Links to Additional Resources on Classic and Contemporary Essays

Chapter 3
Classic and Contemporary Essays: What Is the Value of Education?

How is education related to the wealth of nations? Read this excerpt from Adam Smith's seminal work to find out more.

Here's an essay by Francis Bacon called "Of Custom and Education," focusing upon the importance of starting to learn early in life.

What are some of the ways you can put a value on education? What's an education worth in dollars? Take a look at this chart. Some of these numbers might surprise you.

Here's a teacher's point of view of the current school system in New York City. How does this compare to your experiences in grade school? Why do you think the author chose to remain anonymous?

Chapter 4
Classic and Contemporary Essays: How Much Do Families Matter?

This essay, "Families Do Matter," from the Family Research Council, examines the impact of family structure upon various youth health issues, including alcohol and tobacco use, and early sexual behavior.

Interested in narrowing a topic for a research paper about family issues? This homepage from the National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth should give you plenty of good ideas.

Still hungry for more information about family matters? This page from the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry offers links to issues arranged by topic.

Chapter 5
Classic and Contemporary Essays: Are We Heading toward a World Culture?

Here is "Patrie," an excerpt from Voltaire's The Philosophical Dictionary (1752), in which he argues that we should all be citizens of the world, and not just of our home or adopted nations.

Do you need some facts to support your writing about globalization and world culture? This page has links to 30 tables, examining things like cultural practices, trends, trade, and communication.

This page has links to three essays dealing with the September 11^th terrorist attacks and their impact upon globalization. Before you visit and take a look, make a list of the things that these attacks might affect on a world scale and compare it to what you find online.

This is the homepage of the Action without Borders site, from Idealist.org. There, you'll find links to news pages, a discussion area, and a directory of world culture-related topics.

Chapter 6
Classic and Contemporary Essays: What Is the American Dream?

Click here to read a chapter by Thorstein Veblen called "Conspicuous Consumption" from his book The Theory of the Leisure Class; An Economic Study of Institutions (1899).

This is the homepage of the Center for a New American Dream, which suggests that Americans should consume things more wisely and responsibly. Do you agree with their main points? Do you link the American dream with consumption?

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech "I Have a Dream" appears in your text. Here is a speech he gave about two years later, called "The American Dream." What's similar about these speeches? How do they differ?

This is a page describing a 2002 art exhibit called Norman Rockwell: Drawing the American Dream from The Long Island Museum of American Art, History & Carriages. How does Rockwell's view differ from others you have encountered?

Chapter 7
Classic and Contemporary Essays: Does Equal Opportunity Exist?

This link will take you to an essay by Mikhail Bakunin written in 1869, entitled "Equal Opportunity in Education."

Looking for a starting point to research or a way to narrow a topic concerning equal opportunity? The homepage of the Center for Equal Opportunity is a good place to start.

Here's a page with some links to three articles from Equal Opportunity magazine with topics including how AfricanAmerican children have been affected by equal opportunity efforts, how to choose a job, and what the American Bar Association is doing about equal rights.

This is Monster.com's directory about equal opportunity. There, you'll find links to things like equal opportunity resources, reports, and chat areas.

Chapter 8
Classic and Contemporary Essays: Is Superstition a Sign of Weakness or Strength?

Click here if you'd like to look through a book by John Fiske called Myths and Myth-makers: Old Tales and Superstitions Interpreted by Comparative Mythology (1872). Chapter 3 is entitled "Werewolves and Swan-Maidens," by the way.

This is a classic essay by Francis Bacon called "Of Superstition."

Ready to do some more research about superstitions? Click over to this essay surrounding Irish superstitions about birds that dates back to 1898.

Would you like to narrow a research topic about superstitions? This page has links to websites about many superstitions from Europe, organized by topic, and should give you plenty of things to think about.

Chapter 9
Classic and Contemporary Essays: Why Are We Fascinated by Outlaws?

Want to read more about gangsters and outlaws? This is an essay from the American Experience site, from PBS. You'll also find links to some special features, a gallery, and a timeline there.

Here's the homepage of a site dedicated to outlaws and highwaymen. There, you'll find links to a history, a bibliography, and a classified table of contents.

Here's the ballad "Robin Hood and Valiant Knight" in etext. Francis J. Child's collection about Robin Hood and his merry men dates back to the 16^th century.

Click here to read an article about Kansas gunfighters of the 19^th century, including Billy the Kid, Buffalo Bill Cody, and John Wesley Hardin. You'll also find lots of related links there.

Chapter 10
Classic and Contemporary Essays: What Is Technological Progress?

Here is Walter Benjamin's 1935 classic essay "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction." Has technology benefited the arts? If so, how? If not, why not?

How about another essay? Here's one by Leo Marx called "Does Technology Mean Progress?"

This is the homepage of a site devoted to Bill Gates's work, The Road Ahead. Are you a WinTel person or a Mac person? Why do you use the particular computer(s) that you do?

Looking for a way to get an overview of some issues relating to technology? Try this directory from Google.com. Does the amount of entries online surprise you? Why or why not?

Chapter 11
Classic and Contemporary Essays: Do We Own Nature?

Click here to read Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Nature" in etext. Do you like using etext in your schoolwork? What can you do with electronic texts that is hard to do using hard copy?

Ready for another classic essay about our relationship to nature? Here's Henry David Thoreau's essay "Walking."

This page contains a large collection of nature writing links, including information on nature writers from Captain John Smith to Annie Dillard.

Barry Lopez's essay "The Stone Horse" is in your text. Here's a link to another essay Lopez has written. What's similar about the two pieces? What differences can you find?