Biography of Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986)

Jorge Luà ­s Borges was an Argentine writer who specialized in short stories, poems, and essays. Although he never wrote a novel, he is considered one of the most important writers of his generation, not only in his native Argentina but around the world. Often imitated but never duplicated, his innovative style and stunning concepts made him a â€Å"writer’s writer,† a favorite inspiration for storytellers everywhere. Early Life Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luà ­s Borges was born in Buenos Aires on August 24, 1899, to middle-class parents from a family with a distinguished military background. His paternal grandmother was English, and young Jorge mastered English at an early age. They lived in the Palermo district of Buenos Aires, which at the time was a bit rough. The family moved to Geneva, Switzerland, in 1914 and remained there for the duration of the First World War. Jorge graduated from high school in 1918 and picked up German and French while he was in Europe. Ultra and Ultraism The family traveled around Spain after the war, visiting several cities before moving back to Buenos Aires in Argentina. During his time in Europe, Borges was exposed to several groundbreaking writers and literary movements. While in Madrid, Borges participated in the founding of Ultraism, a literary movement that sought a new sort of poetry, free from form and maudlin imagery. Together with a handful of other young writers, he published the literary journal Ultra. Borges returned to Buenos Aires in 1921 and brought his avant-garde ideas with him. Early Work in Argentina: Back in Buenos Aires, Borges wasted no time in establishing new literary journals. He helped found the journal Proa, and published several poems with the journal Martà ­n Fierro, named after the famous Argentine Epic Poem. In 1923 he published his first book of poems, Fervor de Buenos Aires. He followed this with other volumes, including Luna de Enfrente in 1925 and the award-winning Cuaderno de San Martà ­n in 1929. Borges would later grow to disdain his early works, essentially disowning them as too heavy on local color. He even went so far as to buy copies of old journals and books in order to burn them. Short Stories by Jorge Luis Borges: In the 1930s and 1940s, Borges began writing short fiction, the genre which would make him famous. During the 1930s, he published several stories in the various literary journals in Buenos Aires. He released his first collection of stories, The Garden of Forking Paths, in 1941 and followed it up shortly thereafter with Artifices. The two were combined into Ficciones in 1944. In 1949 he published El Aleph, his second major collection of short stories. These two collections represent Borges’ most important work, containing several dazzling stories that took Latin American literature in a new direction. Under the Perà ³n Regime: Although he was a literary radical, Borges was a bit of a conservative in his private and political life, and he suffered under the liberal Juan Perà ³n dictatorship, although he was not jailed like some high profile dissidents. His reputation was growing, and by 1950 he was in demand as a lecturer. He was particularly sought after as a speaker on English and American Literature. The Perà ³n regime kept an eye on him, sending a police informer to many of his lectures. His family was harassed as well. All in all, he managed to keep a low enough profile during the Perà ³n years to avoid any trouble with the government. International Fame: By the 1960s, readers around the world had discovered Borges, whose works were translated into several different languages. In 1961 he was invited to the United States and spent several months giving lectures in different venues. He returned to Europe in 1963 and saw some old childhood friends. In Argentina, he was awarded his dream job: director of the National Library. Unfortunately, his eyesight was failing, and he had to have others read books aloud to him. He continued to write and publish poems, short stories, and essays. He also collaborated on projects with his close friend, the writer Adolfo Bioy Casares. Jorge Luis Borges in the 1970’s and 1980’s: Borges continued to publish books well into the 1970’s. He stepped down as director of the National Library when Perà ³n returned to power in 1973. He initially supported the military junta that seized power in 1976 but soon grew disenchanted with them and by 1980 he was openly speaking out against the disappearances. His international stature and fame assured that he would not be a target like so many of his countrymen. Some felt that he did not do enough with his influence to stop the atrocities of the Dirty War. In 1985 he moved to Geneva, Switzerland, where he died in 1986. Personal Life: In 1967 Borges married Elsa Astete Millà ¡n, an old friend, but