Essay The Berdache of Early American Conquest - 3448 Words

The Berdache of Early American Conquest Methodological Introduction This paper attempts to link the facet of queer theory that explains gender and sexuality as culturally constructed identities, with the presence of the berdache in the New World at the time of the Spanish conquest. By analyzing the construction of gender and sexuality among the native peoples, in contrast to the ideologies of the Spanish, I found a clash arose which explained, in some sense, the incompatibility of the two cultures. The differences between the two cultures gender construction established support for the very unnatural or inessential nature of gender, sexuality, and the body as a means of self-identity. By realizing the issue of power and†¦show more content†¦The clash of gender identity existing between these two cultures led to misrepresentations of the natives by the Spaniards. It is also necessary, before diving into the concepts of this paper, that I elucidate the terms which I will be using, as they are easily confused. Gender, in the context of this paper will describe the sets of culturally prescribed behaviors, actions, and functions assigned to a particular sex. Sex, when used as an adjective, will refer to the biological or chromosomal physical identity which separates males from females. Sexuality, like gender, will be used to define individuals on the basis of their cultural/social role within society, but not as an unchangeable feature of a persons identity. It is important to distinguish the meaning of these terms because as they are commonly used, they are usually considered synonyms in some way. By separating and elucidating their meanings, I hope to further press the queer theorist argument that gender and identity within ones sexuality are deeply imbedded in social influences. The Berdache of Early American Conquest The Spanish encountered many things upon treading their first steps onto the soil of a new and mysterious continent. The natives were a group so foreign, the Spaniards questioned whether they were even human. This experience of contact, then conquest and colonization introduced

