Anderson Photo

Jami L. Anderson

Present Position

Educational Background

Areas of Interest

Publications

Current Research Projects

Right now I am working on developing two articles from my dissertation on Hegel.In the first, I am analyzing how social standing is secured in a modern, capitalistic society, like ours and, more importantly, how and why it is denied to certain members.In the second, I am developing and theory of accountability for holding individuals responsible for denying social standing to certain members of society and the experiences of oppression they experience as a result of being denied standing.

Another project I am just beginning is a introductory-level philosophy textbook on race, gender and sexuality.Topics will include:

  1. race, gender and sexual identity
  2. racism, sexism and homophobia
  3. media portrayals of racial minorities, women and homosexuality
  4. family issues such as inter-racial and homosexual marriage, adoption policies for non-traditional families
  5. legal issues such as affirmative action, hate crimes (gay-bashing, hate speech, sex crimes)

And These Are a Few of My Favorite Things . . . .

MOVIES (never underestimate the philosophical value of a good movie, see these and be enlightened):

·Animal Crackers (see if you can find the scenes that were completely ad libbed.The clue is to look for the co-stars trying not to laugh as they struggle to keep up with Groucho)

·It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (Ethel Merman is great and Terry-Thomas’s rant about bosoms is genius)

·Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory (see it as an adult and wonder how you managed to fail to notice the really sinister undertones of this classic)

·Young Frankenstein (I admit I have a soft spot for Gene Wilder, but this movie is just too brilliant to miss)

·Blade Runner (a philosopher’s movie, no more needs to be said)

·Wings of Desire (after seeing this film you will wonder how you managed to get through life without it.And for crying out loud, NEVER see the Hollywood remake of this and if you have already seen it, cut those brain cells out of your head)

·Jackie Chan’s Project A, Parts 1 and 2 (all of Chan’s movies are brilliant, but these are unbelievable.If you haven’t seen any of Jackie Chan’s Hong Kong movies, then you haven’t seen an action movie – these will leave you breathless!)

·Monty Python’s Meaning of Life (I will agree that it isn’t necessarily the best Monty Python movie, but it was the one I saw first, so I have especially fond feelings for it)

·The Manchurian Candidate (the cinematography is great and the plot gives you heart-pounding suspense--what more could you want from a film?)

·Suspicion (all of Hitchcock’s films are great, but this is exceptional. Cary Grant gives an amazing performance as a very shady character that you really want to believe is good at heart but . . . )

·The Zero Effect (There aren’t good guys and bad guys, there are just guys! This is a great modern- day rendition of the Holmes/Watson relationship, quirky and hilarious)

·This is Spinal Tap (if you haven’t seen this, you need to have a serious talk with yourself)

·Night of the Living Dead (the original, of course and don’t see it while you live alone in a big, old, farmhouse in Arkansas as I did!)

·Some Like It Hotmen in drag is an oft-used comic device, but Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis really make this a side-splitter and seeing Marilyn Monroe at her chubby best (jello on springs) is sweet relief from the skinny things that pass for love interests now)

·The Seven Year Itch (inwardly, downwardly another Marilyn Monroe classic)

·What About Bob? (finally Bill Murray gets a film worthy of his comic genius)

RECOMMENDED BOOKS (all of these are an excellent read, and some are truly ripping yarns):

·Of Human Bondage, W. Somerset Maugham (the best literary application I know of the philosophical debate about the battle between reason and the passions with the passions, just as Hume said they are, clearly in control of things)

·The Razors Edge, W. Somerset Maugham (I actually like the film and am one of the few that thinks Bill Murray is good as Larry Durrell but decide for yourself the book is an absolute must read for anyone who wonders about the meaning of life)

·Neighbors, Thomas Berger (if you find awkward social situations funny, then you must read this book)

·Summer’s Lease, John Mortimer (from the man who brought you Rumpole of the Bailey, an excellent book for reading by the pool)

·Decline and Fall, Evelyn Waugh, (a great social criticism both humorous and slightly tragic)

·The Talented Mr. Ripley, Patricia Highsmith (Ripley must be one of he most fascinating evil charactersever invented.An absolute must-read for fans of mysteries and thrillers)

·Strangers on a Train, Patricia Highsmith.(Hitchcock’s excellent (but overly sentimental) movie doesn’t compare to this masterpiece of suspense)

·Howard’s End, E. M. Forster (don’t see the movie, read this wonderful social criticism of class war)

·Further Adventures, Jon Stephen Fink (truly bizarre but very enjoyable and unforgettable)

·Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky (the translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky is best – don’t accept any substitutes!)

·Mr. Palomar, Italo Calvino (you’ll never think about nudist beaches in the same way again)

·Life:A User’s Manual, Georges Perec (if you like jigsaw puzzles you will love this book)

·The Woman in White, Wilkie Collins (occasionally silly but nonetheless a real page turner)

·Moo, Jane Smiley (a must-read if you have any intentions of going into academia)

·The Life and Loves of a She-Devil, Fay Weldon (a nasty story about revenge and notions of feminine beauty)

·Malice Aforethought, Francis Iles (a real nail-biter, his novels inspired a couple of Hitchcock’s best films)

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