Abstract This paper looks at Alison Baker's "Happy Hour" as an evocation of the absurdity of the human condition. It discusses Baker's use of irony and the story's focus on end- of -life family dynamics in an institutional setting.
From the Paper "Reinforced by a context of narrative irony, Happy Hour presents numerous closely observed details about end-of-life family dynamics in an institutional setting. The irony is not laden with humor or smugness rather taking on attributes of an absurdity ..."
Abstract This paper explains, in detail, the gender and sexuality themes in Alison Anders' "Mi Vida Loca" ("My Crazy Life"), which realistically describes the lives of young Mexican-American women in Los Angeles who are involved in gangs, drugs and sexual activities. The writer believes that, Anders' own feminist agenda and ideology, such as non-normative gender roles, which challenge the traditional confinement of women to domesticity, seem to standout more than her stated goal to humanize people who don't get represented in film. The paper cites many feminist critics and relates their ideas to the film and concludes that Anders' feminism is not adequate. The paper uses MLA style footnotes rather than a works cited page.
From the Paper "Anders' film fails to break from this patriarchal, phallocentric logic. Only by adopting masculinized gender roles and possessing the phallus (carrying guns) can the Locas construct their agency. Anders doesn't allow for alternate sources of female strength, only for women to act as male substitutes. After Giggles leaves Sleepy's place, the night she affirms her independence and strength, her style of dress does a one-eighty. While previously she tended to wear skirts and dresses, when she organizes the Locas she is wearing pants and a wife-beater."
Tags: phallocentric, third world feminism, feminist separatists, male-female relationships, gun
Abstract This paper analyzes the satirical novel by Alison Lurie called "Foreign Affairs". It takes a look at the two very realistic characters of Vinnie and Lurie and how they cope on a holiday to Britain. It shows the insecurities in all of us and how we try and make other people seem less important for our own self-esteem.
From the paper:
"Alison Lurie's novel Foreign Affairs details the two, parallel existences of American Anglophiles during a brief sojourn in London. One of these characters is named Vinnie Miner. Her name, suitably androgynous, complements her short gray hair and her childish, thin body. Vinnie is older, in her fifties, and Lurie details with wry observation how women of this age are often conceived of as asexual by the world's eyes. Her heroine came of age long before the 1970's radical feminist revolution. Yet Lurie is extremely suspicious and critical of this revolution and the way it attempts to encapsulate human affairs and human desires into political theories."
A look at two historical perspectives of Henry the VIII in " Henry VIII: The King and His Court" by Alison Weir and "Henry VIII: The Mask of Royalty" by Lacey Smith.
1,150 words (approx. 4.6 pages), 2 sources, 2002, $ 44.95
Abstract This paper will discuss the book "Henry VIII: The King and His Court" by Alison Weir, and the book "Henry VIII: The Mask of Royalty" by Lacey Smith, and seek to show how the first book gives us a clear look at the true Henry the VIII in action. By revealing the more Catholic and harsh view of Henry the VIII in Lacey's book, we find the Protestant reformer that is part of Weir's study to show his defiance to the Church of Rome. By pointing out both of the theories on the great King, we can see how Weir's book tells a more accurate story for Henry's rebellion against the Catholic Church.
Abstract Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Miller's Tale" is the perfect story to demonstrate the characteristics of courtly love by mocking them. The writer discusses how, in this tale, one does not see the traditional chivalric codes that we see in ?The Knight's Tale.? It shows that, by placing these two tales together, Chaucer's farce is even more hilarious. "The Miller's Tale" consists of unfaithful characters that connive to get what they want. The writer points out that the tale also rewards bad behavior because Alison and Absalom are never reprimanded for what they do. Furthermore, John is humiliated and is never able to redeem himself. It concludes that "The Miller's Tale? highlights the rituals of courtly love only by disparaging them.
From the Paper "Literary critics have observed that "The Miller's Tale" is a tabliau, which is described as a "short story in verse that generally involves bourgeois of lower-class characters in an outrageous, often obscene plot, which is, however, realistically handles by the narrator" (Abrams 116). Abrams also notes that the Miller's Tale is generally considered the "best-told fabliau in any language" (116). This is certainly the case when we consider how Chaucer delivers this tale. The character telling the tale is just as important as the characters in the tale."
