A discussion on the methods through which the late antique European countryside was converted to Christianity, focusing on Christian missionary work and Church building.
Abstract This paper discusses the conversion of the European countryside to Christianity, and looks at how far the countryside was actually converted and how far it remained a classical pagan society. It focuses on the work of individuals such as Martin of Tours and Caesarius of Arles and discusses the main methods of attempted conversion, in particular missionary work, temple smashing and church building and official legislation.
From the Paper "The demography and layout of both rural and urban areas was a vital part of the Christianising process. Again bishops and holy men played a vital role. In Egypt, rather than temple smashing, closures were the normal mode. In 385, 'Cynegius closed the temples and forbade sacrifices to Zeus.' Both Martin of Tours and Caesarius of Arles however advocated temple smashing 'Sulpicius Severus' Martin zealously carried the conversion offensive into the vici and pagi around Tours...Caesarius of Arles encouraged his congregation to destroy rural altars and sacred tress.' This destruction of temples often met with opposition from pagans, and was an aggressive tactic of converting people. There are several instances of people rebuilding temples after they had been destroyed, and this act of temple - smashing must have meant locals perceived Christianity as an aggressive, disrespectful religion. "
This paper discusses the formation of the People's Communes in China which represents a stage in the continuation of the progressive collectivization of the Chinese countryside.
Abstract This paper discusses the emergence of communes in the Chinese countryside in the late 1950s as a "natural" step in the process of transformation demanded by the Great Leap Forward. The paper states that, although the cooperativization in 1955-56 resulted in the "loss" of land for the peasants, they retained their homes, small private plots and some animals. The author reports that under the impetus of the slogan "build socialism more, faster, better and more economically", far-reaching changes in working styles and methods were made throughout China.
From the Paper "An example of the attempt to introduce the peasantry to factory-style production and technique is the oft-cited movement for the construction and operation of "back-yard furnaces". These enterprises aimed to produce a crude form of pig iron using primarily scrap metal, with the hope that through the development of local skills and initiative, farm implements and other tools could be produced locally. The first orders for the construction of these small brick blast furnaces came in May 1958 from K"o Ch"ing-shih, the First Secretary of the Shanghai City Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). But later, and at a time when the experiment was being looked upon with some derision, Mao himself accepted responsibility for advocating the idea (2)."
Abstract This paper summarizes and reviews Carr's story about a young shell-shocked war veteran who arrives in Yorkshire village of Oxgodby to restore a medieval mural in the local church. The paper explains that the 14th century mural was hidden beneath layers of paint and is used to symbolize the hidden real self of the protagonist. Everything is told from the viewpoint of the narrator, Tom Birkin, who comes to this small countryside after he has been through horrible experiences, i.e. war and a broken marriage. It tells how his soul is severely scarred ,and there appears to be no way out of the horrible psychological condition that he has developed after the war. Coming to the countryside is part of the healing process that the narrator undergoes, and he finally finds peace with himself and the reality of his situation.
From the Paper "The story itself is simple but the way it is told makes all the difference. While on the surface it might sound like another story concerning a war veteran and his nightmares, but underneath the mediocrity of the plot, likes brilliant narrative and a writing style that reminds us of Romantic poets. In fact the author himself concurs that his initial intention was to write something on the lines of English Romantic poetry. However what he ends up creating is both a great romantic tale and a powerful story about soul searching and healing."
Abstract This paper takes a look at the film "Xiu-Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl" by Joan Chen. According to the paper, the film is a moving love story that takes place during China's cultural revolution. The paper explains that when the film's character, Wen Xiu, or Xiu Xiu, is sent to the countryside in a cultural movement to learn from Lao Jin to care for horses, she is told that she will only be there for six months, but it becomes clear that she will not be leaving the countryside again.
From the Paper "There are several places where we see the affection that Lao Jin has for Xiu Xiu. First, during the scene where the second visitor has come to Xiu Xiu, we alternately see Xiu Xiu being brutally taken advantage of, and at the same time in a different place, Lao Jin is collecting eggs. Lao Jin plans on bringing these eggs home to Xiu Xiu and the scene set in contrast to the scene in the tent turns the simple, every day act into something tender. The symbolism of the eggs, the pure white objects in the filth and dirt of a nest, also could represent the purity of Lao Jin's love."
Abstract This paper analyzes the play, "Marriage of Figaro," written by Pierre de Beaumarchais. It compares Beaumarchais' play to the play "Travels in France" by Arthur Young. The paper places Beaumarchais' work within the historical context of noble life in the late 18th century. It then compares Young's account of the French city and country life to Beaumarchais' characterization of the nobility and the countryside.
Table of Contents:
Objective
Introduction
I. Beaumarchais: The Nobility and the Countryside II. Young: Travels in France and the City and Country Life Described
Summary and Conclusion
From the Paper "The play entitled: "Marriage of Figaro" was written by Pierre de Beaumarchais (1732-1799) a French playwright. This play is in the time period setting of the 18th Century, specifically the Count Almaviva's castle in Seville. The work of Arthur Young: "Travels in France" also gives a glimpse into the 18th century politics and social aspects and interactions between the nobility and the poor. In each of the works the self-absorbed nature of the nobility are described as well as the conditions of those unfortunate enough to be poor."
