From the Paper "Cultural Traditions of France
This essay analyzes some of the cultural traditions of France through a discussion of its philosophy and literature.
Philosophy
The history of France begins with the Romans, who first entered what is modern day France in the second century BC. There they encountered the Celts, who were a metal-age people from northern and central Europe who had migrated into the area from about 1000 BC. As one author states, "Celtic Gaul was never more than a geographical expression and bequeathed little of substance to the French -- neither language, faith, institutions, nor customs" (Cole, 1989, 7). The Romanization of Gaul began after Julius Caesar conquered Gaul in 52 BC. With Rome came good.."
A comparative study of four films, "Bound by Honor", "Beloved", "Lion of the Desert" and "Anna and the King", focusing on politics, culture and emotions.
1,577 words (approx. 6.3 pages), 0 sources, 2002, $ 51.95
Abstract This paper discusses four different films, "Bound by Honor", "Beloved", "Lion of the Desert" and "Anna and the King". The paper reviews each film in relation to its political and cultural background, and to the emotions prevalent in each movie. The paper claims that cultural oppression is a common theme in all four films. Using emotions as a tool for cultural change is described in the theme of how to overcome oppression.
From the Paper "Nearly all matters of cultural diversity involve some degree of emotional reasoning. All of the above movies involve cultural diversity, and indeed cultural oppression, to some degree. In "Bound by Honor" the main characters are motivated by strong culturally connected emotion. Logic is overridden by emotion when two of the three main characters follow paths of self-destruction. The same is true of "Beloved". The black mother and daughter are prisoners of their past, because they cannot free their emotions from it."
Abstract This paper stated that President Jefferson commissioned the Lewis and Clark Expedition to do what other explores had failed. The paper describes in detail the actual journey. The paper discusses that Lewis and Clark succeeded in many areas: Opened the U.S. from the Missouri River north to the Pacific Ocean, mapped and described the areas in detail (invaluable to later settlers), discovered many previously unknown species of fauna and established contact the Indians.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Preparations
Up the Missouri
Toward the Pacific
The Return Trip
Importance of the Expedition
Conclusion
From the Paper "The group traveled in two canoes of a type called pirogues and a 55 foot keelboat, propelled by sail and oars. All summer, they traveled up the Missouri. The days were often hot and muggy and then freezing cold. Mosquitoes tormented them and rain squalls drenched the men and boats. Sand bars slowed their progress. Seldom did the expedition make more than fourteen miles a day. There were some disciplinary problems and two desertions. The only man to die on the expedition succumbed to appendicitis during this time. "
Abstract This paper examines the struggles that Latino players in major league baseball have faced over the years. The writer discusses the beginnings of Latino players in professional baseball, beginning in 1954 and continuing through the surge that began in the 1980s. The paper also discusses how the influx of Latino players has increased baseball's popularity in Spanish-speaking countries worldwide which in turn has impacted upon the numbers of Latino youth seeking to play professional baseball in the United States. Another area that the paper touches upon is how the increasing numbers of Latino players has opened up the doors to a small, but growing number of Latino managers in the major leagues. The writer also examines the struggles that these players faced in the early days, when Latino players were fewer in number.
From the Paper "As more Latino players move into the majors, Latino managers are making their mark, too. Felipe Alou was recently hired by the San Francisco Giants to take over the manager job vacated by Dusty Baker after the World Series. "Alou was also the fourth Latin American manager born in the Caribbean Islands, the other are Mike Gonz"lez, Preston G"mez and Cookie Rojas all from Cuba. Later Tany P"rez (Cuba)and Tony Pe"a (Dominican Republic) became the fifth and sixth respectively" (Pi-Gonz?lez). Alou was also the first Latino to manage an All-Star game in 1995."
Abstract The paper reviews Takaki's book "Iron Cages", which presents the foundation of White America's relationship with other races and cultures that also consider themselves to be Americans. The paper's author believes that Takaki wants to understand why white men don't want to get along with other cultures and how they arrived at this opinion. The paper concludes that Takaki states that, unless all Americans learn to live together in cooperation, the social health of the nation is in jeopardy.
From the Paper "In the first part of Chapter One, Takaki launches into a discussion of the American Revolution and how John Adams once thought that, if the British won and severely wounded the fledgling country, it would be a good thing. Already, within just a few months of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Adams saw corruption, greed and malice. He was upset by the lack of virtue that the new American people had and concerned about whether it could be stopped before it got much worse and infected everyone in the whole country with unkind thoughts toward their neighbors."
Abstract This paper compares and contrasts the two novels and discusses the way in which the theme of identity has been used in both. It shows how identity plays a crucial role in both these novels, but in far different ways. It links the personal identity of the authors to the characters and shows that their dilemnas and searches for their true indentities were similar to the characters.