Abstract The paper discusses how handwritten script and the printed book cannot be considered equally responsible for the development of typographic man. The paper analyzes Alison Harwood's review of McLuhan's "The Gutenberg Galaxy". Rather, as this essay will contend, while script was important as a media for millennia, it was only through print technology that the signifying symbols of script could be mass produced in fixed, essentially identical, formats. The paper concludes that it was this mass production of fixed texts that altered human culture on such a broad scale as to lead to the development of what McLuhan terms the "typographic man".
From the Paper "Alison Harwood, in her review of Marshall McLuhan's The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Man, describes the key components of McLuhan's theory of how the development of print technology led to a fundamental transformation of human culture and human perception of the world. Print technology involved the mechanization of the scribal craft. This allowed the production of consistently identical texts and led to uniformity and homogeneity of spelling and grammar, ultimately promoting individual authorship and the ownership of intellectual property."
An analysis of Alison M. Jaggar's article, "Vulnerable Women and Neo-Liberal Globalization: Debt Burdens Undermine Women's Health in the Global South".
Abstract This paper discusses the plight of women under neo-liberal globalization as outlined by Alison M. Jaggar's article, "Vulnerable Women and Neo-Liberal Globalization: Debt Burdens Undermine Women's Health in the Global South". It provides a summary description of the article and then looks at the underlying determinants exacerbating the problem of women's health in the developing parts of the world. From there, the paper briefly explores the intermediate and proximate determinants of the global health issue.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Summary Description of Global Health Issue
Underlying Determinants Explaining Why Global South Women Suffer under "Neo-Lib" Globalization
Intermediate Determinants
Proximate Determinants of Why Global South Women Struggle from a Health Standpoint
Conclusion
From the Paper "At the proximate level, many women in the global south must deal with the day-to-day reality of being malnourished; to this state of affairs one must also add the poor sanitation and insufficient access to suitable drinking water that one commonly finds in impoverished lands. It is important to also realize that the absence of a meaningful education also means that many of these women are ignorant of what they should be putting into their bodies and what steps they should be taking to secure their own long-term vitality. Just to elaborate on this last point, eating disorders are not merely ubiquitous in developing lands, but have been shown to precipitate troubling health problems in their offspring, as well ("Nutrition and Reproduction in Women," 193-200). This phenomenon thus allows health maladies to be passed on from one generation of young women to the next generation of young women."
Abstract A paper which introduces and discusses the movie "Bedazzled," starring Elizabeth Hurley, Brandon Fraser, and Francis O'Conner which is directed by Harold Ramis. The paper focuses on movie reviews of this film which was made in the year 2000. It shows how critics are mixed about the humor and content of this remake. Also, many critics felt the script by Ramis and colleagues did not do justice to the 1967 film (starring Dudley Moore and Peter Cook) and was not funny enough to carry cast and characters.
From the Paper "Just like its ultimate theme of good vs. evil, "Bedazzled" is the kind of movie critics either loved or hated, there did not seem to be any middle ground. I personally found the film so funny, and entertaining, I purchased the DVD, and even taped the original on the Fox Movie Channel so I could compare the two. While I found some genuinely great moments in the first film, I think the new "Bedazzled" was funnier, and did not bog down in the middle as much as the first film. I thought the wish sequences were all played extremely well, with Fraser appearing uniquely different in each one. My personal favorite was the last sequence, when he encounters the angelic prisoner in the jail cell, and really discovers himself in the process. "Bedazzled" certainly had its flaws, as many critics pointed out, but it was a charming and amusing film."
Abstract This paper discusses the Miller who appears in English author Geoffrey Chaucers "Canterbury Tales". The paper covers the Miller's flaws, his strengths and the character elements revealed through his story, as well as Chaucer's descriptions in the general prologue. It demonstrates how the Miller is a drunken, lavious man, but he is honest in his opinions and avoids affecting a religious or noble pretense like his companions.
