The Gothic Imagination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Gothic Imagination - Essay Example Gothic literature was named for the apparent influence of the dark gothic architecture of the period on the genre. Also, many of these Gothic tales took places in such "gothic" surroundings, sometimes a dark and stormy castle as shown in Mary Wollstoncraft Shelly's Frankenstein, or Bram Stoker's infamous Dracula" (Gothic). The American critical theorist Eve Sedgwick has been a chief contributor to the idea of Gothic imagination. To understand the term "Gothic" let us note that there is a great relation between Gothic and romance. As Sedgwick, in The Coherence of Gothic Conventions which studies the relationship between Gothic conventions and the ways in which its practitioners use language and structure narrative, remarks, "Gothic" has not been the supplest of terms. (Sedgwick 1986) An analysis of the popular novels, The Castle of Otranto, Frankenstein, and Dracula would give the best idea of what a Gothic Novel is. This is a discussion directed towards the same. The writers beginning with Horace Walpole in his The Castle of Otranto through the famous writers like Mrs. Radcliffe, M G Lewis, Mary Shelley, Maturin, Melville, Faulkner, and Stoker have dealt with the elements of what is now termed the Gothic literature. Their works take the readers to world of sublimity and great imagination. â€Å"Their Gothic novels attempt to submerge the reader in an extraordinary world in which ordinary standards and moral judgments become meaningless and good and evil are seen as inextricably intertwined. Gothic writing is closely related to romantic: both are the product of a profound reaction against everyday reality and conventional religious explanations of existence. But while romantic writing is the product of faith in an ultimate order, Gothic writing is a gloomy exploration of the limitations of man" (Hume 1969). Thus many of the Gothic considerations come to our discussion. The genre of Gothic fiction merges the elements of both romance and horror. This literary tradition has its beginning with Horace Walpole's novel The Castle of Otranto which came out in the year 1764. As the introductory essay of Three Gothic Novels remarks, "a reader familiar with the Gothic novels of the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century will easily recognize in them th emes and proceedings which were stock-in-trade of the tales of terror" (Fairclough et al 1968. p. 7). The finding out of the beauty in elements of terror itself changed the concept of the literary appreciation. The discovery of Horror as the source of delight reacted on men's actual conception of beauty itself: the Horrid, from being the category of the Beautiful, became eventually one of its essential elements, and the 'beautiful horrid' passed by insensible degrees into the 'horribly beautiful" (Fairclough et al 1968. p. 10). The examples of the novels show that the gothic genre is especially noted for its appeal of terror and mystery and it cannot be smothered. "The Gothic novel is defined not by its stock devices-ruined abbeys and the like-but by its use of a particular atmosphere for essentially psychological purposes" (Hume 1969). The Gothic novels of the writers like Walpole, M G Lewis, Mary Shelley, Melville, Faulkner and others submerge the readers in a world where ordinary standards and ethical conclusions are

Sociology of Gender Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sociology of Gender - Essay Example The next summary is of the film, Two Spirits, directed by Lydia Nibley and produced and written by Russell Martin and Lydia Nibley. It traces the real life story of Fred Martinez, a Navajo teen, whose life came to an abrupt halt at 16 years, when he was brutally murdered by another young man named Murphy. The film interestingly follows a historical timeline as it explores Fred’s carefree and brave life as a nadleehi (a male-bodied individual with a female personality) and at the same time investigates traditions that were once extensively prevalent among the indigenous people of North America. With the looming threat of an entire tradition being wiped out from among the natives, the film slowly returns to the brutal crime that took place on 16th June, 2001 in Cortez. It explores the murder site where Murphy, viciously bludgeoned Fred to death with a rock, just for being different and later bragged about it to his friends saying he, â€Å"bug-smashed a fag†. Following na rratives by Paula Mitchell, Fred’s mother, Richard La Fortune, activist of the Yupik tribe, and Cathy Renna, a leader in the LGBT community, the viewer gets a very clear picture of the vile nature of the hate crime that was meted out to young Fred. This film is created so that people can understand, accept and be compassionate about issues of gender diversity and at the same time recognize and celebrate it, in view with the wiser, traditional American cultures. The director’s attempt through this film seems to be – ‘to transform through sharing’. The last article for review is the introduction chapter of the book titled, ‘The Lenses of Gender: Transforming the Debate on Sexual Inequality’ written by Sandra Lipsitz Bem. ... This chapter reviews the historical transformation of America’s social consciousness with regard to philosophy and treatment of women. It traces historical beliefs regarding women in religious light and how it later took biological leanings. It depicts how these beliefs were further