Abstract
This paper takes a look at the practice of affirmative action, with reference to America's history of discrimination and the Civil Rights movement, from America's beginnings to the present day.

From the Paper
"Affirmative action is not a cure at all. It will not eliminate racial discrimination, nor will it eliminate competition the good jobs. Affirmative action programs can only ensure that everyone has a fair chance at what is available. I believe, the larger question to ask is: why are there not enough decent paying, challenging, and safe jobs for everyone? Why are there not enough seats in the universities for everyone who wants an education?"

Tags:civil, rights, Plessy, segregation, Nixon, Lyndon, Johnson, Martin, Luther, King

Abstract
A narrative piece about the Holocaust and whether it existed. The author attacks those who deny the occurrence of the Holocaust and provides various documented accounts of those who survived it. The paper includes an interpretation of the effects of the Holocaust on both the living and the dead and the importance of Holocaust education for the future.

From the Paper
"There is no question in my mind that there were mass killings of the Jews during World War II and like every great tragedy, there are people who feel it never happened. I wholeheartedly disagree with these people, whether they are against the Holocaust "theory" or are just plain prejudiced towards Jews. There were murders by the millions, and the Jewish victims of the Holocaust were affected by it, both directly and indirectly, as were their family members and friends who may have been thousands of miles away. Even today, people in the world are still affected by the extermination of millions of lives in Eastern Europe in the same respect there are still many people, even entire institutions, who seek to discredit the veracity of the Holocaust, going as far to claim that none of the horrific events ever occurred. (See Adelaide). I will prove that the Holocaust affected many lives, both in living and in death, and that it did indeed happen, through relating factual and opinionated accounts of victims and witnesses, and explaining why what happened to the Jewish population of the Holocaust."

Tags:holocaust, war, world, victims, Jews, death, mass, killing, torture

Abstract
The Noh Theater of Japan is an extremely ritualized tradition, and traces of the Noh Theater are found in Western theater. This paper explores many of the distinctive elements of the Noh Theater, such as the use of masks, the themes presented within plays, and the evolution from the old Noh Theater to a more modern presentation of Noh techniques. While the focus of this paper is on the Noh Theater, comparisons are drawn between the Noh Theater and traditional Western theater. There is also a discussion of the more dialogue-driven kyogen style of Japanese theater in respect to the more ritualized Noh Theater.

From the Paper
"The impact on the Noh Theater on the Western theater can be seen to have occurred in a very diverse way. It appears that the Western theaters managed to assimilate various components from the Noh Theater, such as the use of the hitamen in performances to convey a blank countenance. However, the greatest aspect of the Noh Theater on the West is found within the development of more exacting performance techniques, where rather than a single production being subject to incongruities and shoddy acting, the standards of acting were promoted to a higher level overall."

Tags:actor, actors, chorus, culture, dominated, japan, kyogen, male, mask, masks, men, ritual

Abstract
This paper takes an in-depth look at the intense passion that the ancient Mayan civilization had for sporting activities. The author discusses how the ballgames of the times had many different levels of meaning, ranging from entertainment to ritual, as tributes to the gods. The paper details the rules and regulations of such ancient games as Poc-a-tok and Ollama, and how Mayans saw sports as public reenactments of warfare.

From the Paper:

"Through this ballgame one can learn a lot about Mayan culture. The never-ending love and devotion that they held for the Gods of their people is apparent in the fact that they organized these ballgames to please them. They played until they collapsed from exhaustion, in some instances, so that they could be sacrificed if they won. The Mayans were a people of respect and warfare. This is evident in the way that after each raid that they planned only with the specific alignment of the sun and the planets they always held the game at the Victor?s homeland, there was no straying from the tradition. They placed value in worship of their gods and honor to those brave players who opted to die for the game and in turn for their Gods."

Tags:ballgame, custom, mayan, ritual, sport, underworld, courts, soccer, ollama

Abstract
This paper argues that Adolf Hitler had some alternative personal reasons for why he may have caused the largest mass killing in world history. Some reasons include his personal life and sexuality. This paper examines how these impacted Hitler's rise to power and motivation.

From the paper:

"Due to Adolf Hitler?s embarrassing family roots, stern, emotion filled upbringing, and his inner turmoil in dealing with his sexuality he had built up guilt, aggression, frustration, and self loathing which as result caused the holocaust. The context of this paper will discuss how his family roots were considered embarrassing, how they came to be, and how in turn it caused him to feel disgusted with himself and what he was which caused aggressive and malevolent behavior. Also it shall speak of what consists of a strict upbringing, what certain events and regular happenings occurred in this childhood, and finally what in this rigid upbringing could cause a man to have this inner anger build to lead way to cause such death and destruction. And lastly, the paper will speak of Adolf Hitler?s sexuality and how his homosexuality or sexuality, which was kept hidden, as it was not proper for men to like men during his time and was gravely frowned upon, caused such guilt and pain within himself to lead to this horrifying event we call the holocaust."

