Research paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Research paper - Essay Example This was not always the case, however, as strict notions of sexual norms pervaded society since time immemorial. It was only recently, in the late 19th century, that the right to sexual freedom emerged and gained momentum thru the efforts of activists who risk the scorn of a morally-rigid society. This paper will explore and analyze how events in the 19th to the 20th century caused American society to break its traditional norms and beliefs regarding women’s right to sexual freedom. The Path to Sexuality Prior to the events concerning sexual freedom in the 19th century, America considered women as fragile beings belonging only to the home. Any tendencies for extracurricular sexual thoughts were repressed, generally frowned upon and considered as unnatural. Homosexuality, prostitution or any form of sexual determination by women is conceived as impure. The concept of ownership of one’s own body for women was basically unheard of in a highly patriarchal 19th century Ameri can society. Women were expected to be pure, pious, chaste and capable in domestic affairs. American society cherished the notions of morality where women were expected to have sex only with their husbands while it was acceptable for men to have multiple partners. They were also expected to stay with their husbands even if an affair is uncovered as divorce was not made available to them. Any woman who has sexual contact with another aside from her husband was considered as ruined or fallen. There were cases where girls who had lost their virginity due to rape had been humiliated and casted out of their communities because of engaging pre-marital sex (Forman, 12-14). Sexuality for women had legal and moral repercussions as opposed to men whose sexual activities were highly unrestricted. This social norm was to be greatly challenged thru the activism of Victoria Woodhull, the first ever woman who ran for the United States presidency. Woodhull spoke frankly about the shackles women wer e expected to endure such as loveless marriages and limitations on who to have sexual relationship (Athey, 15-19). According to her, this should not be the case as: ‘To woman, by nature, belongs the right of sexual determination.†¦When woman rises from sexual slavery to sexual freedom, into the ownership and control of her sexual organs, and man is obliged to respect this freedom, then will this instinct become pure and holy; then will woman be raised from the iniquity and morbidness in which she now wallows for existence, and the intensity and glory of her functions be increased a hundred-fold’. (Athey, 16) Woodhull, and so many others until now, challenge this notion as it implicitly depict women as lower than men as the latter is not bound by such restrictions. On Prostitution Selling a woman’s body for sexual pleasure is touted to be the oldest profession in the world yet it is also one of the most prosecuted acts due to pervading notions of immorality a nd inappropriateness. Religious inclinations considered the body as a sacred vessel and prostitution is believed to be an outright violation of moral doctrines as it deviates from the notion of marriage and procreation. Prostitution was a taboo never to be tolerated. The problem, however, is that women who engage in this trade bore the brunt of the stigma. From biblical

Business Ethics Reflection Essay Example for Free

Business Ethics Reflection Essay In any organization workers can face ethical dilemmas. On a daily basic people are posed with ethical dilemmas and have to decide to making the correct or the wrong choice. Some may not realize but we make ethical work choices at times and may not even realize it. For instance you are late to work and they have already been given a final warning. When we come in no one is there to notice that you are late. Do you get in and start working as if you were on time, or do you clock in where your time will be documented and recorded that you were late. This situation is one that my fellow coworkers face on daily basics. I have noticed that when posed with this ethical choice they choose to do what is correct for them, not necessarily what is correct by the organization. We may see if as covering our own behind, but it actually violates ones business ethics. What some may not realize is that business ethics and personal values mirror each other very closely. In business they ask the same as society, no lying, stealing or cheating. Take responsibility and do what is correct, make the correct decision. The only question is who do you make the correct decision for, you or the company. In that situation most have choose to look out for self. When it comes down to making ethical choices that may put one self at risk people chose themselves over the business. This is when personal values may come into play. To do correct by whom, yourself or the company that you work for? In most personal value one would say to always look out for self first. So in their book the decision to not let anyone know that they were late does just that. Moral concepts are very similar to values, its one innate ability to do what is correct with in. The same is with virtue, Virtue-based ethical theories place less emphasis on which rules people should follow and instead focus on helping people develop good character traits (Cline). There are many external pressures that could have influenced the decision to cover ones behind and not tell anyone that they were late such as the current economical status. If the country is not doing well economically and people find it hard to obtain a good job within a reasonable amount of time. Then one would defiantly choose to violate business ethics. Other external pressures could be their current financial state. People that are in better than average financial positions or are financially stable. I could continue to list other external situations that could affect a person’s ability to make what they may view as the correct business decision verse the best moral decision for one self. If placed in a similar situation I would choose to look out for self. When I reflect on my bringing and what I was taught I was always taught to do what is best for me and my family. Regardless of who may be affected, making sure that my family was always taken care of came first. Although it may not be the best choice for all involved, it is the best for me and mine. At the point that I am in life I make my decision very wisely. I first think about who is going to be affected by the choice that I make. If I would choose to tell that I was late and face being terminated and that would put my family at risk for some financial instability. I know that many choice that we are forced to make in our business life can be unethical when it comes to work. But in our personal life they are considered to be ethical as well as morally correct choices. When it comes to decisions they will never be what is best for all. All members in the party want to make the choice that is best for them. Virtue, value and moral concepts are what people choose to live by to help them guide them in their personal and professional lives.