From the Paper "The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer, begins by describing twenty-nine people, each of whom is making a pilgrimage to Canterbury, England. By chance they meet in Southwark and decide to make the journey together. These twenty-nine characters encompass all areas of medieval life. There are religious figures, a pardoner, a prioress, and a monk. Then there are military figures, a knight and his squire. But the most numerous, and perhaps the most eccentric characters are the commoners, the Wife, the Merchant, and especially the Miller. Chaucer includes the Miller in order to contrast him with characters like the Knight and the Parson, who are noble and religious. Chaucer's descriptions of the Miller in the general prologue, when combined with the content of the Miller's tale, portray a character whose perspective is a sharp contrast to nobility. The Miller makes no apologies for his disposition. He is lecherous, outspoken, ostentatious, and a drunk."
Abstract This paper reviews the work by Alison Alexander and Jarice Hanson entitled "Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Mass Media and Society." The review states that the book does show a good balance between politically divisive and philosophical issues, while looking at some of the more divisive issues, such as race, television violence and liberal bias in the media.
From the Paper "Television. Racism. Body Image. Partisan bias in the news media. The tobacco industry. Victims of sexual assault. This reads like a laundry list of problems with which our society not only deals on a daily basis, but even seems to enjoy dealing with, mulling over, flaunting and sensationalizing. Alison Alexander and Jarice Hanson's casebook, "Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Mass Media and Society" is a collection of articles, editorials and case studies on these and other hot button issues regarding the omnipresent and ever-powerful hold that the media has on society. This essay will review Alexander and Hanson's work, pointing out some of the stronger cases made and some of the more interesting issues that are presented."
Abstract The paper looks at the study of Porter and Alison that focused on group rape and the hostility behaviors that are evident by the offenders. In this study, the investigation attempted to prove the hypothesis that in gang rape situations there is not a group aggressive behavioral pattern but that each individual will be affected differently during the course of the rape. Therefore, there is no one measurement of behavior, aggression or hostility that can define offenders in gang rape situations.
From the Paper "The authors found, however, that in gang rape situations, the findings indicate that there is a "uniform" behavioral pattern that emerges among the offenders. This pattern of behavior has a foundation in the behavioral patterns of the leader of the group that sets the emotional context of the offense, leading all other members of the group to follow this behavioral pattern."
Abstract The paper discusses how Marx and others maintain that the most significant cause of female oppression is economic oppression. The paper shows how Marx believed that environment shapes the individual and he blamed economic depression on the capitalist/private property system that is in place in most of the world today. The paper also quotes Jaggar, a well known feminist, who believed that there is a direct and traceable link between class structure and the oppression of women. The paper concludes that the only way women will reach the status of true equality will be for them to be treated as equals in the economic sphere with equal pay for equal jobs, with credit being allowed for women with the same criteria as it is for men, and with women being offered an equal say in the economic decisions their families and government make.
Outline:
Introduction
Marx
Jaggar
Conclusion
From the Paper "The feminist movement was big in the 1960's and 1970's in many industrialized nations, however the less developed nation and some of the developed nations did not jump on the bandwagon when it came to the equalization of women. The oppression of women has been occurring in many nations for many years and one significant factor that it can be reduced to is economic repression. Whether it is because women do not get paid as much as men do for the same job, or men in the homes keep a rein on the purse strings it cannot be denied that the underlying factor in the oppression of women is by wielding economic depression as a tool."
Abstract This paper analyzes issues of gender inequality and the relevance of feminist epistemology in information systems. It reviews three articles, "Feminist Philosophy and Information Systems" by Alison Adam and Helen Richardson, "The Army and the Microworld: Computers and the Politics of Gender Identity" by Paul Edwards and "Slouching Toward the Ordinary: Current Trends in Computer Mediated Communication" by Susan Herring.
From the Paper "In conclusion, these three articles on gender role allocations within CMC and IS provide a varied, yet informative view of the historical, social, and feminist ideology of patriarchal systems. However, it is the Adam and Richardson article that best defines the role of empiricism and objectivity in determining the epistemological problems of patriarchal constructs in computer communications. Although a historical analysis of the feminist movement and the current issues of generational decay may inherently be problematic in modern IS, the issue a feminist ideology that must define the reality of gender disparity is the more important premise of the research done by Adam and Richardson."
