Thursday, October 24, 2019
The Feminist Aesthetics of Virginia Woolf: Modernism, Post-Impressionism, and the Politics of the Visual Essay
Modernism Introduction            Modernism can entail three similar meanings. Firstly, modernism can mean novelty or innovation, implying something that contrast the old and hence put across a certain conviction in progress. Secondly, various explicit meaning refers to the modern episode understood, from philosophical perspective, as linked to rationality, critical thinking and the era since the 18th century, which started to highlight reason as an approach of â€Å"objective†examination of realism that is strongly linked with empiricism in philosophy. Thirdly, modernism is linked with definite tendency in arts starting in the late 19th century that highlight psychology, subjective experience and non-mimetic, irrational replica of reality as revealed in the works of works of most European and American authors, and the works of avant-garde among other poetic tendencies.            In contrast of postmodernism view of the world, modernism especially of the early 20th century and after the First World War, struggled to present a literary work in regard to chaotic post World War I reality, but also as a whole, though fragmented, resulting to a transcendental sense. Modernism was also a rejoinder to conventional realistic representation techniques that attempted to mimic reality; modernist literary works put weight on skewed experience instead of a conviction in likelihood of a literary work to put across the objective connotation and reality (Caughie, 2007.pp 23). Modernism was stimulated by a new era of large scale production, new era of industrialism, especially in the USA and Great Britain, technological changes as well as socio-historical proceedings and atmosphere of the era. Changes in the socio-economic and industrial structure called for new perception of the world.            Scientific interventions and industrial production have stirred technological progress and the increased alienation in the rapidly developing urban surroundings. However, scientific changes and industrial production have also led to skepticism linked with the abuse of technologies for genocide during the World War I. Although, modernism is usually fragmented and experimental, arts and literary works provided an aesthetic and artistic knowledge as a substitute to the depressive and chaotic reality (Caughie, 1991.pp 18). In contrast to realistic literary works which emphasize on mimetic rule of imitation of reality; that is the literature that revealed the world as knowable, imitable and knowable via language, reason and experience, the modernist literature presented a incredulous representation on such a vision of reality and the capability of literature to provide a truthful, objective and objective portrait of reality.            Modernist literature emphasized on mind, psychology, subjective experience and inner life of characters instead of describing the class conflict, external, outer and social reality. Modernist literature was connected not only to universal skepticism of the post World War I era, but also with growing mistrust of philosophers, scientists, scholars and artists in the capacity of reason to grasp, comprehend and elucidate reality. According to aesthetic and philosophical perspective, modern literature highlights postmodernist ontological and epistemological aspects. Friedrich Nietzsche contributed a lot in literature where he theorized man’s will to unreliability and power of language to represent the world. Ludwig Wittgenstein dealt with philosophy of language and the unexpected meaning it produces via â€Å"the language games†, and Sigmund Freud understood human being as irrational rather rational being driven by sexual desires, unconscious forces and suppressed dreams.            Martin Heidegger is another significant philosopher who has influenced not only modernist, but also postmodernist thinking, especially in relation to the language and the representation of reality through it. Heidegger acknowledged language as a defective medium of referring to realism and highlighted its authority to generate unforeseen and unrestrained meanings. Anton Pokrivcak gives a summary of the discrepancy between postmodernism and modernism as follows: â€Å"The shift from modernism to postmodernism is understood as the shift within ontology from determinacy to indeterminacy of being, from transcendence to immanence, from symbol to allegory, from the world of ideology to the world of play†(Pokrivcak 1998:39), and this shift, in his view, can be also characterized as â€Å"the substitution of a semantic way of making sense for a semiotic one†. In their literature, modernist fiction writers of 20th century such as Jam es Joyce and Virginia Woolf maintained the ideas and subjectivized human experience and highlighted on inner subjective experience as mostly expressed by first person narrator and stream-of-consciousness narrative method, a term overtaken from psychological theories of William James.            