Monday, March 22, 2010

The Touro Communication Club Notes - #110 –March 24, 2010 Tourocommunicationclub.blogspot.com

Five Quotes about Science and Art

Art is I; science is we.

Claude Bernard, 19th century French physiologist:
"Science and art are the handmaidens of religion."
François Delsarte, 19th century French singing teacher who invented an important style of acting:
"The function of Art is to imitate Nature in her manner of operation. Our understanding of her manner of operation changes according to advances in the sciences."

John Cage, 20th century American composer:
"The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious—the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science."

Albert Einstein, 20th century German-born, American theoretical physicist and philosopher,
often regarded as the father of modern physics:
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For while knowledge defines all we currently know and understand, imagination points to all we might yet discover and create."


The Touro Communication Club
2 pm - Wednesday, March 24, 2010– Room 223
“Notes on Science and Art –The Complementary Divide
A discussion led by Touro poet and teacher Charles Borkhuis. Although contemporary culture tends to view science as the sole purveyor of truth, ironically, the one reality that humans will ever know stands outside the domain of scientific investigation. Lived experience is not quantifiable; it needs a qualitative, descriptive mode to impart understanding. Science and art are addressing the same world, but their dissimilar methods have left us in a dualistic quandary. Are science and art irreconcilably divided, as many experts maintain, or are they parts of a complementary dialogue about the universe and our place in it?


Logical Fallacy of the Week: Ad Hominum

We introduce this week a new feature of the Communication Club blog that focuses on one of the many, many logical fallacies that people use without an awareness of how they skew an argument.

This week’s “Ad Hominum” fallacy is one of the most popular. You may use it frequently. You may know it as “name calling.”

Every time an Ad Hominum argument is interjected into a conversation, the emotional climate changes. Emotions explode. The person is attacked, not the issue. Often it is used as a way to manipulate a situation. Nasty business.

Examples abound: “The President is an idiot!” “The Knicks are stupid!” “You’re saying that because you want to suck up to the professor.” “All men are dogs.” “All women are bitches.”

Strategy: Notice the emotional temperature rises just before the Ad Hominum statement is hurled at a person.
A Note to Communicators:

Science, Art and Communication

When we try to communicate orally, we use words and gestures that indicate our ideas and feelings about a particular topic. Both Science and Art also use words and gestures and more, but they are used for entirely different purposes.
All three – Science, Art and public speaking (the rhetorical arts) –use similar elements. Theme, structure, coherence, unity, variety are among the touchstones of all three.

Each in their own way attempts to express aspects of the human condition. Science searches for the underlying principles that allow us to exist. Its audience is not necessarily human, but that elusive “Truth.”

On the other hand, Art (I am using “art” in its most general sense – visual arts including film, dance, music, theater and architecture) sees the human condition through the eyes of the individual artist. It is the “Truth” of the individual artist that matters in Art. Similarly, the individual speaker attempts to express a personal vision, employing the information, aspirations and difficulties of the human condition.

Where a speaker delivers a message to a particular audience at a particular time, neither science nor art has a specific audience in mind. To be effective, the speaker tailors the message to specific people.

Where Science undertakes its journey with unbiased objectivity and balance, the Art welcomes the emotional component as a fuller expression of how the human being exists. The speaker uses both reason and emotion in preparing informational and persuasive speeches.

The excitement of both science and art comes in the discovery of new and different insights into the human condition. The speaker may have these same lofty goals but is allied with the arts in that he/she cannot be dull. The speaker that is without feelings in his/her delivery is a boring ineffective speaker.

Touro poet/professor Charles Borkhuis will undoubtedly explore these ideas on Wednesday. He will probably agree that Science and Art may appear to be entirely different, but both use similar tools to illuminate who we are.

Our subject is not surprising. “The proper study of mankind is man,” Alexander Pope, the 18th century English poet and essayist, once wrote. However, E.B. White, American humorist and English stylist, expands on Pope, saying, “The proper study of man is man – says man.”

UPCOMING CONVERSATIONS:

April 7, 2010 – “Current Events” Some possible topics: Albany, Washington, Chile, Iran, the latest scandal, Health Care, the Economy, and People in the news. Besides keeping up on what’s happening in the local, regional, national and international worlds, we will look for patterns of recurring themes in the news. The current 24/7 news cycle the drives the media to fill the air creates a frenzied, breathless indiscriminate pseudo importance to everything. For example, the National Enquirer may be one of the nominees for a Pulitzer Prize in reporting for its on-going story of the John Edwards domestic disaster. And he was the Democratic nominee for VP in 2004!
April 14. 2010 “Jokefest” – In response to a member request to have more comedy, we will ask everyone to bring at least 3 jokes to try out on the audience. We’ll open with one joke after another. After several rounds, then we’ll stop our laughing and ask ourselves what have we heard, why did some jokes work and others did not, what have the jokes communicated, what kinds of jokes are offensive, etc. At least we should have a good time, yukking at ourselves.
April 21, 2010 - Introducing “The Critical Listening Institute”- We don’t practice our listening skills. For this first session, we will listen to Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and discover how he constructs his message, the images he uses and how he uses repetition to make his point. (We’ll do Revel’s “Bolero” next)
What about one of these topics?
“Rodney King: ‘Why Can’t We Get Along?”
“Repetition”
“Meaning”
“The Seven Heavenly Virtues”
“Why Does History Repeat Itself?”
“Heroism”
“Concentration”
“Coping with Adversity”
“Distraction”
Student Poetry showcase
“Empathy”
“Connecting the Dots”
Role play of cynical people
“Cold Calling in Sales
“He’s Just Not That into You”
“Money”
“Freedom”
And dozens of others!

