The Seduction Of Unreason Essay Example for Free

The Seduction Of Unreason Essay Postmodernism suffers many critics, some arguing for its responsibility in practically destroying the study of literature in America and Europe with a Leftist bent. Richard Wolin, professor of history and comparative literature at the City University of New York, disagrees and his own critique is that Postmodernism’s founding fathers were fascinated almost obsessed with the far-Right fascism of 1920s and 1930s. Wolpin demonstrates in his book that basic tenants of postmodernist thought considered politically Leftist in origin, come actually from the ultraconservative far-Right. At the same time, he does not consider Postmodernism a serious threat to literary study or society: â€Å"Conservatives hold postmodernists responsible for the latter-day decline of the West, accusing them of promoting relativism by undermining the traditional concepts of reason and truth. But they seriously overestimate postmodernism’s impact and influence, which has—happily—largely been confined to the isolated and bloodless corridors of academe† ( Wolin 2004, 313).   However, he states that postmodernist thought is a â€Å"celebration of heterogeneity and radical difference risks abetting the neotribalist ethos that threatens to turn the post-communist world order into a congeries of warring, fratricidal ethnicities† (Ibid.).   In this, he believes these identities and related demand for political correctness will replace reason, to the detriment of society. Wolpin considers a few select thinkers, namely Bataille, Blanchard, and Jung; comparing their ideologies to those of Heidegger, Nietzsche and a few others. He claims that the similarities between the two camps are not coincidence and in fact, these philosophers are all conservatives. Bataille, Blanchard, Jung, and their followers simply repeated the antidemocratic ideals and reactionary teachings of Nietzsche and Heidegger to varying degrees. Many Leftists rejected French Enlightenment ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity. Postmodernist thought is currently dominant in academia, the media, literature, and world politics. Rejection of power in Postmodernism seems to be a distrust of politics in general and this rejection attempts to hide within a sense of special identities and political correctness. For example, European neo-fascism once spoke of white supremacy, but now promotes national and ethnic identities, or multiculturalism. Wolin shows that the current ideal of multiculturalism is merely political and anti-democratic. He sees associated secularism as moral decay and societal downfall in a grand conspiracy of thought tracing back to the enemies of the French Enlightenment who felt reason and critical inquiry to be evil. Replacing a belief in reason and progress, there is now a Leftist obsession with political correctness and a cult of identity in cultural factions. In The Seduction of Unreason, Wolpin successfully demonstrates the seductive but obvious and radical element of thought that spurs the rejection of reason in Postmodernism, and it is fascism. References Wolin, Richard. 2004. The Seduction of Unreason:   The Intellectual Romance With Fascism From Nietzsche to Postmodernism. Princeton University Press.

