RE: how to stop all this stuff on the list

From: Scott Chase (ecphoric@hotmail.com)
Date: Wed 01 Oct 2003 - 02:00:16 GMT

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    >From: "Lawrence DeBivort" <debivort@umd5.umd.edu>
    >Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
    >To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk>
    >Subject: RE: how to stop all this stuff on the list
    >Date: Tue, 30 Sep 2003 11:40:20 -0400
    >
    >Hi, Scott,
    >
    >You are absolutely right about these conflicts providing a rich source for
    >memeticists. We have used as case studies Bosnia, Afghanistan,
    >Israel/Palestine, and Ireland -- each very rich and instructive.
    >
    One could probably look at the American Civil War the same way. I'd be interested in looking at topics like slavery and abolitionism and how these may have influenced events leading up to the Civil War, but I'm not familiar enough to even opine. I know that some deeply religious people (Quakers etc) were involved in the abolitionist movement (which shows that religion isn't always socially deleterious) and that there was an "underground railroad" that helped slaves escape north and that states like Kentucky got ticked off at states like Ohio for this traffic of their chattel "property" north to freedom especially into Canada.

    There was an important event at Harper's Ferry that preceded the Civil War. Beyond that it's a part of American History I've long neglected.
    >
    >We are
    >thinking of opening a case study on Amazon development/tribal conflicts and
    >are examining the composition of the research team that would be needed.
    >For me personally, Latin America is terra incognita, so my own role will be
    >limited to that of one of the memetic technicians.
    >
    I'd like to look at relatively recent events in Latin America in regards to the Reaganite anti-Communism ideology of the 80's. Iran-Contra and all that.

    I've read some on Cuba, especially about the Bay of Pigs fiasco and the Cuban missile crisis.

    I suppose Castro had an ideological influence on Central America. I'm not too familiar with Che Guevara, but I suppose he was important too. Interesting how the same Cold War context that influenced events in Southeast Asia in the 60's influenced the Latin America of the 70's and 80's.
    >
    >Also, I am perched here in Washington DC, and hear most of the national
    >political memes from friends and colleagues before they hit the newspapers,
    >and so can track the mutations as they go from one medium to another. This
    >is another very rich memetic research opportunity that we have been drawing
    >on for several years.
    >
    >Viet Nam would be a great one. Viet Nam was a highly charged emotional
    >event
    >for me, and I am not sure of my objectivity enough to tackle it. I hope
    >that somebody does mine it for the patterns that moved that sad part of US
    >history forward.
    >
    I wonder how different American culture would have been without the war taking place. The decade of the 60's (just like any other decade) is ripe for study from the angle of cultural evolution. If there ever was a time when the Kuhnian "paradigm shift" (cringe) might apply, it could have been then. In the realm of civil rights alone the decade of the sixties seems to have been one of significant change. The Vietnam war wasn't the only factor that influenced society back then.

    BTW re: Harry Moore, I doubt I could do his legacy justice since I'm just learning about him more myself, but you might try looking for Ben Green's book _Before His Time: the Untold Story of Harry T. Moore, America's First Civil Rights Martyr_ (1999. The Free Press, New York).

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