What happened on Wednesday,
March 17, 2010?
Compare the notice of the session with what really happened!


Dean Donne Kampel on “Women & Leadership
”-

Women are breaking through the glass ceiling more frequently these days. However, the challenges that female leaders face in traditional hierarchy remain daunting. Dr. Kampel will share some of her experiences and secrets as part of our discussion. Her study of these issues is part of her forthcoming book on the topic.


Leadership is certainly a popular topic and many people were drawn to Dean Donne Kampel’s discussion. They included newcomers Sabra Brock, Bashe Simon, Ahmet Foruk Colok, Stephen Camacho, Marlen Perdomo. Familiar faces included Brittany Robles, Jean Missial, David Nussbaum, Richard Green., Chui Hing Yau, Charles Mason, Markus Vayndorf, Carlisle Yearwood, Sara Tabaei, Lorinda Moore, Kiresh Shrestha and Hal Wicke

Dean Kampel noted that “Women and Leadership,” was her doctoral dissertation in which she examined the leadership styles of 13 women college presidents. She was particularly interested in the paths these women took to become heads of 4 year colleges.

One of the factors in the success of these women, Dean Kampel remarked, was that all of them had mentors, either male or female.

Dean Kampel reminded the audience of the 1970’s social movements – women and feminists, black power and the civil rights – which dominated the tumultuous atmosphere of the period.

She asked “What is leadership?” A variety of responses included:
· The ability to thing outside the box.
· Do you walk in front or follow behind?
· Plan but also implement.
· The transactional leader who is aware of many elements simultaneously.
She held up the flyer for today’s meeting. It showed parallel photos of Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin. The juxtaposition of the two created a volatile discussion of varying interpretations.
· Palin is not a leader, but a celebrity.
· There are men who lead like women and women who lead like men, but women seem to be more aware of relationships than men.
· When a man is aggressive, it is normal. When a woman (Hillary Clinton?) behaves similarly, it is objectionable.
· The differences may be ones of style.
· Carol Gilligan is a well-known Harvard scholar of women’s students, speaks about leadership issues for women.
· Many women in literature in the 19th century provided a foundation for the women’s movement in the 20th century.

· Women leaders: Queen Elizabeth I & II, Queen Victoria, Golda Meier (Israel), Margaret Thatcher (England) Angela Merkel (Germany), Michele Bachelet (Chile), etc.

· Leadership begins in the home with the mother teaching her family.
· There is a difference between leadership and politics.
· Women have empathy; men less so.
· Be a good leader by being a good servant.
· Male leadership models – Army generals Patton, Montgomery, MacArthur.
· Change in attitude toward leaders
· Larry Summers fired as president of Harvard for anti-female remarks.
· The woman’s fight against the glass ceiling

Dr. Sabra Brock’s research shows that there is no different between male and female leadership.

· Suggestion: Dr. Brock vs. Dr. Kampel on women and leadership.
Question to the 6 women: Do you consider yourself a leader? All say “Yes.”
Markus – leadership emerges from common ideas; part of leadership is the implementation of ideas.
Final thoughts – What thoughts do you come away with from today?

· You can do anything you want.
· You must analyze yourself
· There’s an elephant in the room [not clear what it is]
· There’s no difference between men and women.
· Women as leaders is a non-issue for me, so long as all are represented equally.
· Where do we get our influences? The outcome of our desires.
· Ursula Burns, new CEO of Xerox, is an African-American woman, promoted by her predecessor, Ann Mulcahy.

Current events: The Texas school controversy where publishers follow what Texas school board want in their curriculum. Many states follow the textbook choices of Texas.
---
We always have a great time exploring these issues. So often our daily life never focuses on these Communication issues. If you have something you want us to discuss please let us know and we’ll add it to the list.

Next time bring a friend. The Communication Club is always an open discussion, limited only by time. Everyone gets a chance to speak. All opinions are welcome. Here is an opportunity for students to challenge professors’ views outside the class without any homework or assignments. You just have to show up and listen and talk if you want.