Tags:adolf, hitler, holocaust, ii, war, world, personal, distress, aggression, frustration, family, sexuality

Abstract
This paper looks at rituals and how they structure society. The author discusses how rituals effect communication mediums between people as well as how they impact cooperation and understanding. The author examines different types of rituals in different cultures.

From the paper:

"Regardless of who we are, or where we live, rituals form a basic part of our lives. We participate in them ourselves, we see them being performed by others, we notice them in the actions of animals. Rituals are physical actions that mean something to us: we do them because they serve a purpose and help us achieve what we need to in order to move on to the next step in our daily lives."

Tags:tradition, culture, religion, religious, god, ritual, bond

Abstract
This paper looks at the popular and enduring adage declaring that America is ?a melting pot? of cultures and at the idea that this country seems to believe that all of its ethnically, linguistically, and culturally diverse inhabitants have, throwing away all of their particularities, melted into just one cultural identity. It looks at the history of different immigrants to the United States, and examines their integration, or non-integration into society.

From the paper:

"Like national minorities (Native Americans), African Americans (not modern African immigrants to the U.S.) have been incorporated involuntarily into American society due to the fact that they are the descendants of those who entered the slave trade after either being captured from West African regions or sold into captivity by African kingdoms-in short, they did not emigrate out of free will from their birthplaces as did members of ethnic groups. However, they are somewhat like ethnic groups in the sense that they do originate from foreign lands and are not indigenous to U.S. territory as are national minorities."

Tags:americans, assimilationism, capital, civic, cultural, culture, ethnic, ethnicity, groups, identity, immigration, indigenous, integrationism, minorities, multiculturalism, national, nationalism, native, peoples, pluralism, politics, social

Abstract
This essay looks at purpose of the pre-colonial economy in Latin America and the methods employed by the Spaniards to control the natives and production under colonization. It examines the diverse population the Spaniards found upon arrival, and how the Spaniards simply superimposed themselves upon existing structures. The four main labor systems used by the Spanish are outlined. The exploitation based on the economic systems implemented by the Spaniards is explored.

From the Paper
"The process of colonization within any one country or group of countries was conditioned by the pre-existing historical circumstances and the attractiveness of its resources to the colonizers. In turn, these affected the degree of exploitation and the nature of the developments that took place and consequently the level of marginalization that occurred within the economy and society. The conquest of Latin America was carried out by the Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch and British. But it was Spain who secured the largest, richest and most diverse territory, and did so with great rapidity. Within 70 years of Columbus's arrival in the Caribbean, Spain had overthrown the Aztec and Inca empires and occupied most of middle and western South America."

Tags:indians, slavery, exploit, colonial, Encomienda, Repartimiento

Abstract
Christina Garcia's "Dreaming in Cuban" follows three generations of women in a Cuban-American family, and looks at the effects of the Cuban diaspora in America. This paper examines how the novel relates to how families are divided over the revolution.

From the Paper
"A patchwork of incident, memory, letters, dreams and visions provides glimpses of a Cuban family at home and in exile in the '70's and '80's, but Garcia's debut suffers from its fragmented style. From disparate times, places, and (mostly female) points-of- view, Garcia reveals the circumstances and inner lives of various members of the del Pino family."

Tags:Cuba Castro, diaspora matriarchial garcia christina female communist del pino novel literature

Abstract
This paper discusses 'Things Fall Apart' by the Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe. It is informed by a sense of history and how it reflects on the process of colonization. It explores Achebe's motivations behind 'Things Fall Apart' and evaluates the ways in which the novel acts to reclaim Africa's genuine past. It describes the novel's plot and analyzes the use of tragic irony.

From the Paper
"The Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe is one of the most prominent figures in post-colonial literature and he actively seeks to reclaim African heritage. Western colonization of Africa destroyed native religions, languages and forcibly replaced African heritage with the European culture. In this sense, people of post-colonial countries feel they have been denied their true history and seek to rediscover their past. Achebe strongly disagreed with the existing portrayal of his homeland and it is through his novel Things Fall Apart (1958) that Achebe realizes his desire to expose the Western view of African history as false and repossess Nigeria's genuine past."

Tags:Chinua, Achebe, Africa, colonial, colonisation, culture, heritage, history, Nigeria, post