challenged by the women’s rights movement in the mid-nineteenth century and later by feminist advocacy in the early 1960s. However, the author believes that even within these changing times there exist â€Å"lenses of gender† which seek to infuse male power into social institutions and social reality, methodically and invisibly. Identifying the three lenses of gender as being – androcentrism, gender polarization and biological essentialism, the author considers them to be ways by which culture is reproducing male power. If a path can be devised to stop these discourses and enculturation, the author trusts that the feminist agenda in America can finally be achieved. Why do men h old the most powerful economic and political positions across the globe? Functionalist theorists believe that society is made up of interdependent parts, each of which plays their part in maintaining the smooth functioning of society. Their inherent belief in stability and social control is further enhanced by the common values and belief systems that the people share. This conviction in the idea of social equilibrium is asserted by values regarding family, marriage and gender roles. The conflict theorists are often viewed as being complete opposite to functional theorists because of their view that consensus is only achieved in society through exercise of power and control. They view patriarchal systems as

A Semiotic Analysis of a Newspaper Story Essay Example for Free

A Semiotic Analysis of a Newspaper Story Essay A logical place to start may be to ask ‘what is news?’ Professor Jonathan Bignell suggests that ‘news is not just facts, but representations produced in language and other signs like photographs.’ The newspaper is just one medium of news communication; other media include television, radio, magazines, and the Internet. We will concentrate on a particular news item as covered in three different British daily newspapers, namely The Sun, The Telegraph, and The Times. The story which is being covered is that of the death of a female police officer who was stabbed by a man whilst she was on duty. The medium of the newspaper is particularly interesting as signifiers are presented simultaneously thus offering a concrete display of signs which the reader can consume at their own pace and can also be re-read, as opposed to television or radio news which can only be watched or listened to at particular times. The process of selection is central to the production of all newspapers. This involves selecting events which are considered to be worthy of being printed as news, and excluding news which is considered to be irrelevant, insignificant or unworthy of news coverage. Thus news is a social construct dependent on what is deemed to be important by those who work in the ‘news industry’ based on certain codes of behaviour which have been learned by news workers in order to do their job. The codes of behaviour which have been learnt by news workers undoubtedly depend on the particular newspaper for which they are working. It could be suggested that in British society most adults would be aware of the conventions of different newspapers. We will attempt to examine the types of sign systems within which a particular news story is encoded in a selection of newspapers, and how these different sign systems may affect meaning. It is clear when looking at The Sun, The Telegraph, and The Times articles, which were all published on Saturday, April 18th, 1998 that each newspaper attaches significance to different news items. This is made clear by looking at the front pages of each newspaper, with The Suns main front page story concentrating on the relationship of Patsy Kensit and Liam Gallagher, compared to The Telegraphs main story which concentrates on a ‘shake-up’ of scientific committees that advise government ministers on food safety; and The Times main front page story which covers the story of the new National Lottery Big Ticket show which is facing the BBC ‘axe’. Although we will not be concentrating on the comparison of the front pages of the newspapers in this term paper, these examples demonstrate how drastically the different newspapers differ in what constitutes front-page news. The examples also demonstrate the interpretation of newspaper conventions, as we analyse the stories which are considered to be the intended main news of the front-page. As can be seen with the front page of The Sun the main story is clear as it dominates most of the available space on the front-page. However, with the other newspapers the distinction is not quite as clear. The main criteria when deciding on which was the main story of the front-pages of The Telegraph and The Times was the size of the typeface of the headline. This emphasises that the reader comes to the newspaper with a set of codes with which to decode the text, and these codes may differ from individual to individual. This leads to the point that the text is open to a variety of interpretations depending on the ideological standpoint of the reader, and whether the reader is familiar with the newspaper and the codes which. it employs to communicate the ‘news’ which it has selected. Connotations of the linguistic and visual signs which are presented by newspapers are central to the meaning of the news item to the reader. The connotations of the news item are perceived within a coded framework and there are recognisable codes within different newspapers. It is clear that different newspapers use particular narrative codes when representing the same item of news. This can be seen in the three headlines which refer to the particular news item which I have chosen to examine. The Sun headline states ‘SCANDAL OF PSYCHO FREED TO KILL HERO COP NINN, The Telegraph ‘WPc was knifed to death after removing armour’, and The Times ‘WPc paid with her life for dedication to duty.’ Each of these narrative codes used in the headlines instantly provide a framework on which to build the meaning of the news item. The headlines are linguistic syntagms which aim to attract the attention of the reader to the topic of the news story, and the linguistic signs which are employed in the headline suggest to the reader the appropriate codes which are needed to understand or decode the news item. It is clear that the newspapers use different linguistic codes as a means of representing the news item. The Times and The Telegraph are similar in their use of language. However, both differ dramatically with The Sun. It is clear that The Sun uses orally based vocabulary, and dramatic and sensational language. This can be seen in the first sentence of the news item, which reads ‘A. violent cop-hating nut killed brave WPC Nina Mackay after a catastrophic catalogue of blunders by Crown prosecutors and police allowed him to roam free.’ The article also employs alliteration for emphasis , as in ‘catastrophic catalogue’ and ‘scandal of psycho’. The linguistic codes of the news item certainly connote speech which in turn connotes familiarity, informality, and camaraderie. The article also implies familiarity with the victim (We Nina Mackay) who is referred to throughout as ‘Nina’ where as a distance is created between the reader and the offender who is referred to throughout by his surname, Elgizouli. This code of familiarity is significantly different to that which is employed by The Telegraph and The Times who refer to the victim either in her professional capacity (WPc Nina Mackay) or by her full name. However, it is perhaps significant that the offender is referred to by his surname in all of the different representations of the news items. This strategy of distancing the reader from the criminal is blatantly employed by all three of the newspapers, clearly suggesting that the preferred reading of the texts should involve no sympathy with the offender. Another drastic difference between the newspaper representations of the news item are the typographic devices used to break up the text. Again, The Sun differs dramatically to The Telegraph and The Times using bold text to start the article, serving to extend the role of the headline in attracting the attention of the reader to the topic of the news story. The use of bold and one word sub-headings which are employed throughout the text serve to direct the reader in making meaning of the text and make blatantly obvious the points which the newspaper deem to be of particular significance to the understanding of the news item. The Telegraph and The Times do not employ the same typographic codes as The Sun, apart from bold type which is used for the headline, and the bold type used to name the journalist/s of the article. The narrative of the news story uses the same type and size of font throughout the item. Arguably, this connotes authority and formality to the reader which is also demonstrated by the fairly long sentences, the correct spellings and the lack of colloquial language such as ‘cop’ which is used in The Sun. This perhaps implies that the ‘quality’ press such as The Times and The Telegraph provide better news than tabloids such as The Sun. However, this kind of value judgement is inappropriate as both types of newspaper are constructions of the news with the ‘quality’ newspapers aiming to connote authority and formality and the ‘popular’ tabloids aiming to connote an attitude of ‘telling it how it is.’ Thus both types of representation of the news items present mythic meanings. Linguistic and typographic codes are not the only codes employed in news discourse. Graphic codes must also be considered. The photographs used in the press have also undergone a process of selection. One image will be chosen over another as it connotes a message that the selectors of the photograph want to communicate. Barthes (cited in Bagnell, 1977:98) suggests that the newspaper photograph is ‘an object that has been worked on, chosen, composed, constructed, treated according to professional, aesthetic or ideological norms which are so many factors of connotation.’ The ‘treatment’ of photographs which is referred to by Barthes can be seen in the different newspapers which I have chosen. Interestingly, each version of the news item has used the same photographs, but treated them differently according to the required connotation. Each representation uses the same picture of the victim in her police uniform looking directly at the camera, and the same pictu re of the offender looking vacant and away from the camera. Again, The Times and The Telegraph use similar codes, and The Sun employs a drastically different strategy despite using the same original photographs. The most drastic difference is that The Sun presents the photographs in colour, connoting realism and the dangerousness of the offender. This is also connoted by the size of the photographs, with the graphic representation dominating a large proportion of the overall available space on the page, which is another drastic difference between The Suns representation of the news item and the other two newspapers. Despite