Every Boy Should Have a Man: Sociological Musings

Friday, September 6, 2013

Sociological Musings

From Sociologicalmusings.com

Where sociology and real life intersect.

"Every Boy Should Have a Man: Valuing Humanity"

People kept in kennels. People hunted for food. Babies sold as pets. The sci-fi book Every Boy Should Have a Man by Preston L. Allen indirectly asks what sets people apart from animals. Why is our species alone considered worth extraordinary care while others are destined for the slaughter-house?

The work could be read as a commentary on slavery, or on meat-eating, or on ecology. In either case, it is a book that paints a startling image–people or “mans” as a part of nature, yet apart from it. Allen’s book also illustrates the way a caste system’s ideology works. “Mans” are thought by the dominant group to have different capacities, needs, and wants than the oafs, those in control.

The book is a quick read with a long-lasting impression. Perfect for studying values, culture, and caste. It would help introductory sociology students think about big questions.

No comments:

Sunday Rumpus

Interview with Celia Alvarez

Celia Lisset Alvarez holds an M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of Miami and teaches writing at St. Thomas University. Her debut collection of poetry, Shapeshifting (Spire Press, 2006), was the recipient of the 2005 Spire Press Poetry Award. A second collection, The Stones (Finishing Line Press, 2006) followed that same year. Other work has appeared or is forthcoming in numerous journals, including the Iodine Poetry Journal, Fifth Wednesday Journal, and Prairie Schooner, and in the recent anthologies Not a Muse (Haven Books, 2009), and Eating Her Wedding Dress: A Collection of Clothing Poems (Ragged Sky Press, 2009). Recently, her poem “Wonder Woman Goes through Menopause” was the winner of the 2008 Here There Poetry Contest. Born in Madrid of Cuban parents en route to the United States, she grew up in Miami, where she lives with her husband, Cuban-American literary scholar and fellow poet Rafael Miguel Montes. On 24 May 2013, Celia interviewed me about Every Boy Should Have a Man (EBSHAM). For a transcript of that interview visit Celia at Writing With Celia: http://writingwithcelia.blogspot.com/ --There are two other ways to get a transcript of the interview. 1) You can back track through my posts. 2) You can scroll down to the bottom of this page.

Preston L. Allen is a recipient of a State of Florida Individual Artist Fellowship and a winner of the Sonja H. Stone Prize in Fiction for his collection of stories Churchboys and Other Sinners. His work has appeared in various literary anthologies and journals including Las Vegas Noir, Miami Noir, The Seattle Review, 1111, Drum Voices, and Black Renaissance Noire. His novels All or Nothing and Jesus Boy have received rave reviews from O, the Oprah Magazine, Library Journal, Feminist Review, and The New York Times.

Every Boy Should Have a Man

Me at the Pen 2010

Friday, September 6, 2013

Sociological Musings

No comments:

Post a Comment

Good links about actual giants that may have existed

Be Regaled

My Other Blogs

Chapter One, Every Boy Should Have a Man

Website for Writers: Nervous Breakdown

A Great New Website: Large Hearted Boy

Writers's Playlists

Celia Alvarez

Interview with Celia