Exploring the Definition of a Hero through Images
Delve into the concept of heroism through a series of images and definitions. From classical Latin origins to modern interpretations, discover what makes a hero and how they are celebrated for their remarkable qualities and achievements across various fields.
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Great Stories Club Orientation Workshop November 16, 2018 Maria Sachiko Cecire Assistant Professor of Literature Director, Center for Experimental Humanities Bard College, NY mcecire@bard.edu | @mscecire
What makes a hero? hero, n. from classical Latin h r s (plural h r s): man of superhuman strength, courage, or ability, favored by the gods, man with heroic qualities
What makes a hero? hero, n. from classical Latin h r s (plural h r s): man of superhuman strength, courage, or ability, favored by the gods, man with heroic qualities A man (or occasionally a woman) distinguished by the performance of courageous or noble actions, especially in battle
What makes a hero? hero, n. from classical Latin h r s (plural h r s): man of superhuman strength, courage, or ability, favored by the gods, man with heroic qualities A man (or occasionally a woman) distinguished by the performance of courageous or noble actions, especially in battle A man (or occasionally a woman) generally admired or acclaimed for great qualities or achievements in any field. STEVE SCHAPIRO/CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGES
What makes a hero? hero, n. from classical Latin h r s (plural h r s): man of superhuman strength, courage, or ability, favored by the gods, man with heroic qualities A man (or occasionally a woman) distinguished by the performance of courageous or noble actions, especially in battle A man (or occasionally a woman) generally admired or acclaimed for great qualities or achievements in any field.
What makes a hero? hero, n. from classical Latin h r s (plural h r s): man of superhuman strength, courage, or ability, favored by the gods, man with heroic qualities A man (or occasionally a woman) distinguished by the performance of courageous or noble actions, especially in battle A man (or occasionally a woman) generally admired or acclaimed for great qualities or achievements in any field. LUCY NICHOLSON / REUTERS
heroic women and girls
Are people born heroes? The self [ ] is not an organic thing that has a specific location, whose fundamental fate is to be born, to mature, to die; it is a dramatic effect arising diffusely from a scene that is presented. -- Erving Goffman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, 1959
Are people born heroes? In other words: there is no authentic inner self unaffected by the outside world: we are all shaped by our social situations and we regularly adjust our behavior according our circumstances and the company we keep.
villains? Are people born heroes? The trouble with Eichmann was precisely that so many were like him, and that the many were neither perverted nor sadistic, that they were, and still are, terribly and terrifyingly normal. From the viewpoint of our legal institutions and of our moral standards of judgment, this normality was much more terrifying than all the atrocities put together, for it implied [ ] that this new type of criminal [ ] commits his crimes under circumstances that make it well-nigh impossible for him to know or to feel that he is doing wrong. -- Hannah Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (1963)
If our identities are largely formed by our social environments, how can we know when it s time to push back and how best to take a stand?
Rising to the occasion: [U]nder conditions of terror most people will comply but some people will not, just as the lesson of the countries to which the Final Solution was proposed is that "it could happen" in most places but it did not happen everywhere. Humanly speaking, no more is required, and no more can reasonably be asked, for this planet to remain a place fit for human habitation. -- Hannah Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (1963)
The young people in these books learn to: 1. Recognize the conditions that shape their societies, 2. Determine their own moral standards within these structures, 3. Comprehend and empathize with the needs of others, and 4. Find the courage to act in moments of danger.
I look forward to working with you today! Maria Sachiko Cecire mcecire@bard.edu | @mscecire