Work of clifford geertz in history

Work of clifford geertz in history What Does The Work Of Clifford Geertz Have To Offer Research Into History? With the publishing of his book, ‘The Interpretation of Cultures in 1973, Geertz has often been hailed as the ‘champion of symbolic anthropology. Geertz outlined culture as ‘a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by means of which people communicate, perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about and attitudes towards life He believed the role of anthropologists was to try and understand the underlying symbols of the culture in question, a term he describes as ‘Thick Description. Geertz also conducted extensive work on religion, particularly on Islam, in both Southeast Asia and North Africa. His most famous use of thick description is portrayed in the essay ‘Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight, and his theories still influence anthropology to this day. But how does the work of an anthropologist, concerned with analysing modern societies, apply to historians whose work concerns cultures from the past? In this essay I will examine how both anthropologists and historians attempt to examine humanity ‘in the mist, and how cultural historians in this endeavour have attempted to use an anthropological model to answer historical questions in order to do so. With the development of cultural history historians creation of the past as an ‘other, a place completely different from our own, they attempt to view history through an anthropological lens. But despite differences between historical and anthropological research there has been much interdisciplinary study between the two, with social and cultural historians attempting to use synchronic analysis as a way of viewing the past they are studying. History becomes a view of time and space all within a single plane that stays unmoving and none changing under the cultural historians gaze, just as the Bayeux tapestry shows the history and context of the Norman Conquest of England. Even with the rise of synchronic analysis, historians have not abandoned diachronic analysis as an analytical tool. Historians still feel they need to explain the context of the subjects they are studying in order for their research to be viewed as ‘complete. This has led to many criticisms of Geertzs work and how historians have applied his research to past societies. Geertzs detachment of culture and history has, in many cases, created more problems for the cultural historian than it has solved. Due to these difficulties, cultural historians have shied away from many larger historical debates in order to study features outside of the historical main-stream. They have focussed on small and, in some historians views, inconsequential histories, becoming bogged down in their own tedium. With this, social history has focussed on the development of social theory, rather than the society in questions development over time. With these views in mind, I have attempted to uses Geertzs analytical models with my own research: ‘Hearts and Minds: A Study on the impact of Christianity on paganism in the Byzantium Empire during the fourth century CE. Using examples drawn from my own work, I will attempt to see the merits of using an anthropological model while studying the religions of the past; those that were still evolving and those religions that were dying out. At this stage it is important to define the object which cultural historians have attempted to study with an anthropological view point; history itself. As a noun, ‘history can be defined as: 1) a continuous, systematic narrative of past events as relating to a particular people, country, period, person, etc., usually written as a chronological account; chronicle: a history of France; a medical history of the patient. 2) a systematic account of any set of phenomena without particular reference to time: a history of the American eagle. The definition of history as ‘a continuous, systematic narrative and as ‘a systematic account of any set of phenomena without particular reference to time, or, as phrased by Michael Chanan ‘the formal analysis of a given system as it exists in the present moment (synchronic) and analysis across time, or historical explanation (diachronic) means the historian has to show their awareness of both in order to fully explore the topic they are researching. The historian Marc Bloch stated that the ‘good historian was like the giant in the fairy tale. He knows that wherever he catches the scent of human flesh, there his quarry lies. While C. Wright-Mills remarked about the anthropologist: ‘What social science is properly about is human variety, which consists of all the social world in which men have lived, are living and might live. ‘ Cultural historians have embraced Geertz, using his ideas and methods and applying them to historical models, such as Matthew Eric Engelke and Matt Tomlinsons ‘The limits of meaning: case studies in the anthropology of Christianity. Although historians are not as prone to theoretical disputes as much as anthropologists, it is also true that Geertz does not serve as a marker in generalised struggles among historians. According to Paula S. Fass, the limitations of social history in previous historiography led to the development and ‘subsequent dominance of cultural history in the 1970s and 1980s. Despite the move in focus away from political elites towards the examination of social groups and their ‘behavioural tendencies , cultural historians felt that social history had ‘ignored both the uniqueness of individual experience and the ways in which social life is created through politics and culture due to the dehumanization of such social groups by reducing them to quantifiable data. Social historians reliance on structural explanations and development of group categories began to ‘deaden history as an exploration of contingent experience. By the mid 1980s, cultural historians were adapting work done by social historians, such as Herbert Gutman and Eugene Genovese, and taking them further by exploring ‘the way agency was attributed to participation in predefined group activity. Cultural historians increasingly used the anthropological and ‘post-modern perspective of identity as an ever-changing construct, what anthropologists refer to as ‘liminal experiences and deconstructing identity entirely. Due to this, social historians research potentials have become ‘quite limited due to the constrictions of primary sources in the construction of ‘ordinary life, while, in the words of Fass: ‘Cultural historians, in contrast, put their faith in a fuller exploration of language and because, in their view, all culture is connected, all forms of articulation could be examined as exemplary. Geertzs ideas have become so attractive to historians due to the development of cultural history, with historians focussing on the past as a place structurally different from the modern world: ‘worlds where peoples motives, senses of honour, daily tasks, and political calculations are based on unfamiliar assumptions about human society and the cosmic order. Phillip Pulsiano and Elaine M. Treharne in ‘A Companion to Anglo-Saxon Literature, explore the religious aspects in Old English poetry in relation to Geertzs definition of religion itself. Both anthropology and history, according to Geertz, are both similar and different, both looking for the same type of answers but asking different questions. Historians focus on broad sweeping actions and movements , while anthropologists focus on small, well bounded communities wallowing in the detail of the obscure and unimportant (or, as Geertz phrases it in his typically artistic style: ‘History (it is said), is threatened by the history-from-below rather than focussing on the Movers-and-Shakers, such as Kings, Philosophers and Bishops). Anthropologists ‘present static pictures of immobile societies scattered across the remote corners of the inhabited world, while anthropologists accuse historians of ‘schematicism, of