Abstract
In the article "Performative acts and gender constitution: An essay in phenomenology and feminist theory," Judith Butler (2003) uses as a starting point Simone de Beauvoir's famous statement that one is not born, but rather becomes a woman. De Beauvoir wrote this in her existentialist feminist book, The Second Sex, first published in 1952. In this book, de Beauvoir may be said to have initiated a trend which is still being developed by feminists, and particularly queer theorists. This trend is the questioning of precisely what it means to be a woman, or to be a man.

From the Paper
Judith Butler on Performative Acts and Gender Constitution In the article "Performative acts and gender constitution: An essay in phenomenology and feminist theory," Judith Butler (2003) uses as a starting point Simone de Beauvoir's famous statement that one is not born, but rather becomes a woman. De Beauvoir wrote this in her existentialist feminist book, The Second Sex, first published in 1952. In this book, de Beauvoir may be said to have initiated a trend which is still being developed by feminists, and particularly queer theorists. This trend is the questioning of precisely what it means to be a woman, or to be a man. This epistemological question underlies the entire debate about gender

Tags:gender, butler, theory

Abstract
This paper reviews Steven Butler's article "Korea: Echoes of a War". The author recounts Butler's brief account on the events leading up to America's involvement in Korea and his feelings of hopelessness in restoring unity in Korea. The paper relates Butler's claims that the process of restoring unity was more difficult than anyone could have imagined and also explains his seeming bias towards the American government for getting involved in the war. The paper also critiques Butler's article as being vague and that his hope for resolution which should have been apparent in the article becomes lost in details that are interesting but not necessary.

From the Paper
"Steven Butler's main idea in the article "Korea: Echoes of a War" is that hope, even 50 years after the fact, seems too much to ask for when it comes to Korea and its government. Butler provides a brief account of what lead up to America's involvement with Korea and how, at the end of the day, everyone involved suffered from the Korean War save North Korea, a country that lives in division today. Butler hopes for hope but it is diminished by the events of the past and present circumstances."

Tags:unity politics, cold war

Abstract
This paper explains Butler's intent to explore the finer nuances of freedom is evident in the very fact that she chose the America's bicentennial year of freedom, 1976, as the time for situating her 20th century African-American protagonist. The author points out that, by using carefully chosen words and a matter-of-fact tone, Butler places, in perspective, modern day society, which treats certain classes of human beings as invisible people, undeserving of recognition and respect. The paper relates that the core of Butler's message is that the freedom finally obtained by the blacks was hard won and paid for by the suffering and loss of several lives, as symbolized by Kevin's scar and Dana's loss of one arm.

From the Paper
"In fact, "Kindred "is full of such sleight-of-hand symbolisms. Take, for example, Dana's marriage to Kevin, a white man. Their union, in spite of the misgivings of both their families, is a rich metaphor for human integration the way it should be, free of racial, color or class barriers. Similarly, it is significant that Dana, a black woman, is the one summoned to rescue her white ancestor, Rufus, every time his life is in danger. Indeed, Dana's meeting with the child, Rufus, is her first inkling of the humiliation suffered by her ancestors. For, here was a small boy advising her that she had to address him as "master", while simultaneously calling her by the deprecating term "nigger" ."

Tags:symbolism, bicentennial, protagonist, words, suffering

Abstract
The paper analyzes the two major points of war defining the profiteering and the horrific reality of war in "War is a Racket" by Smedley Butler. The paper discusses how during the early part of the 20th century, Butler saw a growing military industrial complex that was constantly gearing up for war, going against the sovereign dictates of the American Constitution that sought only to use the military as a defensive institution.

Tags:war, profit, america

Abstract
This paper applies Judith Butler's notion of performativity to Djanet Sears' play, "Harlem Duet." Specifically, the next pages look at how Butler castigates the act of people playing certain sexual roles. Her argument is that roles and typologies overlook the real truth of things when it comes to the staggering multiplicity of human sexuality. Because of this, efforts to cast heterosexuality as the normative form of human sexuality are forms of performance that are rooted in imitation and in sham.

From the Paper
"The following paper will apply Judith Butler's notion of performativity to Djanet Sears' play, "Harlem Duet." Specifically, the next several pages will look at how Butler castigates the act of people playing certain sexual roles; her argument is that roles and typologies overlook the real truth of things when it comes to the staggering multiplicity of human sexuality. Because of this, efforts to cast heterosexuality as the normative form of human sexuality are forms of performance that are rooted in imitation and in sham. In Djanet Sears' play, what happens is that the entire notion of normalcy is turned on its head by having a sixteenth-century play by a..."

Tags:judith, butleraE(TM), performativity

Abstract
This paper evaluates how H. L. A. Hart and P. Devlin would assess the 1992 Canadian Supreme Court decision R. v. Butler. In so doing the paper clearly expresses an understanding of the debate between Hart and Devlin and applies the salient themes and or arguments of that debate to the Butler decision. Finally, the paper argues for one position or the other when determining whether or not the 1992 ruling was a just and equitable one. Specifically, the paper argues that Hart's position is more tenable than either Devlin's or the Supreme Court decision.