these major differences it is significant that the newspapers have all used the same photographs, and it is interesting to look at why these particular photographs might have been chosen. Paradigmatically, photographs involve connotations, and thus the significance of the particular photographs which have been chosen can be seen more clearly when considering what other paradigmatic connotations might have appeared in their place. For example the connotations of the picture of the police officer would change considerably if she was not in uniform. Likewise, the connotations of the picture would change if the offender was looking directly at the camera and smiling, instead he is pictured looking away from the camera with a blank expression, connoting lack of emotion. The contrasted pairs which seem to be involved in the paradigms are innocence and guilt, justice and injustice. These contrasted pairs are made more clear by the way in which the meanings of the photographs are anchored in a small amount of text beneath the photographs. The Times offers its own contrasted pair in the text beneath the pictures, namely ‘killer’ and ‘killed’. As Bignell (1997:99) suggests, the caption underneath the picture enables the reader to ‘load down the image with particular cultural meanings and the photograph functions as the proof that the texts message is true.’ The pictures are also shown in different contexts in the three newspapers with The Sun using a different strategy to The Telegraph and The Times. The Telegraph and The Times use similar sized pictures of the individuals involved. In The Sun the size of the photographs of the individuals differ considerably with the ‘killer’ being represented as significantly bigger than the ‘killed’. Also, the photograph of the police officer is presented in a photograph-like frame connoting sentimentality, and elevating her position in comparison to the ‘killer’. This emotionalism is carried over into the other picture which The Sun represents which shows the coffin of the police officer being carried by her colleagues. This is a cultural sign which most readers will be able to relate to, and connotes sympathy, tragedy and injustice. This discussion of several newspapers representations of the same news item show how semiotic analysis can determine the meanings of such news items, as a result of the linguistic and visual signs used within the texts. However, semiotic analysis cannot determine how an individual reader might interpret the representations of the news items in a real social context. Semiotic analysis does offer an insight into the factors at work in the production of a news item and distinguishes the various codes which are employed by different types of newspaper when representing a particular news item.

Ulrich Becks Theory Of World Risk Society Criminology Essay

Ulrich Becks Theory Of World Risk Society Criminology Essay This essay seeks to study the explanation of the September 11 attacks through the key concepts of the World Risk Society. It will analyse how the presence of risks in the contemporary society, is driving the governments towards the incessant development of technologies and other sophisticated security systems in order to make their States more secure. However, the issue under discussion is that, is this tendency to get feign control over the uncontrollable(Beck U; The Terrorist Threat; p 41); which is the central point of the world risk society, further adding to or leading to problems. Is this presence of the future in the contemporary society in a way leading to a security paradox? To put it in the words of Keith Spence in World risk society and War against terror, Both domestically in the guise of Homeland Security, and in military engagements elsewhere, the pursuit of war against terror inevitably compounds and reproduces the conditions and anxieties that it purports to address. To deal with these questions, the essay will start with the elucidation of the World Risk Society Theory as conceptualized by Ulrich Beck. Moving further, the essay would discuss the underlying assumptions of risks that are at the ground level of the counter terrorism policies adopted by the World today. Taking the case study of War on Terror and the pre emptive actions adopted by the US administration, it will analyse how safer is the World with the adoption of such polices? Did the zero risk policies and the constant process of modernization help US or made it more vulnerable to such attacks, in other words, made it more insecure? World Risk Society: Calculating the Incalculable Thinking of contemporary terrorism in the context of Becks theory of Risk Society, it can be defined as de-bounded uncontrollable risk characterised by a well connected structure, a continuous potential threat and difficult to trace to a single source. Beck introduces the concept of risk as a modern concept that presumes decision making. He further explains that as soon as we speak in terms of risk, we are talking about calculating the incalculable, colonizing the future. Beck emphasises on the fact that Risk Society has not arisen because of the presence of one or the other threats or dangers in everyday life but because of the de bounding of uncontrollable risks. According to him, de bounding has three distinct dimensions, i.e. Spatial, Temporal and Social Dimensions. By spatial dimension he implies risks or dangers that are not bounded by the nation state boundaries. The Temporal dimension signifies the long term dangers and finally