Abstract The computer age has produced renewed debate pertaining to questions of freedom and speech, as opposed to censorship. This discussion ventures to explain how the advent of the so-called Information Age does not really alter the dynamics of a longstanding question, or rather a set of questions, that have been basic to political theory among other of the social sciences. Two articles selected from The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, on radically different topics, help to reveal certain approaches to all questions of communications, the media, and the 'post-modern' age, within academic research. These materials are examined en route to sections that focus directly on issues of the internet and freedom of expression.
Abstract This paper explains that Malcolm X was one of the most awe-inspiring orators of the twentieth century. Using his oratory skills, Malcolm X gave a speech called "Prospects for Freedom in 1965", with the goal of educating the Caucasian audience about the plight of the Afro-American while serving as an almost rallying-cry to prepare his fellow Afro-American brothers and sisters for the harsh realities of the upcoming year. The paper describes the plethora of rhetorical devices used by Malcolm X in this speech, such as rhetorical questions, repetitions, colloquialistic expressions, logos, pathos and ethos.
From the Paper "Yet another example of Malcolm's desire to effectively communicate with his audience is in the form of his use of repetition, which can be defined as "the repeated use of the same word or word pattern".("Repetition") Throughout the entire discourse, many themes, motifs and words reappear so that he can stress and emphasize the certain themes and ideas. For example, within the introductory paragraphs, Malcolm constantly expresses "it's my [his] third time here" (X 147). This is an attempt to force the fact that he is a competent and experienced speaker."
Tags: rallying-cry repetition, colloquialistic expressions, rhetorical questions, human
A discussion on whether judges, who are responsible for interpreting the law under Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms, should have have restrictions imposed on their interpretive powers.
675 words (approx. 2.7 pages), 0 sources, 2006, $ 26.95
Abstract The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom protects important freedoms of all Canadians such as freedom of the press, religion, and expression. However, the implementation of the law, which allows almost unlimited power for judges to interpret the rights as they see fit, is worrying. This paper discusses the needs for limits on judges' interpretive powers.
Abstract This paper discusses the period covered in the primary documentation associated with Chapter 19 of Eric Foner's "Voices of Freedom", as a period of transition. It states that the era surrounding World War I demonstrates a time when the definitions of intrinsic values were being challenged and reassessed almost on a constant basis. From 1916-1920 America was involved in reformulating what values it was said to hold dear and the official take on what those values mean was often one that did not meet with everyone's approval. From President Wilson's speech admonishing American business for being too isolationist and short sited in international dealings to the final work in which Fitch expresses the context of regional labor strikes, there is a sense of a collective demand for change as well as a reassertion of the cries for freedom and even a reevaluation of the very definitions of freedom and democracy. Furthermore, the author asserts that each of these messages, from texts and transcripts that were written and felt between 1916 and 1920, is a timely message about the modern world.
From the Paper "Realizing with new zest and fear of democracy not being the underpinning of this peaceful conquest that Wilson speaks of a law is passed that bans free speech, when such speech could be seen as contrary to the cause of WWI and democracy, Congress and Wilson pass the Espionage act of 1917, creating yet another reason for protest, of the forgetting of the derisive nature of the past. Debs, in his speech could be talking about the Patriot Act, allowing government to overstep its constitutional boundaries, once again, some would say. Debs admonishes congress and the officials overseeing his trial, again naming names. (94-98) Bourne discusses disenfranchisement, as it is associated with old versus new immigrants and rightfully asks the do-gooders trying to Americanize immigrants to remember that they were also once immigrants who were given credit for establishing freedom and now taking it away by forcing their own brand of Americanism on the new comers."
Tags: values america era freedom democracy, modern world
Abstract In this paper the author argues that "hate speeches", however abhorrent, should be protected by the U.S. Constitution, that in the interest of free speech, they should be allowed. He suggests that this is synonymous with American freedom and refers to some specific examples in order to assess whether hate speeches should be protected under the First Amendment. The author contends that as long as we are free to judge the importance of what is being said for ourselves, then words should never be banned.
From the paper:
?Words are serious, not because they have any direct effect in their own right, but because words, and the ideas they express, are what we use to weigh up our own decisions, their likely effects, and our responsibilities. Words have consequences only if we choose to give them consequences.?
This paper compares the writings of George Washington, J. Hector St. John Crevecoeur and Theodore Roosevelt to the writings of Frederick Douglass as expressed in his book "My Bondage and My Freedom".
Abstract This paper explains that the hard work and sense of freedom mentioned by writers like Washington, Crevecoeur and others differs markedly from what Douglass says about the American ideal; this fact is not surprising because Douglass and his immediate ancestors did not come to America on their own but were removed by force from their native land and made to work as slaves. The author points out that Douglass never sees himself as an American because, as a slave, he was kept him from belonging to any society of free men until he left slavery and entered a new world. The paper relates that Douglass moved from one oppressed minority to another--the free slave constituting another oppressed group, but this did not make Douglass any less an American in cultural terms but never as the ideal and fully connected American referred to by Washington and Crevecoeur.
From the Paper "Douglass himself, however, suggests otherwise in some of hits statements, such as when he writes in an 1846 letter to Garrison that he has no nation of his own. This sense of not having a nation is clearly part of the life of early Americans who, at the time of the Revolutionary War, denied their ties to Britain and sought to create a nation because they did not have one. In the American tradition, Douglass harks back to this same idea, emerging as he did from a slave world where he had no nation, and then finding ways to recreate both himself and his ties with the country over time. His writings are clearly American as they express a similar dedication to certain core values which, admittedly, the nation has not always lived up to, as it should."
