Tag Archives: rhetoric

Great Gatsby, Copyright, and the Public Domain

Is the Great Gatsby in the public domain? The book was written in 1925 and Fitzgerald passed away in 1940. Copyright generally expires 70 years after the author’s death, so you could be forgiven for thinking the answer is “yes.” If … Continue reading

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The Aesthetic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy

On episode 18 of the Loopcast, Sina and his guest discuss fashion and national security. Around 23:00 comes the money quote: “There’s a lot of black hair dye involved being a dictator.” Here’s the logic: [I]n a democracy, your hair … Continue reading

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The Political Economy of *Killing Them Softly*

Over the weekend I rented Killing them Softly expecting a relatively mindless movie featuring Brad Pitt as a hitman. I was only half right. During several key scenes George W. Bush and his administration officials can be heard giving statements to … Continue reading

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Blogging, Two Years On

Tuesday marked the second anniversary of YSPR. I wrote the first post while at a political science conference, so it seems fitting that I spent the last couple of weeks travelling to ISA and MPSA. From those two conferences it … Continue reading

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What Can Novels Teach Us?

Is it worthwhile for a social scientist to read fiction? What can novels teach us about human behavior? This post summarizes the work of several authors who would answer the first question with a resounding “yes,” and describes their arguments … Continue reading

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Etiquette in the Digital Age

It happens whenever new communication technology comes into widespread use. Standard forms of behavior that worked well in the past are less suitable for the new medium. When the telephone was invented, people were unsure how to greet the caller. … Continue reading

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Off to ISA

The International Studies Association is meeting this week in San Francisco. This will be my first time attending, so I found Megan MacKenzie’s survival guide helpful. Here are some relavent Do’s: Do remember that a full-on formal business suit isn’t necessarily … Continue reading

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Ruby’s Benevolent Dictator

The first version of the Ruby programming language was developed by Yukihiro Matsumoto, better known as “Matz,” in 1995. Since then it has become especially popular for web development thanks to the advent of Rails by DHH. A variety of … Continue reading

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Coughing at Classical Concerts

Not being an opera fan myself I will take their word for it: Classical concerts comes with a set of very strict rules for the public: you cannot applaud while the music plays (the only exception being after opera arias), … Continue reading

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Phony Rules of English Grammar

You have heard the rules before: Don’t end a sentence with a preposition. Don’t split an infinitive. Don’t start with a conjunction. But who makes these rules? How did they become incorporated into English grammar? One culprit is Robert Lowth, … Continue reading

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