Hal Wicke

Monday, March 15, 2010

The Touro Communication Club Notes - #109 –March 17, 2010
Tourocommunicationclub.blogspot.com
Five Quotes about Leadership by Women
Great necessities call forth great leaders.

Abigail Adams
, First Lady and wife of John Adams, second President of the United States.

Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputation and social standing, never can bring about a reform. Those who are really in earnest must be willing to be anything or nothing in the world's estimation, and publicly and privately, in season and out, avow their sympathy with despised and persecuted ideas and their advocates, and bear the consequences.
Susan B. Anthony, prominent 19th century American civil rights leader and suffragette

A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go but ought to be.
Rosalynn Carter, First Lady and wife of the 39th President, Jimmy Carter

In Iroquois society, leaders are encouraged to remember seven generations in the past and consider seven generations in the future when making decisions that affect the people.”

Wilma Mankiller
, the first female chief of the Cherokee Nation and winner of the
1998 Presidential Medal of Freedom

Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person."
Mother Teresa
. Humanitarian, 1979 Nobel Peace Prize winner


Five Quotes about Leadership by Men
Leadership: the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because
he wants to do it.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
, 34th President of the United States

A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say, we did it ourselves.
Lao Tsu, Chinese Taoist philosopher circa 660 B.C.E.

A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.
Martin Luther King, Jr
., civil rights leader

Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.
Peter F. Drucker
, writer, business and management consultant

The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.
-- Warren G. Bennis, writer and scholar, regarded as a pioneer in Leadership Studies


The Touro Communication Club
2 pm - Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Room 223
Dean Donne Kampel on “Women & Leadership”-

Women are breaking through the glass ceiling more frequently these days. However, the challenges that female leaders face in traditional hierarchy remain daunting. Dr. Kampel will share some of her experiences and secrets as part of our discussion. Her study of these issues is part of her forthcoming book on the topic.


A Note to Communicators:

Leadership Inside

Leadership is a topic of many discussions in almost every circle where people gather: political, scientific, education, literary, sports, even religious and artistic.
Currently, President Obama is being attacked by Republican as being a rhetorically gifted professor, but not the leader that promised change. In Albany, it would seem that the Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch is the only adult (leader) to whom the children in the Legislature will listen. Ravitch has the gravitas of heading the MTA and participating in the NYC bailout in the 1970s.

That’s leadership outside. What about leadership inside? The quotations on leadership above often refer to an inner strength that can transcend external difficulties. I would propose that we are all leaders in some forum. We can be leaders in our family, our social group, our church or synagogue. We can be leaders in our classes.

Most of this form of leadership is informal. No one gets a title. As soon as a title is conferred, the formal leader faces a host of external challenges.
We are often fooled by externals. Just because someone has a lot of money and “blings” may give him a power that we often mistake for leadership. Just because people have a figure of six-pack abs or an hour-glass figure does not make them leaders. The same is true with people with high IQs: intelligence does not necessarily make a leader.

A list of academic degrees after your name may help, but does not ensure leadership qualities. A sad note would be the current financial crisis was created by people who are thought to be "the best and brightest.” They may believe themselves to be “Masters of the Universe,” but smooth but arrogant behavior collapses in the face of a serious, diligent adversary.

For the moment I am not commenting on the style of leadership or the content of the positions the leaders take. A bully is a leader – at least for the moment. A cop is a leader on the beat. A teacher is a leader of many students. The impact a student has on his/her classmates can be a function of leadership.

The leader inside must possess two qualities:

1. He/she must have a clearly articulated point of view that promotes human welfare, and
2. This person must know how to develop a plan of action to implement his/her vision.
The visionary without a plan is a dreamer; the technician without a vision is mindless mechanic, available to execute any idea that comes along.
Integrity is central to leadership. This leader must walk the talk. Talk is easy. This is the behavior of the dreamer. Abstractions must be made concrete.
Another aspect of the character of a leader is the ability to translate his/her vision into terms that people understand. A leader without an audience is soon a martyr.
All of us have the capability of leading. Whether we choose to assert ourselves and our ideas in what context remains an individual choice.
I find learning to be a leader much more interesting than being a spectator.

UPCOMING CONVERSATIONS:

March 24, 2010– “Notes on Science and Art –The Complementary Divide” – A discussion led by Touro poet Charles Borkhuis. Although contemporary culture tends to view science as the sole purveyor of truth, ironically, the one reality that humans will ever know stands outside the domain of scientific investigation. Lived experience is not quantifiable; it needs a qualitative, descriptive mode to impart understanding. Science and art are addressing the same world, but their dissimilar methods have left us in a dualistic quandary. Are science and art irreconcilably divided, as many experts maintain, or are they parts of a complementary dialogue about the universe and our place in it?