being out of touch with the immediacies and intricacies, ‘the feel as they like to put it, considering themselves to have it, of actual life. With this said, it has not been unusual for historians and anthropologists to conduct research in each others field; historical research such as Roger Chartiers ‘The Cultural Origins of the French Revolution, Carlo Ginzburgs ‘The Cheese and the Worms: the Cosmos of an Sixteenth Century Miller, and Natalie Zemon Davis ‘Society and culture in early modern France: eight essays to name but a few. Despite the attraction of Geertzs theory to social historians, the differences between historical research and ethnography can hinder the historians full utilisation of Geertzs ‘Thick Description model. Historians are restricted to the textual evidence written by a literate elite, with the culture and symbols of those who existed outside of the elites literacy focus lost in the minds of those who lived through it; a stark difference from the ability of anthropologists to observe the effects of culture and its symbols when studying cultures ‘in the field. Despite historians criticisms of anthropologists reliance on oral testimony, with its possible ‘invented tradition and frailties of memory, Geertzs ability to examine the religious development of Morocco and Indonesia almost first hand must be greatly envied by social and cultural historians. Despite the difference between history and anthropology, many historians (especially social historians like Michael MacDonald and Robert Darnton) have embraced Geertzs ideas. However, this raises another question; why would historians, whose work is essentially diachronic in nature, be interested in the synchronic analysis of an anthropologist? It is important at this time to look at the meaning of synchronic analysis. As William H. Sewell Jr. explains: ‘Although a synchronic description or analysis is often glossed over as a ‘snapshot that ‘freezes time or as a ‘slice of time, that is not quite right. Such a description is, rather, one in which time is suspended or abolished analytically so that things that actually occur in the flow of time are treated as part of a uniform moment or epoch in which they simply coexist To put it otherwise, in synchronic description acts of cultural signification, rather than being treated as a temporal sequence of statement and counterstatement or as linked by causal chains of antecedent and consequence, are seen as components of a mutually defined and mutually sustaining universe of unchanging meaning. The use of synchronic analysis on what Geertz called ‘cultural systems presented cultural historians with the ability to explore the past with a new analytical model. Robert Darnton, in his book ‘The Great Cat Massacre uses such analyses to explore episodes from eighteenth century France, especially in his essays ‘Peasants Tell tales: The Meaning of Mother Goose (an analysis of the cultural significance to French, German and Italian fairy tales) and ‘Workers Revolt: The Great Cat Massacre of the Rue Saint Severin (in which he explores the cultural context of the massacre of cats in Paris by printing apprentices during the late 1730s). The use of thick description allows historians to suspend time rather than be carried along with historical narrative, and in the process analyse the transformations of the past with greater accuracy and depth. Geertzs ideas of thick description have allowed historians like David Sabean to explore witchcraft in seventeenth century Germany. Despite criticisms by anthropologists of the diachronic approach taken by historians in the past, many historians are still attached to the ideas of history in transformation. Many American ‘new social historians and those within the French ‘Annales school try to define themselves against historical narrative and by those ‘attempting to manage or side-step conceptual problems by writing historical accounts , such as Haim Hillel Ben-Sasson, as seen in his book ‘A History of the Jewish people. William H. Sewell Jr has best conveyed this view: ‘It [Geertzs theory] tells us, perhaps surprisingly, that adequately realized synchrony is more important to good historical analysis than adequately realized diachrony. In the eyes of professionals it is more important for a historian to know how to suspend time than to know how to recount its passage. This is shown in the work of historians such as Noriko Onodera, who examines the evolution and development of the Japanese language, and Stephen M. Feldman, with his analysis of the separation of the Church and State during the twentieth century. Although Geertzs theories have become popular with cultural historians, there have been many critics of not only his own work but how historians (especially those studying cultural aspects) have used Geertzs work in their own research. Although Geertzs work features events as they happen in real historical time, he uses a ‘literary device to make his work less formerly structured. This means that he uses the social and historical impact of the cultural model he is analysing as a writing style rather than a strict analytical tool. This is best demonstrated in Geertzs essay ‘Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight. William Roseberry, in an analysis of Geertzs essay (in his book ‘Balinese Cockfights and the Seduction of Anthropology), argues that Geertz does not take into account the history of its development, and that we should think of the ‘material social process as a ‘production rather than as a ‘product'(stating that the issues on development are mentioned but never taken up by Geertz). Roseberrys view, one which I personally agree with, is that ‘[the cockfight] has gone through a process of creation that cannot be separated from Balinese history. Geertz detached culture and history by treating history as a text to be read and scrutinised rather than being an essential thread in the fabric of Balinese life. Maybe due to this separation, historians, despite their enthusiasm, have been in many cases less than successful in their attempts to marry history with ‘Thick Description. For example, Roger Becks attempt to apply Geertzs description and interpretation to the symbol system of Mithraician mysticism is hardly successful, and neither is his comparison with the symbol system of the Mexican Chamulas. With historys diachronic roots, anthropology as a whole has had difficulty in finding fertile ground with historians outside of cultural history. With focus on ‘eccentric bits of evidence (or, as I view it, ‘obsession with the mundane), cultural historians and anthropologists writing about history search for evidence around a central point of argument and ‘build a mountain around a molehill and that molehill can lie on the periphery of the subject. Rather than pushing back the frontiers of historical research by opening up and exploring new channels of investigation through analysis of symbols within societies in the past, cultural historians have become intent with finding ‘hidden histories rather than bringing new light to work at the focus of historical debate. Despite the development of social theory by anthropologists and the rise of cultural history and its application to history, almost none deal with the explanation of historical change, with the main problem created by most social theory being the accounting for social order or social structure rather than the development and history of those roots. With my own research I have focused on the impact of Christianity on paganism in the eastern half of the Roman Empire during the fourth century CE, analysing how Christianity infiltrated aspects of the educated elite, society, the state apparatus and its depiction through art and on coinage. My work also focussed on a number of other factors: The peasants in the eastern half of the Roman Empire were naturally conservative and were initially hostile to the Christian community that were mainly based in urban centres. Eastern Roman peasants clung to their local pagan