Crucible- Abigail Williams Essay Example for Free

Crucible- Abigail Williams Essay Due to our nature, the human race will do astonishing things in the name of love and fear. Abigail Williams in â€Å"The Crucible† is a fantastic example of this. Not only are her actions absurd to try and gain John Proctor’s whole hearted affection, who was her lover, but also to gain submission of an ample portion of Salem due to fear. A large part of the submissiveness was gained by her ability to manipulate others, especially those she knows well. She starts the fire of hatred, for witches and the townspeople, within Salem. The fuel was already there; all that was needed was the last spark to get the flame going. Abigail was this spark, created by her insatiable lust for John Proctor. She instigated the witch trials, and used the produced hysteria in an attempt at personal gain, using a step by step plan. This plan developed through the play, feeding Abigail’s ambition and power. Step 1. Manipulate the town’s girls into doing witchcraft in the woods. Abigail convinced some of the teenage girls in Salem to join her in the woods. Being unmarried teenage women in this time period, they had little to do, minimal social status, and undoubtedly yearned for adventure. There were only two people lower than them in status, and that would be Abigail and Tituba because Abigail was an orphan, and Tituba a black slave. She convinced Tituba, to sing songs from Barbados about witchcraft. Abby then persuaded Ruth Putnam to believe that Tituba would be able to conjure up the spirits of her dead siblings. If it worked then she could bring to light the mystery behind all of her dead siblings. In getting others to do it with her, she will not be the only one to be punished, therefore spreading the blame across many, and if caught the blame could be transferred to the one with the least status, the slave- relieving Abby of punishment. Step 2. Drink a potion to acquire John. While in the woods Abigail drank a charm in an attempt to kill Mrs. Proctor, which in her eyes is the only person between her and John. â€Å"You drank blood, Abby! You didn’t tell him that!† (Betty, A.1, p.1244). This quote begins to give the reader an idea of what Abigail will do to gain Proctor. It would take quite a drive for someone to willingly drink blood, and in drinking it, wish death upon another person. This was a very Puritan society, and all of her actions would be looked down upon by the townspeople. First she entered the forest (the place of the Devil), then she danced (unacceptable for women of that age), then she drank a charm of blood (not accepted by society), and lastly in drinking that charm she is wishing ill upon her ‘neighbor’ which is going against one of the Commandments. The Bible was the law at the time, and going against its foundation was disgraceful. Step 3. When discovered, blame Tituba. When Abigail is being questioned by Parris, the day after being caught, about the girls’ doings in the woods, she gives away little. She reveals â€Å"We did dance, uncle, and when you leaped out of the bush so suddenly, Betty was frightened and then she fainted. And there’s the whole of it.†(Abigail, A.1, p.1238). This sentence shows an insight to Abby’s manipulative power over Parris. Fainting from fright from being caught by her father doing an illegal activity could be an explanation for Betty’s inactivity. Abigail admits to what he saw, but makes it hard for him to push the question further when she says the finalized statement ‘there’s the whole of it’. The affirmation also denies any other doings, saying the girls are innocent. Parris then grasps at another chance to question Abby, this time about possible rumors of her in the town. She skillfully maneuvers around the interrogation, and then is saved by the entrance of Mrs . Putnam. Goody Putnam reveals her and her daughter (Ruth)’s desires to figure out what caused her children to die in infancy. Step 4. Exploit Tituba’s weaknesses, while hiding behind lies. When questioned Abigail turns the accusation to Tituba saying she was alone in conjuring the spirits of Ruth’s siblings. This brings the pressure off of Abigail and onto two other people. She can then sink into the background, becoming invisible while Parris and Hale interrogate Tituba. Tituba is the unhappy slave, with witchery songs, low status, and desiring to be free and return home. Due to this, Parris and Hale break Tituba down till she admits to contracting with the devil. In a frenzy to bring pressure off herself and avoid hanging, Tituba then goes on to state names of women in the community. Sarah Good and Goody Osburn are first. Then Abigail stands up from the shadows seizing the chance of being able to accuse people and bring the attention to her in a positive way by saying â€Å"I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I dance for the Devil; I saw him; I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!† (Abigail, A.1, p.1263). These exclamations go against what she has previously sworn, yet no one seems to notice anything besides her confession and the names she says. Abby repeated the names Tituba already said, along with another, therefore strengthening the accusations while playing on the slave’s incompetence of missing one of the people, which strengthens her own position. Step 5. Use newfound status to demolish those who oppose her. Since there are so many people being accused, the town gets an aura of being unsafe and corrupt by the Devil. This causes the accused to accuse others, from old rivalries and suddenly having a chance to comeback, or from being interrogated till they give up names, multiplying the numbers, while they also believe the accusations out of fear. Fear of being accused, of being witched, or of getting hung for disbelieving the court and the Bible. In Act II sixteen people had warrants sent out for their capture. Abigail continuously accuses people who confess, adding to her credibility. She also has fainting incidents, trances, and other public displays which she credits to others using demonic powers on her, sending the message that she is an innocent orphan being harmed by the Devil because she is standing against him. This helps her gain pity, and brings more citizens to her side. An example is when Mary Warren tries to testify against Abigail, Mercy, and Susanna. The girls exclaim that Mary has sent her spirit out in a wind to make them cold. This is proven by their exclamations. Mercy: â€Å"Mary, do you send this shadow on me?† Susanna: â€Å"I freeze, I freeze!† Abigail: â€Å"It is a wind, a wind!† Danforth: â€Å"Mary Warren, do you witch her? I say to you, do you send your spirit out?†(A.3, p.1307) Danforth’s question seems to state what the other girls were implying. This goes to show what some acting can bring upon a girl and a town. By faking a wind, the girls make Mary’s testament against them invalid, therefore increasing Abigail’s power within the court, and getting rid of another challenger. Step 6. Secure Goody Proctor as a witch using credibility established within the court. After accusing Elizabeth in Act 2 because of alleged use of poppets, Abigail has to make sure there is no way out for her. When this is done and she is hung she can finally have her love, John Proctor. The townspeople generally ignore evidence and support her claims of witchery, most likely out of fear of her power. John Proctor is one of the few willing to stand against her. After many attempts, all of which failed, John resorts to drastic measures. He admits to committing adultery. â€Å"I have made a bell of my honor! I have rung the doom of my good name- you will believe me, Mr. Danforth! My wife is innocent, except she knew a whore when she saw one!†(Proctor, A.3, p.1309) In this statement, Proctor not only admits to adultery, and tries to protect his wife; he also calls Abigail a harlot. Abigail is astounded by his reveal, and undoubtedly worked up by his language towards her. This is the point where Abby seems to realize that Proctor does not love her and that she won’t ever be with him, even if Elizabeth dies. Her plan has failed, and everything she has done was for nothing. Her astonishment turns to resentment, for she then makes no attempt to same John when he is sentenced to hang. Her only thoughts now seem to be of self preservation. She was the ring leader of the witch trials, and with them coming to the end, and no chance of being with John, her power will soon be gone. She steals her uncle’s savings then flees the city. She lost a love she never truly had, and in the process left behind a broken, manipulated town. Love and fear are two of the most influential emotions, and in â€Å"The Crucible† both are experienced firsthand through Abigail. The author, Arthur Miller, uses this to his advantage making the play and characters relatable to the audience. These universal themes are relevant at all times in history which is why the play is still shown to this day. Abigail is not only a great example of those traits, but also reflects a maniacal manipulator existing in many societies. This along with other traits makes her the most important character to the play, along with the witch trials which she helped instigate for personal gain. It’s amazing what a teenage girl in a small town can do with a few words and manipulation.

