Abstract
This essay discusses Guy Vanderhaeghe's "Man Descending", which is a collection of short stories. The paper argues that the title is appropriate for this collection. Most of the twelve stories are preoccupied with the phenomenon of how human beings must face their own powerlessness in the human condition.

Tags:man, ascending, descending

Abstract
This review discusses how these two novels are very powerful works that explore the realms of human morality and psychology. These novels show how the dark side of human nature exists in every area of the human condition and that none is exempt from it. Both works are about idealistic visions and shattered dreams.

Abstract
More than any other architect of the 20th century, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe represents the ascendancy of Modernism in its most Minimalist incarnation. While this emphasis on the importance of spare lines and lack of fussiness is understandable, given what had come before in terms of both architecture and decorative arts, this does not necessarily make it more palatable from the perspective of the 21st century. This essay focuses on two specific buildings by Van Der Rohe: the 1930 Tugendhat house in Moravia and the 1929 German Pavilion that he designed for the International Convention in Barcelona, Spain, as a way of delineating the strengths of his work, as well as serving as a reminder of the distinct limitations of Minimalism within the realm of architecture.

From the Paper
"When we look at Tugendhat House what we see is a building that rather aggressively protrudes from the hill to which it is anchored. Mies set the building apart from the hill both in terms of color - it is gray and black, entirely lacking in the greens and earth-tones of the surrounding hillside - and in terms of form. The hill is rounded, gently sloping, its curve emblematic of the ways in which water and geological stratigraphy and wind shape the earth. The building's exterior is none of these things: It is not only rectilinear (as are most structures in the modern world) but it flaunts this rectilinearity. Its solidity emphasis the human-constructed nature of the structure: We would never (no matter from what distance we viewed this building or from what angle) confuse this with something created by nature."

Tags:Bauhaus, School, Seagram, Building

Abstract
This paper explains that Mayer chronicles the history of the Federal Reserve, from its charter in 1913, through the events of the Great Depression, intervening decades of boom and bust, to today's role of market overseer; however, despite the higher than ever profile of the Fed, Mayer makes the point that much of this power is illusory. The author points out that the idea of the central bank as a significant regulator of the economy had its ascendancy in the middle of the 20th century, not only in the United States, but also around the world. The paper comments that, in this era of omnipresent media and twenty-four hour business television, it is Alan Greenspan who has become the face of the Federal Reserve for most of us.

From the Paper
"Mayer begins his examination of the Federal Reserve with these events of October, 1998, when the economy was threatened by a worldwide liquidity crisis. Bankers and finance ministers converged on Washington for a meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. On the table was the issue of the Asian financial crisis and its impact on certain nations' ability to service their debt. Highly leveraged hedge funds were in danger of collapsing due to their high debt levels. Bankers at the Washington meeting were encouraged to increase lending rates to stave off a serious market downturn."

Tags:greenspan, regulator, charter, illusory, domestic

Abstract
Discusses the two styles of the 18th century. Considers the Rococo and its rejection and the return to models of antiquity. Examines the ascendancy of women in 18th century art, the influence of economic and political factors, the return to smaller paintings, and the popularity of portrait painting.

From the Paper
"Following the death of Louis XIV a general reaction occurred to offset the austerity that had characterized the final years of his rule. This change created a new sense of feeling and expression among painters of the day. More specifically, the younger ..."

Abstract
This paper explores Bismarck's ideology, which was that Prussia must dominate the new Empire and that Prussia, ruled by the king, must remain unchanged and unchallenged, with the largely noble military bureaucratic caste in power. This was guaranteed by the three-class system of voting that maintained the ascendancy of the Prussian conservatives in the elected house of the Prussian Landtag."

From the Paper
"The influence of German Romanticism upon Bismarck can be partially explored by consulting one of his letters written to Minister von Manteuffel in 1856 which demonstrates Bismarck's unwavering attitude toward the affairs of the German State. It is interesting to note that this letter contains not only a very poetic tone but also a great sense of human personality set against the realities of the world, a trait quite reminiscent of E.T.A. Hoffmann and his Germanic tales. Bismarck relates that "Because of the policy of Vienna. . . Germany is clearly too small. . . as long as an honorable arrangement. . . cannot be. . . carried out, we will both plough the same disputed ground. . . I wish only to express my conviction that. . . .we shall have to fight for our existence against Austria and that it is not within our power to avoid. . . since the course of events in Germany has no other solution" (Brandenburg, 457). These words truly echo the sentiments of a romanticist, for they conjure up images of Friedrich von Schlegel, for Bismarck is speaking as if Prussia was a living entity with a "spirit, soul, and body." The shadow of Goethe is also present, due to Bismarck putting forth the suggestion that he is a non-conformist when it comes to the future and existence of his beloved German State."