deities as they took care of their ‘first-order concerns: healing, death and family as pagan spirits and deities took care of these concerns there was no initial need to abandon them in favour of Christianity. Bishops and preachers that attempted to convert the peasantry failed as they were distrusted by the peasantry because of their connections to local government. Bishops and preachers also addressed them in Greek or Latin and in complex rhetoric styles, alienating them from the peasantry who spoke in their ‘everyday local dialects. The destruction of pagan temples in the urban centres and the construction of Christian basilicas on top of them or in their vicinity changed the power balance within such centres against the pagan cults. Only the establishment of monasteries away from the urban centres deep in the countryside led to the slow conversion of the peasantry through the contacts they made with them through local trade and due to the conversion tactics that the monasteries employed. Due to the amount of written documentation available to us, initially it may seem that Geertzs theories on symbolic systems in reference to early Christian rites and formal rituals may make Christianity in the fourth century eastern Roman Empire accessible to us. Although the study of early Christianitys cultural anthropology through field work is obviously impossible, the archaeological record of pagan temple destruction and the construction of Christian basilicas with the reused stone cannot be described as ‘thick description as the reuse of the stone from the pagan temples is not a symbolic act in its own right, but a form of cheap and readymade building material. However, Geertz himself has used written accounts from the past as effectively as he used his own field work and that of other anthropologists. This, however, cannot be said about localised pagan rituals; ones performed in homes and fields in small, personal shrines. Eric Wolf suggested that these rituals were due to peasants ‘first-order concerns, such as protection of the family unit in this world and the next. The lack of documented evidence, even if written by a condescending Christian elite, makes symbolic analysis extremely difficult. If we focus on pagan ‘lost ceremonies then Geertzs theory appears to be a hopeless endeavour. That is because, despite the richness and detail as a complex of symbols, textual evidence rarely mentions local pagan rituals for what they are, and when it does many aspects of them are either exaggerated or incredibly distorted, therefore destroying their immediate ritual context. Even if the ritual context had survived through the textual, or through the archaeological, evidence that would allow us to subject it to symbolic interpretation, it cannot now be interpreted in the way we can interpret Christianity; we cannot trace the evolution of a religion which is now extinct. To conclude, the work of Clifford Geertz has a lot to offer research into history, as long as his work is used correctly. In my introduction I stated ‘how both anthropologists and historians attempt to examine humanity ‘in the mist, and how cultural historians attempt to use anthropological models to answer historical questions in order to do so. In this endeavour, cultural historians have been unsuccessful. Geertz, and other anthropologists, benefit from the ability to view culture closely (and as Geertzs brush with the Balinese police shows, perhaps a little too closely). Cultural historians, in contrast, have to rely on the words of those they are trying to move away from, the literate elite, in order to view the lives of those who had no written history of their own. Rather than viewing humanity ‘in the mist, cultural historians, for instance have attempted to determine a peasants accent by studying the peasants reflection in a muddy puddle. Historians reluctance to abandon diachronic analysis undermines the benefits of synchronic analysis, despite anthropologists attempts to conduct historical research. Cultural historians attempts to ‘suspend time removes them from the historical development that took place, therefore allowing them to be caught up in the difficulties that anthropologist themselves have faced. This problem is only exacerbated by the reliance on textual evidence. As shown with my attempt to use Geertzs theories in relation to my own research, I too had difficulties overcoming this problem. As I used a large amount of archaeological evidence when researching the power shift from pagan to Christian domination in eastern Roman urban centres it was nearly impossible to apply ‘thick description and investigate symbolic systems due to their lack of context. Again, the reliance on textual evidence written by a hostile group means that there are other historical methods which would be more beneficial when symbolic contexts and restricted written records are unavailable. At face value, I understand the appeal Geertzs theories would have for cultural historians trying to uncover the mindset, culture and experiences of those who lived in the past. However, the ability for anthropologists to study their subject at first hand, and therefore place more emphasis on first-hand accounts, leaves cultural historians at a crucial disadvantage. Geertzs theory changed the face of anthropological research, but I doubt it will do nothing but frustrate the historian by reminding them of what they are missing. Bibliography Books R. Beck, The Religion of the Mithras Cult in the Roman Empire: Mysteries of the Unconquered Sun (Oxford New York, 2006) H. H. Ben-Sasson A History of the Jewish people (Cambridge, 1976) M. Bloch, ‘The Historians Craft (Manchester, 1954) P. Burke, The French historical Revolution: ‘The Annales School, 1929-89 (Stanford 1990) M. Chanan, Musica practica : the social practice of Western music from Gregorian chant to postmodernism (London, 1994) R. Chartier The Cultural Origins of the French Revolution (Durham, 1991) R. Darnton, The Great Cat Massacre (New York, 1984) N. Z. Davis Society and culture in early modern France: eight essays (Stanford, 1987) M.E. Engelke and M.Tomlinson (ed.) The limits of meaning: case studies in the anthropology of Christianity (New York, 2006) S. M. Feldman Please Dont Wish Me a Merry Christmas: Critical History of the Separation of Church and State (New York, 1997) C. Geertz Islam Observed: Religious Development in Morocco and Indonesia (Chicago, 1971) C. Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures'(New York, 1973) E. Genovese Roll, Jordon Roll: The World the Slaves Made (New York, 1974) C. Ginzburg The Cheese and the Worms: the Cosmos of an Sixteenth Century Miller (Baltimore, 1980) H. Gutman Work, Culture and Society in Industrializing America (New York, 1976) M. MacDonald, Witchcraft and Hysteria in Elizabethan London(London 1991) N. Onodera, Japanese discourse markers: synchronic and diachronic discourse analysis (Amsterdam, 2004) P. Pulsiano and E. M. Treharne A Companion to Anglo-Saxon Literature (Oxford, 2001) W. Roseberry, Balinese Cockfights and the Seduction of Anthropology (New York, 1982) E. Wolf, Peasants (Englewood Cliffs, 1966) C. Wright-Mills, ‘The Sociological Imagination (London, 1959) Journals P. S. Fass ‘Cultural History/Social History: Some Reflections on a Continuing Dialogue, Journal of Social History, 37, 1(2003), pp. 39-46 C. Geertz, ‘History and Anthropology New Literary History, 21, (1990) p.321-335 W. H. Sewell Jr., ‘Geertz, Cultural Systems, and History: From Synchrony to Transformation, Representations, 59 (1997) p. 35-55 Internet Sources http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/history (Dictionary Reference.Com, 2010) C. Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures (New York, 1973) p.89 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/history M. Chanan, Musica practica : the social practice of Western music from Gregorian chant to postmodernism (London, 1994) p.95 M. Bloch, The Historians Craft (Manchester, 1954) p.26 C, Wright-Mills, The Sociological Imagination (London, 1959) p.147 W. H. Sewell Jr. ‘Geertz, Cultural Systems, and History: From Synchrony to Transformation Representations,59 (1997) p.35-55, p.36 P. S. Fass ‘Cultural History/Social History: Some Reflections on a Continuing Dialogue Journal of Social History, 37, 1 (2003) p.39-46, p.39 Ibid. p.39 Ibid p.39 Ibid p.39 H. Gutman Work, Culture and Society in Industrializing America (New York, 1976) and E. Genovese Roll, Jordon Roll: The World the Slaves Made (New York, 1974) Fass, ‘Cultural History/Social History: Some Reflections on a Continuing Dialogue p.39 Ibid p.40 W. H. Sewell Jr., ‘Geertz, Cultural Systems, and History: From Synchrony to Transformation p.38 C. Geertz, ‘History and Anthropology New Literary History, 21, (1990) p.321-335, p322 Ibid p324 Ibid.p.322 Ibid p.321 Ibit p.321-322 Ibid. p.322 See C. Geertzs Islam Observed: Religious Development in Morocco and Indonesia (Chicago, 1971) M. MacDonald, Witchcraft and Hysteria in Elizabethan London(London 1991) R. Darnton, The Great Cat Massacre (New York, 1984) W. H. Sewell Jr., ‘Geertz, Cultural Systems, and History: From Synchrony to Transformation p.40 See ‘Religion as a Cultural System in C. Geertz, The Interpretations of Culture (New York, 1973) D. W. Sabean, Power in the Blood: Popular culture village discourse in early modern Germany (Cambridge, 1984) See P. Burke, The French Historical Revolution: ‘The Annales School, 1929-89 (Stanford, 1990) C. Geertz, ‘History and Anthropology p.42 Ibid. p.41 N. Onodera, Japanese discourse markers: synchronic and diachronic discourse analysis(Amsterdam, 2004) p.23 S. M. Feldman Please Dont Wish Me a Merry Christmas: Critical History of the Separation of Church and State (New York, 1997) p.255 W. H. Sewell Jr ‘Geertz, Cultural Systems, and History: From Synchrony to Transformation p.37, c. Geertz The Interpretation of Cultures p.412 W. Roseberry, Balinese Cockfights and the Seduction of Anthropology (New York, 1982) p.1022, I bid p.1022 R. Beck, The Religion of the Mithras Cult in the Roman Empire: Mysteries of the Unconquered Sun (Oxford New York, 2006) p.69, Ibid P77 Fass, ‘Cultural History/Social History: Some Reflections on a Continuing Dialogue p.43 Ibid p.43 C. Geertz, The Interpretation of Culture p.8 E. Wolf, Peasants (Englewood Cliffs, 1966) p.59

The role of the Catholic Church in Latin America :: essays research papers

The first Catholic priests came to South America with the conquistadors and through social and political force superimposed 16th century Catholicism upon conquered peoples and in subsequent generations upon slaves arriving in the New World. Catholicism has, likewise, frequently absorbed, rather than confronted, popular folk religious beliefs. The resulting religion is often overtly Catholic but covertly pagan. Behind the Catholic facade, the foundations and building structure reflect varying folk religious traditions. (2) This could be a result of so much territory with so little resources equals heresy and abuse. For most of Latin history, however, the number of priests has been insufficient to effectively minister to all the people. Religious vacuums have thus been created, especially in rural areas and on the outskirts of urban areas. Anthony Gill, who describes the religious economy of Latin America, writes, â€Å"The evangelization mission of the Catholic Church, to ensure all members of the population were inextricably bound to Catholicism, suffered due to the simple dynamics of restricted supply under a monopolized religious market† (1). People, rather than traveling great distances to visit a priest, turned to various forms of folk Catholicism to solve everyday issues regarding sickness, financial gain or loss, and romance. The saying that â€Å"Absolute power corrupts absolutely† seems to fit some accounts of the Catholic Church in Latin America. Far away from the authority and watchful eye of the Vatican, atrocities in the name of the Church had taken place. Though I believe it was not the norm but the exception. But with that said, some positive social changes have come about from the introduction of Catholicism to Latin America. In its true form, the church has been a source of basic human rights for the people. The church would often oppose the government’s unjust treatment of the people, who otherwise had no other representation. The church also formed a society to encourage cooperation with each other to develop a better civilization. The church would also provide a foundation for education, health care, skills for building and farming. The Catholic Church has played such a major role in the shaping of Latin American culture, that it cannot be separated from it.

Analysis of American History X Essay

In this assignment, I was challenged to find important historical and cultural connections of the film American History X and analyze the important rhetorical of my findings. I went about choosing American History X by placing a poll on Facebook listing out the films that I had any slight interest in considering for this assignment and American History X won by a landslide. I was actually somewhat disappointed, because I wanted to do The X-Files, but I chose to stick to my promise and go with whatever text won. I watched American History X some years after its release in 1998. Although, I know I must have watched it sometime after I got out of high school because at the time of its release I was 12 years old and with the amount of violence in that film I know I did not watch it with my parents. From the little memory I had of the film from the first time, I could only recall that American History X had a lot to do with white supremacy and racism, that Edward Norton played the lead ro le and that the kid who played in the first Terminator was his brother and was all grown up. I hesitated watching the film again for quite sometime because I knew I would need to dedicate a solid two hours of mental energy towards it. One could argue that I was merely just procrastinating; however, I benefitted from having done so because future class discussions provided a foundation for how I could study the film. After reading about and discussing in class the topic of approaching a text organically, I decided to implement that mentality and view the film as objectively as non-object individual can. It is difficult to say whether it was that approach that ultimately led to my findings in the film, or if I would have discovered them anyway since it was my second time viewing the film. Everyone can appreciate that after the second and third time of watching any film you begin to pick up on things you missed the first time. In either case, I found the movie to be incredibly eye opening and I enjoyed having to research the history surrounding the film and, ultimately, the state of the nation during what was my childhood. American History X is a film that depicts a traditional white family in the mid 1990s, but spot lights the two brothers’ journeys into maturity. The movie focuses on the older brother Derek, played by Edward Norton, and how Derek’s Neo-Nazi associations in his life greatly influence his younger brother Danny, played by Edward Furlong. Fueled by rage of his father’s death, the film opens with a scene of Derek brutally killing three young black men who were attempting to steal his father’s truck. Derek is then sent to prison for 3 years during which time his younger brother Danny begins to follow in Derek’s footsteps with the Neo-Nazi organization. The movie flips between black-and-white scenes of the past and color scenes of the present. The black-and-white flashbacks attempt to illuminate Danny’s perception of Derek’s past life while intermittently presenting how Derek overcame is his own hatred. The color scenes portray the present and highlight the effects the hatred has had on the entire family. Overall, the movie critiques on not only the effects of urban racism and bigotry, but a lso the how minds of young people are so impressionable. The film even succeeds in creating a sense of sympathy