Life Styles Inventory (LSI) Assignment

Life Styles Inventory (LSI) Assignment Behavior Styles Life Styles Inventory (LSI): Self Description â€Å"The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.† Dwight D. Eisenhower Introduction: Thinking and Behavior The Life Styles Inventory (LSI) identifies the essential thoughts and stimulus that guide individuals behavior. Often referred to as personal styles, management styles and leadership styles, these signify the essence of an individuals effectiveness. The quality of my thinking and behavior contributes greatly to my work performance. Fortunately, I have the power to change ineffective thinking and behavior, the kind that can paralyze an individuals effectiveness. But first I need to know if what I’m doing now is supporting from quality performance. The scoring reveals where I have talent, where I can grow, and where I may be able to develop even stronger skills by simply shifting behaviors that could be holding me back (limiting style). Personal Thinking Styles: Based on the Life Styles Inventory results, my primary personal thinking style is self-actualization. Self-actualization in life is very important to make sure you are pleased with your inner self and behaviors. This goes back to morals and how you were raised. Self-actualization allows me to always be pleased and happy with the decisions I make in life. As a professional, making decisions that I will be happy with is essential. You may not always be pleased with decisions that others make, but I believe it’s important to please self when it involves making personal decisions. My back-up style is achievement. Achievement is setting goals at work and in my personal life. You must be determined, focused, goal-oriented and dedicated to talks given. For example, pursuing a Master’s degree is a personal goal I’m striving to accomplish for self-satisfaction, not for others satisfaction. The style that I think might be working against me to reduce your effectiveness is the perfectionist style. IT can be limiting because nothing is perfect and you have to have a backup plan in case obstacles occur. Being a perfectionist can waste time and money when it comes to the workplace. In some cases perfection is needed. When pharmacists prescribe medication to patients they need to strive to provide the perfect medication for the problem because if they don’t things could go wrong with the patient. There are times where perfection is needed and others when you’re just wasting precious money and time. Impact On Management Style: With the high achieving style being the second high rated style on my inventory list, it has a major impact on my management style. A high achievement style indicates I set goals and is enthusiastic about working towards difficult but realistic goals. In pursuit of goals and achieving high quality results, I’m likely to follow a well-developed plan that has been considered in depth. I carefully examine my options before deciding on a plan of action. To adequately isolate these behaviors or ways of thinking and emphasize strengths, it is essential to understand their impact on quality of performance. As a manager I will have a positive effect on my employees. Being that the poser style is on the bottom of my totem pole, I believe that the humanistic and encouraging style will set well with the employees and contribute to a person’s level of satisfaction proficiency at accomplishing tasks. Having the ability to work effectively with people develop healthy relationships is a important in management. Genesis of Personal Styles Since I’m able to remember, I was taught to be your own person. I was taught to always be the leader and not the follower when it comes to personal decisions. It’s very important to not always want to be a leader and never want to follow in the workplace. My mother and father instilled in me to set goals and achieve those goals no matter how long it took to accomplish what you have set for yourself. As a child in the schooldays, I remember bringing home all the books that I had (Math, Science, Language, etc.). If I didn’t have homework in a subject, I had to read the next chapter for the next day. I thank my parents for instilling in me how important knowledge is. I continue to keep that with me after graduating from high school, second year college, four year college and now striving for my Master’s. I can truly say that continuing my education is a major part of my life. Because of my parents teaching, I’m good. Being in the church was another gre at thing that happened to me. A person’s environment can have a major impact on their life. Conclusion and Reflection The underlying thoughts and motivations that guide an individual’s behavior, that is personal styles, management styles and leadership styles, represent the essence of an individuals effectiveness. Research has shown that the styles measured by the LSI are related to a number of indicators of effectiveness and success, including leadership effectiveness, management effectiveness, problem solving effectiveness, quality of interpersonal relations, organizational level, individual health and well being, and organizational culture. I can use what I learn to initiate positive changes in how I think and act according to the changes that increase my personal and professional effectiveness. The LSI can be used to create change through: (1) identifying the unique thinking patterns that characterize your current behavior (2) understanding which of your thinking patterns are effective, which aren’t and why (3) deciding which thinking and behavior patterns you want to change (4) defining optimal ways of thinking and approaching your work, such as, setting targeted improvement goals and creating a precise approach to convey on change.

