| Papers [1-15] of 26 :: [Page 1 of 2] | | Go to page : 1 2 —> | Search results on "GEERTZ CLIFFORD": |
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Clifford Geertz and Joseph Conrad, 2002.
Uses Clifford Geertz's method of understanding a culture to analyze Joseph Conrad's novel, "Heart of Darkness".
770 words (approx. 3.1 pages), 2 sources, MLA, $ 27.95
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Abstract
This paper takes the approach, used by Clifford Geertz in "Islam Observed", of understanding culture through metaphor. The paper points out that Geertz used man as a metaphor for society and the contradictions within man as a metaphor for the greater contradictions within society. It then goes on to analyze Joseph Conrad's book, "Heart of Darkness", by analyzing the characters in the novel as though they were a metaphor for the different aspects of European society of that period.
From the Paper
"Kurtz figure hangs over the entire novel like an extremely intriguing enigma. Everything we hear about him initially is a positive?he is a man of the utmost learning and the greatest kindness and ability who seems to have gained everyone?s respect. But something about him has gone wrong and something has changed him."
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Clifford Vs. Descartes, 2008.
This paper discusses W.K. Clifford's and Renee Descartes' respective points of view regarding evidence and belief.
1,311 words (approx. 5.2 pages), 1 source, APA, $ 44.95
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Abstract
The paper explains that while Descartes relied upon rationalism to its furthest extents to indicate what propositions were likely to be true and what false, Clifford expressed an extreme form of empiricism with regard to metaphysical truth. The paper shows how these two points of view are utterly incongruous in the real world, as well as within the realm of philosophy.
From the Paper
"To a large extent, Clifford's and Descartes' points of view regarding evidence and belief could not create a more stark contrast. Whereas Descartes relied upon rationalism to its furthest extents to indicate what propositions were likely to be true and which were likely to be false, Clifford expressed an extreme form of empiricism, with regard to metaphysical truth. According to Clifford, it is morally wrong in every instance to believe any proposition for which there is insufficient empirical evidence. However, he does not provide a clearly workable formula or method by which to determine at what point evidence becomes sufficient to ascribe one's belief to a given proposition. Descartes, from his rationalistic point of view, explicitly suggests a manner by which claims can be said to be false--if there is sufficient cause to doubt them."
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"Cyberschool" by Clifford Stoll, 2008.
An explanation of the satirical essay, "Cyberschool" written by Clifford Stoll.
876 words (approx. 3.5 pages), 0 sources, $ 31.95
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Abstract
This paper presents an explanation of the essay entitled "Cyberschool," written by Clifford Stoll, noting that it is an example of an extremely satirical and informal piece. The paper states that this essay is a great representation of the workings of satire, and an interesting exploration of how assumptions without factual backing result in weak arguments based solely on opinion and stereotypes.
From the Paper
"The essay entitled "Cyberschool," written by Clifford Stoll, is an example of an extremely satirical and informal piece. Stoll explores the impractical aspects of extreme educational reform with the use of too much technology. His piece shows how these reform strategies fail to truly recognize the real issues of educational problems, and how these theories fall short of what they are trying to accomplish. The original audience would have been very familiar with ideas of solving all educational problems through extensive use of technology. These arguments have been increasing since the explosion of the internet, and so Stoll assumes his readers would have been familiar with the conversation which he enters himself into."
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Cultural Systems and Social Status, 2008.
An analysis of Clifford Geertz's essay "Notes on the Balinese Cockfighting" and F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel "The Great Gatsby".
1,389 words (approx. 5.6 pages), 2 sources, MLA, $ 46.95
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Abstract
The paper explains anthropologist Clifford Geertz's belief in "Notes on the Balinese Cockfighting" that all societies contain cultural systems that contain heavily symbolic elements. The paper discusses Geertz's example of Balinese cockfighting where the social order is reflected in the wagering and the spatial organization of the game. The paper compares this to F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" and goes on to show how money, social invitations and material goods all signify deeper meanings than are apparent on their surface.
From the Paper
"According to the anthropologist Clifford Geertz, all societies contain cultural systems that can be read as texts. For example, the rituals surrounding cockfighting in Balinese culture, Geertz argues can be interpreted and re-interpreted much like we interpret "Macbeth" in an English class. Cultural systems contain heavily symbolic elements that can reveal aspects of the culture. Such systems are dynamic and work to affect and change the culture. In Balinese cockfighting, the social order is both reflected in the wagering and the spatial organization of the game in a way that is symbolic, and transcends the ability to make money from betting. The process of playing the game affects the culture and expresses the culture."
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"Islam Observed", 2002.