for characters that are typically hated, Neo-Nazi racist skinheads, and paints them not as foolish, uneducated racist bigots, but instead as misguided intelligent human beings. On the surface the film discusses racism, violence, and bigotry, but upon closer examination I found a deeper message within the film. Watching it a second time, I realized that this film is really emphasizing the lack of critical thinking skills in young people, particularly in teenagers and young adults and how impressionable their minds are. Then, upon further research related to those very topics it touches on in the film, I discovered that the entire movie itself actually harbors an obscure form of racism that was reflected in many movies throughout the 1990s. Needless to say, even in today’s society we deal with these same issues of racism and intolerance for other people’s beliefs. However, within the most recent years it has evolved to focus more on the gay, lesbian and transgender community. History certainly can be seen as repeating itself as many of the arguments that gays and lesbians make regarding their civil rights and discrimination almost mirror the same arguments made back in the 1960s during the civil right movement. Reverend Dr. Phil Snider made this connection so blatantly clear in his speech that went viral on YouTube that he gave before the Springfield City Council of Missouri just a few weeks ago. In his speech, Dr. Snider cleverly took quotes directly from speeches given by white preachers in favor of racial segregation in the 1950 and 1960s and merely substituted select words and inserted ‘gays and lesbians’ (â€Å"Preacher Phil Snider Gives Interesting Gay Rights Speech†). I think the twist of his speech highlights the main issues regarding any form of racism and discrimination and they most certainly could be applied to the issues of racism that America faced in the 1990s. The 1990s was saturated with debates over, court cases involving and numerous media outlets centering on the issues of racism and affirmative action. In May of 1992, Newsweek printed an article entitled â€Å"The Crossroads of Shattered Dreams† that summarized the conflicts of racism in the early 90s stating, â€Å"white[s] charge that affirmative action is unfair†¦blacks respond that it was unfair for them to be starved of opportunities by 300 years of slavery and discrimination.† That same year, the verdict of Rodney King’s case outraged the black community and sparked riots lasting six days with over 2,000 people injured and 55 people killed (â€Å"Riots Erupt in Los Angeles†). In March of 1996, the three white law school candidates charged that they were unfairly discriminated against and rejected for entrance into the school for less qualified minorities in the famous case Hopwood v. Texas Law School (â€Å"Hopwood v. University Texas Law School †). Just prior to the release of American History X in 1998, California enacted Proposition 209, which amended the state’s constitution to ban preferential treatment of any persons based on race or gender in public sector education, employment, and contracting (Parker). All of these enormously impactful events and numerous others shaped much of the discrimination that occurred in the 1990s. In fact, sociological research confirms â€Å"discrimination is more often the result of organizational practices that have unintentional effects† or predispositions â€Å"linked to social stereotypes and does not so much stem from individual prejudices† (Tomaskovic-Devey). Nevertheless, the culmination of these types of incidents led to a demand for Hollywood to â€Å"headline positive characters of color† (Hughey 549). Producers and directors felt pressure to make-up for their own history of racist filmmaking and, consequently, this also gave rise to the development of a veiled type of racism within films referred to by Hughey himself as the â€Å"cinethetic racism†(550). Cinethetic racism in the 1990s was typically found in films that have a black character whose purpose in the film is to support the white protagonist. Typically this black character, coined the â€Å"magical Negro† by Hughey, was portrayed as the voice of reason, or having some other type wisdom, within the film and who selflessly helps the white character achieve his goals. â€Å"These films rest on friendly, helpful, bend-over-backwards black characters that do not seek to change their own impoverished status, but instead exhibit a primordial, hard-wired desire to use their magical power to correct the wrongs in a white world† (Hughey 556). The concept expressed in this quote is clearly evident in the film American History X during the many scenes of Derek in prison working in the laundry room with Lamont, a friendly black prisoner who attempts to befriend him. Eventually Derek is able let down his guard and the future interactions between them usually consist of Lamo nt humorously explaining how things work within the prison. There is one scene, however, that does somewhat contradict this concept of a â€Å"magical Negro† and, instead, causes Derek to experience a form of guilt. This contradiction is depicted in the scene of Lamont and Derek working in the laundry room and Derek very genuinely asks Lamont why he is in prison. Lamont explains how he was sentenced for assault on a police officer because he accidently dropped a TV on the officer’s foot that he was trying to steal. Derek initially resists and jokingly asks Lamont to tell the truth, but Lamont insists that he did not assault the police officer and only dropped the TV on the officer’s foot. This is the pivotal moment within the movie that shows Derek’s guilt and sympathy for the first time towards a black person. I think this is the most important scene throughout the entire film because it gives the audience exactly what they want: they want to see Derek experience this epiphany and for him to recognize how he has perpetuated discrimination against black people. But it does not take very long for the film to revert right back into the traditional cinethetic racist ways. In Derek’s last interaction with Lamont, the audience learns that during Derek’s stay within prison Lamont was protecting him from further beatings and rape after Derek chose to no longer affiliate with the Neo-Nazis within the prison. That scene ultimately preserves the concept of the â€Å"magical Negro† and that black people have this underlying desire to serve to the needs of white people. I liken this idea of cinethetic racism to what actors refer to the subtext of a script. Normally, the subtext refers to the underlying motives of a particular character, but this concept of cinethetic racism is like the â€Å"subtext† of an entire film. â€Å"Of greatest critical concern is how [magical Negro] films advantageously shore up white supremacist and normative orders while ostensibly posturing as an irreverent challenge to them† (Hughey 553). On the surface it appears to be a film that tries to defeat racism, but ironically there are hidden agendas that completely go against the moral of this story. Just as magical Negros are a disguised form of racism found in American films in the 1990s, there were also disguised forms of racism going on politically throughout the nation, more specifically in California. During the 1990s, racism and civil rights disputes were approaching the heights they reached in the civil rights era of the 1960s. However, after many decades of affirmative action policies attempting to right the wrongs minorities faced and with California experiencing an economic downturn, many whites became less tolerant of minorities receiving preferential treatment through affirmative action programs (Alvarez). Now the whites are claiming they were discriminated against in a form of â€Å"reverse discrimination.