Uncanny Networks: Dialogues with the Virtual Intelligentsia :: Uncanny Networks Dialogues Virtual Intelligentsia

Uncanny Networks: Dialogues with the Virtual Intelligentsia - Challenging Conceptions of Information Society This book is a collection of thirty-five interviews that examine the various political, ideological, and theoretical opinions of significant media and cultural theorists, critics, artists, and philosophers from the past decade, on the topic of the blurring of distinctions between cultural theory and information. The interviewer, Geert Lovink, is a media theorist, former editor of the new media arts magazine Mediamatic, founder of Nettime mailing lists, the cofounder of the online community server Digital City, and the author of Dark Fiber: Tracking Critical Internet Culture (MIT Press, 2002). According to the Foreword by Joel Slayton, the interview discourse can be roughly grouped into four overlapping ideas: 1) media theory and criticism; 2) sociology, economics, and cultural theory of digital computation, networks, and communications; 3) theoretical ontology relating to an architecture of media; and 4) new media art as information strategy. Topics discussed include cyberspace and the rise of nongovernmental organizations, digital aesthetics, corporate takeover of the Internet, sound art, virtual and urban spaces, navigating deep audio space, theory of the virtual class, European media philosophy, the storage of social movements, the Internet in Eastern Europe, hybrid identities, the mixing of old and new in India, Japanese techno tribes, and critical media studies in the Asia-Pacific, just to name a few. For Lovink, interviews are imaginative texts creating global networked discourses between and among professions, cultures, and social groups. Most of the interviews were done online, allowing the participants to write responses to questions that have both depth and breadth, given that time periods of weeks and months passed before the entire interview with each participant was completed. Many of the interviewees are well-known and unknown artists, critics, theorists, and philosophers worldwide who are building and designing the content, interfaces, and architectures of new media. After the Foreword, the book begins with an interesting self-interview of Geert Lovink himself. A quick snapshot of each interviewee and topics of discussion include: . Dietmar Kamper: disguised form of simulation and authenticity in cyberspace . Norbert Bolz: transformation of media theory into computational theory . Michael Heim: the implication of technological metaphysics . Slavoj Zizek: suspicion of multicultural, neutral, liberal attitudes surrounding nationalist madness . Arthur Kroker: virtual class as predatory capitalists and computer visionaries . Luchezar Boyadjiev: financial sector as the avant-garde in artistic media strategy . Gayatri Spivak: ethics of choice between telematic culture and the reality of a developing state

Appalachian Musicians And Singers And The Songs They Write :: essays research papers

