15.269  Literature, Ethics, Authority

Thanks to Beatka and Andrew for sending these links of coverage of the big wave surfing event, "The Eddie" that took place Tuesday morning in Waimea Bay in Hawaii:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/us/09surf.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/08/us/08surf.html

Enjoy, and remember to read "How Storytelling Builds Next-Generation Leaders" for our class discusson tomorrow.

 - Christina

Read:

Robert Bolt, A Man for All Seasons (book; MIT Coop)

Study Questions:

1. Have you encountered people like Sir Thomas More—or Henry VIII, or Cromwell, or Rich—in your work?  How do they function as colleagues?  What is their sense of their profession?

2. Can one speak of multiple spheres in the world Bolt portrays in A Man for All Seasons?  If so, does each have its own rules or morals, or do the inhabitants of all of them apply the same standards to their behavior?

  
3.“Affection goes as deep in me as you think, but only God is love right through, Howard; and that’s my self” (p. 122).  What is a “self” in Bolt’s play, and what roles does it play for all of us in society and in our organizations?

See:

Stacy Peralta, Riding Giants (film:  optional showing, Tue 12/1, 7 pm, E51-151)

Study Questions:

1. What relation did surf culture bear to the rest of American society when it began? Today?

2. What corporate model matches the evolving world of the surf community as described in Riding Giants?

3. Why is riding giant waves so important to those who do so?  What symbolic role does that occupation have for the rest of the surf world, and for those who don’t surf at all?

Read:
Timothy Mo, The Monkey King (book; MIT Coop)

Study Questions:

1. What kind of man is Wallace Nolasco?

2. The world of The Monkey King involves many cultures. How do the characters' relationships and behavior reflect this diversity?

3. What is the link between family and business in the first part of the novel? What are the ethical implications of that link?

4. How do you account for the change in family relations as the story progresses?

5. What is the importance of games in the last two parts of the book?

6. What is the meaning of Wallace's dream at the end of The Monkey King?

See:

Masayuki Suo, Shall We Dance? (film: optional showing Thu 11/19, 7 pm, E51-151)

Study Questions:

1. Early in Shall We Dance?, the narrator explains that Western-style ballroom dancing is a suspect activity in Japanese culture.  Does the film make clear why that might be the case?  Can you think of similar taboos in the West?

2. How would you characterize Mr. Sugiyama's workplace and colleagues, and his relationship to both? How can and does he confront those frameworks?

3. Can we speak of a "romance" between Mr. Sugiyama and Mai? What do they represent, individually and as a pair, for all the other characters in the film?

* Team paper due on assignments in Section 4 of the course: 7 pm, on-line