Examining the book "Islam Observed",by Clifford Geertz - a study of Islam in Indonesia and Morocco.
750 words (approx. 3.0 pages), 0 sources, $ 26.95
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Abstract
This paper shows how, in his book, Geertz offers a general context for the comparative analysis of religion and applies it to the study of the development of Islam in two very different countries: Indonesia and Morocco. The paper looks at Geertz?s sentiments regarding religion, ideology and culture, and how he addresses these considerations in his book.
From the Paper
"In comparing religious practices in two communities, Geertz is trying to ?determine just how and in what way particular ideas, acts, and institutions sustain, fail to sustain, or even inhibit religious faiths." (2). Geertz wonders how the common man?s ?religious sensibility reacts when the machinery of faith begins to wear out? What do they do when tradition falters?" (3) Moreover, the author wonders particularly what cultural and circumstantial processes influence those reactions."
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Religion and Communism, 2005.
A comparative analysis of Clifford Geertz's "Religion as a Cultural System" and Catholic anti-communism.
1,595 words (approx. 6.4 pages), 5 sources, MLA, $ 52.95
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Abstract
This paper examines how the theory proposed by Geertz in "Religion as a Cultural System," compared to the general belief system of communism, shows that religion and communism have much in common. It looks at how they both rely heavily on symbols to motivate people and provoke emotions and how, socially and psychologically, religion and communism seek to unify people to think and act in conformity with a higher order.
From the Paper
"Geertz's approach involves both analyzing the system of meanings embodied within religious symbols and relating these systems to social structures and psychological processes. This second aspect can be described as saying that once people have incorporated these symbolic meanings into their life, they can use them socially and psychologically to further the cause, their own development or to impact the world."
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Jumping to Conclusions: ?Balinese Cockfight? and ?Bowling for Colombine?, 2004.
This paper compares the anthropological techniques used by Clifford Geertz in his book, ?Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight?, and Michael Moore, in his film, ?Bowling for Colombine".
1,220 words (approx. 4.9 pages), 2 sources, $ 41.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses that, when most people observe aspects of an issue that they are studying, it is often difficult not to come up with certain generalizations regarding aspects of a society. The author believes that, through their observations and studies, Geertz and Moore are able to find some in-depth looks at the societies they study; but they come up with some general conclusions in a scientific way, without enough evidence to support them.
From the Paper
"Through applying certain anthropological methods, Clifford Geertz makes some strong points in his study of the Balinese cockfights. In order for him to study appropriately the Balinese cockfights, it was essential for him to become more of a part of the Balinese culture. Only by this can an anthropologist obtain a better understanding and a more in-depth perspective of a certain aspect of a society. Most people that would observe the cockfights would view it as a spectator sport, without much meaning behind the activity. After all, the Balinese government ruled the cockfights illegal and was ashamed that the fights were part of the Balinese culture."
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Approaches of Anthropologists, 2003.
Examines Clifford Geertz's semiotic approach to the study of culture.
1,125 words (approx. 4.5 pages), 13 sources, $ 39.95
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Abstract
Discusses the emphasis on symbolism and the importance of the signs and symbols of a culture. Examines the meaning of traditions and rituals, Bronislaw Malinowski's holistic approach, and his theory of Functionalism.
From the Paper
"Clifford Geertz studied the Javanese, Balinese, and Moroccan cultures (Coe, 2002). His work focused on a cultures words, images, institutions, and behaviors, and he believes these to be symbolic forms. The most important part of his work is his emphasis..."
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Thick Description, 2002.
Analytical research paper that reviews the historical as well as a highly political event pertaining to the September 11 in the light of the ?Thick Description? analysis as explained by Clifford Geertz.
1,468 words (approx. 5.9 pages), 3 sources, MLA, $ 48.95
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Abstract
This paper attempts to provide a brief analysis of September 11, 2002 in the light of thick description. It uses a semiotic approach to cultural analysis to facilitate a better understanding of cultural differences and their impact on the world today.
From the Paper
"Since, the ?cultural theory is not a master of itself, it is not heavily predictive or a mere post facto? (Geertz, p. 26) therefore the thick description vehemently opposes considering the theoretical context of the cultural similarities and dissimilarities. Thus as an ethnographer, I have applied thick description to this new interpretive political event of September 11, 2002 thereby basically focusing on the symbolic signs either dormant or apparent in the process of the review and research as well as interpretation. ?The aim is to draw large conclusions from small but very densely textured texts; to support broad assertions about the role of culture in the construction of collective life? (Geertz, p. 28)."
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From Modernism to Post-Modernism, 2005.