† What I find so interesting about the idea of â€Å"reverse discrimination† is that it implies that discrimination only naturally goes in one direction: whites against minorities. And, furthermore, that there will always be a certain level of racism, as if to suggest that there is a threshold for which it is acceptable, but also that it is the responsibility of the majority, white people, to keep it in check. Yet the moment any form of racism or discrimination is felt against whites, it is completely intolerable and demands political action. It was the supporters of Proposition 209 that argued that current affirmative action programs led public employers and universities to reject applicants because of their race, and that Proposition 209 would â€Å"return [us] to the fundamentals of our democracy,† as summarized in an article capturing the main arguments of Proposition 209 entitled â€Å"Prohibition Against Discrimination.† With in the same article it preached, â€Å"let us not perpetuate the myth that ‘minorities’ and women cannot compete without special preferences†¦vote for fairness not favoritism.† The fairness of Proposition 209 has been hotly debatably ever since it was enacted in 1997, but I think the dinner scene with Derek and his father in American History X most succinctly sums up the mindset of the many supporters of Proposition 209. The scene opens with a dinner table conversation between Derek and his father about the material he is learning for his English class. His father than expresses his distaste for such material with the following monologue: â€Å"All this stuff about making everything equal†¦ it’s not as easy as it looks†¦you gotta trade in great books for black books now? You gotta question these things Derek. We are not just talking about books here, we’re talking about my job. I got two blacks guys on my squad now that got their jobs over a couple of white guys who actually scored higher on the test. Does that make sense? They got their job because they were black not because they were the best? America’s about if you do your best you get the job†¦not this affirmative blacktion crap†¦.it’s nigger bullshit.† This dinner scene perfectly exemplifies the concept that 1) the moment whites feel they are being discriminated they instantly raise the red flag and 2) that â€Å"discrimination is more often the result of organizational practices that have unintentional effects [†¦] and does not so much stem from individual prejudices,† as I stated earlier. Another aspect that I find so interesting about American History X was how writer David McKenna was able to pull directly from real life situations to add dialogue into this screenplay. McKenna and Edward Norton actually rewrote a portion of the script quoting from Governor Pete Wilson’s speech advocating Proposition 209 in 1995 (Goldstein). More importantly, it was used in a scene where Derek is trying to energize a group of young skin heads before they vandalize a grocery store owned by minorities. I find it so ironic that the character of a racist Neo-Nazi was reciting actual words from a speech promoting the removal of affirmative actions polices that were, allegedly, intended to reduce discrimination and increase equality. When I discovered this tidbit of information I was completely blown away. I had no idea how closely this movie reflected real problems going on in society in the 1990s. McKenna’s use of Pete Wilson’s speech is clearly an example of art ref lecting reality, but Pete Wilson’s speech was not the only source from reality in which McKenna got his inspiration. McKenna grew up in Southern California, where the film story takes place, and personally witnessed bigotry and racism (Bruce). From his encounters and extensive research, McKenna decided that the point he tried â€Å"to make in the script is that a person is not born a racist†¦[McKenna] wanted an accurate portrayal of how good kids from good families can get so terribly lost† (Bruce). Personally, I think McKenna succeeded in having that be the main message of the film: the impressionability of a young mind and that all behaviors are learned. The film simultaneously follows Derek’s upbringing and how he becomes involved in the Neo-Nazi organization and how his involvement with that group greatly influenced his younger brother Danny. The dinner scene I detailed above is the key scene from McKenna’s screenplay that supports the idea that racism is a learned behavior stemmed from outside organizational practices. However, despite how well received the movie was and the numerous nominations Edward Norton received for his performance, that is not the original message the director intended. Tony Kaye was the director of American History X and, ironically, he also turned out to be a major competing persuasive force throughout the entire film making process. Kaye battled with directors, producers, writer David McKenna and Edward Norton himself claiming that New Line Cinema never allowed him to create his vision of the film going as far as to take out full page ads in trade magazines bashing the film and even requested to have his name removed from the film entirely and replaced with the pseudonym â€Å"Humpy Dumpty† (Goldstein). In a statement made shortly after the film’s release, Kaye contended that Edward Norton edited a majority of the film in order to increase his screen time in the film and that the producers did not allow Kaye an â€Å"opportunity to present a black voice to provide depth and balance to the film† and furthered that he wanted the film to be an â€Å"homage to free speech and responsibility† (Leinberger). I think the main reason why Kaye’s original vision never made it to the film was because it clashed so much with McKenna’s original message. McKenna wrote the film based off of his personal experience witnessing acts of racisms in Southern California in throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. Whereas, Kaye is not only much older than McKenna, but grew up in United Kingdom and had only been living in the United states for a few years before he got involved in the film at all, and, therefore, did not quite have the same outlook for the script (Topel). It should also be noted that this was Kaye’s first feature film and his previous directing experience came from extensive work with TV commercials and music videos (Goldstein). And while McKenna himself may not have been directly involved during the filming process, as most writers are not, I think Edward Norton and the producers all believed in and followed McKenna’s vision because of how much it related to the struggles that America was facing at that time. This is not to suggest that Kaye’s vision for the film was wrong, but that producers have to consider what the audience wants and expects to see. From studying American History X, I have learned how racism evolved in a very peculiar fashion. As racism, specifically towards black people, became less and less accepted by whites over the last 150 years, certain segments of society seemed to find ways to continue a small, but undeniable level of racism since it was no longer socially acceptable among the general population to outwardly express it with for instance, lynching. Racism and discrimination has certainly come a long way over the last sixty years, but it has definitely not been eradicated. In fact, some would argue that now whites are beginning to experience a type of â€Å"reverse discrimination† due unforeseen effects from affirmative action programs. In regards to American films however, one would have to sit down personally with directors and producers of 1990s films to determine if they intentionally created these magical Negro characters in order to perpetuate racism. Aside from the fact that it is highly unlikely that anyone would ever openly admit to that, I personally think that cinethetic racism and the magical Negro were just an unintended consequence of a fad that was going on throughout Hollywood at the time, the fad being to have black people portray certain qualities of wisdom and â€Å"magical powers† within films. In either case, it is very curious that a movie such as America History X meets the qualifications for cinethetic racism. In my opinion, for a film that was intended to enlighten the audience