Respond to your instructor’s   question and to your classmates’ responses. The goal of this discussion forum   is to have a single conversation about the topic, not a series of 30 separate   conversations.

Respond to your instructor’s   question and to your classmates’ responses. The goal of this discussion forum   is to have a single conversation about the topic, not a series of 30 separate   conversations. This means that every post should be in response to another   post. Only start a new thread if you want to address a whole different theme   within the topic, and only post after first carefully reading what others   have written. Do not repeat what your classmates have already said, and do   not ignore them if they ask you questions. Try to keep the conversation   moving forward.

Attend discussion on at least four   separate days, and post a total of 800 words. There is no required word count   for individual posts as long as all your posts together total 800 words. Nor   is there a minimum number of posts, but you must post on at least four   separate days by Day 7.

Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this   Discussion Thread.

Responses

Responses are listed below in the following order: response, author and the date and time the response is posted.

Response 

Author 

Date/Time 

(an instructor response)

Week 2 Discussion

Instructor Umansky

Discussion for       Week 2

Reading: Heart of Darkness (Complete       novel. p. 51-182 in the Google Books edition) = 131 pages
In the poem “The White Man’s Burden”, Rudyard Kipling portrays the idea       that Europe and America had an obligation to shine the “light” of       civilization into the “darkness” of “savage” places like Africa. Most       scholars see Joseph Conrad’s novel Heart       of Darkness as a critique of this imperialist       project. Discuss Conrad’s attitude toward British imperialism, paying       particular attention to the way Conrad plays with images of light vs.       darkness and civilization vs. savagery. What exactly does Conrad think is       the problem with imperialism? What is the “horror” that the character       Kurtz refers to with his dying breath? Be sure to cite specific passages       from the text that support your interpretation. Once you have a clear       understanding of the text, you can move on to evaluation and application.       For example, you may wish to discuss ways that Conrad’s novel expresses       racist attitudes that might undercut his attempted critique of       imperialism. In other words, you may wish to discuss how Conrad is an       example of Edward Said’s concept of “orientalism.” Or you may wish to       discuss other examples of orientalism you see in today’s culture.

Remember that       your discussions have to be a total of 800 words over 4 different days.       The initial post should be at a minimum 350-400 words and the response       can make up the differences to total 800 words. Please respond to my       initial post/thread and respond to 3 peers with substantive responses (at       least 150-200 words each), rather than initiating new threads.