Abstract This paper explains that Helen Longino argues in her article "Pornography, Oppression and Freedom: A Closer Look" that pornography by its nature is harmful to women and should be controlled and eliminated. The author maintains that Longino bases this position on tenuous distinctions between pornography and erotica and on the liberal use of universal claims about the effect that pornography has on women and their place in society. The paper contends that, despite her superficially well-reasoned article, a closer examination of Longino's claims and analysis reveals problems that undermine her argument. The paper then asserts that pornography cannot be considered necessarily and categorically harmful to women. The paper concludes that the marginal harm that pornography might cause in isolated incidents is not great enough to justify banning pornography and restricting this form of sexual expression.
From the Paper "Longino argues that these harms are cause enough to invoke laws and regulations that would limit freedom of expression and sexual expression. But are these harms entirely plausible? Is the potential for these harms to be realized justification enough to ban pornography. F.M. Christensen would say no, that efforts to ban pornography through limitations on freedoms--especially freedom of expression--is reprehensible and much more harmful to society than the potential ills of pornography. On this point, I agree with Christensen."
Abstract This paper looks at the "Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah" Supreme Court decision of 1993 and its significance to the issue of freedom of religion. In particular, it discusses the legal rationale informing the High Court's final decision and the strength of the final decision. It also briefly describes the relationship of the case to previous court precedents. Finally, the paper analyzes the legal and political repercussions of the ruling and looks at the current status of the law.
From the Paper "As an important addendum to what has been written thus far, it must be noted that the "strength" of the final decision was fairly conclusive: despite three concurrences by Justices Scalia, Souter and Blackmun and a separate opinion by Kennedy, the final Court decision appears to have been a unanimous one - although the concurrences are interesting to read more than thirteen years after their original publication inasmuch as they show curious divergences among the Justices vis-a-vis certain subtleties in the interpretation of constitutional freedoms/protections for religious groups. Most notably, Justice Scalia opposed Section Two of Part II-A of the Court's opinion on the grounds that it paid scant attention to the fact that "neutral" or "generally applicable" laws can also be laws that target a particular religion for invidious distinction and discriminatory treatment. Nonetheless, one would be hard-pressed to argue that the presiding Justices disagreed on the fundamental question of whether or not the Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye was a victim of discrimination."
Abstract This paper examines the concept of freedom and looks at five different views of freedom. The paper uses e.e. cummings' poem, "and freedom is a breakfast food", and a poem by Alfred Tennyson as examples of different concepts of freedom and ten discusses the inherent contradictions in the concept of freedom.
From the Paper "The themes of this poem are the fleeting nature of all things in life, including intellectual concepts such as freedom and how all these things are always juxtaposed with their opposite. The poem begins with the title line, "as freedom is a breakfast food", suggesting that freedom is the nourishment that gets people through the day. The rest of the poem compares and contrast things with their elementary parts. For example, truth can live with right and wrong..."
Abstract This paper is a research report on an experiment in whether facial expression influences emotions, following the view of many that research supports the idea of the facial feedback hypothesis that holds that making a facial expression can alter the individual's subjective feelings in the direction of that feeling represented by the facial expression. It examines how some believe that making such a facial expression can actually cause the related emotion, while others hold that it can only intensify that emotion that is already felt.
From the Paper "Research has long been conducted on the connection between expressive behavior and the emotion experienced, much of it based on facial expressions and what they really mean. This research considers some of what has been developed in the literature regarding this topic and then tests the connection between facial expressions and emotions experienced, serving as a test of the facial feedback hypothesis that holds that making a facial expression can alter the individual's subjective feelings in the direction of that feeling represented by the facial expression. In simpler terms, if you smile, you begin to feel happier. Some believe that making such a facial expression can actually cause the related emotion, while others hold that it can only intensify that emotion that is already felt."
Abstract This essay discusses how Locke and Rousseau had two very different conceptions of human freedom. Rousseau's vision entailed a society where the individual's will was subordinate to the "general will." Locke, meanwhile, believed that freedom was impossible if individual freedom was not at the root of society.
Abstract This paper examines the role of facial expressions in interpersonal communications. The paper first discusses what type of messages conveyed by facial expressions are most effective in interpersonal relationships. Next the paper looks at the use of facial expressions to convey emotional meaning and context. The paper also discusses attribution theory as it pertains -- i.e. the inferences people make based on the information conveyed through the communication process.
From the Paper "This paper reviews literature relevant to the role of facial expressions in interpersonal communications. One research question is investigated through the conduct of the literature review. The research question in..."
Abstract An in-depth discussion of the meaning of freedom in American society. The author argues that freedom can only be obtained and can only have meaning on an individual level. He then supports this by examining the extent of which we are actually 'free' in American society arguing that complete freedom is still not evident.
From the Paper "Freedom is a nonentity, an abstract illusion that represents human wanting and desire for an ideal society. It is not on paper or in a word, freedom exits only in dreams or on the wings of a bird. American identity, as in the works of Douglass and Chopin, was founded on a belief in freedom but is better described by its slavery and repression. Freedom has always belonged to select groups and peoples. Every group and people to come to America, since it became America, has suffered great injustices and repression regardless of their background. America made a great industry of black slavery and black exploitation, women are still struggling to break the bounds of their slavery days and there are always new groups that are targeted every day."
Abstract Rousseau's Discourse on Inequality puts forth the ideas about human beings as a part of nature, but distinct from their natural freedoms because of civilization and social organizations. Rousseau's key idea is that in order to live with equality, we must be prepared to give up freedoms in order to work together so that a community structure can be co-produced. For Rousseau, personal freedom comes at too high a social cost, and so communitarianism is argued as a way to produce social equality.
Abstract Section 2 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms identifies Canadians' fundamental freedoms of thought and religion. This discussion assesses its application in the last twenty years. The emphasis is on issues of religious observance-'Sunday shopping' and prayer in schools-and the issue of 'hate crimes' such as holocaust denial.