Describes the theories of four major thinkers of the modern and post-modern era, including Weber, Durkheim, Victor Turner and Clifford Geertz.
1,486 words (approx. 5.9 pages), 5 sources, APA, $ 49.95
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This paper summarizes the theories of these thinkers on the role of the individual and his/her relationship to the community. In conclusion, the author states that the thinking of Victor Turner is the most accurate and convincing.
From the Paper
"Two thinkers -- Max Weber and Emile Durkheim -- were late modernist thinkers who developed theories about the relation of the individual to society. Their theories were appropriate to the industrial societies in which they lived. With the end of World War Two and the rise of the post-modern period, however, different ways of conceiving of the individual and society arose that sought to break with modernist thinking, including the thought of Clifford Geertz and Victor Turner."
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Controversy on Religious Belief, 2002.
A comparison of William Kingdon Clifford's essay "The Ethics of Belief" and William James' essay "The Will to Believe".
5,217 words (approx. 20.9 pages), 8 sources, MLA, $ 129.95
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Abstract
A look at differing outlooks on religion as seen through the eyes of Clifford (mathematician and philosopher) and James (philosopher and psychologist). The paper asks if James' treatment of Clifford in "The Will to Believe" was fair? Were his arguments against Clifford consistent? Did he take into account all that Clifford wrote in "The Ethics of Belief"? The writer claims that the answer to all three questions is "No". The writer gives a brief exposition of both James' and Clifford's essays and then focuses on James' attack on Clifford.The paper refers to some passages in Clifford's "The Ethics of Religion" and also to James's "The Sentiment of Rationality."
From the Paper
"The topic of Clifford?s paper is revealed in its title. It is about ethics and belief?and that only. It is not about deciding to act, guessing or gambling, nor about hypotheses. According to Clifford, ?it is wrong, always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence? (DDR, 181). Put otherwise, whenever we have insufficient evidence, we have a moral duty to suspend judgment and to go on inquiring. Clifford introduces his thesis through two stories. I will give the highlights of only the first one since the second story, though different, adds only reinforcement to the points already demonstrated in the first. A ship owner faces a dilemma; he has doubts as to the seaworthiness of his vessel. He stifles those doubts by working on them, by trying to convince himself that his fears have no ground. He lets the ship sail. It sinks. But our ship owner?s culpability goes undiscovered; not a witness survives to tell the tale. And the insurance company pays up. Clifford judges, as the majority of us I am sure would, that the ship owner did wrong. Suppose, he adds, that the belief, nourished and fostered by attention only to favorable evidence (unfavorable evidence not being conducive to establishing the wanted belief), has taken a genuine hold. The verdict, he thinks, still stands. And he is right again. "
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Art As A Cultural System, 2002.
Analysis of art as an intellectual and emotional aesthetic response.
1,350 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 4 sources, $ 47.95
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Analysis of art as an intellectual and emtoional aeathetic response. Discusses Clifford Geertz's theory of art forms and their cultural context. The meaning perceived in aesthetic form and objects. Applies Geertz's framework to Abstract Expressionism as it developed in the post-World War II period. Limitations of Geertz's theory. Critical views of Clement Greenberg and Lucie-Smith.
From the Paper
"Clifford Geertz (1983) has proposed a theory of art as a cultural system in which the response to aesthetics is both intellectual and emotional, or rooted in one's feelings. These feelings in turn are seen as rooted in culture, itself manifested in the varied expressions of religion, morality, science, commerce, technology, politics, amusements, law, and even in the societal organization of everyday practical existence. Geertz (1983, p. 96) argues that talk about art tends to move beyond the technical and even the spiritualization of the technical and is directed to "placing it within the context of these other expressions of human purpose and the pattern of experience they collectively explain."
Art, therefore, is very much a product, expression, symbol, and commentary upon the artist and the society in which the ..."
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Role of the Anthropologist, 2003.
Discusses two different views of culture.
1,800 words (approx. 7.2 pages), 10 sources, $ 63.95
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Examines Clifford Geertz's theory of symbolism and Bronislaw Malinowski's theory of functionalism. Discusses the different backgrounds and approaches of both anthropologists. Considers Malinowski's field work in New Guinea, 1915-1918.
From the Paper
"Clifford Geertz and Bronislaw Malinowski represent two very different views on the role of the anthropologist. The difference lies in their definition of culture, Geertz favoring symbolism and Malinowski favoring functionalism. This leads to different ..."
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Inventing the Other, 2006.
An analysis of the concept of inventing the 'other', based on Clifford D. Simak's "City", "Way Station", "Time and Again" and "Highway of Eternity."
