Social Science Essay Example for Free

Social Science Essay I must admit that before my trip to the California African American Museum I was skeptical that I would learn anything of value to myself from that experience. Being of foreign descent, American History is a bit alien to me and even more so for African American history. Yet as the day went on, I found myself staring in awe at the displays and gaining a profound respect for the African American culture. The first thing which caught my attention was that the California African American Museum was adorned all over by Afrocentric artwork. It was strange the way the paintings attracted by attention. Normally I don’t pay attention to paintings but there was something about these paintings that struck me. The history and beauty of the African American culture was unlike any I had ever seen or experienced previously. On a personal level, the relevance of this to me is that I too am of a different race. I have my own unique culture and I deeply cherish this. Seeing this display made me realize the beauty of my own culture. I began to understand how strong a people can be as long as they appreciate and cherish their own culture. I am not ashamed to admit my roots and my culture. In fact, I can proudly say that because of my experience at this museum I have come to accept more my culture and come to a better understanding of who I am in this world. Another profound feeling I got from my visit was the manner by which this place was designed. The California African American Museum is a fairly large space and has plenty to offer its visitors from painting to sculpture to multimedia installations by African-American artists. Perhaps the most amazing of all the displays is the rotating exhibits of the Rhythms of the Soul, a showcase of the instruments of Africa (Kennedy 2007). One can clearly see how rich the cultural heritage of the African American culture is. In the same line of thinking, one can imagine how cultures and races have evolved from their primitive origins into what they are today. These items are some of the many wonderful pieces that I saw at the California African American Museum. The piece on the left most portion is a head-dress from Nigeria while the one on the right most portion is a face-mask from the Republic of Congo. Being of foreign descent, I had never previously encountered such strange things and so when I first saw these things I had to admit that I was a bit dumbfounded by it and could make neither heads nor tails of them. Along with these ceremonial masks were decorative household implements from across Sub-Saharan Africa. These works show the type of art historical context that African Americans participated in prior to coming to the United States (Kennedy 2007). It was a context that was based on communal well being that encompassed ritual, mythology and cosmology that connected the people with their environment (Gerstle 2002). I dare say that my appreciation for this place has a lot to do with the many races and cultures in the area. The United States is a melting pot of many different cultures. There are so many diverse people in a single location and they all bring their heritage with them. The result is a rich tapestry of culture that is unlike any that can be found in the world (Gerstle 2002). The thing that makes this even more special is the acceptance of the people for the uniqueness of others. This is why I feel that this museum is one of my favorite locations because it is a testament to that spirit of acceptance and mutual respect. As I continue through my favorite place, I see that there are more surprises in store for me as inside the galleries of the California African-American Museum are treasures of African-American art, history and culture. A kaleidoscope of art and history exhibitions is designed to enhance the publics knowledge of the African-Americans contributions, both past and present. Quite a number of these exhibitions also explore little-known African-American contributions to the fields of science, sports, medicine, and technological invention. Upcoming exhibits feature Blacks in golf, science, technology and the California gold rush. As a whole, I think that the California African American Museum is my favorite place because it is very enlightening. While not totally ignorant of the plight of the early African Americans in the United States, I saw another side of this culture. One that is very diverse and full of mysticism and full of talent. The African Americans are a proud people and the California African American Museum has shown that they indeed have every right to be proud. With a background as colorful and magical as theirs, the African Americans and perhaps the rest of the world should all join in to preserve and to develop whatever remains of that proud and beautiful heritage of theirs. Works Cited: Minchin, Timothy. Hiring Black Worker: The Racial Integration of the Southern Textile Industry. North Carolina: The University of North Carolina Press, 1999. Roth, Byron. Prescription for Failure: Race Relations in the Age of Social Science. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 1994. Swain, Carol. The New White Nationalism in America: Its Challenge to Integration. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Kennedy, David, Cohen, Lizabeth, and Piehl, Mel (2007) The Brief American Pageant: A History of the Republic Wadsworth Publishing Company 7th Edition ISBN: 0618776125 Hollitz, John (2006) Contending Voices: Biographical Explorations of the American Past, Volume II: Since 1865 (Second Edition) (Paperback) Wadsworth Publishing; 2 edition (June 22, 2006) ISBN-10: 0618660887 Gerstle, Gary (2002) American Crucible: Race and Nation in the Twentieth Century (Paperback) Princeton University Press (August 5, 2002) ISBN-10: 0691102775

