Ishmael, An Adventure of the Mind and Spirt
Terms and Concepts: In chapter 2 Ishmael expands his thesis of captivity in its most broad sense of the word. He introduces what will become the central theme of the conversation; that of the "takers" and the "leavers." Pay careful attention to how he builds up to this point. In particular, pay attention to the vocabulary he uses. It will be important to keep these words and concepts clearly in mind as you progress through the book. Ishmael's concept of "story" is the explanation of how things came to be as they are. Follow the logical from here by which the enactment of the story leads to our culture. Finally, we are given the dichotomy between those who buy into the the story and those who do not; the takers and the leavers. Ishmael illustrates this using the rise of Nazi Germany as his example, but then suggest that our culture in general has been created in the same fashion. He suggests that we are in fact captives of our creation story.
Image from Kidcyber.
Reading and final draft due: 26 May.
Essay: Using the information in chapters, pick a specific example of a cultural institution and apply Ishmael's logic to it. Show how the institution relies on a "story" that its participants "enact" to build the "culture" of the institution that we can either "take" or "leave."
