They're not deciding guilt or innocence for criminal purposes. Somebody needs to adjudicate student conduct-code violations.

Occasionally, sure — though also requires live employee attendance. Unless a bot is servicing the bot (Yo, dawg...)

Well, if you are specifically made uncomfortable by graphic explicit rape depictions, you can probably survive in the real world just by googling books and movies before diving into them. If you are triggered (as some on the internet claim) by stimuli as diverse as "ageism" and "offscreen animal death," you probably…

Is there any reason to believe that Bigelow and Boal are themselves torture apologists — or just that they based the screenplay on extensive interviews with the perhaps-torture-apologist CIA?

I read some interview with Pizzolatto where he expressed contempt for the HBO T&A requirement, but characterized it as just that — a requirement. So, either Chastain will spend significant amts of time naked or they'll throw in other random disposable decorative women.

I don't really disagree with any of this — she should still be able to read Greek plays and take classes on them; she should be able to discuss her concerns with her professor; she should be able to get advance notice. My point simply is that before even enrolling in the class, she'd generally have notice that some…

Well, the way I see it, there seem to be "obvious" or "typical" triggers — mainly graphic depictions of rape — then a universe of other potentially-triggering stimuli. If I was raped in an elevator, maybe I have a fear of elevators.

I don't think blog content is "low culture" by definition. When it comes to social science analysis, in particular, I've read content posted on blogs that would easily rival content in textbooks. That said, I don't think I've ever encountered any great literary fiction in blog form. And tags (along with…

I think the "dumbing down" critique arises from a fear that people will (1) run amok with an endless array of tumblr-esque trigger warnings, and/or (2) be influenced to weed out triggering material from curricula. It's easy to imagine fields of study that would be whitewashed and dulled by a prohibition on graphic…

I'm sorry that happened to you. I do think that for extremely graphic depictions, especially in classes where you don't necessarily expect it, common sense and common courtesy dictate an FYI upfront. Of course, you're right — in this situation, the professor wouldn't even have known, and I doubt I'd be comfortable…

How did this work out for you in college? Did you take any courses where you were exposed to material depicting rape and, if so, did you have any inkling in advance that rape would be depicted — or were you taken totally by surprise?

Making connections between literature and real world problems is the fundamental goal of a humanities education.

Have you or a loved one had this type of meltdown due to being exposed to literature in a high-level academic setting?

Adding labels to literature strikes us as bizarre — but, when you think about it, the mere presence of those labels doesn't dumb-down or spoil television plots. Pretty much everyone remotely familiar w/the Game of Thrones series (whether the books or the show) knows to expect graphic depictions of rape and violence. …

I understand there are unpleasant potential implications, but it's detestable that periods and associated suffering are just dismissed as a woman's natural lot in life. "Oh, you spend 2 days/month writhing on the floor in agony? Sounds like everything's fine lol!"

You're just supposed to accept it because it's "part of being a woman," duh!

Of course I do. Why on earth would a man post this?

That a function or process is "natural" does not mean it promotes human health or wellbeing. If there were any other combination of genes that caused people to suffer flulike symptoms and bleed from their genitals, it would be treated as a serious medical problem.

Yes and no. I have a pretty good title an a pretty nice salary, and am reduced to commenting on Jez b/c my firm blocks gchat.

you mean "flair," but the other one would be good, too