The tragic in Antony and Cleopatra Essays -- Shakespeare Tragedy Plays

The tragic in Antony and Cleopatra His captain's heart, Which in the scuffles of great fights hath burst The buckles on his breast, reneges all temper And is become the bellows and the fan To cool a gipsy's lust. Antony and Cleopatra seems to have a special place in Shakespeare's works because it is at a crossroad between two types of play. It clearly belongs to what are generally called the 'Roman' plays, along with Coriolanus and Julius Caesar. But it is also considered a tragedy. The importance of history in the play cannot be denied, especially where it is compared to Shakespeare's 'great' tragedies such as Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet. But one might wonder what is specifically tragic in Antony and Cleopatra, and what can be said about the tragic in a play which is so different from the other tragedies. It is clear that the notion of 'tragic' in the everyday sense is not necessarily the same as the notion of 'tragedy', which is a philosophical notion whose definition depends on which philosophic system one takes into account. In this article I shall take the term tragic in its literary and dramatic sense and try to define its main characteristics. Taking into account a wide corpus of plays, from Antiquity as well as from France and England, we can detect several constant features that can define the tragic. A tragedy usually shows a character that is outstanding by his rank or/and inner abilities, falling into misfortune as a result of fate, and because of an error or a weakness for which he is not really responsible. Several tragic elements can be detected in Antony and Cleopatra. First, we find characters that have high rank because they are outstanding figures; we also see a tragic situation because from the be... ...es. In fact the tragic might be more prominent in this hybrid play (both historical play and tragedy) Antony and Cleopatra, than it is in some of Shakespeare's 'great tragedies' such as Othello. Bibliography Angel-Perez, Elisabeth. 1997. Le thà ©Ãƒ ¢tre Anglais. Paris: Hachette Anouilh, Jean. 1946. Antigone, Paris: Editions de la Table Ronde Biet, Christian. 1997. La tragà ©die. Paris: Armand Colin Cuddon, J. A . 1992. The Penguin Dictionary Of Literary Terms And Literary Theory. Penguin USA Racine, Jean. 1674. Prà ©face of Iphigà ©nie en Aulide. Editions l'Intà ©grale 1667. Premià ¨re Prà ©face of Andromaque. Editions l'Intà ©grale 1677. Prà ©face of Phà ¨dre. Editions l'Intà ©grale Suhamy, Henri (directed by). 2000. Antony and Cleopatra. Paris: Ellipses 1. Article published in Antony and Cleopatra, directed by Henri Suhamy The tragic in Antony and Cleopatra

