I am a huge fan of Star Trek.  The creativity of the show and all of it's spin offs I find beyond entertaining.  While reading the text, I reflected back numerous times to two cultures that are reflected in the Trek world, namely the Borg and the Vulcans.  The Vulcans came to mind as the main characters seem to be dealing regularly with these apparently unflappable characters.  The Vulcan culture is based upon the ideal of logic overcoming all.  The natives of Herland appear to have some kind of relfection to this ideal.  The female inhabitants seem to be far superior in eduation and culture than we would be, very much like the Vulcans that are seen regularly in Star Trek Enterprise. 

The othe culture that I find myself reflecting back onto is that of the Borg.  This is also an advanced species in the Trek universe, expanding by conquest through assimilation.  This group of people does not grow through normal growth of babies born from the mating of individuals, but through the assimilation of cultures; rendering gender roles insignificant.  The question this brings to mind is the simple reality that these women haven't had men in their culture for nearly two thousand years!!  Yet our intrepid explorers see no males in Herland.

Recognizing the time the book was written,and the nature of the title; this book has a massively over riding feminist tone.  While there is a humanistic tenor to the text, feminism is definately one of the major themes.  While the feminist movement does not necessarily anger me, some of the parallels drawn in the book do wrankle.  The women as a whole appear to have a grandmotherly value, on the whole, that seems unflappable.  The other women appear more like tinkerbell and less like actual women.  The construct that these women are seen in is almost completely positive in nature.  The character development is good, but there appears to almost be a bias.  The men on the opposite hand appear rebellious and foppish at times, more akin to boys of school age than men on a campaign of exploration; similarly also allowing for the lack of civility that has been seen regularly in the campaigns of men.  The masculine figures of the text are often portrayed in a more negative construct, giving a decidedly negative view of mankind.

This book causes great thought to be given to the roles of men, women, and the areas that they intersect; while also making the mind wonder into fanciful thoughts of other universes and worlds.

Good day all.  My sincerest apologies regarding the tardiness of this blog coming up.  I came into the class late, and my course materials arrived even later.

Our first text is Herland.  Upon first viewing the assignment I was curious as to what the nature of this text would be.  The greatest issue prior to reading was attempting to understand the title itself.  Was it a word that was relative to the text?  Naturally the title was related to the text, but how?  Such an odd title.  Having begun readint it is rather obvious.  It is a story about a nation that the text refers to as Herland, but to see it more correctly; it is Her Land.  A nation that consists of women, this is only based on the observations of the first chapter.

Upon initially reading, it was noted that the author is detail oriented.  The characters are given a quick outline, but it is a telling one.  There is immediate depth provided to them.  The writing itself is very good.  The writing is easy to read, but not so mundane as to feel that the reader is being spoken down to.  Ultimately I am looking forward continuing to read this text.