Abstract The decades of the 1960s and 1970s were turbulent years in North American society. The rise of the counter culture feminism and of various historically marginalized interest groups changed the dynamic of political and social debate in a way that remains with us yet. This paper explores the reasons why a conservative reaction to the liberalism of the aforementioned two decades sprang up in the 1980s and in the 1990s, especially in the United States.
Abstract This paper relates that possibly modern monotheism arose not merely as a competitor with goddess worship, but as a reaction to the fundamental nature of goddess worship. The author points out that the shift to agriculture may have been made possible only through the civilizing influence of women who used their sexuality to manipulate men into settling down and, in so doing, provoked an unintentional backlash. The paper speculates that agriculture always arose from goddess worship, terminated in god worship and drifted slowly towards monotheism; therefore, some causality between these two must exist.
From the Paper "If women created agricultural civilization and maintained it through a regime of restricted sexuality, then there may be some sense in the old Judeo-Christian myth that Eve's own punishment would be that ?thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee...? (Genesis 3:16). Male-oriented monotheism and patriarchy might both have easily arisen in this environment as a reaction not so much to Goddess worship as to overwhelming female power, which had stripped from men the easy freedom of his hunter-gatherer ways and forced him into an uncomfortable civilization. In conclusion, this scenario, though strange and removed from what one expects of history, explains why the goddess would have moved from a place of worship to a place of denigration, despite supposedly giving such gifts to mankind, and as an explanation of why monotheism might be allowed to develop."
Abstract This paper explains that globalization has resulted in an information age, which boasts global interconnectedness; yet, globalization has come to symbolize a threat for underdeveloped nations. The author points out that those people who believe that globalization is inevitable state that globalization, driven by the nation states, has made the world more interdependent, spreading ideas about democracy by impacting education through large-scale statewide technology implementations. The paper relates that the argument against globalization being inevitable centers on the fact that globalization has actually made many underdeveloped nations worse off by destroying jobs and making lives more insecure; this powerless, without reform, has created a backlash against nations spreading globalization.
Table of Contents
Introduction
The Inevitability of Globalization
Globalization is not Inevitable
From the Paper "Proponents of globalization also place a great deal of importance on the Internet, which plays a major role in globalization. The Internet has come to serve as a bridge between cultures and countries. McChesney (1998) states that the Internet is open to all at relatively low prices. As a result, even some of the poorest countries have some spread access to the Internet. This can also be seen as a benefit to more advanced nations, because the hegemony of media giants and advertisers will soon end, and be replaced by a wide-open, decentralized, diverse, fast-changing, and competitive media culture lacking the requirement of government regulation. Research indicates that the Internet and digital communication are creating a dramatic change in the media and communication systems."
This paper explores the process of globalization as Americanization or Westernization to determine whether cultural globalization means cultural homogenization.
Abstract This paper explains that the correlation between economic influence and cultural influence is manifested in the spread of American and Western culture into national economies increasingly dependent upon American and Western economic investments and consumer products. The author points out that one of the most troubling consequences of cultural globalization is its political impact in the form of increasing fragility throughout the Third World. The paper stresses that, if there is ever to be a global society, the basis of such a society is likely to be Western socio-political culture, which can lead to a backlash from non-Western cultures.
From the Paper "Fragile, failing, and failed states such as Nigeria, Pakistan, Indonesia, Zimbabwe, and Somalia present the United Nations and other international organizations with a host of problems, including civil wars, regional instability, famine, terrorism, and overpopulation.
Disintegrating Third World states not only destabilize the regions they are in, but also destabilize the entire international community as well. They pose endless problems for Western policy makers because they are sources of international controversy and division, compel other nations to take sides in various economic, political, and religious disputes..."
Abstract This paper explains that, in the recent Muhammad cartoon controversy in Denmark, Cultural Editor Fleming Rose and the Danish newspaper "Jyllands-Posten" sacrificed what Muslims consider their freedom of religion to preserve Denmark's press freedom and the Danish people's freedom of speech. The author points out that, by examining the timeline of the controversy including the backlash to the cartoons, the views of Muslims around the world, Denmark and its values and Fleming Rose's explanation and apologies, this cartoon was not a malicious anti-Muslim act but rather one journalist's attempt to draw attention to a dangerous change in Denmark's freedoms and rights. The paper contends that the North American press coverage of the story fueled the situation by not including the back stories of both the Muslims in Denmark and the strong Danish tradition of freedom of speech.
