Post Truth

A word of the year 2016 : Post-truth 

 Post-truth : 

Relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.

(Definition by Google translator)

See this youtube video for knowing about Post-truth :

Religion as a political tool :

Nowadays political parties use religion as their political tool. The 21st century is era of post truth era. A political leaders manipulates people's religious sentiments to sway votes in their favor. 

People don't know what's happening behind the name of religion, casteism, nationalism etc. They thing it is truth but it is post truth. Critical evaluation of every thought and practice must be needy at all time.

Work with human psychology :

 

Use human's emotions and their beliefs, soft corners against them. Political parties and other selfish person always practice post truth for their own benefit and fulfill selfish desires. Post-truth refers to using emotions to unleash people's emotions to change their thoughts and, at the same time, hide facts. 

For the past several years, a common observation about life in America—and the political arena in particular—is that we are living in a “post-truth” world. Media editorial pages and family dinner tables alike lament the decline of “objective truth” in American public life. In a recent Washington Post opinion piece, for example, a writer recalled hearing a “bright college student” and a Hollywood agent both refer to a nonfiction book as a “novel,” citing the erroneous categorization as evidence of “a collapsing boundary between truth and fiction in the public mind.”

As urgent as are such pleas for people to heed the call to “fight back misinformation,” the suggestion that this can be accomplished by simply flagging false claims and countering them with “the facts” fails to acknowledge a fundamental characteristic of human society: People don’t universally agree on what “the facts” are. In other words, one person’s misinformation is another person’s indisputable truth.

Now, acknowledging that other people draw the line between fact and fiction in a different place from where we draw it does not blithely suggest that this lack of agreement over what constitutes “truth” is not problematic. One “truth” that virtually everyone can agree on is that America is deeply, and perhaps even dangerously, divided over where the boundary between fact and misinformation lies. Our strategy of attempting to deal with this divide by fact-checking questionable claims and schooling the people who make them with the real facts, however, is simply not enough. No matter how much incontrovertible evidence we present to “them” (whoever “they” happen to be) they remain entrenched in their illogical position and the chasm between us and them remains. In an article recently published in Social and Personality Psychology Compass, Mirko Demasio proposes that a potentially more productive approach to the post-truth problem would be to view it from the perspective of a relatively new field of psychological study called “discursive psychology.”

Originating in the late 1980s as a variant of social psychology, discursive psychology is “an approach that focuses on how the psychological is brought to life through discourse.” It “looks at how psychological concepts (attitudes, memories, attributes, etc.) are worked up in discourse as social actions highly attuned to a specific context." The speech through which people interact with each other on a day-to-day basis, then, is less a reflection of reality than it is a medium through which "reality" is constructed. Within this constructed reality, “facts” are not “states of affairs,” but rather “constructions put together for particular purposes.”

Victoria Park

 

Study trip : Victoria Park

Victoria Park,bhavnagar

William Wordsworth

‘Daffodils,’ also known as ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,’

 ‘Daffodils’ or ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’ has been dissected methodically for illustrating the poet’s mood, the surrounding location, the allegorical meanings, and the beauty of nature in full motion. The poet’s love and proximity with nature have inspired and moved generations after generations of poetry lovers and young minds. Throughout ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,’ Wordsworth engages with themes of nature, memory, and spirituality.

 These three are tied together as the speaker, Wordsworth himself, moves through a beautiful landscape. He takes pleasure in the sight of the daffodils and revives his spirit in nature. At the same time, Wordsworth explores the theme of memory, as he does in other works such as ‘Tintern Abbey.’ The flowers are there to comfort him in real-time and as a memory from the past. Symbolism The poem begins with a symbolic reference to the cloud. It is wandering and lonely. The poetic persona is the embodiment of such a cloud. Hence, it symbolizes being lonely and thoughtless

. This state is achieved when one is free from mundane thoughts. The most important symbol of this piece is the daffodils. The narcissistic description of the flower seems to be alluding to the Greek myth. Apart from that, the daffodil acts as a symbol of rejuvenation and pure joy. Wordsworth becomes the means through which the flowers express their vibrance. In his pensive mood, they become a means for the poet’s self-reflection. The tone of this poem, ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’, is emotive, hyperbolic, expressive, and thoughtful. In the first stanza, the speaker’s tone helps readers understand how he felt after seeing the daffodils on a specific event.