Modernist writers thus subjectivized knowledge and, in their literary works, brought forward the suggestion that the globe cannot be impartially known only instinctively perceived by human brain. Subjectivity manifested typically itself, as it was highlighted above, in the first person narrative and the use of the stream-of-consciousness narrative technique bringing forth the subjective view of reality by human brain. In modernist fictional works, muddled reality revealed itself in authors’ utilization of fragmentary composition, non-chronological and in a portrayal of the relations between the characters. The use of non-linear, non-chronological time and fragmentary composition portrayed a latest responsiveness of the chaotic world and the estrangement as a result of new era and life in the cities.            Alienation reveals itself in the characters’ association to work, society, the city and other characters that can at last lead to the emotions of nihilism. Moreover, alienation is intimately associated to uncertainty which reveals itself in the characters’ attitudes to the people. Modernist literature is regularly parodic and ironic. Parody and Irony are used as a type critique both of rational or idealistic literary convention and of the world. Modernist writers habitually utilize ancient mythology that are altered and recontextualized in a recent context and therefore they become recent myths associated to modernist cultural knowledge.            Virginia Woolf, an English modernist writer, provides that â€Å"In or about December, 1910, human character changed†. The two statements meant a conviction that the community and its responsiveness had altered in 20th century and, simultaneously, a conviction in the likelihood of fresh types of arts, which would mirror a new scientific progress, awareness but also cynicism and turmoil of the recent age. Modernist literature incorporated the procedures of innovative technologies, social media among other types of art to put across this responsiveness of an innovative period. Viginia Woolf contribured immensely to postmodernism through her literal work â€Å"Literature in quest and quest of itself†. Woolf raised various questions since her literal works emphasized on social contexts and narrative strategies. Viginia Woolf was regarded as an exemplar of a high modernist aesthetics in early 1970s. However, Woolf’s literal works continue to receive major criticism who considers her as an exemplar of a feminist writing practice. Virginia Woolf literal works not only emphasized on feminist politics and modernist aesthetics, but it also took keen interest in the status and nature of the fiction itself.            Virginia Woolf is famous for great achievement in regard to the modern novel and her exceptional style of writing in highlighting major issues especially in feminist writing. In the novels, ‘To The Lighthouse’ and ‘Mrs Dolloway’, Woolf evaluate the relations, both profound and superficial and how they are applied to the greater epistemological questions of being and life. Woolf put a balance to the significance of individual self and the communication of individual self with fellow human beings through representation of a set of often ambiguously interrelated characters. Woolf has skillfully succeeded to provide the leader with subversive keys to her view of life and its meaning. Woolf vision of life and its meaning balances the crucial character of individual and relational exploration and dependence (Goldman, 1998.pp 92). Woolf was interested in revealing the connection between future, past and life. Woolf liter al works was aimed at explaining how humanity’s eventual purpose prevails in an ambiguous balance between ourselves and others in the sphere of social and intellectual achievement.            Postmodern literal work is a fraction of historical and socio-cultural development and can be seen as a detailed manner of a portrayal of the postmodern life and culture. It shows a crisis of identity of human being and its struggle for legitimization in a hypocritical society (Rosenberg, 2000.pp 59). Virginia Woolf literal works help the leader to understand the connection between modernism and epistemological quest for meaning. According to aesthetic and philosophical perspective modernist literature emphasize on postmodernist ontological and epistemological aspects.            In conclusion, modernism can imply three similar meanings. First, modernism can mean novelty or innovation. Modernism can also imply modern period based on the association between reality and empiricism of philosophy. Last, modernism can be associated with arts. Modernism is different from postmodernism because it attempted to bring out literary work based on reality though in a fragmented approach, thus creating transcendental meaning. Modernism was stimulated by new large scale production and industrialism in USA and Great Britain. Though fragmented, literary arts and works provided an aesthetic and artistic experience as an option to the depressive and chaotic reality. Modernist works such as that of Virginia Woolf revealed a skeptical view on such a vision of reality and the ability of a literary work to offer a truthful, objective representation of reality. Modernist literature emphasized on subjective, inner life, mind and psychology of characters instead of focusing on class conflict and social reality. Virginia Woolf was famous for her great contribution in modernist literature, though she faces a lot of criticism from various authors who believe her work was only from feminism politics and theory of postmodernism. References Caughie, Pamela L. â€Å"Postmodern and Poststructuralist Approaches to Virginia Woolf.