The Good Woman of Sezuan Essay Example For Students

The Good Woman of Sezuan Essay The newest production of The Good Woman of Sezuan in repertory at the Ensemble, starring Carmen-Maja Antoni, is a powerful mirror of Germanys current sociopolitical predicament. Brechts Sezuan has all too much in common with post-unification Berlin both are unpredictable environments where fear and uncertainty, as well as increasing unemployment and homelessness, are rife. In resident director Alejandro Quintanas production, the divided citizen Shen Te Shui Ta epitomizes the dilemma of todays East Germans, especially East Berliners. Brechts play has often been understood in terms of universal dichotomies   whether moral (good versus evil), philosophical (feeling versus reason), sexual (female versus male), or ideological (the political left versus the right). But after watching the East Berlin production, I found the dualism more pointedly reflective of the doubleness within Germany itself, and specifically the doubleness within East Germans who now must adjust to life in a unified country.In Berlin the split has been most acute. Besides living insularly in a divided country for 40 years, the Wall and the nearby forbidden West provided inhabitants with a constant reminder of their dividedness. Now the Wall may have fallen, but after two years the East Berliner remains separated from his Western counterpart, both culturally and psychologically. And, in spite of the disappearance of the GDR, a particularly East German mentality seems to have remained intact: East Germans are now also alienated from themselves. Because of this national and psychological split, East Berliners play a double role these days, striving to maintain their old identification with a familiar society even as they don a mask to protect themselves in a new, unfamiliar social system. Although many former East Germans fee 1 as if they have been colonized by their capitalist West German relatives (they live in the new states of the Federal Republic), they have had little choice but to capitulate. This resulted in positive gains like freedom to travel or a family business as well as long-term losses like a job or a house; but as one understands from Shen Te, it may also mean learning to be ruthless, self-serving or even unethical in order to survive.Shen Tes tobacco shop represents a chance for her to start a new life. In a symbolic gesture, she stresses the importance of becoming a new person by giving a cigarette to her first customer, the Unemployed Man. During the prologue we realize how he lost his job: Cursing the gods, he enters several times to throw piles of bound notebooks on stage, ostensibly citizen files kept by East Germanys secret police, the Stasi. In the real new Germany, many former Party functionaries and unofficial Stasi-informers the old gods have lost their jobs, but just as many still prosper.Brechts play has always provoked audiences with its dichotomy ethics and economics, but the Berliner Ensemble production goes further to generate striking parallels to current issues in Germany. Although Sezuans gods worry that their involvement in economics might be morally misunderstood, economics regulates the ethical code. Just as the Sezuan gods give Shen Te a monetary incentive to remain good, the ex-gods from the GDR distributed attractive awards, bonuses and privileges to loyal and good citizens of the state. And the new gods from Bonn used economics to lure the East Germans into the unification process.In production, the gods-as-bureaucrats are dressed in the stereotypical garb of spies: black trenchcoats, hats and briefcases. The Stasi? West German secret servicemen? The spectators obviously enjoy seeing the hypocritical higher ups caricatured. But as new Stasi-traitors are unmasked daily, the people of Berlin still may be emotionally too close to injuries inflicted by the secret police. Hefty applause follows the gods, comments about the contradiction between business and an honorable life. As Berliners seek to redefine their beliefs, the need for values like compassion conflicts with the cold materialism of the West.Heavy metal music punctuates the crucial first scenes Song of Smoke. Michael John LaChiusa: looking for love Essay Parodying the ancient convention of the deus ex machina, Brecht sends his gods back to the heavens without having restored order in Sezuan. In present-day Germany a bitter irony exists: a deus ex machina in the form of West Germany descended to play the role of mock savior. But this illusory liberation and Western welcome have caused enormous disappointment and problems. Not only is the breakneck pace of economic change and competition overwhelming, but the government that once assumed the role of guardian no longer exists. More new Germans see that they must take on individual responsibility for their freedom, even if it means coming to terms with accrued debts, a closed factory or deception. Those people who suffer unfair treatment by society may feel now that they have no choice but to behave basely in order to survive.This production of Good Woman cut Brechts epilogue, depriving the audience of a collective search for a solution. Instead, the bleak ending suggests that only a minority still believes in the so-called third way, an alternative form of socialism, which might have revived the decaying GDR. Dramaturg Jorg Mihan told me that the decision was both thematic and practical. The references to a I solution to Sezuan a new person new gods and new world ring hollow in 1992. It is clear that attempts to create a better world in the GDR failed. Recent polls in Berlin show that half of the Eastern respondents are bitter about the present economic situation. Such concern is shared by the Berliner Ensemble, whose financial fears are reflected in the endings allusions to potential bankruptcy.In Germanys new states the unification is likened to an annexation. The often insensitive attempts by West German politicians to remove all traces of the GDR intensify the alienation East Germans already feel. Whether they be changed street names, a decapitated Lenin statue or the disappearance of child-care centers, these steps invalidate a society that lasted 40 years. Yet each move made to negate aspects of the old regime only distinguishes more clearly what it meant to be an East German as opposed to a West German.I was surprised that many reviewers declared Good Woman irrelevant when it opened last spring. The production, they wrote, was neither daring nor political enough in its epilogue-less ending. Were the critics seeking a solution to Sezuan? Were they expecting historification to defamiliarize the setting enough so they could recognize its significance? Or could it be that even trained spectators did not have enough emotional distance from the unification to sense the productions resonance with the times?Rebecca Rovit is a theatre historian presently doing research in Germany about theatre under reunification. This article is the first in a series entitled After the Fall, reports from the countries where recent political change has affected the theatre. Future issues will feature essays about Russia, South Africa and Yugoslavia.

Natural Environment and Early Human Development free essay sample

In order to support the idea of nurture influences on early human development, psychologists have done some researches on several factors of early human development. One of these factors is motor development. All children go through the same stages which begin with rolling over and end by walking. However, it seems that motor behaviours can be improved by practice or encouragement. This belief is supported by Zelazo and Kolb (1972) who did an experiment where infants, who were given stepping practice during the first two months, began walking five to seven weeks earlier than babies who had no practice. Such a result can be considered as an environmental influence. Another factor, which has been researched, is speech development. Speech can be improved by more talking with babies or rewarding them for making speech sounds. Kagan (1979) claimed that children, who were reared in middle-class American homes, begin to speak one year earlier than children reared in some villages such as San Marcos due to the fact that these children, culturally, have little â€Å"verbal interaction† with adults. We will write a custom essay sample on Natural Environment and Early Human Development or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This research assures the importance of the environments, nurture, in early human development. In conclusion, psychologists and scientist have been arguing as to whether nature or nurture has more influence on early human development. As a result both heredity or the nature and environment or nurture are important factors in shaping human personality, but environment is the more important one. Because nature only goes so far whereas further growth and development is formed by the environments influence on early human development.

