heterotopia

För er som läser en bok om mafian kan jag tipsa om en bra föreläsning imorgon som heter Mafiastrukturer i olika kulturer.

Today those who are done with Motivation, Mormons and A Beautiful Mind can read The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde.

All others should work hard to complete Motivation, Mormons and A Beautiful Mind.

Ok, so now I have had a look at your learning portfolios and I have some general comments.

1. A portfolio should include some kind of summary or introduction (although a journal type document could work just as well – I do think however that an introductory text which explains the content of the portfolio is the best way to go). In this document you should explain, in general terms, what you have done and what your learning activities were. This introduction could also refer to different parts of the portfolio and comment on their meaning as part of the broader aim – learning English
2. (For instance, you could tell me that you tried to learn new words by using them in sentences you wrote on your own and then refer to an attached document which includes a number of sentences where you use new words.)
3. A portolio should include any and all notes, documents, or other writing that you have produced as part of your learning.
4. Some of you have started by describing your goals for this course and then continued by describing what you did in order to reach your goals. This is a very good way of going about this work.
5. Some of you have put all your notes and articles, etc. in a folder, including a general summary to explain the content of the folder. This is also a very good way of going about this work.
6. Some of you have described how you have worked with grammar and explained grammatical rules and concepts in your own words. This is a very good way of working.
7. Some of you have shown independent initiative, that is you ahve shown how you have gone above and beyond the content of the course. You are showing how you have tried to learn on your own. This is also a very good way of working.
8. Finally, I want to stress the importance of activating your language and showing that you have done so. If you discussed the articles with a fellow student before the seminar, you should write about in the portfolio. If you have drawn mindmaps, you should include them and write about it in the portfolio. If you have read extra texts, like articles or books, you should write about that in the portfolio.

You have all seen A Beautiful Mind. It is a film that deals with the nature of insanity. The film is about the Nobel laureate John Forbes Nash Jr., who suffered from mental illness. The film paints a touching picture of the young scientist’s life and struggles. In comparison with the traditional Hollywood image of insanity this film shows a good and decent man who does his best under terrible circumstances. Traditionally though insane people in Hollywood movies are portrayed as evil or sadistic, as in the case of the films about the murderer Hannibal Lecter.

Assignment
1. Study Nash in the film. In what ways is he insane? In what ways is he sane?
2. Why, do you think, most movies portray the insane as dangerous?
3. How do you explain the title ‘A Beautiful Mind’?

The initial idea for Thursday’s class was to give an opportunity for you, the students, to prepare and share some knowledge you have of IT or economy, or perhaps experiences you have from working in an international business environment. From experience I know that there is always someone who has an interesting story to tell.

However, I have now thought this idea over and today I thought that perhaps not everybody would have something to share. So my suggestion is that we spend today’s class working on some material on accounting and financial statements (Key). We will work in groups and I will be around to answer questions and next week we will return to the material and see if there were any ‘muddy points’.

On the other hand if there is some people in the class that have something to share, they could work together on that – perhaps with my assistance. These students will of course be give opportunity to share their experiences with the others.

Next week
2nd of April will, according to our schedule, be devoted to feedback on any drafts of learning portfolios that you might have. Any time remaining will be devoted to a workshop on your oral presentations using MS Powerpoint. So bring your ideas on topics to talk about and I can give you some tips and help on the way. If you feel that you need more assistance with the preparation of the speech, please tell me and we will devote more time to that.

Accounting and Enron
An interesting accounting scandal occurred at the energy company Enron a few years ago. I think it was quite interesting to read about. Please check out the background here.

Scandals
Speaking of scandals. We have our own bonuses scandal in Sweden but in the US there’s been even more controversy with companies like AIG being saved by the government and then paying out huge bonuses to the managers that put the company on the brink to bankruptcy. Here is one story.

3rd date for oral presentations.

2nd date for oral presentations. We are in classroom 0047.

1st date for oral presentations.

Cultural studies class. We are in classroom 0047.

We’re still working with the body and soul theme. One aspect we haven’t touched upon is spirituality and religion. Religion has a lot to say about both body and soul. Incidentally, I found an interesting piece of news on bbc.co.uk. The story dealt with polygamy and Mormons.

Please read the article and watch the film clips on this web page.

Assignment
1. What did you learn about the Mormons from the article and the film clips?
2. What does the word “polygamy” mean?
3. What do you think of this practice (polygamy)? Do you see any risks? Do you see any benefits?
4. Where does the term “Mormon” come from. (Please use the wikipedia link above.)

Grammar
Its and it’s
Then and than

THEN is always related to the concept of time.
THAN is related to the concept of comparison (comparing two things, people, or ideas).

Nationalities

All nationalities have a capital letter. Like in: I met a Swedish man who spoke Japanese. Or: The first Scotsman I met was wearing a kilt.

Assignment
1. Write two sentences using it’s and its
2. Write two sentences using then and than.
3. Write two sentences using at least two nationalities.