April 7, 2010 – “Current Events” Some possible topics: Albany, Washington, Chile, Iran, the latest scandal, Health Care, the Economy, People in the news. Besides keeping up on what’s happening in the local, regional, national and international worlds, we will look for patterns of recurring themes in the news. The current 24/7 news cycle the drives the media to fill the air creates a frenzied, breathless indiscriminate pseudo importance to everything. For example, the National Enquirer may be one of the nominees for a Pulitzer Prize in reporting for its on-going story of the John Edwards domestic disaster. And he was the Democratic nominee for VP in 2004.
April 14. 2010 “Jokefest” – In response to a member request to have more comedy, we will ask everyone to bring at least 3 jokes to try out on the audience. We’ll open with one joke after another. After several rounds, then we’ll stop our laughing and ask ourselves what have we heard, why did some jokes work and others did not, what have the jokes communicated, what kinds of jokes are offensive, etc. At least we should have a good time, yukking at ourselves.


What about one of these topics?
“Rodney King: ‘Why Can’t We Get Along?”
“Repetition”
“Meaning”
“The Seven Heavenly Virtues”
“Why Does History Repeat Itself?”
“Heroism”
“Concentration”
“Coping with Adversity”
“Distraction”
Student Poetry showcase
“Empathy”
“Connecting the Dots”
Role play of cynical people
“Cold Calling in Sales
“He’s Just Not That into You”
Introducing “The Critical Listening Institute”
“Money”
“Freedom”
And dozens of others!


What happened on Wednesday,
March 10, 2010?

Compare the notice of the session with what really happened!

The Power of No”
The word “No” is a powerful word. Negatives always are. “No” is the favorite word of a two-year-old child. “No” blocks forward movement. “No” stops the thinking of some people. “No” provokes negative emotions. “No” can be a powerful position. What do you feel when you say “No”? What do you do? Swear at the person who says “No.” We have lots to talk about. And then there’s passive resistance…..

This week’s topic brought another thoughtful group to Room 223. Brittany Robles, Chui, Hing Yau, Richard Green, Michael Mattocks, Shrestha Kiresh, Charles Mason, Jean Missial, Carlisle Yearwood, Ronald Johnson, Lorinda Moore, Markus Vyandorf, David Nussbaum and Hal Wicke showed a variety of views about the power of “No.”

Hal wrote a list of questions on the board to start the discussion.

· What does “No” mean to you?
· Why do you say “No”?
· When do you say “No”?
· How do you react when someone says “No” to you?
· How many ways can you say “No”?

Random thoughts:

· The Republicans say “No” to President Obama’s plans for health care.
· Teachers expect adult behavior, but get childish behavior
· Early childhood behavior
· “No” is easy to say.
· “No” is testing, challenging authority.
· “No” is an expression of opposition
· “No” is a way to establish self-hood
· “No” is to defy.
· “No” is to show aggression.
· “No” is to stand up for yourself, to define yourself.
· “No” is a tactic to get a “Yes”
· “No” is a delaying tactic.

· David Nussbaum – “Sales people are taught that “No” is the first step to purchasing a product.”

· Babe Ruth he was known as the “Strike-out King”) believed that every strikeout allowed him to get one hit closer to the homerun record.

· Getting a grade you don’t like is like a “No.”

· Can you do anything about getting ‘No’s”?

· Is being turned down for a job, a date, a bank a form of “No”?
· There is peer pressure to say “No” –

How do you prepare for “No”?

· Know your stuff.
· Anticipate other points of view.
· Think like your opponent – get in his shoes.
· Develop a detached mindset – seeing both sides of a position while arguing one side.
· Channel 13 program “Not me” – about teaching teenagers about drugs.
· Like “Scared Straight” – young offenders talk to hardened criminals in Rahway prison.
· Politicians don’t like to say “No.”
· Leads to corruption – Like the perks and power of politics
· A very long list of politicians who are/were accused of abuse of power – Spitzer, Patterson, Rangel, Blagojevich, Adam Clayton Powell, Sanford, Foley, Nixon, Huey Long, etc.
· Why are these corrupt politicians all men?
Markus -“Education is painful” – But people prefer pleasure to pain.

---
We always have a great time exploring these issues. So often our daily life never focuses on these Communication issues. If you have something you want us to discuss please let us know and we’ll add it to the list.
Next time bring a friend. The Communication Club is always an open discussion, limited only by time. Everyone gets a chance to speak. All opinions are welcome. Here is an opportunity for students to challenge professors’ views outside the class without any homework or assignments. You just have to show up and listen and talk if you want.

Hal Wicke

Sunday, March 7, 2010

The Touro Communication Club Notes - #108 –March 10, 2010 Tourocommunicationclub.blogspot.com

Five Quotes about Words
Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
Anonymous
One great use of words is to hide our thoughts.
Voltaire
In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
John F. Kennedy
I'm a woman of very few words, but lots of action.”
Mae West

The Touro Communication Club
2 pm - Wednesday, March 10, 2010– Room 223
“The Power of No”
The word “No” is a powerful word. Negatives always are. “No” is the favorite word of a two-year-old child. “No” blocks forward movement. “No” stops the thinking of some people. “No” provokes negative emotions. “No” can be a powerful position. What do you feel when you say “No”? What do you do? Swear at the person who says “No.” We have lots to talk about. And then there’s passive resistance…..