From the Paper "On September 30th, 2005, the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published 12 editorial cartoons depicting Mohammed along with an editorial by Fleming Rose. Muslims in Denmark and around the world were outraged, and reacted by filing a complaint against the newspaper with Danish police on October 27th. By January 6th of the following year, the investigation was discontinued as no law had been broken. Danish Imams put together a dossier containing the 12 cartoons published by Jyllands-Posten, along with pictures from another Danish Newspaper, Weekendavisen, hate-mail consisting of pictures and letters they alleged were sent to Muslims in Denmark, and a televised interview with a prominent Dutch Member of Parliament and Islam critic, Hirsi Ali."
Abstract This paper is an analysis of how women compare themselves to the female images that are displayed to them today as role models. The author examines the current backlash against feminism today. The paper pays particular attention to body image and the eating disorders that plague so many women as a result of the skeletal models and actresses they perceive as perfection.
From the Paper "Over the past twenty years women have not been content merely to denounce biases and inequities in the established media. Women have created and used countless alternative and participatory communication channels to support their struggles, defend their rights, promote reflection, diffuse their own forms of representation. This process has made women the primary subjects of struggle and change in communication systems, by developing oppositional and proactive alternatives that influence language, representations and communication technologies."
Abstract This paper presents a detailed argument against affirmative action. The writer of this paper takes the reader on an exploratory journey of the history of affirmative action and its impact on many arenas, including employment, education and others. The writer then details the negative aspects of the program and explains why it was not the blessing it appeared to be when it first came to the public eye.
From the Paper "America prides itself on the equality of all who reside within its boundaries. The United States Constitution guaranteed equal rights and implemented many amendments to be sure that the constitution was clear in its intent. Along the way however, minorities were often mistreated and not treated as equal to others. Throughout the nation's history there have been riots, segregated schools, separate restaurants and restrooms for the minority population. With these things in place it was hard to treat everybody equally. During the 1960's the nation went through an uprising that rivaled anything it had seen to date. Until that time the nation had limped along with things staying status quo. There were separations of races and genders in almost all areas of life. They were not paid the same rates for the same jobs, they were not accepted to educational institutions at the same rate that whites were, and their opportunities for advancement in most life arenas was strongly curtailed and limited because they were of a minority status. Eventually, however, things began to get tense."
A look at the portrayal of women in the media today compared to the time when Susan J. Douglas' book on the topic, "Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female With the Mass Media", was written.
Abstract An essay discussing how the portrayal of women has changed in one segment of the media (music, TV, film, advertising) from the early 1990's when the book "Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female With the Mass Media" by Susan J. Douglas was completed. Discussed are the commonalities between women currently important to American pop culture and the women examined in the book, the differences or changes that have occurred, whether conditions have improved for women, and whether there has been a continued backlash against feminism in American popular culture over the last decade.
From the Paper ""Murphy Brown" was a powerful intelligent female character who had great clothes, however, she did not look like a waif and her clothes were not skimpy. "Roseanne" was an over-weight working wife and mother who dealt with family problems that had never before been portrayed on a television sitcom. And "Ellen" came out of the closet on one episode to tell the world that she was a lesbian (Timson 1995). This would certainly have not been witnessed on a sitcom television program twenty years ago."
From the Paper "Backlash
The purpose of this speech is to discuss Susan Faludi's book, Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Woman. The main themes of Faludi's book will be discussed, as will some of the reviews of the book. The main theme of this book, quite obviously, is the "backlash" against feminism. However, Faludi breaks this theme into "sub-themes:" the backlash in the news media, the backlash in the popular culture, and the backlash in the political/work arena.
According to Faludi, this backlash began in the late 1970s but achieved full power in the 1980s. It was largely unleashed by conservative political and religious movements and by media outlets. It was fueled by male resentment against feminism and by male economic fears. Faludi asserts that this backlash was not some giant conspiratorial.."
From the Paper "Susan Faludi, in Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women, offers a critique of the condition of women in the country at a time when it seems to be generally accepted that feminism has triumphed. Faludi argues that, to the contrary, the society remains resistent to women's liberation and equality. The title of the book refers to forces in the American culture, some blatant and some subtle, which continue to resist and place obstacles in the way of feminist goals.
Faludi writes that the "rhetoric" of the backlash against women's rights . . . charges feminists with all the crimes it perpetrates. The backlash line blames the women's movement for the "feminization of poverty"---while the backlash's own instigators in Washington pushed through the budget cuts that helped ..."