Tags:law, philosophy, hart

Abstract
This paper examines how, in the introduction to the "History of Sexuality", Foucault argues that in the 17th century the role of sex and sexual activity in the discourse of western society made a fundamental and radical change. It also looks at how, in "Discipline and Punish", Foucault argues that obsessions over sexuality and society's approval or disapproval of specific actions occurs because of the infinite diffusion of power which is found as the basis of western society. In comparison, it looks at how two decades later, Butler employed themes from Foucault's philosophy in order to argue her case for the arbitrariness of anatomical sex, gender identity and gender performance. It shows that through the arguments in her work, "Gender Trouble", Butler concludes that there is no essential relationship between a person's anatomical sex, her self-identified gender and the gender performance she enacts to fulfill society's expectations of the norm.

From the Paper
"Foucault's analysis of discourses on sex comes as a reaction to the more commonly-held belief that there was a society-wide discourse of repression in regards to sex. Foucault argues against this; he questions whether or not "sexual repression is truly an established historical fact"; whether "prohibition, censorship, and denial truly the forms through which power is exercised in a general way, if not in every society, most certainly in our own"; and whether "there really was a historical rupture between the age of repression and the critical analysis of repression". Foucault argues that through the evolution of Christian pastoral practices, specifically that of confessions regarding sexual sins, society was compelled to begin an elaborate and never-ceasing discourse on sex. "

Tags:birth, disciple, homosexual, prison, punish, sex, sexuality, trouble

Abstract
This paper investigates William Butler Yeats' passion along with his politics and his political changes, within the context of a select number of poems. The paper begins with a brief description of the poet and the Irish literature that characterized the period. Additionally, the paper looks at how Yeats' politics changed over time and the influence that his relationship with Maud Gonne had on his politics and his beliefs.

Table of Contents
Introduction
William Butler Yeats
Passion and Politics
Conclusion

From the Paper
"William Butler Yeats (W.B. Yeats) was born in 1865 in Dublin, Ireland. However his family moved to London where Yeats was reared. Yeats returned to Dublin in 1881 where he studied at the Metropolitan School of Art. Historians note that Yeats as fascinated with mysticism and the supernatural; this interest greatly affected the way in which he wrote. His first writings were published in 1885 and remained active in the literary world throughout his life as a poet and dramatist. Yeats received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1923.Yeats' married Georgie Hyde-Lee in 1917 but his first love and the inspiration for many of his poems was Maud Gonne an Irish activist. He continued writing and lived in Ireland for the rest of his life. He died in a French hotel in 1939."

Tags:london, england, love, lost, celtic, revival, countercultural, english, rule, victorian, period, gaelic

Abstract
This paper argues that any text is a source of endless speculation, argument and debate in relation to three poems by William Butler Yeats: "Sailing to Byzantium", "Easter 1916" and "Wild Swans at Coole". Each poem is analysed through two critical approaches, namely New Critical, which focuses on the specific devices used by the poet in the actual poems and Marxist, which looks at the context of the poet and poem to extract meaning.

From the Paper
""Sailing to Byzantium" is not an exception to the fact that any text is a source of endless speculation, argument and debate. The debate in this poem arises over the interpretation of the golden bird that is "set upon a bough to sing". A New Critical reading of the golden bird holds that it is a symbol of the "artifice of eternity" and the ideal world of art. The golden bird defies all change and, as apart of art, comments on life and the natural world which is subject to mutability and transformation. A Marxism, however, argues that the golden bird along with the "holy city of Byzantium" represent aristocratic values, and the stability and immutability of the aristocracy is what Yeats yearns for. To a Marxist, nature symbolizes a society that changes."

Tags:new, critical, marxist

Abstract
This paper presents a summary and analysis of "Parable of the Sower". The paper takes a look at biblical references in Butler's sci-fi story, as well as its parallels to the modern world and where our society may be headed.

From the Paper
"Octavia E. Butler, the grande dame of science fiction, writes extraordinary, inspirational stories of ordinary people. Parable of the Sower is an ultimately hopeful tale set in a dystopian future United States of walled cities, disease, fires, and madness. Butler brings forth an utterly nightmarish vision of California in 2025, but one with a shockingly firm grounding in reality. Society, plagued by global warming and other detriments that Butler keeps unspecified, has collapsed. Los Angeles has devolved into walled island neighborhoods in a sea of utter chaos, (Butler, 23). Residents have been forced to themselves to keep from being overrun by hoards of homeless and starving just beyond the walls. Gangs of thugs rape, pillage and, under the influence of a drug called pyro, burn whole neighborhoods to the ground for the sheer joy of destruction. Everything we take for granted today now comes with a price. No one can be trusted. Violence is a way of life. People hear gunfire so much that [they no longer] hear it, (Butler, 440). Slavery is returning."

Tags:philosophy, religion