the social dimension implies that the root of the problem cannot be traced back to a single agent, for instance, for problem of global terrorism, we cannot single out a country or an individual or group and blame it responsible for all terror networks. In the words of Beck, Uncontrollable risks must be understood as not being linked to place, that is they are difficult to impute to a particular agent and can hardly be controlled on the level of the nation state. Ulrich Beck further explains that in the World Risk Society with the central problem of how to feign control over the uncontrollable, have three axes of conflict ecological conflict, global financial crises and global terror. To say that the risk is global is not to suggest that everyone would be equally affected. It implies that the risks are unequally distributed; it might cause damage to different countries differently depending on the cultural and political variations. However, even if it affects everyone unequally but the truth, as Beck says, is that it affects everyone. And thus there exists a global problem for which a global solution must be found. This is where the global co-operation fits the picture. In his theory, terror seems to be the midpoint of interaction between other two axes of conflict. The development in technology and the increase in flow of money, in one way or the other increases the extent of the threat from the dark World of terror.( Beck U., The Terrorist Threat, p. 45) A distinction can be made between ecological and financial conflicts on one hand and global terror risks on the other hand. As Beck explains, ecological and financial conflicts are the unintentional side effects that come attached with the production of goods which in turn are the results of the central decisions taken by society. Explicating the shift from accident to intention, Beck concentrates on the axis of global terror. He describes terrorism as an intentionally bad (Beck U., The Terrorist Threat, p. 44) activity which leads to a negative situation that the other axes of conflicts produce unintentionally. This change of accident in the industrial society to intention in the modern society is followed by a further replacement of active trust to active mistrust. As the terrorist threat highlights mistrust and multiplies the risks, it weakens the relationship between the fellow citizens, foreigners and governments. After looking at these characteristics of the Risk Society, it becomes quite easy to understand the basis on which pre emptive intervention policies, detentions and profiling are justified. As Kessler O. And Werner W put it in Extrajudicial Killing as Risk Management, it is justified in the face of rowdiness and unpredictability of the modern terrorist. Also, after the attacks of September 11, the whole World very well accepts the fact that the terror world today has access to all technologically advanced weapons and thus has the capability to harm more people and spread more fear and panic amongst people. The features of the modern terrorism fit the framework of the risk society. Beck suggests that in the World Risk Society, it is increasingly becoming impossible for the States to protect the security of its citizens in the growing atmosphere of multiplying risks and active mistrust. The solution to the global problems of terror, ecological and financial conflicts lies in transnational co-operation. As he admits, this leads to a paradoxical situation for the nation states as in order to further accomplish their national interests, they need to denationalize themselves. The global coalition against terror stands a witness to it. In order to uphold their constitutional promise of protecting the life of their citizens, in this situation specifically from the terror threats, the nation states came together to fight a war against the terror world. this can be attributed to the fact that it isnt possible for nay country to fight the vast networks of terrorism, spread across the world, all alone. Even the superpower like US, which is most developed technologically a nd financially, had to call for the support of the other nations in order to wage the war on terror. Even though as a leader of global coalition it had to make certain policy compromises, nevertheless it went ahead to uphold its constitutional promise. It is shift from accident to intention that is the basis of all the counter terrorism policies. The process of profiling and indefinite detentions has been justified on the grounds of intention. The government has started judging the people on the basis of intention. To quote Mythen and Walklate from Terrorism, Risk and International Security government has taken more restrictive and invasive steps so that it can create an order that can tame the dangers to the detriment of people. Analysing 9/11 and the policies thereafter through the risk society perspective: Precautionary policies and the National security in the wake of New terrorism Responsible Science and responsible policymaking operate on the precautionary principle. Tony Blair (2002) The policies used to approach the global problem of terror are dictated by the logic of risk management. The novelty of this approach, as Keith Spence puts it in World Risk Society and War on Terror, lies in the adoption of pre emptive approach. The adoption of pre emptive approach as a precautionary principle can be described as being based on four interrelated assumptions put forth by Claudia Aradau Van Munster in Governing Terrorism