Culture and Civilization

Culture and Civilization According to anthropologists of 19th century, Culture is earlier and Civilization is later. Everything created by man is culture, civilization is an advanced state of cultural development. Culture developed in three stages: Savagery >> Barbarianism >> Civilization (Acts of cruel and violent behavior) (Extremely cruel and unpleasant behavior) Alfred Louis Kroeber said Culture is super organic, he has given three forms of culture namely Social Culture (Status and Role), Value Culture (Philosophy, Morals) and Reality Culture (Science and Technology, etc).According to Kroeber civilization is a part of reality culture. Robert Redfield said culture is a totality of traditions and civilization is a totality of great and little traditions. Culture: The collective appearance of customs, faith, art, language, way of thinking and way of living of a particular group of people. And civilization is the developed part, when different cultures meet. Difference between Cultur e and Civilization, Sociologists View Culture| Civilization| Culture includes religion, art philosophy, literature, music, dance, etc. hich brings satisfaction and pleasure to many. It is the expression of final aspects of life. | Civilization includes all those things by means of which some other objective is attained. Type writers, motors, etc. come under this category. Civilization consists of technology or the authority of man over natural phenomenon as well as social technology which control man's behavior. | Culture is what we are. | Civilization is what we have. | Culture has no standard of measurement because it is an end in itself. Civilization has a precised standard of measurement. The universal standard of civilization is utility because civilization is a means. | Culture cannot be said to be advancing. It cannot be asserted that the art, literature, thoughts are ideals of today’s and superior to those of past. | Civilization is always advancing. The various const ituents of civilizations namely machines, means of transportation, communication, etc. are constantly progressive. | Culture is internal and an end. It is related to internal thoughts, feelings, ideals, values, etc.It is like the soul of an individual. | Civilization is external and a means. It is the means for the expression and manifestation of the grandness, it is like the body of an individual. | Difference between Culture and Civilization, Anthropologists View Culture| Civilization| All societies have culture. | Only a few societies have civilization. | Culture is earlier. | Civilization is later. | Culture is pre-condition for civilization to develop. | Civilization represents a stage of cultural advancement. | Culture is super organic. Civilization is a part of reality culture. | Culture is a totality of traditions. | Civilization is a totality of great and little traditions. | Culture Vs Civilization Firstly, civilization in theory is bigger than culture in which an entire c ivilization can encompass one single unit of culture. Civilization is a bigger unit than culture because it is a complex aggregate of the society that dwells within a certain area, along with its forms of government, norms, and even culture. Thus, culture is just a spec or a portion of an entire civilization.For example, the Egyptian civilization has an Egyptian culture in the same way as the Greek civilization has their Greek culture. A culture ordinarily exists within a civilization. In this regard, each civilization can contain not only one but several cultures. Comparing culture and civilization is like showing the difference between language and the country to which it is being used. Culture can exist in itself whereas civilization cannot be called a civilization if it does not possess a certain culture.It’s just like asking how a nation can exist on its own without the use of a medium of communication. Hence, a civilization will become empty if it does not have its cult ure, no matter how little it is. Culture can be something that is tangible and it can also be something that isn’t. Culture can become a physical material if it is a product of the beliefs, customs and practices of a certain people with a definite culture. But a civilization is something that can be seen as a whole and it is more or less tangible although its basic components, like culture, can be mmaterial. Culture can be learned and in the same manner it can also be transmitted from one generation to the next. Using a medium of speech and communication, it is possible for a certain type of culture to evolve and even be inherited by another group of people. On the other hand, civilization cannot be transferred by mere language alone. Because of its complexity and magnitude, you need to transfer all of the raw aggregates of a civilization for it to be entirely passed on. It just grows, degrades and may eventually end if all its subunits will fail.Summary: 1. Culture is by def inition smaller than a civilization. 2. Culture can grow and exist without residing in a formal civilization whereas a civilization will never grow and exist without the element of culture. 3. Culture can be tangible or intangible whereas civilization is something that is more tangible because it is what you see as a whole 4. Culture can be transmitted through symbols in the form of language whereas an entire civilization cannot be transmitted by mere language alone.

