Category Archives: Political Analysis

Some insights on Ukraine from social media activity

Posted on February 26, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

It’s very interesting to see the roles played by social media in this Ukraine crisis. We see protests occurring in Moscow and St. Petersburg. We see English-language TikTok video messages of support for Ukraine from Russian citizens. We get instantaneous … Continue reading →

Posted in Media studies, Political Analysis | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Some thoughts on Ukraine

Posted on February 22, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

This post is so old now (2014), but I just saw this news on Twitter from The Spectator Index (@spectatorindex): BREAKING: Russian parliamentarian says Syria has expressed willingness to recognize Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states It seems so odd … Continue reading →

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Look for the Union Label (some thoughts prompted by the Alec Baldwin on-set shooting incident)

Posted on October 24, 2021 by Katherine Wikoff

When I saw this “poster” today, I realized that I haven’t seen any union promotions in a really long time. It also put me in mind of this old TV ad. I’ll bet every American above a certain age still … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies and film, News, Political Analysis, Popular culture, Television | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

The individual vs. society – Joseph Campbell, Gandhi, and JFK weigh in

Posted on June 14, 2019 by Katherine Wikoff

I’m cleaning out my office today, throwing out old student papers and old lecture notes from courses I no longer teach. One of the files I came across was from a one-off course on mythology that I taught in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and reading, History, Learning, Life, Political Analysis, WPLongform (posts of 1000 words or longer) | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

April “Fake News” Fools

Posted on April 1, 2019 by Katherine Wikoff

These videos have been around for over a year but didn’t receive as much attention as I’d have expected. Given the strong resemblance to “pranks” in their inherent trickery and potential for malicious intent, it seems appropriate to highlight them … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Political Analysis, Popular culture, Technology, Television | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Saving the Environment

Posted on January 4, 2019 by Katherine Wikoff

Two items seen in my hotel room (I’m attending an academic conference in Chicago). We humans are a remarkably flexible species. To wit: I repeat: So . . . an ethical dilemma. Chicago sits right on Lake Michigan, one of … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Nature, Political Analysis, Travel | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Wham! “Freedom” in China

Posted on July 25, 2018 by Katherine Wikoff

I heard Wham!’s “Freedom” on the radio while driving yesterday. I’ve always liked this song, but what I’ve especially always remembered about it was its official video, which details the 1980s duo’s groundbreaking trip to China. Wham! was the first Western … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Creativity, History, Life, Movies and film, Music, Photography, Political Analysis, Popular culture | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

When seeing is disbelieving

Posted on July 6, 2018 by Katherine Wikoff

Sitting in a waiting room this week, I picked up the November 2017 issue of National Geographic and opened to the cover story about “happiness.” It was a good article, and I was reading and learning and taking it all … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, News, Political Analysis | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Birth of a Nation: Lighting and (mostly “non”) camera movement, racism, and Abraham Lincoln’s assassination reenacted a mere 50 years after

Posted on March 27, 2018 by Katherine Wikoff

NOTE: This post is under reconstruction because a) the YouTube account that I originally took my clips from has been shut down and b) WordPress doesn’t seem to be working correctly to allow me to play clips to and from … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life, Movies and film, Political Analysis, Popular culture, Teaching | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The humanitarian disaster looming in Yemen

Posted on November 9, 2017 by Katherine Wikoff

You probably haven’t seen this bit of news, and with any luck at all the situation will be resolved before becoming a major story you can’t avoid. This past weekend, Houthi rebels fighting in Yemen against the internationally-recognized government of … Continue reading →

Posted in News, Political Analysis | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments