Abstract
This paper discusses chapter 13 of Anthony Shadid's chronicle of the American military's recent experience in Baghdad, "Night Draws Near." The paper discusses the title of the chapter, "A Bad Muslim" and then looks specifically at American incomprehension of the Middle East and how it is a reoccurring pattern in American history. The paper looks at how Shadid's chapter 13 reflects this incomprehension.

From the Paper
"American incomprehension of the Middle East is a reoccurring pattern in American history. It lies partially misunderstanding of how America's close ties with Israel make it seem partisan in Arab eyes, not a neutral force as it regards itself, in its own democratic vision. It lies partially in the American ideal of secularism that is so anathema to the Middle East. Americans thought that ancient rivalries in Iraq could be swept away with new a new form of governance, with democratic ideals that America regards as universal ideals, and with superior but just military force. America thought that the terrors of the Saddam Hussein regime were enough to eradicate the hatred of America and the ideology of militant Islam. Instead, the chaos of civil war made religion and the identity afforded by nationalism even more comforting to Iraqis. Of course, it is not only in the Middle East that America has made this mistake: "Their destiny will be the same as in Vietnam," says one Iraqi (285). Hearing unfortunate American involvement in a foreign land analogized with Vietnam is nothing new for Americans, but it sounds especially chilling in the voice of an Iraqi, not just in the voice of an American critiquing the Iraqi war."

Tags:Islam, democracy, mindset, secular

Abstract
In this article, the writer mentions that the labor movement had cemented the concept of leisure time into the middle-class, Canadian mindset permanently. The writer points out that the development of institutionalized hockey in early Canadian life was a way to define the meaning of the sport, understand why it was played, and how these factors contributed to social life and behavior. Further, the writer maintains that hockey played an important part in the formation of early Canadian stuff.

From the Paper
"Canadian culture is an elusive concept. The vast geography of the country, coupled with hundreds of years of steady immigration, make any single national phenomenon difficult to define. One cultural factor that many Canadians can agree on is the national sport of hockey. In the book Hockey Night in Canada, Richard Gruneau and David Whitson examine this cultural phenomenon and how it affects the Canadian mindset. The authors state at the beginning of Chapter 2 that "one of the many indicators of hockey's growing importance in Canadian popular culture" was the fierce debate that continues to rage over where in the country the game first originated. The three cities vying for the title seem ... "

Tags:hockey, history, cultural

Abstract
Historians have always looked to literature for insight into how a culture functioned, what it valued, and how its people lived. Today, when studying the Middle East, many would not only read the Qu'ran, but also "The Arabian Nights", the folklore. The paper shows that when we read "Arabian Nights" we understand a great deal more of how the Arabic people actually lived. Perhaps the most evident discrepancy between the teachings of the Qu'ran and the "Arabian Nights" tales pertains to the view and treatment of Middle Eastern women.

From the Paper
"This method of seclusion is dramatically illustrated in The Arabian Nights where we hear the story of the demon that locked his wife in a chest and carried her about as if she were his private property. Yet ironically the authors of the Arabian Nights convey in this same story that not even this extreme could prevent a willful woman from knowing other men."

Tags:koran, sha'aban

Abstract
This narrative paper is about an experience that changed the author's life. Sometimes, we take people for granted. This paper shows the emotional lessons learned from a near-death experience by a close member of the family.

From the Paper
"Two months went by and it was Thanksgiving Day. We have a tradition where everyone at the table gives a sentence or two for grace. Everyone said their part and I was last to give grace. I knew what I was going to say that morning. I said, "Let's give thanks to God and thank him for protecting my sister and healing her in her time of need when she needed it most." My sister teared up, reached over the table, gave me a big hug and said, "You're going to make me cry." To this day, I could never forget that call in the middle of the night. The whole experience has really humbled me and opened my eyes to the things I cherish everyday, even if they are the same as usual."

Tags:ER, hospital

Abstract
This paper argues that Margo Hendricks' argument that "A Midsummer Night's Dream" primarily touches on the issues of race, is inadequate if we consider the importance of the images of strong female characters such as Hippolyta and Titania and of the meaning of their ultimate defeat at the hands of patriarchal rulers Thesius and Oberon, respectively. The threat to patriarchal society that a mysterious community of women presents, identifies women as "other" in terms of gender, rather than race. The paper shows that Athens thus becomes a place where patriarchy is preserved, whereas the woods present the middle ground where connection between women is made but not fulfilled. India, however, remains a point of absolute freedom for women to create Amazon-like communities in which to thrive, with a constant need to defend their world from the devastating influence of male conquerors.

From the Paper
"Since the exotic world of Indian-Fairy women's connection is not subject to western European society's regulations, it is fully realized in a form of a changeling child. Contrasting this fantastic world of personal freedom of choice is the world of Athens; a patriarchal society upholding constrains on women's choices from which Helena and Hermia have to escape to form a semblance of a connection they long for. As Lysander states how he "...did meet thee (Hermia) once with Helena/To do observance to a morn of May" (1.1.168-170), the reader is introduced to the meaning that the forest outside of Athens had for the two girls, as Mayday is historically a time when young people unite with the person they love."

Tags:liberation, Thisbe, Titania

Abstract
This paper discusses the history of the Arabian and Islamic business culture. It explains the history of bartering and trading that was common in the Middle East and examines how this culture expanded to modern day business practices.

From the Paper
"Visit New York and walk Wall Street, fly to London and stroll down Oxford Street. In every great city, in every great culture there is a marketplace. From centuries ago to modern day, people have always converged on a common locale to do business and to exchange goods and services. The Middle East, in fact, helped define the future of economics by pioneering new business tactics and concepts that vastly improved the primitive trade and bartering of the medieval period. The Islamic economy was founded on the trade of goods and relied heavily on foreign suppliers to bring in foods, spices, cloths, precious metals, exotics, and even livestock. This continental trade created a need for a new innovative way of commerce and the Islamic nation rose to that task creating a trading hub that linked Asia with Europe and Africa."

Tags:arab, arabian, business, east, economic, government, loans, middle, nights, taxes, west

Abstract
With the age of expansion and exploration in both Europe and Asia, there would come a time when the two worlds would inevitably converge. That junction between Europe and Asia came to be called the Middle East. This paper explores the influences of the Arabic culture on Europe, more specifically, the effect of Arabian musical traditions on the world?s musical tastes. In examining the musical development of Western cultures, it becomes evident that the nations of Islam contributed, not only to its advancement, but also its direction, chiefly in preserving and spreading the scholastic ideas on music held by Greece, Rome, and the Middle East.

From the Paper
"Furthermore, the invasion and fall of the Byzantine Empire by the Muslim nations brought about a migration of intellectuals from the capital, Constantinople, to the island of Crete and the great seaports of Venice. It was the influx of these intellectual thinkers coupled with the invention of the printing press that served as a catalyst for the Italian renaissance. The scholars that fled the turbulent scene of Constantinople brought with them not only many texts in both Greek and Latin, but also the ideas that facilitated the Renaissance movement."

Tags:arabian, nights, rhythm, Bayt, al-Hikmah, Badr, al-Din

Abstract
Eighteenth century Enlightenment author, Voltaire's title character, "Zadig" possesses every virtue and material good needed for happiness, yet he is constantly tossed about by fate, at the mercy of the some of the worst luck imaginable. The paper shows that the questions that are raised, therefore, involve the conditions on which happiness depends, the qualities needed to be happy, the effects that evil persons can have on one's happiness and the role played by merit, fate, chance or Providence in one's life. The paper shows that these were not new questions when Voltaire raised them in the middle of the eighteenth century. They were central issues that had absorbed the Greeks more than one thousand years before "Zadig" was invented. The paper shows how this theme of human happiness was reflected in their art (such as Sophocles' play "Oedipus Tyrannus"), in their histories (the writings of Herodotus and Thucydides) and in their philosophy (Plato's "Republic"). The paper looks at the similarities and differences between the philosophies during both time periods.

From the Paper
"The Greeks had far less difficulty with this question because they were more fatalistic and convinced that the individual's destiny was, in many respects, set by the gods and could not be altered--no matter how exemplary his behavior. This is certainly the case with Oedipus who, in Sophocles' play, is doomed to live out the terms of the prophecy no matter what efforts he makes to avoid it and no matter how exemplary a person he becomes. He is, in many respects, an ideal ruler and a good man, but when the horror of his fate is made known to him it is clear that these attributes and behaviors had nothing to do with his eventual fate. The Chorus generalizes from his experience saying that with Oedipus' fate as an example "nothing pertaining to man is enviable" (453)."

Tags:Thousand, and, One, Nights, Melian, Jesrad

Abstract
Robert Frosts works, particularly those of his later life, focused intently upon the management of his feelings about death. "Tuft of Flowers", demonstrates a sense of the universal understanding. "Tuft of Flowers", is inherently a social expression. "Seeking with memories grown dim o'er night / Some resting flower of yesterday's delight". The theme of continuity and time is found throughout the poem. By placing the time of the poem in the noontime of the day places us in the middle of life as we meet the narrator.

Tags:tuft, of, flowers

Abstract
This paper describes the battle of the sexes through writings in English literature. It includes quotes from Chaucer, Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night", Milton's "Paradise Lost", and Gay's "The Beggar's Opera". The time period ranges from the middle ages, the renaissance, to the enlightenment. All quotes are from the Norton Anthology Seventh edition and are sited according to MLA format.

From the Paper
"From the beginning of time, the battle of the sexes has been a ferocious conflict; a conflict where women have often been on the losing side. This is truly evident from reading early English literature. Men have had the dominate roles over their women counterparts no matter what the prevailing time period was. Although women's rights diminished and replenished over the centuries, there was never a time when men and women were considered to be equal."

Tags:conflict, enlightenment, renaissance, rights, role, women, novel, literature, gender