From the Paper "Chang-rae Lee was born in Korea, but his family moved to New York City when he was only three years old. His father is a successful psychiatrist, so the family always prospered, and lived in well-to-do neighborhoods, but his mother never really learned to speak English. His first book, "Native Speaker," received the PEN/Hemingway Award for Best First Fiction and the 1995 Discover Award. In addition, the literary journal "Granta" called Lee one of the fifty best American writers under the age of forty (Kich 176)."
Abstract This paper provides a detailed history of Native American families and the way they functioned. It traces these units from before the Americas were settled by the Europeans and their adaption to reservation life. The paper also examines the revival of Native American culture and family appreciation in modern America.
From the Paper "Native American girls are taught all they need to know to be a good Indian wife. They were taught to make clay pots, weave baskets, mend clothes, and scrape skins, set snare traps, cook and other chores. Some tribal women even constructed the homes and furniture for the homes. Young girls had much more responsibility in learning than young boys. Young girls reached adulthood when they experienced their first menstrual period. She was whisked off by the older tribal women to a isolated hut to spend at least four days. Many tribes performed rituals when a girl reached womanhood. Some were painful and isolation was common, but public celebrations would follow the rituals."
Abstract The American media's powerful influence can be seen through its portrayal of major events like the Vietnam War. The paper shows that Vietnam was America's first ?television war,? meaning that United States citizens were able to watch video clips of virtually uncensored images of war including exchanges of gunfire, atrocities and wounded and dead soldiers from both sides. It describes how the Vietnam War's images haunted the television, magazines, and newspapers. This paper covers issues including propaganda, television images, the massacre at My Lai, Son Thang 4, Trang Bang, the dulling effects of graphic images, and civilian protests.
From the Paper "On June 8, 1972 during an air raid of NVA fortifications just outside Trang Bang, a picture was taken of a girl running away from the bombings. Kim Phuc, then nine, was wearing no clothes, waving her arms, and had an expression of terror on her face. She and other civilians including photojournalists were mistaken as NVA and targeted by the pilots. Kim received major burns to the majority of her body. Up to this day, a myth exists that it was an American-ordered bombing and was executed by American pilots. This is not true. Both the officer who gave the order and the pilot who dropped the bomb were Vietnamese and operating without the aid of the United States Air Force. Nick Ut, the photographer who took the snapshot, won the Pulitzer Prize that year."
Abstract Discusses the situation in the Mideast. Contends that the national rights of Israel and Palestine should be supported by the international community. Recent history of the conflict. Oslo Accords and the peace process. Israeli confiscation of the West Bank. Attitude of Israeli's toward the Palestinians. Argues against U.S. unquestioning support of Israel.
From the Paper "INTRODUCTION:
The majority of Americans have only become aware of the current state of affairs in the Middle East as a result of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon that happened September 11, 2001. And to a great extent, many of them see Israel as an ally of the United States in the war against terrorism, as the Israelis fight the Palestinians. Many believe the Israeli actions are merely a response to "acts of terrorism" by Palestinian suicide bombers.
Unfortunately, this is not the case. The Middle East is still torn by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as it has been since the Balfour Declaration of 1917, and the seven wars that have been fought since 1948. In the aftermath of the Coalition victory against Iraq in 1991, American prestige and influence was ..."
This paper looks at the book "The Children of the Dream" by Bruno Bettelheim. The book explores the topic of children growing up on kibbutzim in Israel.
Abstract Dr. Berkelium visited the kibbutzim in Israel during 1964, and reported on the state of children's development. The paper looks at the definition of a kibbutz and discusses the ways in which this system of living affected the lives of the children. The writer juxtaposes the work of Berkelium with a critical piece entitled "Children of the Kibbutz".
From the Paper "Methodologically, Dr. Bettelheim admits that the book displays severe weaknesses. Due to time constraints, he was able to visit only a very limited number of kibbutzim, spending most of his time at just one large institution. He was also unable to speak Hebrew, so that much of the material either had to be gathered through an interpreter or was delivered in the respondent's second language. However, despite all of these limitations, the reader does get a clear and detailed picture of kibbutz life for the younger generation, both the positive and negative aspects."
Abstract This paper takes a close look at the three religions that shaped Japanese culture: Buddhism, Shinto and Confucian thought. With the advent of Buddhism in 552 C.E., the Japanese were to experience a resurgence in religious devotion. The writer traces the steps that the Japanese took in welcoming a new spirituality, from the building of temples to schools of philosophy.
From the Paper "Thus on the surface Buddhism won a hands-down victory over Shinto. But this was not quite the complete story. Intellectually and institutionally, Buddhism was dominant for a thousand years in Japan. Yet Shinto continued to exist and carry on, especially in the multitudes of village shrines, much as it had for centuries past. This was true even after the "new" Buddhism of the Kamakura thirteenth-century period became the religion of multitudes of common people. Indeed, Buddhism captured the minds of many inside Japan, but the long standing traditions of Shinto would continued to echo in the halls of Japanese history. In addition to this, the development of numerous denominations, regional differences, and the later introduction of Christianity led to religious pluralism in Japan. Cultural borrowing gave the nation a broad perspective of the world, but would also induce a great deal of confusion in later generations."
