debate 2 This morning I've been doing some reading for the second debate in my N. America since 1860 class. This time, we must assert a position either for or against (I'm against this time) the following:

Resolved: Masculine power exists through violence; feminine power through nurturing.

The hard part about these debates is that our responses are supposed to based primarily on certain pre-selected readings, chosen by our professor.

So, this time there are two readings. The first discusses the rise in popularity of dueling in Mexico at the end of the 19th century. And yeah, dueling is solely the domain of men, but the article doesn't generalize conclusions relating to anything other than Mexican men of the time.

The second reading is a critical review of the critical reviews of writings and actions of the Canadian feminist activist Nellie McClung. It discusses how her influence and writings have been interpreted over the years. Again, I'm not sure about how this particular piece relates to the assertion or denial of feminine power, since it's mostly a literary critique.

Since the "for" group goes first, I've got an entire week to see what type of responses they're coming up with, and another week following that to create my own argument. It's due the day I get back to Lennoxville after the break.  | ¶ 9:33 a.m.