Timothy B. Shutt

I hadn't even finished listening to CD one when I was asking why Dr. Shutt was utterly ignoring Asian countries. There was proto writing in China in 6600 BCE, which is definitely earlier than the Sumerian writing in 3400 BCE, if not so well developed. 1605's Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes may be considered the first modern novel, but Japan's first novel, Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu, dates back to the 11th century, or well before Cervantes.

Dr. Shutt mentions that Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver's Travels have been considered children's books and wondered why. When I took History of Children's Literature in library school, our professor said that certain books written for adults (both of those titles were mentioned, if I remember correctly), were read by children because what was available for children wasn't that interesting, or some such word.

I was offended by the use of the word "seduction" for Clarrisa because Lovelace drugged and raped her when he failed to seduce her. Just come right out and say it was rape.… (mehr)

Varð fyrir vonbrigðum með þessa fyrirlestra. Bæði fannst mér kennarinn Shutt vera ónákvæmur í vali sínu á hvað væri "battle". Stundum var það einstök orrusta en í öðrum tilvikum var það samansafn átaka á sama svæði yfir langt tímabil. Einnig eru áherslur á vestræna bardaga sem þá mikilvægustu. Ekkert er minnst á tímabilið í Asíu og Indlandi áður en Evrópubúar og Bandaríkjamenn sóttu þangað en þar voru margir bardagar sem skiptu sköpum um þróun stórvelda þar. Að síðustu voru skýringar Shutts ónákvæmar á stundum og oft beið ég eftir því að heyra skýringar sem ég vissi að voru mikilvægar í viðkomandi viðburðum en Shutt skautaði framhjá.… (mehr)