 As the poem progresses, Wordsworth intensifies it. Thus it appears hyperbolic. In the last stanza, he chooses a thoughtful tone for describing the impact of the scene on his mind. The tone also follows the mood of the poem. Throughout the text, the poet maintains a calm and joyous mood. It is like the breeze that made the daffodils dance on that day. While going through the poem, readers can feel this relaxing mood.

 Historical Context

 Hailed as the champion of the Romantic Movement in the early 19th century, William Wordsworth dwelled in the scenic Lake District (United Kingdom), far from the madding crowd. Its roots can be traced back to Dorothy Wordsworth’s journal, in which she reminisces a casual stroll with his brother in 1802, where they came across beautiful daffodils.

 The poem was composed within the time period of 1804-1807 and subsequently published in 1807, with a revised version published in 1815. The poem is considered a masterpiece of Romantic Era poetry steeped in natural imagery. Walking along Glencoyne Bay, the siblings stumbled across beautiful daffodils along the bay. As the sister’s journal recalls, the daffodils seemed immensely beautiful from a far-off view. It was indeed a magnificent sight. About William Wordsworth wrote beautiful poetry filled with sweet imagery, usually based around the natural world. Often Wordsworth’s poems contained slight somber undertones, as is the case in this poem, as we will explore shortly.

 This is possible due to the conflict In Wordsworth’s life and his battle with depression. Some scholars suggest that Wordsworth’s relationship with his sister, Dorothy was far from platonic. But Wordsworth did marry and lived with both his wife and sister. Wordsworth lived through the French Revolution, which he initially supported and later rebuked. He, along with his close friend and fellow poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, was the pioneer of the romantic era of poetry, and his earlier romantic poems were widely derided as a result of this. He was also the poet laureate for queen Victoria for seven years. Today, Wordsworth’s reputation rests heavily on the collection Lyrical Ballads that he published along with Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1798. 

 Why is ‘Daffodils’ so famous?

 The poem, ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’ or ‘Daffodils,’ is famous for its simplicity, sing-song-like rhythm, and thematic beauty. It talks about a simple thing: the dancing of the daffodils in a calm breeze. But, the representation is thought-provoking. Readers from all age groups can understand the poem easily and comprehend it in their way, without any restrictions at all. That’s why it is considered one of the best-loved poems of English literature. What is the main idea of ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’? The poem’s main idea deals with the role of nature in the poet’s life. If one has the eyes to see it, one can comprehend the serene beauty of simplicity within seconds. For that, the mind should be as thoughtless as a lonely cloud that floats aimlessly over the valleys and hills.

Lady Macbeth

A FEMINIST ANALYSIS OF LADY MACBETH

Macbeth is a tragic play by William Shakespeare.

It's written in 1606. It's Shakespearean tragedy set of play is Scotland and England. 

(Source of photo : Google)

About William Shakespeare :

https://rajeshvaribarana.blogspot.com/2022/08/william-shakespeare.html

Many Shakespearean scholars have differing opinions of Lady Macbeth.

You tube video link

These opinions range from viewing Lady Macbeth as evil and malicious to others who see her as a victim of her devotion to her husband. Any of these opinions must be closely examined and dissected in order to discover the truth behind Lady Macbeth's character and her motivations.

(Sleep Walking Scene of Lady Macebeth)

Lady Macbeth is the primary female character in the play, giving us insight into Shakespeare's intentions in his construction of the female gender. He imbues Lady Macbeth with not only feminine qualities but also with masculine qualities as well. Should we view her as a monster because she takes it upon herself to adopt a traditionally masculine role? Or should she be viewed as an exemplar of female agency by taking her and her husband's destiny into her own hands? These questions can be answered by closely evaluating Lady Macbeth's actions and statements.

(John singer sargent,
via wikimedia commons)

Another way to understand Shakespeare's construction of femininity in the play is to look closely at the role of the witches and their relation to Lady Macbeth. These two powerful female forces influence and sometimes control Macbeth's actions. Lady Macbeth "and the witches are indirectly identified with each other by their departures from prescribed female subordination, by their parallel role as catalysts to Macbeth's actions, and by the structure and symbolism of the play". By adopting male person as and even appearances in the case of the witches) the women escape their female roles while still remaining decidedly feminine, "still linked with gender and with humanity".

Without a thorough understanding of these women, we cannot fully comprehend the scope and intentions of the play. The central issue is how Shakespeare constructed these women and intended for them to be viewed and received not only by the audiences in his time but also by future generations.