The Life Above and Beyond essays

The Life Above and Beyond essays Dont Knock the Rap: A Response to Venise Berrrys Redeeming the Rap Music Experience Rap music has been getting a bad rap from parents, legislators, and other authority figures ever since it first hit the American pop music scene in the early 1980s. Adults tend to see rap as having a harmful effect on its listeners, promoting violence, free sex, a bad image of women, and racist attitudes towards Jews, Koreans, and whites in general. In Redeeming the Rap Music Experience, Venise Berry argues that this rap is not deserved. In her view, rap music is morally pluralistic. By this she means that rap music portrays a wide range of attitudes. Some of those attitudes are very positive. Others are negative. But the negative attitudes let us see the problems and struggles of the community that produces rap music: the young, mostly black, urban community. Berry begins by explaining that rap music is similar to other kinds of African American music in that it captures the feelings and struggles of the community that produces it. Sprituals, blues, and jazz captured the feelings and struggles of the slaves, the early 20th century blacks, and the late 20th century blacks as they moved from bondage to segregation to wanting to state their identities as African Americans. The community that rap music comes out of is struggling with feelings of low self-esteem and powerlessness. These kids have to struggle with poverty, racism, lack of opportunity, and with mainstream America seeing them as deviants (p. 615). So they express their anger and helplessness in angry, sometimes violent songs. ...

Advantages and Disadvantages of Free International Trade

Advantages and Disadvantages of Free International Trade    Title of Coursework (please provide whole question) 2(a) Explain why free international trade can be good for countries’ economies, and examine the attempts to reduce trade barriers in the past decade. (maximum 1,000 words) 2 (b) What negative effects might free international trade have upon countries’ economies, and why might counties adopt protectionist policies? (maximum 1,000 words)    Question 2a, Explain why free international trade can be good for countries’ economies, and examine the attempts to reduce trade barriers in the past decade. Trade is a major engine of growth, both in developed and developing countries. Correspondingly, the opening of markets to allow for free trade internationally has been cited as a key factor boosting trade and economic growth globally over the years (OECD, 1999; 2003). There are a number of theories that highlight the reasons why countries should engage in international trade, and which cons equently enhance support for the argument for free trade. These include Adam Smith’s theory of absolute advantage, the theory of comparative advantage by David Ricardo, and other more recent theories (Mankiw, 2010). The theory of comparative advantage which is one of the most popular theories advocating free trade, posits that nations should specialise in the production of goods for which they have relative/comparative advantage, and exchange them for products from other countries with relative advantage in other products (Reuvid and Sherlock, 2011). Although this theory has some flaws, one of them being that it ignores limits in international demand that may exist for the specialised outputs of some countries (Reuvid and Sherlock, 2011), it nevertheless provides a strong argument for the promotion of free trade. Beyond theoretical reasons, statistics lend further support to the benefits of engaging in international trade. Sachs and Warner (1995), in a study to determine whet her nations open to trade are more prosperous, over a period from 1970 to 1989, reported that for developed countries, the rate of growth for open economies was 2.3% per year, and compared with 0.7% for closed economies. In developing countries, the gains were even higher, with a growth rate of 4.5% for open countries, as against 0.7% for closed countries. The OECD (2003) highlights other potential benefits of removing barriers to trade. They state that removing all tariffs on merchandise trade, and reducing the costs of trade by 1% of global trade value will boost overall welfare globally by over $170 billion a year, and this could add the equivalent of up to 2% to the current GDP of some regions. Other advantages of promoting free international trade through the removal of barriers are as follows: It gives customers greater choice by making available a wider variety of products, and also access to potentially cheaper and/or better quality goods. Removing price distortions encourag es the use of resources in a way that maximises the advantages offered by a country’s strengths/resources. In developing countries, these improvements in resource allocation and increased revenue from exports contribute to the national income and increase the resources available for further investments in development. It also enhances a country’s productivity and wealth (Love and Lattimore, 2009; Reuvid and Sherlock, 2011; The Economist, 2013b). These benefits have led to considerable attempts to reduce trade barriers, some of which shall be discussed subsequently.

