಕೆ ಭೇಟಿ > ನೀಡಿ - > http://karnatakaeducation.org.in/KOER/en/index.php/Portal:ICT_Literacy > 4.ನೀವು ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶ ಬಳಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದೀರಾ ? ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ > ತಿಳಿಯಲು -http://karnatakaeducation.org.in/KOER/en/index.php/ > Public_Software > ----------- > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "EnglishSTF" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to englishstf+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to englishstf@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- ----------- 1.ವಿಷಯ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕರ ವೇದಿಕೆಗೆ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕರನ್ನು ಸೇರಿಸಲು ಈ ಅರ್ಜಿಯನ್ನು ತುಂಬಿರಿ. - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSevqRdFngjbDtOF8YxgeXeL8xF62rdXuLpGJIhK6qzMaJ_Dcw/viewform 2. ಇಮೇಲ್ ಕಳುಹಿಸುವಾಗ ಗಮನಿಸಬೇಕಾದ ಕೆಲವು ಮಾರ್ಗಸೂಚಿಗಳನ್ನು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ನೋಡಿ. -http://karnatakaeducation.org.in/KOER/index.php/ವಿಷಯಶಿಕ್ಷಕರವೇದಿಕೆ_ಸದಸ್ಯರ_ಇಮೇಲ್_ಮಾರ್ಗಸೂಚಿ 3. ಐ.ಸಿ.ಟಿ ಸಾಕ್ಷರತೆ ಬಗೆಗೆ ಯಾವುದೇ ರೀತಿಯ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳಿದ್ದಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಪುಟಕ್ಕೆ ಭೇಟಿ ನೀಡಿ - http://karnatakaeducation.org.in/KOER/en/index.php/Portal:ICT_Literacy 4.ನೀವು ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶ ಬಳಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದೀರಾ ? ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ತಿಳಿಯಲು -http://karnatakaeducation.org.in/KOER/en/index.php/Public_Software ----------- --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "EnglishSTF" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to englishstf+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send an email to englishstf@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