Abstract The writer argues that the "English Only" policy in the United States is not producing the expected goal of helping to integrate non-English speakers into the mainstream school system. In contrast, the Latino population is having difficulty learning in English-speaking schools when not given extra attention with the language. The paper concludes that the results should be carefully tested of these two types of integration policies to see which more greatly benefits the students.
From the Paper "In addition, test scores this year may mean less than either side believes on this issue because bilingual and "English Only" programs currently exist side by side. Proposition 227 ordered that children be "taught English as rapidly and effectively as possible" but also allowed exemptions for charter schools and waivers for patents who want to return their children to bilingual classes after an initial month of English immersion. Many Hispanic parents exercised those waivers. Next year, though, the district will begin gathering data on how well students do in all three kinds of classes--the bilingual hybrid program, the full English immersion for Spanish speakers, and the mainstream English-only classes for native-born English speakers--in an effort to develop classes based on actual evidence. The district plans to spend up to $250 million to build a "model curriculum" for all three programs (Gorman, 1999, 258)."
Abstract This paper explores the underlying motives for "Operation Iraqi Freedom" and questions whether it is about the liberation of people from the whims of a madman or simply a clash of civilizations. It examines the underlying premise behind the current (2003) war and analyzes Saddam Hussein as a rising global threat and his contribution to terrorism. The paper also explores the the cultural clashes between Western and Arabic civilization and the role that oil plays in the current dispute. Finally, the paper uses research based on Samuel P. Huntington's article "The Clash of Civilizations", (1993).
From the Paper "The current war is by no means new. It has simply extended west. Iraq geographically encompasses where civilizations first began. It is in this area that ruthless tribes struggle for power against nature, power against death, and power against man. It is in this area that man birthed religion, who begat politics. As history created itself, man forged tribes creating distinct lines. These lines Huntington term the fault lines. They can be drawn back to the Hapsburg and Ottoman empires. Historically the nations to the north and west have always been more prosperous. They together they share feudalism to the reformation to the industrial revolution. The people of the south and east experienced history differently. They were less better off economically and politically. They shared ruthless barbarians, constant warfare and genocide. (Huntington 1993)"
Abstract An examination of David Nasaw's "Children of the City" which is a study of the children of immigrants whose primary playground and place of employment was the streets of American cities. Nasaw covers the period 1900-1920 and the working-class children whose employment was not based on desperate need, but who did not have the complete leisure that middle class children possessed. It shows that Nasaw's principal thesis is that the experience of these children was overwhelmingly positive as they set up systems of rivalry and cooperation in their neighborhoods, frequently mixed with children of various ethnic backgrounds, learned numerous skills that would be essential to their futures, and assimilated to the American scene at a great rate.
From the Paper "Nasaw begins with a description of the face of the new city of this era: electric lighting; elaborate department stores; restaurants and theaters that catered to the middle class; afternoon editions of newspapers; the nickelodeons and motion picture houses; and, family-oriented vaudeville. All of these innovations had in common the improvement of consumption and, as Nasaw shows, much of the change that took place at the time--especially in this generation of children, was the elevation of consumption to a right or a duty. At the same time, however, the rapid increase in land prices in nearly every growing American city meant that recent immigrants and the rest of the working and poor classes "were forced to live in spaces that should have remained uninhabited" (10). The terrible conditions of dark, airless tenements--with whole families occupying single rooms for the night while they rented out the remainder of their space to others--disappointed many new arrivals. But, in vivid contrast, new arrivals marveled at the differences in such things as the amount of meat that was consumed, the availability of fresh produce in winter, and the presence of canned foods. And, of course, they also saw the display of wealth in every other part of the city."
Abstract The paper gives a history of the discovery of peyote, or mescal, and the way in which it was adopted by Native Americans as a method for reaching spiritual heights. The writer also outlines the reaction of mainstream religions and the United States government to the use of this drug. The paper compares the reaction in the U.S. to that of the Mexican authorities.
From the Paper "From 1886 to 1932 the Bureau of Indian Affairs joined traditional Christian missionary societies to thwart Peyotism by all means possible. Federal prohibitions were proposed but failed, so that opponents of Peyotism took their campaign to the states. From 1899 to 1937 legislatures of 14 states outlawed peyote. Peyotists, who incorporated their religion in Oklahoma as the Native American Church in 1918, won the right to use the cactus in religious rituals in a half dozen court cases between 1960 and 1979 in Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, Colorado, California, and Washington. Federal rules promulgated under drug-abuse laws exempt religious use of peyote. This remains the current legal state of Peyotism today, although legal challenges to it continue (Richter, 1997, p. A7)."