Abstract Discussion of the 1966 Supreme Court decision. Contends the ruling was the most politically controversial and socially divisive decision in the history of the Supreme Court. Warren Court decisions in 1960s. Conservative backlash against the Court. Impact of Miranda on law enforcement and police. Later Court rulings on exceptions to Miranda.
From the Paper "Miranda V Arizona
This research paper discusses the political, social and cultural dynamics of the decision by the United States Supreme Court in Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966). Its thesis is that the Miranda holding was in the field of criminal procedure the most politically controversial and socially divisive decision in the history of the Supreme Court. The decision itself represented the high watermark in efforts by the Earl Warren Court (1954-1969) to afford criminal defendants in federal and state courts enhanced federal constitutional procedural protections. By requiring police for the first time to give such defendants in police custody certain warnings and advice concerning their constitutional rights (the Miranda Warnings), the Court reflected to some extent the dominant political culture..."
This paper shows how the American Red Cross was successful in dealing with the September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Abstract Since the terrorist attacks on America, the activities of the American Red Cross have expanded extensively. This paper discusses how the voluntary organization had in the past proven to be an efficient disaster relief organization; however, the writer asserts that never have their skills being so essential and tested since the events of September 11th, particularly in New York City. The paper then looks at the activities of the Red Cross in its advocacy of those in danger of negative backlash, notably Arabs and Muslims.
From the Paper "The "International Red Cross" which has branches in over 175 countries of the world, works to provide extensive refugee relief activities to the victims of drought, war and ethnic conflicts all over the world. It was through the commitment of Clara Barton who organized the "American Red Cross" with its headquarters in Washington, which received the support of millions of Americans who donated their time, talent, and financial resources to this voluntary organization. And since 1943, the month of March has been considered to be "Red Cross Month" to recognize the lifesaving efforts of the organization."
Abstract This paper examines the history behind the principal federal civil rights legislation passed in the 1960s, primarily the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (the '64 Act) and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (the '65 Act) and their implications. The '64 and '65 Acts were enacted during the administration of President Lyndon Johnson and represented a culmination of a long struggle by the civil rights movement for recognition of the legal and political rights of African Americans. It analyzes how they revolutionized politics in the South and helped that region participate more fully in the nation's progress. It also looks at how blacks, other ethnic and racial minorities and women benefited greatly from the civil rights legislation of the 1960s, but how efforts since then by African Americans to participate more fully in American society have largely been thwarted.
Outline
Background
Origins of the '64 Act
Passage of the '64 Act
Johnson's Motivations
Legislative Strategy
Effect of the '64 Act
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
Civil Rights Laws and White Backlash Conclusion
From the Paper "Further crises followed. The Kennedys negotiated with Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett to ensure the peaceful entry of James Meredith as a student at Mississippi University in September 1962, but they were forced to send in 500 marshals. After the marshals were overwhelmed by a local mob and had suffered 160 wounded, JFK sent in 5,000 Army troops. Both Kennedys felt that they had been double-crossed by Barnett. Weisbrot said "the events at Ole Miss did much to reshape President Kennedy's thinking about race, politics, and his role in civil rights reform." Next, anti-segregation demonstrations took place in Birmingham in the spring of 1963 where nationwide television audiences witnessed the brutality used by Police Chief Bull Connor on unarmed civil rights demonstrators."
Tags: blacks, south, johnson, martin, luther, king
Abstract The first part of the paper, examines how the liberal camp's belief in the "disparate impact theory of discrimination" conflicts with the more conservative view of equality based on access to the same opportunities. When affirmative action was first enacted, the liberals were successful in enshrining the disparate impact approach.
The second part of this paper looks at the impact this disparate impact approach has on both the political and judicial landscape. The most evident problem of affirmative action as it is currently practiced is seen in the backlash effect. In the last section, the paper evaluates the possibility of a unified definition of equality being enshrined in affirmative action principles.
From the Paper "In the book Equality Transformed, Herman Belz (1991) presents two clashing views on the nature of equality. One theory, which Belz associates with conservatives such as Mississippi senator John Stennis, saw equality as a question of individual rights. The focus was on nondiscrimination, in providing equality of opportunities in areas such as employment. By removing the obstacles to discrimination, many conservative theorists believed that every person ? black or white ? would thus have equal opportunities for advancement."
Abstract This paper assesses critical responses to "The Hokku" of Basho. During the Tokugawa period Basho was, literally, deified and slavishly praised. The modern era began with a re-evaluation and harsh backlash against this status. More recently, Japanese commentaries have developed a critical but positive assessment of Basho's work.