Dye-Sentitised Solar Cells Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Dye-Sentitised Solar Cells - Essay Example ll (DSC), and their equivalence to process of photosynthesis5 6 Figure 2: Components of DSC11 10 Figure 3: common organic dyes with their conversion efficiency in DSC6 13 Figure 4: Molecular structures of Ruthenium based inorganic dye complexes18 14 Figure 5: Structure of Ru(II) NCS complex19 15 Figure 6 Photocurrent action spectra of bipyridine and Terpyridine dye along with photocurrent response of plain TiO2 films4 15 Figure 7: General structure of main betalain dyes extracted from red turnip and wild prickly pear. 1. Betacyanin, 2. Indicaxanthin. R1 and R2 = H (betanidin) or R1= ?-D-glucose and R2= H (betanin)14 17 Figure 8 Photoaction spectra of betalains from red turnip and wild prickly pear on transparent titania19 17 Figure 9: Photoaction spectra of Bchlorin 1 and Bchlorin 224 18 Figure 10: Iodide triodide redox couple25 19 Figure 11: Spirobifluorene4 20 Figure 12: Operation principle of DSC26 20 Figure 13 Current generation in DSC, step 1 21 Figure 14: Current generation in DSC, step 2 22 Figure 15: Current generation in DSC, Step 3, light absorption 22 Figure 16: Current generation in DSC, step 4 22 Figure 17: Current generation in DSC, step 5 23 Figure 18: Current generation in DSC, step 6 23 Figure 19 : Maximum voltage in DSC25 24 Figure 20: Kinetics of DSC operation. 25 Figure 21: A: Action spectra of Energy relay dye DCM alone and in combination with near IR sensitizing dye TT1; B: Molecular structure of DCM and TT128 27 Figure 22: porphyrin chromophore linked to dye29 27 Figure 23: Photocurrent density of TiO2 nanowires photoelectrode film as a function of measured potential (IPCE spectrum in inset)2 28 Figure 24: Absorptance spectrum (?) calculated from measured diffuse reflectance (Rd) and diffuse transmittance (Td) spectra of a cellulose template dye sensitized 6Â µm thick film of titania hollow fibers. APCE (absorbed photon to current conversion efficiency calculated from IPCE plot and ? plot 30 29 Figure 25: Hybrid nanosheets31 30 Figure 26 : Spectral response of photocurrent DSCs using T2/T- and I3-/I- as the electrolyte34 31 1.0 Introduction Energy is the basic need of all economies, whether developed or developing. For the past two centuries electricity requirements have been provided mostly by fossil fuels, which have two basic limitations: being non renewable and environmentally damaging . Considering the ever increasing demand of electricity that is expected to peak in coming years1 it has become imperative to explore alternative sources of energy which are not only renewable, but also eco-friendly. Of these, use of solar energy has been found to be practical and viable. The solar energy available to

Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 7

Ethics - Essay Example This paper aims to present a case study related to an ethical dilemma and the decision suggested to solve the situation. Additionally, it shall evaluate the decision from a viewpoint of utilitarianism, Kantian moral philosophy, Gandhism or Buddhism. The case study that I have selected for this paper is not my personal experience, but it pertains to one of my first cousin, Liana, who has been working as a journalism professor for many years. She has a good experience in her field and possesses a strong command over the subject (writing and sub-editing) as she has been teaching the subject in different institutions and also, holds a Masters degree in the subject. She is quite friendly and has always told me about her teaching ways and behavior that one must have with students in the class. She has always taught her students by maintaining a friendly environment and has always made herself available to help students with their problems within class or outside the class. She has develope d a good understanding with all students, and she has always intended to remain cooperative with them for their academic matters. Last year, at the end of the semester, she gave an assignment to all her students of reviewing five articles, which was to be submitted within 25 days. A day before submission date, one of her good and obedient students named David requested her to give him two extras days to complete and submit the assignment. David did not present any suitable reason for requesting an extension in the submission time. Thus, despite the fact that he was good student and always submitted his work on time, Liana did not grant him the permission to submit assignment after the submission day. For Liana, this situation was quite challenging and she considered this as an ethical dilemma for her as she was quite confused with her own decision. But, being loyal with the profession and honest with all other students of the class, unwillingly she decided not to grant him with extr a time. However, on the day of submission she received assignments from all students including David. She was happy that he had completed his work on time and she appreciated him in the class, but she noticed that he did not respond her properly. She was confused again and decided to check David's assignment before she can further comment on or think about this situation. Upon checking his assignment, she noticed that he had submitted plagiarized work. Out of five article reviews, two were completely plagiarized, while other three article reviews were well-written without plagiarism and other mistakes. Liana has been very strict with her students regarding the issue of plagiarism in their work and her students were aware of the fact and they have always avoided plagiarism to secure good marks in assignments and avoid disciplinary actions against them. In case of David, it was hard to believe that an above average student like him can plagiarize in two reviews in this manner. For an honest and generous teacher like Liana, it was an ethical dilemma to decide whether she should fail David in his assignment like she has done it before for all those who have submitted plagiarized work or she should give David marks on those three articles that he has completed without plagiarism. In this case, she was recalling David's request for granting him more time to complete the given assignment, but