it did not last. He spent most of his adult life living with his mother, who died in 1975 at the age of 99. In 1986 he married his longtime assistant Maria Kodama. She was in her early 40’s and had earned a doctorate in literature, and the two had traveled together extensively in previous years. The marriage lasted only a couple of months before Borges passed away. He had no children. His Literature: Borges wrote volumes of stories, essays, and poems, although it is the short stories that brought him the most international fame. He is considered a groundbreaking writer, paving the way for the innovative Latin American literary boom of the mid-to-late 20th century. Major literary figures such as Carlos Fuentes and Julio Cortà ¡zar admit that Borges was a great source of inspiration for them. He was also a great source for interesting quotes. Those unfamiliar with Borges works may find them a little difficult at first, as his language tends to be dense. His stories are easy to find in English, either in books or on the internet. Here is a short reading list of some of his more accessible stories: Death and the Compass: A brilliant detective matches wits with a cunning criminal in one of Argentinas best-loved detective stories.The Secret Miracle: A Jewish playwright sentenced to death by the Nazis asks for and receives a miracle...or does he?The Dead Man: Argentine gauchos mete out their particular brand of justice to one of their own.

What Principles And Values Do You Approach Assessment Essay

Assessment philosophy From what principles and values do you approach assessment? Assessment is an essential part of both teaching and learning. It provides educators with an understanding of student learning and development, to determine whether or not learning outcomes and educational goals are successfully being met. Educators must therefore take an active role in making decisions about the purpose of assessment and the content to be assessed to ensure â€Å"assessment is ‘built-in’ to the curriculum and the classroom experience, and not something that is just ‘bolted-on’ at the end of a learning episode† (Readman Allen, 2013, p. XVIII). If they are to gain a clear understanding of where students are in terms of their learning, what levels they are expected to be at, and which methods of teaching and learning provide the best means of achieving maximum student performance (Department of Education and Training, ACT, 2011). This equips educators with the required knowledge and skills to effectively plan and alter instructional practices and tasks to accommodate the individual learning needs and abilities of all students to successfully improve educational outcomes (Popham, 2009; Darling-Hammond, Rustique-Forrester Pecheone, 2005). Moreover, it assists educators in developing a healthy attitude towards assessment, thereby enhancing their assessment literacy â€Å"to fulfil their role as advocates for learning† (Popham, 2009 as cited in Readman Allen, 2013, p. 12). Not only doesShow MoreRelatedAssessment Of The Kindergarten Classroom : An Empirical Study Of Teachers Assessment Approaches1593 Words   |  7 Pages Assessment in the Kindergarten Classroom For many years, educators have been challenged in their efforts to assess kindergarten children using a variety of strategies. 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Ap Psychology Fall Term Project Free Essays

AP Psychology Fall Term Project Introduction I am more interested in the abstract and philosophical aspects rather than the more concrete biological aspects of psychology. The topic that interested me the most so far this year and the topic that I continued to research was the topic of morality. I didn’t have a specific question I wanted to address but as I read some articles about people who were institutionalized for violently expressing psychopathic personality traits, I came across an article that asked a question of its own. We will write a custom essay sample on Ap Psychology Fall Term Project or any similar topic only for you Order Now The article brought up the idea that traits of psychopathy including ruthlessness, charm, mindfulness, focus, fearlessness, and action can be beneficial to the individual. From this idea, the question I sought to answer was â€Å"If we all take on typically immoral psychopathic tendencies, are they no longer immoral? † Summary The article I read came from Scientific American adapted from the non-fiction book The Wisdom of Psychopaths: What Saints, Spies, and Serial Killers Can Teach Us about Success by Kevin Dutton. The main question posed by Dutton is: Can the typical traits of a psychopath benefit people at certain points in their lives? The article is more of an interview with some patients at Broadmoor, â€Å"the best-known high-security psychiatric hospital in England† and an observation rather than a study with measurements and variables. However, applying