Appalachian Musicians And Singers and The Songs They Write   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Growing up in Appalachia and around its music has made a great impact on my life. I can remember, as if it were yesterday sitting on grandpa's front porch with my family singing along with Hillbilly songs on the radio. Along with entertaining the music eased the tensions of living a meager existence in Appalachia. By relating with these song writers and the stories in there songs we somehow find our life less tedious and more bearable. Most country and gospel Appalachian song writers find the words to there songs in the day to day experiences of there lives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the most prominent and popular types of music to come out of the Appalachian region is gospel music. Writing about the religious experiences one felt at the alter or the hope of seeing a lost family member in the here after has been the subject of many Appalachian gospel song. Singers and song writers like Tennessee Ernie Ford and Ernest Tub have left us with joy in our harts and tears in our eyes. Singing and listening to songs like The Old Rugged Cross has carried over from generation to generation in Appalachia.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another branch of Appalachian music that encircle around religion is bluegrass. One of the best known Bluegrass artists (Bill Monroe)Known also as the father of bluegrass music, dedicated a portion of every performance to a gospel bluegrass harmony number. Bluegrass became popular in the region for a number of reasons. Not the least of which was the inexpensiveness of home made instruments.(Ergood and Kuhre 189) The relatively small size made the instruments easily transported from home to home.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The variance of topics in Appalachian music can not be numbered. The subject of a song can be anything from the pine trees on the highest mountain to the cool water in the stream at the bottom of the lowest holler or any thing in between. Anything seen heard or felt might have a song written about it. Another brand of Appalachian music honky tonk music was made popular by a man named Hiram (Hank) Williams. Songs about cheating harts and Honky Tonkin might no have been popular with the churches, but they were with the Appalachian workers in the city bars that couldn't be down home with there loved ones. Hank Williams, although not mentioned in our text had a high pitched pining sound that was common among Appalachian singers. Blue grass instruments carried over into this style of Appalachian music. Hillbilly as it is referred to in slang

Bad Coffee :: essays research papers

It was a cold and damp morning, the moisture stuck to skin like flies to fly paper. The loud â€Å"thud thud thud† of the helicopters had awaken me from my trance, after two and half hours of sleep. I had risen just in time for a fresh cup of coffee when all of the sudden a chopper touched down just outside the barracks kicking up all the debris and dirt it could find. The night before had been a hellish one, the mortar blasts and screams of my fellow soldiers had kept me awake nearly all night. And how, my coffee had been ruined by the damn helicopter. I was in the worst place on Earth, Saigon, in 1968. Definitely the wrong place at the wrong time. My orders were simple, so I thought. Meet up with a group of Green Berets just outside of enemy lines, and go north to a small village controlled by American troops, we would get more information soon after we had arrived. That was it, just like king of the hill when I was kid. I met up with my partners in a joint called the Lucky Money, a real run down place, the air filled with stale smoke and the scent of plastic palm trees. Let’s just say the Lucky Money had seen better days. Hell just four months ago Bob Hope had occupied that vacant stage. The atmosphere was filled with tension. At the drop of a pin the whole environment could erupt into total chaos, half the time shoot outs would start in the street just from punks tossing rocks around. The guys I met up with were worn down, not one of them had a good night’s rest in at least a month, you could see it in their eyes. All they wanted was a ride home, and they were going to do anything and everything in their power to get home. The leader of the group, Colonel Jake Denton, had been here two damn years. He didn’t have much to say except he missed his kids. The other three were all from Texas, but none of them knew each other until the army put them together. The mousy looking kid was from Dallas, and he always had a cigarette hanging from his lip, a sure sign of the stress that was building inside him, his name was Jon Weinhard.

Advantages and Disadvantages of ESL Course Books Essay

The use of course books in the ESL classroom is very common because the course books have the advantages of being visually appealing, easy for the teacher to prepare, and the activities fits well into the timetable. However, from the researcher’s own teaching experience, there are several problems and issues with the course books such as uninteresting topics, repetitive activities, and not enough language exposure. This in terms may affect the student’s learning attitude and motivation. Overall, using course books has its share of benefits and advantages such as having a well organized content with a consistency in the topics and genres for the four skill area (listening, speaking, reading, and writing). Teachers who adopt a course book may also find it easier to teach since most of the preparation, including the types of activities, audios and in some cases, achievement tests, are already done by the publisher. This would be a great help to those inexperienced teachers who are just getting started into teaching. However, nothing in the world is perfect and teachers need to somehow solve the issues and problems that may come with ESL course books. These issues and problems may include finding ways to motivate students and teaching students academic skills not found in the course books. In this sense, the teacher’s job is not as easy as it seems. Many hours of planning and developing other activities are still required, but these planning and development will benefit both the student and the teacher by making the classroom activities more fun, more interesting, and result in more learning.