† (2007): Print. Caughie, Pamela L. â€Å"Virginia Woolf & Postmodernism: Literature in Quest & Question of Itself.† (1991): Print. Colonial Anxiety and Primitivism in Modernist Fiction: Woolf, Freud, Forster, Stein. N.p., n.d.. Print. Da, Silva N. T. Modernism and Virginia Woolf. Windsor: Windsor Publications, 1990. Print. Goldman, Jane. The Feminist Aesthetics of Virginia Woolf: Modernism, Post-Impressionism, and the Politics of the Visual. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1998. Print. Goldman, Jane. The Feminist Aesthetics of Virginia Woolf: Modernism, Post-Impressionism, and the Politics of the Visual. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1998. Print. â€Å"modernism-postmodernism.†modernism. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2014. . Rosenberg, Beth C. â€Å"Virginia Woolf’s Postmodern Literary History.†Mln 3 (2000): 25. Print. Source document
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
From Africa to the Americans Essay
The first pages of Kelly and Lewis’ To Make Our World Anew: Volume I: A History of African Americans to 1880 had opened the eyes of its readers about the real nature of the African race. While discussing the slave history of Black in the Western Hemisphere, he redirect the focus in discussing the great history of the Black people in its homeland in Africa. Prior to the slave trade and during the peak and climax of the numerous Black civilizations that existed, the Black people had managed to construct and established huge empires that were characterized with civilized systems like language and systems of writing. In many cases, the achievements of the Black people during their stay in their homeland can be compared to the successes of some of the greatest empire and civilizations that had existed in the East and in the West. It is just disappointing that the heritages of the Black people in Africa are undermined when compared to the heritage of the Asians or Americans for example. Rather, what is plotted in the mind of many people is the Blacks history as a slave. As the modern world had managed to reverse its perception on Black in relation to slavery period, it is important to note what happened in the past and the real history. Lewis and Kelly with their objective approach of the situation and history had provided us a new way of perceiving the Black people. With their reminders that great civilizations like Egypt that impacted other great civilizations like Greece and Rome, we are now starting to appreciate the beauty and wonders of the Black culture and descent. Today more than ever, we now see them not as ‘other people’ but rather a person that is equal to us that just happened to be created with a different color. Indeed, this is an improvement in the way of life in the modern world. Works Cited Kelly, Robin & Lewis, Earl. To Make Our World Anew: Volume I: A History of African Americans to 1880. 2000. Oxford UP. Oxford. pp. 3-52. Print.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Difference of American foreign policy during WWII & Vietnam essays
Difference of American foreign policy during WWII & Vietnam essays In the early twentieth century, America experienced big, but different type of wars: Second World War and the Vietnam War. Although in both wars America tried to use its super power to achieve the worlds f peace, its specific policies and what they got as a result were totally different. One of them got world fs brilliant reputation, but the other became one of the most hated memories among American. Strategically, however, the U.S. foreign policy after WWI did not basically change: they took neutral position, always only at the beginning. WWII started in 1939 as Germany invaded Poland because of their frustration and humiliation by the Treaty of Versailles, which was also called slave-treaty. Soon, this war expanded through whole Europe, but the U.S. involvement didn ft occur immediately following the beginning of the war. If the U.S. intervened the war, it broke the Neutrality Act of 1935, which prohibits the U.S. from giving assistance to any nation that is involved in foreign conflicts. Also, the policy called Lend-Lease Act guaranteed that the U.S. stayed out of war. At the beginning of the war, Franklin D. Roosevelt followed that policy, and American national security was not in jeopardy at that moment. On December 7th in 1941, the situation dramatically changed. Japanese army surprisingly attacked the American navy at Pearl Harbor and declared war to the U.S. Considering about this serious situation and the effect of the Great Depression, the U.S. started to involve the war by breaking their neutral position. In addition, in Truman Doctrine, he expressed his fear of a revived isolationism and the communist expansion to European countries. Truman fs plan to assist European countries at the request of the government followed the American foreign policy of humanitarianism as the government would not allow a country to be overtaken by another country without U.S. intervention. As the war came close to the end, the go...