of the problem of racism in America, yet ultimately perpetuated a veiled version of it, could no more flawlessly fit into this concept of cinethetic racism. Also, the argument of whether or not reality reflects art or if art reflects reality is just as frustrating to argue as whether the chicken or the egg came first. But in the case for this film, I would contend that American History X, art, is reflecting reality. In fact, the notion behind cinethetic racism and the magical Negro tie in so neatly with the arguments for Proposition 209 and Gov. Pete Wilson’s speech that it is just uncanny. With a closer look into both, one can see that each share their own masked form of racism veiled as though whites are helping minorities. Art was imitating the subversive racism that was occurring in r eality. As an actor myself, I think it is unfortunate for director Tony Kaye that, for whatever reason, he was not able to get his original vision of the film produced. I think because of the numerous racially historical events that were occurring the 1990s that producing a movie which centered on the freedom of speech around racism as Kaye originally intended, was the last thing any audience wanted to watch in a theatre. All in all, I think film did a fabulous job highlighting historical events and attitudes going on throughout society during the 1990s, despite the fact that the film may be perpetuating racism at a subversive level. Works Cited American History X. Dir. Tony Kaye. Perf. Edward Norton and Edward Furlong. New Line Cinemas, 1998. Film. Alvarez, R. Michael, and Lisa G. Bedolla. â€Å"The Revolution Against Affirmative Action in California: Racism, Economics, and Proposition 209.† State Politics and Policy Quarterly 4.1 (2004): 1-17. Sage Publications, Inc. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. Bruce, David. â€Å"Racism in America=Hating Others.† American History X: A Hollywood Jesus Film Review. HollywoodJesus.com, n. d. Web. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. . Goldstein, Patrick. â€Å"Courting Trouble.† Edward Norton Information Page. N.p., 13 1998. Web. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. . â€Å"Hopwood v. University of Texas Law School†. Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 21 Oct. 2012 . Hughey, Matthew W. â€Å"White Redemption and Black Stereotypes in â€Å"Magical Negro† Films.† Social Problems 56.3 (2009): 543-77. www.jstor.org. University of California Press, 2009. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. . Leinberger, Gisela. â€Å"Film Director Tony Kaye Makes Statement at Berlin’s Brandenberg Gate; Director of ‘American History X’ Speaks to Film’s Issues.† PR News Wire. N.p., n. d. Web. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. . Parker, Beth H. â€Å"The Impact of Proposition 209 on Education, Employment and Contracting.† ERA: Prop 209 Impact. Equal Rights Advocates, n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. . Preacher Phil Snider Gives Interesting Gay Rights Speech. Perf. Rev. Dr. Phil Snider. Www.YouTube.com. YouTube, 13 Aug. 2012. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. . â€Å"Prohibition Against Discrimination or Preferential Treatment by State and Other Public Entities. Initiative Constitutional Amendment..† California’s 1996 General Election Web Site! . N.p., n. d. Web. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. . â€Å"Riots erupt in Los Angeles.† 2012. The History Channel website. Oct 21 2012 . Tomaskovic-Devey, Donald, and Patricia Warren. â€Å"Explaining and Eliminating Racial Profiling.† Contexts. American Sociological Association, 2009. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. . Topel, Fred. â€Å"Interview with Lake of Fire Filmmaker Tony Kaye.† About.com Oct 21 2012. Whitaker, Mark. â€Å"A Crisis Of Shattered Dreams.† Newsweek. 5 1991: 1. Web. 19 Oct. 2012..

Edgar Allen Poe Essays (1127 words) - Edgar Allan Poe, Free Essays

Edgar Allen Poe Essays (1127 words) - Edgar Allan Poe, Free Essays Edgar Allen Poe Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) Written and Contributed by SUGABUGA456 Edgar Allan Poe was one of Americas famous poets, fiction short-story writers, and literary critics. He is known as the first master of short story form especially in tales of horror, and mystery. The work he produced was considered to be some of the most influential literary criticism of his time. His poems made him one of the most famous figures in American literary history. His influence on literature is seen in all literature books in schools everywhere. Some of his famous writings is that of Annabel Lee; his detective story, The Murders in Rue Morgue; The Pit and the Pendulum and The Tell-Tale Heart are the best among his horror stories; and The Raven one of his best poems which among all these, made him very famous in 1845. The Fall of the House of Usher, and The Masque of the Red Death, made him a forerunner of symbolism, and impressionism. Poe antagonized many people with a scathing campaign against an American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow for supposed plagiarism. Later that year Poe admitted to being drunk, which further separated him from the public. Poes later years were full of economic hardship and ill health. Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809. He was orphaned at the early age of two, his father deserted the family and his mother died all before he was three in 1811, then Poe became a ward and was raised as a foster child by John Allan, a wealthy merchant of tobacco, and his wife Frances in Richmond, VA but they never legally adopted him. Taken by the Allan family to England at the age of six, Poe was placed in a private school. In 1826 Poe enrolled at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. where he acquired gambling debts that John Allan refused to pay. Eventually, Poe was forced to withdraw from the university, and Allan prevented his return to the university and broke off Poes engagement to Sarah Elmira Royster, his Richmond sweetheart. His relationship with Allan was declined and he moved from his foster father and enlisted in the army. Also in 1827, he went to Boston where he wrote his fist book Tamerlane and other poems that he sold for $.12 a copy but it didnt sell. He served a two year term while waiting for an appointment to the US Military Academy. While temporarily reconciled, Allan secured him an appointment to the academy. In 1830 Poe entered the US Military Academy at West Point, NY, where he excelled in languages but was expelled in 1831 and now his foster father disowned him permanently. Later on sometime after 1831 he moved to Baltimore where he lived with his aunt, Maria Clemm, and her daughter- his cousin, Virginia Clemm. March 27, 1834 John Allan dies leaving Poe with nothing. In May of 1836 he married Virginia, his 13-year old cousin. For 10 years Poe worked as an editor for various periodicals and contributor to magazines in several cites on the pay of $10 a week, so he was unable to support his family, his aunt, Virginia, and himself. Lots of time they went without eating. But it was in one of those that his story The Fall of the House of Usher first appeared in 1839. He unsuccessfully tried to found and edit his own magazine which would have granted him financial security and artistic control in what he considered a hostile literary marketplace. The last years of Poes life was a tragic period. In January of 1842 Virginia broke a blood vessel while singing, and died of tuberculosis on January 30, 1847 after five years of illness. Then Poe himself became ill, he had a deadly addiction to liquor and his alleged use of drugs which probably contributed to his early death. In the summer of 1849 he revisited Richmond, lectured , and was accepted anew by the fiance he had lost in 1826. After his return north he was found unconscious on a Baltimore street. Poe was only 40 when he died in 1849. Newspapers gave the cause of death as congestion of the brain and cerebral inflammation, which my sources