Slavery Essay - 915 Words

Slavery Slavery is a social institution defined by law and custom as the most absolute involuntary form of human servitude. England entered the slave trade in the latter half of the 16th century. In 1713 the exclusive right to supply the Spanish colonies was granted to the British South Sea Company. The English based their trading in the North America. In North America the first African slaves landed at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619. Brought by early English privateers, they were subjected to limited servitude, a legalized status of Native American, white, and black servants preceding slavery in most, if not all, the English colonies in the New World. The number of slaves imported was small at first, and it did not seem necessary to†¦show more content†¦Statutory recognition of slavery, however, occurred in Massachusetts in 1641, in Connecticut in 1650, and in Virginia in 1661. Abolitionists, reformers of the 18th and 19th centuries dedicated to eliminating slavery, especially in the English-speaking countries. Although the Quakers had long opposed slavery, abolitionism as an organized force began in England in the 1780s, when William Wilberforce and the Clapham Sect—a group of wealthy evangelical Anglicans—began agitating against the African slave traffic. Their success (1807) stimulated further political assaults on slavery itself. With compensation to owners and apprenticeship arrangements, Parliament abolished West Indian slavery in 1833. British example, Quaker traditions, evangelical revivalism, and northern emancipations (1776-1827) aroused interest in abolitionism in the United States. The abolitionists differed from those of moderate antislavery feelings in that they called for an immediate end to slavery. The most extreme abolitionists denied the validity of any laws that recognized slavery as an institution; thus, they systematically violated the fugitive slave laws by organizing and operating the Underground Railroad, which concealed and transported runaway slaves to Canada. The activities and propaganda of the abolitionists, although discredited in conservative northern quarters and violently opposed in the South, made slavery a nationalShow MoreRelatedSlavery And The Slavery Of Slavery Essay2080 Words   |  9 PagesThere has been an ongoing debate on whether Christianity condoned or condemned slavery. In this essay, I will discuss how slave owners used biblical context to uphold the institution of slaver y. I will begin analyzing scriptures in the bible that pertain to slavery. It is in my belief that the Bible did not condone slavery in the way that slave owners upheld slavery. I do not argue against that there were not slaves by bondage but they were not enslaved against their will but through the will ofRead MoreSlavery And Its Effects On Slavery Essay1202 Words   |  5 Pages This was the period of post-slavery, early twentieth century, in southern United States where blacks were still treated by whites inhumanly and cruelly, even after the abolition laws of slavery of 1863. They were still named as ‘color’. Nothing much changed in African-American’s lives, though the laws of abolition of slavery were made, because now the slavery system became a way of life. The system was accepted as destiny. So the whites also got license to take disadvantages and started exploitingRead MoreSlavery And Its Effects On Slavery999 Words   |  4 Pagesresearch and taking the Slavery footprint quiz I realized just how much my life and lifestyle depended on slavery. I, like most people, do not think about where my clothes came from or where the diamond in the engagement ring came from; subsequently, I alone depend on 43 slaves. 43 individuals somewhere in the world are being forced to work or work for little to nothing. I cried after reading about prese nt time slavery because like most people in today’s age, I believed slavery ended in President Lincoln’sRead MoreSlavery And The Slavery Of Slavery933 Words   |  4 Pages Slavery, up to this point has progressively gotten weaker. In 1787 slavery is made illegal in the northwest territory. In 1793 Eli Whitney made the cotton gin making the demand for slaves increase. In 1820 the missouri compromise was written to ban slavery in all states above the northern missouri border. In the year 1831 Preacher Nat Turner starts a rebellion that is known to be the largest slave uprising in American History. also that year William Lloyd Garrison started publishing the LiberatorRead MoreSlavery And The Slavery Of Slavery Essay1742 Words   |  7 Pagesto resist their masters, and the institution of slavery in a subtle or a suicidal way. The visions of freedom varied throughout time periods and regions; in 1739, you have the Stono Rebellion, people used laws to argue their cases o f injustice, such as Emanuel Pieterson and Dorothy Angola, who fought for the freedom of their child and David Walker, Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacob who used literature to speak against the institution of slavery. Another aspect was that freedom had a differentRead MoreSlavery And The Abolition Of Slavery1166 Words   |  5 Pagesmain issue of controversy that contributed to the split of the Union: slavery. Lincoln explicitly expressed that slavery should be abolished for several reasons, recognizing the practice as an extreme violation of human rights and American republicanism. Despite his advocacy for abolishment, Lincoln’s politics on racial justice were still problematic. While Abraham Lincoln recognizes basic human rights, and advocates that slavery is an obvious violation of these basic principles, I argue and characterizeRead MoreThe Slavery Of African Slavery1128 Words   |  5 PagesSlavery is one of the most inhumane acts the world has ever known. African s were kidnapped and forced into slavery by Europeans; they were separated from their families and forced to work on plantations. They were placed in unbearable conditions and the prevalent racism attached onto this system fueled the mistreatment and oppression of black people for years to come. The origins of the widespread African slavery in America as we know today started in early colonial America when people needed cheapRead MoreSlavery, Racism, And Slavery Essay1779 Words   |  8 PagesSlavery began before racism in North America. To prove this I will provide an analysis of chronological events that displayed acts of slavery and racism. With that being said, Initially I will be delving into the earliest implementations of slavery in North America. That being Jamestown Virginia 1619. Secondly, analysing an extract from 1655, where an African man named Anthony Johnson claimed to own another black individual, John Casor as his property. Subsequently, moving onto Winthrop D Jord anRead MoreThe Slavery Of Slavery And Slavery944 Words   |  4 Pagescondemn slavery. The South also used religion as their argument, but instead, they used the Bible to argue that slavery was an acceptable part of life. People have questioned whether it was right or wrong of the South to use the bible to support their beliefs in slavery. Some would say that pro-slavery southerners had every right to use the Bible to support their beliefs. When Northerners began to use the Bible against slavery, southerners used this same argument to support it. Slavery was a practiceRead MoreSlavery : Slavery And Slavery901 Words   |  4 PagesSlavery in America started in 1619 when settlers brought over African Americans to Jamestown, Virginia. The slaves came to Jamestown to work on the tobacco plantations. The slaves were also sent to other colonies such as South Carolina to work on the cotton plantations. Slaves were people who worked for no pay. This caused the land owners to make more profit from their plantations because they didn’t have to pay their workers. Southern slave owners, specifically in South Carolina, relied on slavery