Abstract The paper states that in Iceland, traditionally, farm labour and fishing were the primary sources of income for many citizens. These types of labor took place in the countryside and in small fishing villages, hence drawing a specific people to live there. Whilst city dwellers tended to have more qualified jobs, the poorer families lived off of the land. The paper notes that this led to a certain stereotype of the countryside 'peasants'. The paper further comments that Icelandic literature often discusses both town and country citizens, comparing the differences in lifestyle between the two, and how each is represented. The paper analyses several Icelandic novels featuring the Icelandic people living in farmhouses compared to those living in the towns. The paper then assesses whether one group of people is seen as inferior to the other, and the differences between them, and how each group is viewed by the other, or by those outside of Iceland.
From the Paper " Those in the countryside were forced to lead more serious lives, and had far too many day-to-day worries concerning their survival to engage in frivolous conversations that had no real purpose or meaning to them. We can tell this immediately from how serious all of Bjartur's children are. Whilst in the cities, Bjartur describes young women as "brazen-faced young sluts...fit for nothing but parading the streets and living on their parents like parasites" , his children, with their country upbringing, are expected to work sixteen hour days."
Abstract The following paper discusses the three major effects that land reform had on Guatemalan social culture. Questions such as: What groups, exactly, benefited from the reforms? What groups opposed them? What do the resulting conflicts over land reform reveal about the already existing character of Guatemalan society, and how that society partly transformed itself during the era before the "Liberation" by U.S. backed forces.\
From the paper:
"First, by redistributing land to, and encouraging greater political participation by, sectors of the Guatemalan population that had been harshly controlled and repressed for centuries, it awakened hope. Second, it brought to the fore many already simmering conflicts between different ethnic groups, classes and institutions in the countryside. Third, it invited a fanatical anti-Communist reaction by the landowners and the military that continues to shape Guatemala to the present day."
Tags: social, reform, revolution, classes, latin, american, south, america
Abstract This paper analyzes the social and economic effects of Stalin's Five Year Plan on the peasants and the general Russian population. It looks at how this plan influence international relations between Russia and other countries and how the West became even more suspicious of Stalin over this plan.
From the Paper "The Soviet Union, under Stalin's leadership, embarked on a massive economic plan to industrialize the largely agrarian country. The so-called five-year plan, actually four and a quarter year plan, required the concentration of labor in urban areas. Most of the people in the Soviet Union lived on farms in small villages. To implement the plan significant social changes had to occur. The people most affected by these changes were the peasants in the small villages in the Russian countryside. The peasants represented the most conservative, most religious, and most traditional group in the Soviet Union. Conflict was inevitable when the greatest change is required of the people who are the least likely to be comfortable with change. The instability of the Soviet Union government between the Russian Revolution and the ascendancy of Stalin and the violent protests of the peasants delayed the imposition of socialist controls over the peasants. Allowing the peasants to exercise relative independence compared to the rest of Russian society created an even greater resistance to change. In "Red Bread" Maurice Hindus provides insight into the depth of the problems facing the Soviet Union. He wrote about the events as they were happening so he presents more detail than a writer who is distant from the events."
Abstract This paper uses Chaucer's work, "The Canterbury Tales," and Barbara Tuchman's "A Distant Mirror" to examine the period in history known as the Middle Ages. The author compares and contrasts the opinions and descriptions of this era presented in both these works. Tuchman's work is historical and was based upon actual events that were detailed, while Chaucer's work is poetry. Tuchman's work is detailed and provides us with an insight as to the actual events that transpired during this era, how Rome's conquest of Europe during the 14th century would affect the continent for many years to come. Chaucer's work while being fiction, concentrates on the role that the Church and Christianity played in the lives of those people living during the Middle Ages. Both authors' works show us how the Middle Ages were the beginning of the rise of modernity in the cities as contrasted to the slower pace of development in the countryside.
From the Paper "We see time and again in Tuchman's narrative how the elaborate and essentially unified culture that Rome had spread across Europe lost ground to local, artistically simpler, politically less complex and technologically less sophisticated societies. The pervasive orderliness that Rome had brought to its colonized lands (often, of course, in very brutal ways) quickly unraveled, in large measure (as again is evident throughout Tuchman's narrative) because the numerous small European states that were born after Rome's fall were so busily engaged in attempting to annihilate each other that they had no time to build the great artistic and cultural achievements that the Romans had with such seemingly easy grace mastered. Politics would have mattered more in a city than on a rural manor, where local alliances would have been both more important and more stable."
Abstract This paper examines the way in which "Goodbye Pork Pie" reflects the social and political climate of New Zealand in the 1970s. The author investigate the "Kiwi" culture as portrayed through the film. The author writes that New Zealand is presented as distinctive through iconographical features of the culture and countryside through which the journey takes place, as well as the time period. Women are sidelined as the narrative is engineered around the comradery of two kiwi 'blokes', John and Jerry. Furthermore, the paper describes that the film criticizes the right-wing government of its time and focuses on two antiheroes.
