imagined-community

I’ve walked past this house at 95 Irving Street in Cambridge a million times and never noticed the blue plaque marking it as the home of American philosopher William James. Not until the house was transformed into the Halloween House did I notice the historic landmark sign underneath the candy corn lights.

I am actually a fan of both William James and Henry James. I read Henry James for the first time in college, in a comparative literature class. The professor was a passionate James-junkie and started us off with What Maisie Knew, a nineteenth-century account of a dual-custody divorce (Maisie being the child caught in the middle of her parents’ bitter squabbling). My interest in William James came a bit later, but also in college, when I drew from the James-Lange theory of emotions (in a nutshell, emotions are a response to physiological experiences, and thus can be directed or controlled, not the other way around — we don’t run because we are afraid, we are afraid because we run) for a literature paper.

There are many historic homes in Cambridge, E.E. Cummings’ house is across the street from the WJ Halloween House, although there is a VERY high fence around it. You can see a list of historic Cambridge houses (with photos) at the Cambridge Historical Commission.

Comments(0)

On Friday, September 22, Harvard students rallied in support of a Harvard janitor who was fired after his supervisor found him conked out on the job. Here is the gist of the situation, lifted from an MIT list thread:

HARVARD JANITOR FIRED FOR FAINTING!

Saintely Paul has been working at Harvard University for 6 ½ years. On June 27, 2006, Saintely Paul was feeling ill so he sat down on the couch on the 11th floor of William James Hall. As soon as he sat down he fainted.

HARVARD IS LYING!

On July 3, 2006, Facilities Maintenance Operations (FMO) fired Saintely Paul, claiming that he was sleeping on the job. This is not true! Mr. Paul had also fainted the previous week yet Harvard refuses to believe him despite his years of dedication to the university and spotless record.
Shouldn’t Harvard make an effort to support an employee with a medical condition instead of firing him?

RALLY TO DEMAND JUSTICE!

Join with workers and community members to demand that Harvard give Saintely Paul his job back!

If you attended the rally, or you were just a passerby, like me, and wondered what happened with Mr. Paul, here is some good news…The Cambridge City Council passed a resolution in support of Mr. Paul, calling on Harvard to rehire Paul and compensate him for lost wages and medical insurance. You can read more at the Harvard Crimson.

There hasn’t been a peep out of Harvard about all this…
And those students sure look all rallied up, don’t they? ; )

Comments(0)