Another view of Lady Macbeth is that of a woman who has gone completely insane upon realizing the amount of power that she could gain from her husband and, in turn, for herself. Immediately after reading the letter, Lady Macbeth begins to be consumed by the need to see her husband on the throne. 

She says:

Hie thee hither,

That I may pour my spirits in thine ear,

And chastise with the valor of my tongue

All that impedes thee from the golden round

Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem

To have thee crowned withal.

She wishes that her husband would return quickly so that she can push him in the direction of power because she is immediately obsessed with it. She has a taste of power in dealing with her husband, as she can manipulate him to do whatever she asks of him. With this little taste of power, she is on the rampage for more. The quest for power then governs the rest of Lady Macbeth's actions throughout most of the play. As Anna Jameson states, "ambition is represented as the ruling motive, an intense overmastering passion, which is gratified at the expense of every just and generous principle, and every feminine feeling" This ambition for power causes her to speak and act in this manner.

Eventually, she loses any power that she may have begun with. She loses her intellectual control and the control she had over her husband. She has lost so much power that she takes her own life. This is not the only viewpoint of her quest for power. Others claim that she is so obsessed with seeing her husband on the throne because of her devotion to him.

For example, Catherine Boyd suggests that, "Her violation is inspired by human love, intense passionate love for her husband" . She believes that he wants to be king; therefore, as a loving and devoted wife, she must do everything in her power to give him the power he wants. In trying to attain this, she commits acts of cruelty to secure her husband's place on the throne.

The Duality of a Woman:

Shakespeare uses these female figures to show the duality of a woman: she can be feminine and loving but also vicious and wicked. Given the differing opinions of how we should view Lady Macbeth, what is the right way? All of these viewpoints are correct. Shakespeare wanted us to see every facet of Lady Macbeth's character. These viewpoints are not opposing, they work together. At one point, we sympathize with Lady Macbeth; at another, we despise her. Her character causes a tumultuous mixture of responses to her actions. While viewing or reading the play, one's sense of understanding Lady Macbeth and her motives are never quite fulfilled. She can be decidedly wicked, while at other times, she is just pitiable, and the audience can empathize with her. As Jameson states, "The crime of Lady Macbeth terrifies us in proportion as we sympathize with her; and that this sympathy is in proportion to the degree of pride, passion, and intellect we may ourselves possess.

It is good to behold and to tremble at the possible result of the noblest faculties uncontrolled or perverted". Lady Macbeth's character is constructed to elicit a multitude of emotional responses from the audience and to cause them to question the traditional boundaries of female and male roles. This play could be taken as somewhat of a feminist work. Both major female figures achieved their own personal goals by using masculine behaviors and by using the men around them.

However, Lady Macbeth could not handle the masculine role as she eventually goes insane and kills herself. The witches have no problem using their male personas to achieve their goals and are never punished for it. Shakespeare is showing both sides of the argument. First, it is not acceptable for women to take on masculine roles, and second, it is acceptable for women to act this way and get away with it. He leaves the decision up to the audience and actually to the individual so that this play will never become stale, as we continuously attempt to sort out its ambiguous statement about women.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

 ABOUT AUTHOR : WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

About William Shakespeare, the world-famous playwright and poet…

William Shakespeare

Full name: William Shakespeare.

Born: Exact date unknown

Hometown: Stratford-upon-Avon, England.

Occupation: Playwright, actor and poet.

Died: 23 April 1616.

Best known for: Writing hugely successful theatre plays!

Also known as: The Bard of Avon.

1) During his lifetime, William Shakespeare wrote around 37 plays for the theatre and over 150 poems! No one can say the exact number, because some of his work may have been lost over time – and some may have been written with the help of other people.

2) William was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564, during England’s Tudor period. He was one of eight children born to John Shakespeare, a well-to-do glove-maker and leather worker, and his wife, Mary Arden, an heiress from a wealthy family.

3) Very little is known about William Shakespeare’s early years. In fact, his actual date of birth remains a mystery to this day! But it’s believed he had a good upbringing, attended a good school and enjoyed playing outdoors a lot.

4) In 1582, William married a farmer’s daughter called Anne Hathaway. They had three children together – a daughter called Susanna, and twins, Judith and Hamnet.

5) Come 1585, the mysterious William Shakespeare disappeared from records for around seven years! Historians often refer to this part of the writer’s life as ‘the lost years

6)  Then, in 1592 he suddenly turned up in London as an actor and playwright. But poor William didn’t have it easy – his jealous rivals, known as the ‘University Wits’, criticised and made fun of his work. One writer, named Robert Greene, referred to him as ‘an upstart crow’!