A Note to Communicators:

Too Many Words about Word “No”

This week’s club meeting we are talking about one word, “No.” It’s a powerful word. We hear it all the time. Perhaps we used it a lot. Children use “No.” Adults use “No.” Customers say “No.” Human relations are often built on various forms of “No.”

“No” is part of the human landscape. Historical figures paid a price for saying “No” to the prevailing wisdom. Joan of Arc said “No” to the English and was burned at the stake. Galileo said “No” to the belief that the world is flat and was excommunicated from the Catholic Church. Martin Luther King, Jr., said “No” to inhuman treatment and was assassinated. There are so many others.
Yet, the greatest minds of our time have seen “No” not as an endpoint but as an opportunity. Creative people of all stripes – inventors, artists, business people, social activists – have refused to drown in the status quo. Their mindset does not allow “No” to destroy them. Intuitively, they follow the lead of Robert Kennedy who said, “There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why... I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?”

In Congress, we see Republicans using a strategy of voting “No” to much legislation that President Obama has proposed, especially health care. This practice seems to be a strategy to defeat the Democrats, rather than a seriously principled disagreement. It has been extremely successful thus far.

At our individual level, “No” is used so many ways.. “No” can indicate a genuine disagreement. “No” can be a denial of another’s reality. “No” can indicate surprise and shock at a surprise occurrence.

“No” confronts. It sets limits, boundaries. It creates conflict. It creates stalemate. It can lead to an explosion, a fight, a war. It can require negotiation, but most of the time that’s too much trouble. Maintaining your position is more important than compromise. Everything is a win/lose paradigm.

“No” can stop action. It can prevent action. It can deny action. It stops thinking. It can promote anger. It can defeat a movement. Stonewalling, avoiding and other kinds of foot-dragging are non-verbal ways of saying “No” without taking the responsibility of what a “No” position means.

“No” can be carelessly used. It can be emotionally used. It can be the basis of a principled position. It also can be a manifestation of a variety of biases and prejudice. “No” can be used flippantly, as in teasing. “No” may be a delaying strategy.

“No” may be an attempt to establish independence from someone. The two-year-old will say “No” as part of establishing his/her own identify, apart from the parents.

Overcoming “No” can be difficult. You have to know who you are and what you believe. You must have the linguistic acuity to understand the position of “No” and then to develop strategies to confront, bypass, circumvent the position.

In sales training, “No” is only the first to leading the prospect to say “Yes” and to buy the product. In seduction, “No” can really mean “Yes.” Depending on who is doing the seduction, “No” may be a strategy to gain advantage in the negotiation process

When we understand how “No” functions in our vocabulary, we have gained power over the word. We control it. It does not control us.

Language matters. It gives us strength and purpose. When we can recognize its intent in others, we can gauge our responses. When we are able to choose the precise words to express our thoughts, feelings and plans, we establish our identity in our world. We are in charge of ourselves.

UPCOMING CONVERSATIONS:

March 17, 2010 - Dean Donne Kampel on “Women & Leadership”- Women are breaking through the glass ceiling more frequently these days. However, the challenges that female leaders face in traditional hierarchy remain daunting. Dean Kampel will share some of her experiences and secrets as part of our discussion. Her study of these issues is part of her forthcoming book on the topic.

March 24, 2010– “Science and Art – Is there a Conflict?” – A discussion led by Touro poet Charles Borkhuis. More to come.

April 7, 2010 – ““Freedom of Speech” The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution establishes the right of free speech. What does that mean? Do we really have “free speech”? Is it okay to disrespectful if we have freedom of speech? Do we believe in Voltaire’s dictum, “I may disagree with you, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.” This one should be interesting.

What about one of these topics?
“Rodney King: ‘Why Can’t We Get Along?”
“Repetition”
“Meaning”
“The Seven Heavenly Virtues”
“Why Does History Repeat Itself?”
“Heroism”
“Concentration”
“Coping with Adversity”
“Distraction”
Student Poetry showcase
“Empathy”
“Connecting the Dots”
Role play of cynical people
“Cold Calling in Sales”
“He’s Just Not That into You”
And dozens of others!

What happened on Wednesday,
March 3, 2010?
Compare the notice of the session with what really happened!
“A Conversation with James Baldwin”
Gary Sheinfeld, a long-time Touro English professor, was a friend of James Baldwin. In this reading Timothy Taylor, Associate Dean of Students, will portray Mr. Baldwin, and Gary Sheinfeld will play himself.

Shortly before Baldwin’s death in 1987, Sheinfeld recorded a conversation with the famous American author, probably his last recorded words. Among Baldwin’s works are “Go Tell It on the Mountain”(1953), “ Giovanni’s Room” (1956), “Another Country”(1962), “The Fire Next Time” (1963) and a play “Blues for Mr. Charlie” (1964).