Monday, October 21, 2019
Habits and Traits of Stoneflies, Order Plecoptera
Habits and Traits of Stoneflies, Order Plecoptera Aquatic stonefly nymphs live only in cool, clean streams, and are an important bioindicator of good water quality. Stoneflies belong to the order Plecoptera, which comes from the Greek for twisted wings. Description Adult stoneflies are fairly drab insects, with flattened, soft bodies. They hold their wings flat over the bodies when at rest. Stonefly adults have long, threadlike antennae, and a pair of cerci extends from the abdomen. Stoneflies have two compound eyes and three simple eyes and chewing mouthparts, though not all species feed as adults. Stoneflies fly poorly, so they dont stray far from the stream where they lived as nymphs. Adults are short-lived. Stoneflies exhibit unusual courtship behavior. The males drum their abdomens on a substrate to send an acoustic signal to potential female mates. A receptive female drums her response. The pair will continue to drum to each other, gradually moving closer and closer until they meet, and mate. After mating, females deposit their eggs in the water. Stonefly nymphs develop slowly, taking 1 to 3 years to molt repeatedly before emerging as adults. Stoneflies are so named because the nymphs often live under stones in streams or rivers. They feed on a variety of plant and animal matter, both dead and living, depending on the species and age of the nymph. Habitat and Distribution As nymphs, stoneflies inhabit cold, fast-flowing streams in pristine condition. Adult stoneflies are terrestrial but tend to stay close to the streams from which they emerge. Worldwide, entomologists identify about 2,000 stonefly species, about a third of which live in the U.S. and Canada. Major Families in the Order Family Perlidae - common stonefliesFamily Leuctridae - rolled-winged stonefliesFamily Taeniopterygidae - winter stonefliesFamily Nemouridae - spring stoneflies Families and Genera of Interest Adult stoneflies in the subfamily Isoperlinae appear to be pollen feeders.Female Pteronarcys dorsata stoneflies measure as much as 55 cm in length.Nymphs of the family Peltoperlidae resemble cockroaches.The Lake Tahoe benthic stonefly, Capnia lacustra, spends its entire life cycle (even as an adult) deep within Lake Tahoe. It is an endemic species to Lake Tahoe. Sources Borror and DeLongs Introduction to the Study of Insects, 7th Edition, Charles A. Triplehorn, and Norman F. Johnson.Order Plecoptera - Stoneflies, Bugguide.net. Accessed online February 15, 2011.Guide to Aquatic Insects and Crustaceans, Izaak Walton League of America.
Saturday, October 19, 2019
A Doll s House By Henrik Ibsen Essay -- Henrik Ibsen, A Dolls House
Nora Helmer keeps a big secret from her husband, Torvald and she fears what will happen if he ever finds out. She secretly borrows a large amount of money from Nils Krogstad, a fellow employee of her husband at the bank. This money is borrowed to help her husband recover from a serious illness. Nora never tells Torvald of the loan and pays it back in small installments with her household allowance. Torvald is appointed bank director and the first thing he wants to do is fire a man who once forged a signature on a document. This man is Nils Krogstad. It is later revealed that Nora also committed the same crime Krogstad has committed. Nora forged her father’s signature in order to get the money. Krogstad threatens to reveal Nora’s secret if her husband fires him from his job. Nora truly tries to convince her husband to not have Krogstad fired, but ault that Nora leaves him, but in reality it is neither of them, it is society. Truly, Torvald is weak and tries to take on a role that society is telling him to grasp on. He has to be dominant towards his wife and he has to be the â€Å"controller†. It took time for Nora to transform into a new person, but after she did, she became a person who could not stand to be a â€Å"doll†any longer. A doll must do whatever the controller wants them to do. Dolls are silent, do not express opinion and do not accomplish much without the controller. Nora was this doll and realized she no longer wanted to take part in this role. Torvald and Nora become victims of social pressures that define the perfect man and the perfect women not because of everything that went wrong in their relationship, but because Nora realizes she no longer wants to play â€Å"doll†with her husband, the â€Å"controller†.