7) William was part of a theatre company called Lord Chamberlain’s Men, who regularly performed at a place called ‘The Theatre’. But after a dispute with the landlord, they took the building apart, rebuilt it across the river and named it the Globe.

8) A large, open-air theatre, the Globe accommodated for people from all walks of life, meaning that anyone could watch a performance there. If you were poor, you could only afford tickets to the ground floor where there were no seats and you were exposed to the cold, wind and rain that came in through the open top. If you were rich, you could afford to sit in the higher-level, covered galleries in a comfy seat – away from the smelly poor people below.

9) Shakespeare’s plays were immediately big hits! He wrote different kinds of plays, all of which could be divided into three categories:

Tragedy – including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Romeo and Juliet

Comedy – including Twelfth Night and the The Taming of the Shrew

History – including Henry IV, Henry V and Richard III

His plays made him very rich and famous. So much so, that by 1598, William owned houses in London and Stratford-up-Avon.

10) Shakespeare’s plays had the royal seal of approval. Both Queen Elizabeth I  and James VI of Scotland and I of England would often hire Shakespeare’s company to come and perform at the royal court.

11) Plays in Shakespeare’s time were different to the ones we have today. There were no female actors (women’s parts were played by men!), and audiences could be very rowdy. They would shout, boo and even throw food at the actors they didn’t like!

12) Plays at the Globe featured lots of exciting special effects, with trap doors, actors lifted on wires, smoke, fire and even cannons! Disaster struck in 1613 when a cannon shot set fire to the roof of the Globe and burned it down! It wasn’t long after that Shakespeare retired from the theatre.

13) Towards the end of his life, William lived quietly back in his hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon. He died on 23 April 1616, aged 52, after falling ill. It’s believed he may have died on his birthday, but without an official birth record, no one can be sure!

14) Written on Shakespeare’s gravestone in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon, is a curse written by the famous wordsmith himself. It reads:

‘Good friend for Jesus’ sake forbear,

To dig the dust enclosed here.

Blessed be the man that spares these stones,

And cursed be he that moves my bones.’

15) Today, Shakespeare’s work is studied in schools and universities around the world, and his stories are depicted on TV and in films. In 1997, the modern Globe Theatre was opened in London. A reconstruction of the original, it’s just a few hundred metres from where the original one once stood. People can go to watch plays – just like in Shakespeare’s day!

Small Interesting video of Shakespeare

Many scholars wonder if Shakespeare actually wrote his plays! He made no mention of his career in his will – and he showed great knowledge of other countries in his plays, despite never leaving England. What’s most likely, however, is that Shakespeare pinched his references from classic old plays, just like everyone else did.

Thinking Skills

Thinking Skills-Workshop

'Thinking skills' workshop organised at department of English, MKBU. lecture conducted by professor Milan Pandya sir. 

 Introduction of Prof. Milan Pandya :

Milan Pandya is a teacher, trainer and educator in the field of Thinking Skills i.e. Critical, Creative and

Design Thinking, English Language Teaching & Communication Skills. With more than 12 years of

teaching experience, Mr. Pandya has authored 02 books, and presented and published a number of

research papers in national and international conferences and journals. He has taught/trained in

numerous Universities/Institutions training more than 30,000 people in Thinking Skills across world.

Mr. Pandya has BA & MA in English Literature, M.Phil in English Language Teaching (ELT) & his Ph.D

involves study into Online Teaching, Communicative Competence & Critical Thinking. He currently

holds a position of Vice President of Advancement at Critical Thinking Solutions company in Ontario,

Canada, and teaches at multiple colleges such as Conestoga and Sheridan college in Ontario, Canada.

(Introduction is taken from organiser of this workshop Dr. Dilip Barad sir's mail.)

This workshop gives us a new way of thinking. think critically, creatively and design your thinking 

Critical thinking is divided into three parts:

•  Logical 
• Rational 
• Scientific thinking

Easy definition of critical thinking :

Thinking about thinking in order to improve thinking.

Critical thinking give us a new way of thinking critical thinking means think beyond your thinking capacity and get new way of seeing world.

Context :

In critical thinking context is everything. Context is a base of critical thinking. If something is true what else has to be true within.

In lacture Many examples are given through some viral content, Which are as follows.