The room was filled with students and faculty who turned out to hear Dean Timothy Taylor and Professor Gary Sheinfeld perform the last recorded words of James Baldwin, the well-known African American author. English instructor Brenda Coultas brought her literature class to hear the program.

Among the first time visitors were Sorijana Khanel, Paulsaint Petit Freie, Angel Franco, Sonya Simpson, Lillian McCray, Alesya Khaimova, Belinda George, Robert Casey, Dara Taylor, Michael Mattocells, Ian Smith, Jane Heid and Lisa Alonso.

Familiar faces included Brittany Robles, David Nussbaum, Chui, Hing Yau, Ronald Johnson, Pamela Sheppard, Lorinda Moore, Charles Mason, Leon Perkal, Charles Borkhuis, Richard Green, Jean Missial, Grace Gibson, Ruth Abramowitz and Hal Wicke

Professor Sheinfeld prefaced the reading with a short introduction of his relationship with James Baldwin, who died in 1987, shortly after this conversation was recorded. Their friendship began in a bar and continued for several years.

The conversation covered many topics:
· Friendship
· “Imposing order on chaos”
· Betrayal
· Baldwin’s novel “Giovanni’s Room” (1956) was about loneliness, not homosexuality.
· Jean Genet – [French absurdist playwright of the netherworld]
· Falling in love
· “The Negro writer can’t afford to alienate people”
· “Not a lot of people survive poverty.”
· “Most people are cowards. They don’t want to be responsible for their lives.”
· “Afraid to die, afraid to live.”
· “Why am I so gloomy?”
· “Children are special They love you for who you are.”
· “Memory can never be trusted.”
· “No matter how I sound, I am not despairing.”
· “People can learn from each other.”
· “The Social Contract [advocated by Jean Jacques Rousseau] has broken down.”
· Image of Michelob beer – compared to the addiction of crack
· And many other thoughts that went by too fast to write down.

The question and answer period following the reading provoked a variety of questions about the artistry of Baldwin and the friendship of the two men. Professor Sheinfeld told the anecdote of trying to getting Baldwin to speak at his City College English class that ended up unexpectedly being an entire panel of African American writers before the students.

In closing, Professor Sheinfeld observed that “Not Harvard, not Yale, not Princeton had this dialogue. Only Touro students were able to hear this unique conversation.”

The audience seemed quite moved by the exchange in the candor of their statements. Some students had heard of Baldwin, but now felt they knew him better.

Programs such as this Baldwin-Sheinfeld conversation are a special highlight of the Communication Club. In our quest to promote communication, we were privileged to be witnesses to s rare historical document – the private conversation between a Touro professor and a friend of his named James Baldwin. Our education just got richer by the experience.

Thank you, Gary Sheinfeld, for allowing us into your unique world. And thank you, Tim Taylor, for using your theatrical talents to bring Baldwin’s words to life. We were honored.

---
We always have a great time exploring these issues. So often our daily life never focuses on these Communication issues. If you have something you want us to discuss please let us know and we’ll add it to the list.

Next time bring a friend. The Communication Club is always an open discussion, limited only by time. Everyone gets a chance to speak. All opinions are welcome. Here is an opportunity for students to challenge professors’ views outside the class without any homework or assignments. You just have to show up and listen and talk if you want.

Hal Wicke
The Touro Communication Club Notes - #107 –March 3, 2010 Tourocommunicationclub.blogspot.com

Five Communication Quotes of the Week
“Of all lies, art is the least untrue.”
Gustave Flaubert. 19th century French author
“A man paints with his brains and not with his hands.”
Michelangelo, 15th century, Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet
“A picture is worth a thousand words.”
Napoleon Bonaparte, 18th century French military dictator
“A writer should write with his eyes and a painter paint with his ears.”
Gertrude Stein, 20th century American writer
“Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood.”
T.S. Eliot. 20th century American/English poet

The Touro Communication Club
2 pm - Wednesday, March 3, 2010– Room 223
“A Conversation with James Baldwin”
Gary Sheinfeld, a long-time Touro English professor, was a friend of James Baldwin. In this reading Timothy Taylor, Associate Dean of Students, will portray Mr. Baldwin, and Gary Sheinfeld will play himself.

Shortly before Baldwin’s death in 1987, Sheinfeld recorded a conversation with the famous American author, probably his last recorded words. Among Baldwin’s works are “Go Tell It on the Mountain”(1953), “ Giovanni’s Room” (1956), “Another Country”(1962), “The Fire Next Time” (1963) and a play “Blues for Mr. Charlie” (1964).

A Note to Communicators:

“Art” and Communication

For this week’s Club session, we are privileged to have Touro English professor Gary Sheinfeld bring to life his conversation with famed African-American author, James Baldwin. Dean Timothy Taylor plays Baldwin’s part in what Professor Sheinfeld says is Baldwin’s last interview.

