Extra Credit
General
Parapsycology:
Extra Credit:
Cultural Anthropology 120 Extra Credit:
SHOGUN by James Clavell (1st 350 Pages only required).
An historically accurate fiction about a westerner coming into contact
with Japan. MANY anthropological dynamics are illustrated in this story.
The first 40 pages are just OK, but from the moment he sets foot on
Japanese soil, the history, intrigue, cultural interest, politics, suspense,
drama, spiritualism, etc, make this the best fiction I ever read.
Very long – but you can finish it later. Only 350 pages are required for
this assignment (PS: If you saw the TV mini-series, it was NOTHING
compared to this masterpiece of literature).
BACK TO THE TOP OF THE WORLD by Hans Ruesch. (Out of print but easily available on line for a few bucks at any of several used book sources, such as Alibris). An extremely humorous and fascinating book about Polar Eskimos, of which there are only a couple hundred. MUCH better than the first book. This book illustrates how very different cultures can be and how environmental realities interact with culture. A
Police Officer comes to arrest the main character for murder and spends a season with him and his family after having his life saved. He realizes he is in the presence of the most profoundly innocent man he has
ever met.
THE RED TENT by Anita Diamant Fictional/history set in Biblical times about Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah. Fascinating study of the female roll in that culture in the time of shift from multiple deities and
a concept of a female godhead to a monotheistic male godhead orientation.
Physical Anthropology Extra Credit:
The Seven Daughters of Eve: The Science That Reveals Our Genetic Ancestry
by Bryan Sykes - Using genetic technology and the discovery of an
immutable strand of maternal DNA, Sykes, a professor of genetics
at Oxford University, proposes that all humans have descended from
seven prehistoric women. More interesting and easy to understand
than it sounds.
WONDERFUL LIFE: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History
by Stephen Jay Gould -The story of how the Burgess Shale came to be,
of its creatures, attempts to classify them, and where they fit into the scheme of evolution.
THE DAY THE UNIVERSE CHANGED, James Burke – Paradigm Shifts: when a change in knowledge radically altered humankind's understanding of itself and its world. Fascinating reading.
General
(these are books everyone would do well to have "under one's belt"):
At a minimum include:
DANTE'S INFERNO: A depiction of the various levels of hell as envisioned
by developing Western Culture in the middle centuries. This work is
repeatedly cited in a wide variety of situations and most definitely NOT
confined to academic settings. A reasonably short read and interesting.
BEING AND NOTHINGNESS Sartre. Ya gotta read at least one of this
guy's pieces of work, and this one is as good as any. This dude was
on a major negative trip. Fortunately, it is not catching and his work
constitutes the basis of existentialism.
John Steinbeck: Arguably the best American author of the 20th
century. Any and all of his works are very good, but you should
definitely include at least 3 the following as a minimum:
CANNERY ROW: delightful and insightful – life in Monterey
with a cast including a Dr. of Oceanography, bums and prostitutes.
EAST OF EDEN: The tragedy of a rejected son. After reading it, definitely
see the movie – the first of only 3 movies featuring James Dean and
illustrating why be became a legend.
THE GRAPES OF WRATH – A story of an Oklahoma family during the
dust bowl years. A stunning portryal of the desperation of the Great Depression
and
an indisputable argument for the need for unions.
OF MICE AND MEN – The story of two friends, one mentally retarded,
who are just trying to get by as farm hands.
TORTILLA FLATS - The Mexican American community in the
Central Valley/Monterey area of California.
Ernest Hemingway – some consider his writing superior to Steinbeck
(I am not among them).
THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA (actually, a long short story). Fabulous
tale of an old Cuban fisherman, his thoughts and memories during the
fishing for and landing of a monstrous marlin. WAY better than it sounds.
In my opinion, Hemingway's best work.
THE SUN ALSO RISES
FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS
DEATH IN THE AFTERNOON
THE SHORT HAPPY LIFE OF FRANCIS MACOMBER (A very short story)
Mark Twain
Unquestionably the greatest American writer of the 19th Century, read
AT LEAST these two:
LETTERS FROM THE EARTH
while best known for Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer Twain demonstrates
in these stories and essays his dark humor and disdain for "The Damned Human
Race."
Annotated HUCKLEBERRY FINN
"All Modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called
Huckleberry Finn, "...Ernest Hemingway. First published in1885, it is still
banned in many schools and libraries.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Shakespeare is always better experienced by viewing a play than reading
on one's own (though his sonnets are awe inspiring). Fortunately, San Diego
has one of the best Shakespeare productions in the world at the Old Globe
in Balboa Park. Contact them for student discounts, special discount days
and the possibility of volunteering to usher for a season. Repeated exposure
to the plays causes one to become quickly "fluent" in Elizabethan English.
In addition, most of his plays are available in film and can be rented. Don't
miss WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S ROMEO & JULIET set in modern times,
as well as many others staged in the costume of Shakespeare's period. His
comedies quickly grow on you, but the tragedies and historical plays also
cultivate an acquired taste with repeated exposure.
SEX
Sex ed for children - when a child asks, "Where did I come from?" or "How
babies made?" This is THE book to read them, REGARDLESS of age:
WHERE DID I COME FROM by Peter Mayle 1973. ISBN 0-8184-0161-3
Gentle, FACTUAL and non-offensive to any religious orientation or
atheists. Be prepared - read it yourself - you might even learn somethig (or
at least gain an interesting way of looking at sex)
Parapsychology:
THE ART AND PRACTICE OF ASTRAL PROJECTION Ophiel
PEACH PUBLISHING CO./ GNOSTIC INSTITUTE.
Gives all the necessary theory and directions to enter the astral plane,
function there, and return with memory available. His techniques work.
ART AND PRACTICE OF GETTING MATERIAL THINGS THROUGH
CREATIVE VISUALIZATION Ophiel
Step-by-step instruction and techniques to create more favorable circumstances for yourself in the Outer Physical Plane. Many would refer to this as "magic."
THE ROOTS OF COINCIDENCE: AN EXCURSION INTO PARAPSYCHOLOGY
by Koestler, Arthur
Discusses the possibility that ESP, telepathy, precognition, psychokinesis and
clairvoyance may be as valid as psychology, which was also once ridiculed.
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A YOGI
by Parmahansa Yogananda
The life and teachings of the Hindu monk Paramahansa Yogananda who founded the colony on the ocean in Encinitas now famous for its surfing spot named after him: "Swami's." From his childhood in India that inspired his search for a spiritual teacher, the powers he mastered and the time that he spent in the West as a teacher himself, this book gives the facts of his life and the spiritual tenets by which he lived. Awe inspiring and stunning in revealing many of the
powers common to many of the advanced gogis of Intia. Both inspireig and
enlightening.
PSYCHIC DISCOVERIES BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN
by Shelia Ostrander
Well-documented, in-depth books shed new light on the existence and meaning of paranormal and parapsychological events & investigation of Russian parapsychological research wherein evidence is offered indicating that the Russians have been successful in harnessing psychic energy.