1. Advertisement of soap and Cosmetic products

So many advertisement super stars make add on soap and another cosmetic products and people blindly follow them and use those products but in reality those stars never use this products in their life but people think this and that heroine and hero use those products and we follow them but in reality they are just making advertisement as an economical activity.

According to this situation I got a thought in form of quote on this situation,

"Fame is not always followable"

2. Photo from popular Hindi serial

This thing is from Yeh Hai Mohabbatein serial when we think ordinarily at the time we find no issue in this photo but when we think critically and observe this photo in critical way we can see a female character hand is fracture so that's why she take help from his husband in make strip of saree But in opposite her hair is very neatly braided and very well makeup on his face how she is able to do hairstyle in makeup but could not able to worn strip of saree.

3. Tweet by Shraddha Kapoor

This tweet is not problematic but it reveals half truth this photo this was shared by so many people because this photo posted by well known person. Indian soldiers make too much effort for peace of country and their effort is really appreciatable but this particular picture is Russian soldiers picture.

4. Tweet by Kiran Bedi

This video is not real one but its edited video of a movie but when some well known person upload it on social media and people think it's undoubtable but always think critically and find truth by your own. Sometimes things are uploaded by mistake and as a part of Miss information.

5. Tweet by Satish Shah

At first sight everyone believe in this photo but when we recognise history of India and observe this photo at the time we understand the reality in 1942 India has different type of designed Tiranga we get this Tiranga after independence in 1947.

We can learn from this all pictures the importance of Creative Thinking.

We cultivate some important points from this exercise.

Fact:

Opinion changes,perspective changes but facts are not they didn't fact because you arebelieve. facts are always facts.

We are story telling animals so always believe things after thinking rationally.

When we respect someone, everything they say seems true to us. But always arrive at the truth by thinking objectively.

"The teacher might be wrong,

learn to think for yourself."

-Tao te ching,by Lao tzu 600 BC

Logic: 

Definition of logic is necessary to understand,

Man is not rational animal, he has capacity to increase rationalty.

No one is bone a critical thinker or genius we have to work on it and develop it.

6. This one is creative?

You tube video link

It's dangerous! this is The family bicycle combination of sewing machine and bicycle 

Whole family ride this bicycle.

Invented by Charles Steinlauf in 1939 so the whole family can get outside and enjoy some family exercise and mother can done some sewing with trip.

Something New + Worthy = Creative 

This creation is not creative one because of its new but it's not worthy But in opposite side is harmful and horrible to ride.

We had done very interesting activity it can be considered as a Mind exercise activity.

7

This image contains so many pictures first of all observed this image and divide this pictures in different types

Clothes,vehicles, Sports Equipment, flag, flower,musical instrument,vegetable, fruit, electrical equipment, study related material, fast-food, weapon etc…

These are some simple categories but we can think more about this and cultivate many different type of categories

We can make some proverbs, name of movie,songs, name of books, metaphor, quotes we can divide into so many categories. try to find some other category by yourself.

Example:

Proverb : hard work is key of success. 

Book : Hamlet, Macbeth ( by Shakespeare)

Metaphor in literature: Painting plate ,axe

Movie name : kati patang (1971,hindi movie)

Song : ye aankhe dekh kar hum sari duniya bhul jate hai… (old hindi song)

There are so many categories. this type of Mind exercise helps us to improve our thinking capacity. We can be able to cultivate things more effectively.

8. Think something new beyond your limits

Here the photos of those things that we use in our day to day life paper pin toothbrush and goggles.

Some unobvious uses like that,  brush for painting and cleaning haircomb, goggles for holding hair.

See the photos and try to think something different instead of its daily and common use.

9. Ethical dilemma

(Source of photo:Google)

This type of exercise haven't right or wrong answer but it is to difficult to get answer at that particular situation everyone has their own decision and there own perspective on this type of situation.

Now a days we have driverless cars and other vehicles scientist and engineer face this type of confusion when they design programs of driverless vehicle.

What is done ? is not more important but how it's done? it's more important. Extract things is not everyone's cup of tea but you can learn it with practice.

Good arguments from bad one it's also acceptable. learn right things from everywhere.

At last sir said, after attending the session you came go back to your normal world but if you want to learn creative and critical thinking then keep yourself busy with practice.

After the attending this workshop I got new eyes of thinking it's very wonderful and informative workshop done at department of English.

At the last part of workshop students gave feedback and vote for thanks speech and workshop and weekend completed with wonderful group photo with sir.