As with the session we did on student poetry, the Baldwin program raises particular issues about “Art and Communication” that are worth exploring.

For our purposes, I am using the term “art” in its broadest definition. “Art” extends from ancient Greek sculpture to rap music, from the Egyptian pyramids to Broadway musicals, from Michelangelo’s famed sculpture, Pietá to graffiti on a subway train.

We normally associate communication with words. We use words when we write stories and poetry, as does James Baldwin. Words are the primary delivery tool of the author’s thoughts

We also use words in songs, films, plays, musicals and operas. Here, the words are one of several tools which convey the author’s thinking.

But what about the non-verbal forms of “art”? Dance, music, painting, sculpture, architecture, environmental and site specific art also communicate what the choreographer, painter, composer, sculptor and architect had in mind. We have to work harder to figure out the “message” of the artist because we don’t have words to help us. We have to rely on line, color, shape, texture, among other elements to convey the intention of the artist.

Semiotics, the study of signs and symbols, is a further aspect of communication. Street signs as well as advertising in magazines, newspapers and buses all send messages to those who view them.

The element which ties all “art” together is the author’s intention. What does he/she want to communicate? Is it to convey information? persuade? entertain? satirize? honor? celebrate? memorialize? Or a dozen other intentions.

Then we can look at the content of the communication.
· Is the musical content pure – as in pure sound vs. a sound that has a programmatic intent?
· Is its pictorial nature focused on pure line or color or abstract shape or something that has a specific time, place or person that is important?
· Is the movement a pure exploration of space, light and human form or does it serve a particular purpose?

Pure art is not interested in communicating any specific message. It is an exploration of the elements of the art form without regard to a specific message. For those interested in “art for art’s sake,” anything that smacks of a “message” is not considered art. Quickly, we are off and running into an endless argument. Ultimately, the “art” exists in the eyes of the beholder. As Henry Kissinger once said, “Perception is all.”

Finally, we have to examine the attitude the author of the work of art take toward the subject matter. Does it attempt to be neutral – as in “pure art”? Is it support or hostile? Is it biased in one way or another?

Once we’ve done our mental homework as observers, then we can be alert to the thoughts themselves that the author is communicating. Are they superficial illustrations? Are they different and unusual?

So often we are swept along by the power of the technique of the art work – surprise, terror, suspense, heart-warming, stark – that we are distracted from its intention and attitude. In adventure movies, it’s the explosions. In blockbuster musical spectacles, we come out whistling the scenery. We need to know why we’ve come to observe the art work.
As one of my teachers, Harold Clurman, the noted critic, stage director and co-founder of the Group Theatre, commented, “I go to the theatre like I go to dinner. I want some salad, some steak, a few vegetables and a sweet dessert. But I don’t want too much of cotton candy because it spoils my digestion.”

Where’s the “enjoyment” in observing the art work? Does an overly analytical habit destroy the experience of luxuriating in the moment? I would hope not. Just as the trained communicator has a wide range of tools to use, so does the arts observer. I would hope the experience would be richer for the analysis both in the moment and thereafter.

But then, what’s art? As the connoisseur of “art” might say over a beer, “I know what I like.”

UPCOMING CONVERSATIONS:

March 10, 2010 - “The Power of No” The word “No” is a powerful word. Negatives always are. “No” is the favorite word of a two-year-old child. “No” blocks forward movement. “No” stops the thinking of some people. “No” provokes negative emotions. “No” can be a powerful position. What do you feel when you say “No”? What do you do? Swear at the person who says “No.” We have lots to talk about. And then there’s passive resistance…..

March 17, 2010 – “Science and Art – Is there a Conflict?” – A discussion led by Touro poet Charles Borkhuis. More to come.

March 24, 2010 - Dean Donne Kampel on “Women & Leadership”- Women are breaking through the glass ceiling more frequently these days. However, the challenges that female leaders face in traditional hierarchy remain daunting. Dean Kampel will share some of her experiences and secrets as part of our discussion. Her study of these issues is part of her forthcoming book on the topic.

What about one of these topics?
“Rodney King: ‘Why Can’t We Get Along?”
“Repetition”
“Meaning”
“The Seven Heavenly Virtues”
“Why Does History Repeat Itself?”
“Heroism”
“Concentration”
“Coping with Adversity”
“Distraction”
Student Poetry showcase
“Empathy”
“Connecting the Dots”
Role play of cynical people
“Cold Calling in Sales”
“He’s Just Not That into You”
“Freedom of Speech”
And dozens of others!

What happened on Wednesday,
February 3, 2010?
Compare the notice of the session with what really happened!
“How Do You Fire Someone?”
In our work or love life, we may have been fired or told to get lost. Why does this happen? Can you tell if you are going to be fired? What do you say to someone who you want to get rid of? Lots of emotion surrounds these situations. We’ll talk about some ways to prepare to fire someone as well as your options if you suddenly learn you’ve been fired.