Friday, October 18, 2019
Business Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1
Business Ethics - Essay Example It has been argued that business owners, or stockholders, have an obligation to in some sense repay the society that allowed it to be. Others suggest that providing jobs and contributing to the tax base is repayment enough. Whichever of these perceptions one subscribes the fact that employees of a company have but a single responsibility, to make money for the owners, is not in question. A chief executive officer may act as the ‘brains’ of the corporation but they are an employee and are bound both by ethical consideration and by federal law to make decisions intended to increase company profits. Of course company employees are expected to obey the law and in act in accordance with customary public ethical guidelines but mainly because this is in the best interest of the company and not because the company itself has a moral obligation. The end result justifies any means by which to achieve it including the destruction of the environment as well as the financial gouging of customers and employees. Corporations do have social responsibilities and society should demand corporate adherence to those responsibilities. Employees cannot simply give away company funds to their favorite charity. That would be irresponsible, unethical and illegal. Certainly, company officials are also individuals whose conscience extends past workplace concerns. The person outside the corporation may feel a duty to voluntarily give their time and money to charities, the church, community and family. In these instances, the individual is not acting as the agent of the giving but the principal. They are spending their own time and money or time and not the resources of a company. â€Å"If these are ‘social responsibilities,’ they are the social responsibilities of individuals, not business†(Friedman, 1970). Though the view that business do not have a social responsibility is logical and fits the capitalist ideology on which the country was built, others ar gue that the self-serving goals of corporate America has created a value system not only separate but in opposition to that of society. This reality is apparent not only in the U.S. but in many other countries as well, both in the developed world and Third World nations. The banking debacle in Mexico escalated its national debt by $80 billion due to the government financially bailing out unscrupulous shareholders who were in league with government officials at the taxpayer’s expense. When Argentina privatized most of the public works departments, corporations stole money from millions of Argentinean citizens. In Europe, the pharmaceutical industries essentially regulated themselves due to their influence within the government. The drug companies did not sufficiently test its products interested only in profits and not the benefits of the drugs for patients. Steps have since been taken to reduce the harm committed by this type of corporate corruption. Many suggest that the sit uation in the U.S. today involving pharmaceutical company influence and the consequential affects is hauntingly similar. (Borger, 2001) Of course corporate corruption in the U.S. is sadly legendary in scope. The recent banking and Wall Street debacle in the U.S. is expected to cost taxpayers into the trillions of Dollars. The Bernie Madoff scandal, Worldcom, Tyco and Enron are but a few of examples of fraudulent practices by company heads which cost thousands of people millions of dollars including
Effects of Estrogen Plus Progestin On Health-Related Quality of Life Research Paper
Effects of Estrogen Plus Progestin On Health-Related Quality of Life - Research Paper Example The researcher presents the article’s background, that entails Women’s health initiative with other clinic trials, which highlight the vital health risks that are associated with the combination of hormone use. The research indicated that, women taking estrogen and progestin were at health risk of getting stroke, Myocardial infarction, breast cancer, and venous thromboembolism as compared to women taking placebo. In this case, the recent findings indicated that, the protection of cardiovascular does not indicate the use of estrogen and progestin amongst the postmenopausal women. Despite the decreased risk of colorectal cancer and osteoporotic; there was a notable global risk of the hormone treatment among women. With this in mind, it was outlined that, there were Effects of Estrogen Plus Progestin On Health-Related Quality of life. At this point, this essay seeks to highlight in brief these effects and this essay also briefly outlines its’ background, statement o f the problem, measurement of variables, research design, and Data collection. In the case study, findings are invariable, depending on the population, test instrument, and design. It borne in mind; small differences can be statistically essential yet clinically insignificant, particularly in large samples. The research relates to modern science whereby it effectively outlines how women’s health is affected from progestin and estrogen. The study is relevant because it creates great insight on the effects of Estrogen Plus Progestin On Health-Related Quality of Life.
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