Tags:prussian, noble, military

Abstract
This is a book review of the novel "Left Behind, A Novel of the Earth's Last Days," conceived by Tim Lahaye and written by Jerry B. Jenkins. The essay provides critical analysis of elements of plot, character, dialogue, themes, settings, as well as the quality of the writing. The discussion includes both the Rapture, or ascendancy to Heaven of millions of born again Christians and the takeover of the United Nations by the anti-Christ.

From the Paper
"The twists and turns of the plot and the vastness of the scope of the subject matter from global conspiracy to the end of the world, do tend to hold the reader's interest. The central image around which the book is built is quite memorable. Building upon the description of the old man whose wife finds only his neatly folded clothes remaining aboard Steele's plane, through the details of Irene's and Raymie's nightclothes in their beds, to depicted and imagined details of all the other disappeared, the empty clothes and discarded wedding rings reverberate hauntingly in the reader's mind."

Tags:Captain, Rayford, Steel, Nicolae, Carpathia, Global, Weekly

Abstract
This paper studies and praises the painting "L'Yerres, Effet de Pluie" by Gutave Caillebotte. It gives a brief history of his life, his influences, and an overview of the impressionist era. It then gives a detailed analysis of the work and the artist's individual style employed.

From the paper:

"Impressionism was, of course, contemporaneous historically with the ascendancy of the city and the machine. Certainly the Industrial Revolution and the processes of urbanization had been in full swing for a number of decades before Monet and Manet and Renoir set pigment and imagination to canvas. But by their generation, it was becoming suddenly clear to everyone that the ancient rhythms of the agrarian world and the far-more ancient domination over human life of nature's cycles was being cast aside."

Tags:art, impressionism, modern

Abstract
This paper examines the beliefs of Karl Marx, the co-founder of communism and also a philosopher, revolutionary thinker and economist. It shows how he was a student of capitalism and his seminal thoughts on the dominant political economy of his time (and ours) are as relevant today as in the hey days of Soviet communism and its ascendancy in several parts of the world. It shows how his theories about the accumulation of wealth by the capitalist, the "surplus value" and the monopolistic tendency of the capitalistic economy give us a perspective of capitalism that continues to make the works of Karl Marx relevant in a post-communist twenty-first century.

Outline
A Stage of Social Development
How Does Money Accumulate with the Capitalist?
Where Does the Capitalist Get the Capital in the First Place?
Why does the Laborer work for the Capitalist?
The Big Fish eat the Small Fish
Competition itself Breeds Monopoly
Political Influence of Large Corporations
Constant Improvement
The Rich get Richer
Excess Capacity: Looking for Space
Unemployment in Capitalist Societies: A Deliberate Ploy?
Will Capitalism Continue to Survive?
Constant Improvement

From the Paper
"The Marxist explanation of Capitalism is based on the surplus value provided by the laborer to the capitalist that lets him to accumulate capital and make his profit. The question, however arises that why does the worker work for the capitalist instead of working for himself and keeping the surplus value. Capitalism, by definition is a system in which the producers are the employees and do not have the means to own the equipment and material needed to produce the commodities. Although in certain societies and cases the workers may be forced to offer themselves as labor for the capitalists through coercion, more often than not, the conditions in most capitalist societies are such that the laborers' own equipment and other resources simply cannot compete with those of the capitalist."

Tags:society, rich, poor, economy, communism, russia

Abstract
The television media was a crucial vehicle in the ascendancy of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. In many respects, the media helped civil rights succeed during this period, which explains, in part, why civil rights efforts were not as successful during the pre-television period. Even more interesting, and perturbing, is the fact that the post-civil rights period witnessed television playing a negative influence in the context of African-American equality. Indeed, as the theme in Todd Gitlin's "The Whole World is Watching: Mass Media in the Making and the Unmaking of the New Left" suggests, television helped the civil rights movement succeed, just as it helped curtail it.

Tags:civil, rights