Joining in this week’s discussion was newcomer Ruti Abramovitz. Among the familiar faces were Damian Forbes, Jean Missial, Brittany Robles, David Nussbaum, Richard Green, Erica Bell, Carlisle Yearwood, Lorinda Moore, Charles Mason and Hal Wicke.

Hal opened the discussion with a proverbial question, “When do you fire someone? The termination of a job is the most obvious response.
· “Downsized” is a way of firing someone without commenting on his/her performance.
· You get “sweet b.s.” when you get fired.
· Everything changed after Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice” famous phrase, “You’re fired.”
· It used to be a disgraceful thing to be fired.
· It’s a blow to your ego.
· Japanese companies used to pride themselves on “cradle to grave” employment situations, but no longer because of the economy. [That’s happening to Toyota’s culture with all those car recalls.]
· How do you avoid being fired?
· We no longer have the paternalistic culture of the “golden handcuffs”

Richard commented on his experience many years ago of working at Sports Illustrated where everyone was treated to fancy lunches, upstate NY retreats. “We were family,” he said. Then came the shock when he was downsized and suddenly no longer a member of the family. He became disillusioned with the concept of corporate family. “You’re only ‘family’ until they don’t need you,” he said.

When Richard was downsized, Sports Illustrated (of Time, Inc.) provided an Executive training program to teach employees about to leave how to interview write a resume and how to network to get another job. “It was to make the firing experience more palatable,” he observed.

Damian commented that on his job he was “just passing through.” This indicated he was there to do the work, but not invested emotionally with his work or the company.

What about promoting someone in order to fire them? Give them a job a person cannot do and then fire them for not doing the job. [Pretty Machiavellian!)

How do you prepare to fire someone?
· Start a paper trail. Collect a diary of specifics of things the employee hasn’t done. Build a case against the employee.
· This anticipates the employee suing the company for lack of a warning or being accused on bias or other whimsical charges.
· You sense something is in the air.
· “I was fired because I was disliked by the manager.”
· Observe the non-verbals.
· Look for “stop signs” – lateness, lack of preparation

How do you prepare yourself for being fired?
· Look at the market. Read about it in the newspaper.
· Constantly develop your network of contacts. An actor starts looking for his next job as soon as he is cast in his present job.
· Just be yourself 100% of the time.
· Tiger Wood – feeling entitled and deserving causes problems
· It’s a rare thing to learn from others – Unfortunately, we have to learn the same lessons ourselves.
· Expect the unexpected

This was an interesting and very practical discussion. Everyone present seemed to understand the nature of firing someone. The topic has other implications: Do you “fire” your family? Do you “fire” a loved one? Do you “fire” your doctor, lawyer? Can you “fire” a teacher? [I have observed students planning to fire a teacher.]

Politicians get “fired” by the voters for a variety of misdeeds. Corruption and sex scandals seem to be the major reasons. In 1974, President Richard Nixon resigned over what he called “a third-rate burglary.” The pressure that NY Governor David Patterson is now enduring for a variety of nefarious misdeeds may induce a resignation. Similar pressure is now on Congressman Charles Rangel of Harlem – twice a Touro graduation speaker – for his sloppy management of gifts he received.

On the sex scene, President Clinton was almost impeached for his behavior with Monica Lewinsky. NJ Governor James McGreevey resigned over his homosexual affair. Within 48 hours after NY Governor Eliot Spitzer was caught patronizing a Washington prostitute, he resigned.

Perhaps the most unusual twist of a recent political firing was that of NY State Senator Hiram Monserate of the Bronx who was ousted by his colleagues in Albany for his brutish behavior toward his female companion, but now is running again for the open seat.
The list is endless – and boring in its repetition. [A side observation – there are no women in these lists. Why?]

The media scrutiny and the public outcry to these political situations often is so loud and distracting that the politicians cannot do their jobs effectively – assuming they could be effective in the first place.

On the personal level, being fired affects a small number of people. On a public level, a political “firing” affects a large number of people on a variety of levels, both immediate and long term. Confidence in ones’ self can be affected in individual situations. Confidence and trust in public figures in general affect their ability to govern and deliver services.

“Firing” is a volatile crucible which can serve as a metaphor for many aspects of human existence. For each “firing,’ if we are alert to the communication signals – verbal and non-verbal – we can prepare ourselves for both sides of such a situation.

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We always have a great time exploring these issues. So often our daily life never focuses on these Communication issues. If you have something you want us to discuss please let us know and we’ll add it to the list.

Next time bring a friend. The Communication Club is always an open discussion, limited only by time. Everyone gets a chance to speak. All opinions are welcome. Here is an opportunity for students to challenge professors’ views outside the class without any homework or assignments. You just have to show up and listen and talk if you want.

Hal Wicke