knowledge of Kohlberg, Brofenbrenner, and Gillian’s theories make the article even more interesting. In the article, Dutton discusses the inmates’ solutions to problems similar to that of the Heinz dilemma, psychopathy and the brain, and a relation to psychopathic traits to religion and happiness. If what he discusses were put into terms of variables, the independent variable could be expression of psychopathic traits and the dependent variable could be anything the traits effect from happiness to inner or universal morality. Discussion In the article, the ideas of the psychopaths can be looked at and evaluated using both Kohlberg and Brofenbrenner’s theories on moral development. In the article Dutton asks one of the inmates a hypothetical question. An old woman moves out of her house to live with her daughter and son-in-law. The house is in an up and coming neighborhood and she can get a good price if she sold it. The only problem is the tenant who doesn’t want to move out. How do you get the tenant to leave? The first thing the psychopath said was â€Å"I’m presuming we’re not talking violence here† indicating that psychopaths do have a sense of the Level II conventional morality described by Kohlberg. The psychopath recognizes that violence is typically punished and looked down upon by law and society, putting the psychopath into at least Stage 4 of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development. Essentially the psychopath solves the problem by saying that someone should pretend to be someone from the health department and tell the tenant that the house is not safe to live in and he must leave as soon as he can. He doesn’t explain his reasoning but most psychopaths are concerned with one thing only: getting the job done. However, the article doesn’t go into why or how the psychopath determined this was the best way to remove the tenant. If the psychopath figured the action would lead to reward (getting the tenant out) and that is the only consequence, he would be in Stage 1 of Kohlberg’s theory and orientation 1of Bronfenbrenner’s theory. On the other end of the spectrum, if the psychopath figured that if the house got sold and the old woman and her daughter and son-in-law could live comfortably, that the expulsion of the tenant (whether he became homeless or even finds another place to stay) would be the greatest good for the greatest number, putting him in Stage 5 of Kohlberg’s theory. This would be orientation 4 of Bronfenbrenner’s theory called objectively oriented morality in which the standing goals of the group override that of the individual. As the conversation continues, the discussion turns to worrying about the future affecting actions in the present. The psychopaths discuss the idea that there’s no use in getting your mind wrapped in what might happen when everything in the present is perfectly fine and that you shouldn’t let your brain get ahead of you. Do in the moment what makes you happy. Dutton describes this as mindfulness. Dutton brings up the fact that embracing the present is something that psychopathy and schools of spiritual enlightenment have in common. When it comes to psychology, Dutton brings up a â€Å"mindfulness-based cognitive-behavior therapy program for sufferers of anxiety and depression. † Surely, mindfulness and living in the present has its benefits but ignoring the future can produce dangerous consequences as well. Since some stages of morality are based on self satisfaction, others the law and religion, and further the good of society, I have answered my question â€Å"If we all take on typically immoral psychopathic tendencies, are hey no longer immoral? † The answer I came up with is, â€Å"it depends. † The reason â€Å"it depends† is because, well, it does. Anyone can have psychopathic traits of mindfulness, ruthlessness, action, charming, and fearlessness; it’s just about how we use them. Sure, Dutton suggests these traits can lead to happines s and success, but in the right amount and for the right reasons. What we consider the â€Å"right reasons† and â€Å"right amount† is also based on our own levels of morality. If everyone was charming, fearless, ruthless, and mindful, we would all be doing what we could to get ahead and be happy. If doing what is necessary to be happy and get ahead became a universally moral idea, then sure, there wouldn’t be a problem with psychopaths, liars, and cheaters. But in the world in which we live, where we all have our own different ideas of good and bad with exceptions and loopholes included, under the â€Å"right† circumstances, these traits are acceptable and useful, but at the â€Å"wrong† times they can be damaging and violating. Should we all just become psychopaths? I guess it just depends. Citation Dutton, K. (2013, January). Wisdom from Psychopaths? [Electronic version]. Scientific American. 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