13,099 words (approx. 52.4 pages), 38 sources, APA, $ 248.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses four of Clifford D. Simak's novels - "City" (written from 1944 to 1974), "Time and Again" (1951), "Way Station" (1963) and "Highway of Eternity" (1986). The paper describes the invention of the 'other' in Simak's novels and how it manifests itself in three different sub-patterns which can be regarded as the building blocks of a larger process of his writing.
Table of Contents:
Table of Abbreviations
Introduction
Chapter I: The Self and the Other
Author and Context
Imagining the Other
Chapter II: Clifford Simak's Writing Process
The Other - Some Technical Aspects
Representing the Writing Process
Chapter III: The Author Representing the Self
Reader and Writer
The Figures of the Writer
Conclusion
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
From the Paper
"When I considered the title of the present thesis and the literary genre the following study was to be based upon, it seemed difficult not to view the whole with a certain suspicion simply because of the juxtaposition of the terms "inventing" and "Other". On the one hand, SF is predisposed to speculation about new inventions - technological, scientific, political, economic and even sociological. On the other hand, the concern about the "Other" and all the problems the notion automatically generates have for long stood at the basis of criticism in the field. The impossibility to come to terms with the plethora of creatures that authors reinvent all the time and that are frequently labelled "the Other" often results in conflicting theories about the importance of finding and preserving one's identity. Simultaneously, the traditional SF issues of alienation are often dismissed as foolproof demands for toleration on the author's part. Looking back at a genre with a history of almost a century, it seems that it has forged itself the reputation of being a medium where repetitive attempts are made to deal with all these notions more or less successfully. Taken separately, "inventing" and "other" are not very likely to stir one's attention on the account of sheer originality. Taken together, however, both notions appear to pose a different problem where the Other is considered as an invention on the same level with the rest of the SF paraphernalia. The Other becomes a personal and sociological invention and to treat it as such would mean to invest the notion with sense that might not necessarily have been there had I chosen a more descriptive approach.The definition of the Other has proved to be complex just because it is most often based on what is repeatedly called "the Self" in many works of literary criticism, philosophy and psychoanalysis. It is somewhat problematic to get out of the vicious circle that is formed when we realise that "the Self" itself is only definable when in contact with that same Other we are trying to describe. There is rarely a short story or a novel in the genre that has not described the contact between a human and alien of some sort and these stories inevitably propose their own reflection on the human condition. Apparently, humanity has desperately been trying to seem unique, no matter whether that uniqueness be negatively or positively charged and most of the SF we know is directly or indirectly, exclusively or partly concerned with corroborating that impression. An awareness of the inverse, however, started to plague humanity hundreds of years before the beginning of what we now call the Golden Age of SF. All claims to uniqueness were overthrown when Galileo first peeped through a trinket he had bought on the market and used it to study the visible sky. The fixed, immutable identity that humanity had fabricated for itself was no longer stable and reassuring. From then on, the possibility of a contact with forms of life unknown to us has never ceased to grow and to comprehend the manifestly incongruous idea, the need to imagine an otherness not only within but without our world imposed itself. The invented Other came to be and it was there, invisible and yet staring down at a world plunged in confusion, a world that would never seem the same. This study is, therefore, an attempt to direct the attention to the numerous manifestations of that fictional Other. It will be based on the Other that comes into existence only within the limited space of a Simak novel because the notion "the Other" has a definite meaning only when it is being invented by a specific author in a specific text."
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The Existence of God, 2004.
An examination of the thoughts of influential thinkers like W. K. Clifford, William James, Blaise Pascal, and William P. Alston regarding the existence of God.
1,583 words (approx. 6.3 pages), 3 sources, MLA, $ 51.95
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This paper looks at how W. K. Clifford's "The Ethics of Belief", William James's "The Will to Believe", Blaise Pascal's "The Wager" ,and William P. Alston's "A Philosopher's Way Back to the Faith" all give different arguments about the existence of God. It discusses how, while each argument is interesting and constructive, William James?s argument for the individual right to believe or not to believe seems to be the most workable of all of the lines of thought noted here.
From the Paper
"The super-dominance argument is simply a form of a two by two table, with the condition that God exists or does not exist matched with either your belief in God or your failure to believe in God. If you believe in God, and he exists you receive an infinite reward. If you believe in God, and he does not exist, then you receive a finite amount of happiness because of the comfort of religion while you are alive (which Pascal sets at about 250 units). If you do not believe in God, and he exists, you will receive infinite punishment. However, you do not believe in God, and God does not exist, you will receive a finite amount of happiness, limited to 200 units because of choosing angst over the comfort of religion. As such, whether God exists or not, theists are better off than atheists, making a belief in God the most rational belief."
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