From the Paper "Goodbye Pork Pie, directed by Geoff Murphy, and released in Cannes in 1980, is a distinctively New Zealand interpretation of the popular American road movie: a derivative of the buddy-western genre. The buddies, John and Jerry, are propelled by circumstance into a chance meeting and a consequential life of running from authority that seems to have nothing else to do, but to pursue (and pursue?) a little stolen yellow mini."
Abstract This paper examines the novel "The Blooding" by Joseph Wambaugh. It explores the fiction and non-fiction crime writing by Wambaugh, and the biography of his life. The paper describes the novel's chilling mystery amid the quaint English countryside, and the use of realistic investigative skills.
From the Paper "One cannot talk about American crime writing, whether fiction or nonfiction, without discussing the contributions of Joseph Wambaugh. A Los Angeles police veteran, Wambaugh has 15 books to his credit, four works of nonfiction and 11 novels, eight being made into feature and television films. His gritty, hyper-realistic style has influenced numerous authors for decades (Dunn 2000). Wambaugh transformed the sub-genre of the police novel into serious literature of a hard boiled nature. His first four books and his work on the 1970's television series Policy Story set the standard of realism, dialogue, and character development for subsequent writers or turned them in new directions (Marling 2001)."
From the Paper "A demographic analysis of population changes and their implications in M"xico City, M"xico was performed. The results of the analysis are presented in this paper.
Defining M?xico City
?M"xico City" refers to the entire Metropolitan Area, or the "Zona Metropolitana de la Ciudad de M"xico? (ZMCM). The ZMCM is formed by the ?Federal District,? which is the M"xico's capital area, and those communities of the surrounding State of M"xico (of which there are 58 in 2000). The Federal District covers less than one third of the surface area of the ZMCM, but houses 42.3 percent of the total ZMCM population. The total ZMCM population in 2000 is ..."
Abstract Edith Wharton's 1911 novella "Ethan Frome" allows her to tell a compelling story while simultaneously exploring the gender roles expected of both men and women in pre-World War I American society. This paper discusses and investigates how Wharton both examines and manipulates ideas about both femininity and masculinity in this tale of love, tragedy and human dependence set in the New England countryside.
From the Paper "Ethan marries Zeena because this is what men are supposed to do (even as she marries him because it is what women are supposed to do. Love does not, on either side, seem to have anything to do with it. Duty is a far stronger motivator in this world than emotion, and Wharton asks us to consider the nature of a society in which duty is so important as to override all other sensibilities. We have all been taught that duty is important, but Wharton reminds us that duty like so many other things, must be taken in moderation, especially as it applies to conventionally defined gender roles."
Tags: gender, edith, wharton, novella, role, men, women, america
Abstract This paper discusses the difficult lives of women in the American colonies, lives which revolved around the basic family unit and entailed laborous tasks to ensure the survival and continuity of the home. The paper shows that as time progressed and the colonies became more civilized, the roles of women changed. Instead of merely surviving, women began to have leisure time on their hands. Women also had time to educate themselves beyond their regular housewifery skills. Socially, women had time to entertain and lead more leisurly lives. The paper follows the changing role of these women through the Revolutionary War when they assumed a number of unfamiliar roles. It also shows how the development of the countryside and infrastructure changed the social life of women. Finally, the paper shows that women of this time had their lives shaped by extraordinary events such as political and economic upheavals, religious conflict, and intellectual transformation. It was during this time that women first started to establish themselves and their rights.
From the Paper "The practical and functional roles of women changed during the Revolutionary War. Women had to take up positions that they normally would not have had to before. They had to manage the house while their patriotic husbands were gone. This also opened other doors to women. For Deborah Sampson it meant cross-dressing as a soldier and taking up arms. She was placed into indenture at the age of ten and upon completion entered the army. (Ferguson 183) She was noted to be a woman who wanted to see the world. If not for the war, where would she have ended up, and what path would this creative, energetic and brave woman have taken? Her husband subsequently received a veterans pension for her efforts.(Evans 54)"
Abstract This paper studies the reasons behind as well as the effects on society of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) land reform policy of the early 1950s. It examines how, when the Communist Party came to power in China in 1949, it became evident that there would finally be a complete overhaul of government policies. It also analyzes how land reform in a predominantly agriculturally based economy was essential to the creation of a new social order and the eradication of the previous Qing and Guomindang elements.
From the Paper "The living conditions and quality of life for many peasants before land reform, or Liberation were certainly very low. This gave the Communist Party a distinct advantage; most peasants had nothing to lose, and the idea of a society that would empower the exploited classes should prove immediately popular. However, there were setbacks. Although the peasants had nothing to lose, landlords, wealthy peasants and people related to the Guomindang were extremely worried, and this resulted in many people fleeing, to Hong Kong in particular. Many peasants were reluctant to join the revolution, being fearful of retribution should the Guomindang come back into power. They had never been involved in political life before, did not understand Marxist ideology, and could not perceive the class struggles within which they were told they were caught up. For this reason it was necessary to raise their class consciousness, a daunting task since peasants were mostly badly educated. Educated people who might be able to understand the Communist Party's social policies were often unwilling to wait around and find out the outcomes of these policies."