through Risk: Taking Precautions, zero risk, worst case scenario, shifting the burden of proof and serious and irreversible damage. It is the worst case scenario and the thought of irreversible damage that drives the government to adopt zero risk policies. When struck with the 9/11 attacks, it was the thought of further irreversible damage that made the Bush administration come up with the pre emptive policy and the following invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq as States breeding terrorism. The pre emptive approach reminds us of the Henry Kissingers observation that the desire of one power for absolute security means absolute insecurity for all the others (Kissinger, 1961, p. 148; 1964, p. 2). The conduct and outcomes of such acts are not unpredictable but uncontrollable as well. The pre emptive approach adopted to fight terror spread more fear than it actually tackled due to the presence of uncertainty and unpredictability. In the words of Keith Spence, In leveraging sentiments of uncertainty amongst target populations, pre emption like all mechanisms of terror, enlarges the impact of aggression, provoking fear that permeates the culture thereby constituted and reproduced. (World Risk Society and the War on Terror, P.289) The process of pre-emption follows the logic of absolute security. The adoption of pre emption undermined the UN laws and norms that supported use of force only under situations that justified self defence against actual threat.( Annan, K. (2003); Secretary-Generals address to the General Assembly; New York, 23 September 2003.) The pre emption approach on the other hand worked on the principle of eradicating possible threats. To quote Bush from Remarks at West Point: New Threats Require New Thinking, to wait for the threats to materialize would mean that we would have waited too long. The idea of the eradication of potential threats in order to provide absolute security are all significant features of a catastrophic society as explained by Ulrich Beck in the theory of Risk society. The approach adopted, do not disappoint on the point of global solutions to the problems of terror. The solution that it provides again falls in the line of thought of Becks Wold Risk Society by abandoning the conventional norms of time, space and restraint. (Spence, Keith; World risk Society and the War on Terror; p 289) The stated objective of the War on Terror, as stated by George W. Bush in the Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People on 4th of July, will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated cannot be satiated. Instead the approach of the administration leads to the development of more such networks than it actually eradicates. Egyptian President Hosni Mubaraks has aptly remarked in context of the Operation Iraqi Freedom, that instead of having one bin Laden, we will have 100 as a consequence of Operation undertaken.( Black, Ian and McGreal, Chris (2003) Conflict will create 100 bin Ladens, warns Egyptian president, The Guardian, 1 April, p. 4.) The manner in which the US conducts its response to terror would only lead to multiplication of terror networks rather than its eradication. The fact that the initial steps of the policy adoption actually led to the growth of the terror activities in North and East Africa, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, the Indian subject-continent and the wider Gulf Region brings to the fore Kissingers cautionary observation of absolute security. Security measures as a part of precautionary principle: Homeland Security The practices undertaken to fight away the terrorist networks under the label war on terror are too vast and discursive to fit into the framework of any theory. From Guantanamo Bay to biometrics and increased surveillance, or from extraordinary rendition to the categorisation of terrorist suspects as enemy combatants, the war on terror has regimented a whole series of practices that showcase the reaction to precautionary risk. (Aradau and Van Munster, 2007; Governing Terrorism through Risk: taking precautions, (un)knowing the future; European Journal of International Relations; Vol. 13, No. 1, 89-115) As a result of the terror attacks, US post the announcement of War on Terror, took a lot of steps in order to be prepared to shield the country from any unpredictable, unknown but inevitable situation. The website www.ready.gov created by the department of Homeland Security is another source for informing the people and preparing America for any emergency. The site discusses the campaign Ready which aims at educating and empowering the Americans to deal with any situation of emergency including natural and man-made disasters. (http://www.ready.gov/america/about/index.html) The Website states Be ready! and carefully places a quote from the founding secretary Tom Ridge, claiming terrorism forces us to make a choice. We can be afraid or we can be prepared! The website goes to the extent of stating three simple steps get the emergency kit, formulate a family emergency plan and be informed to rescue oneself or at least be prepared to face the emergency situation. It warns the people abo ut emergencies that can range from inconvenient to devastating and aims at empowering them by preparing them in advance. The department aims at preparing the people to fight the emergency but what exactly will be the emergency is unknown, the only surety about the unsure situation is its inevitability. The site puts in to place the key mechanism of the catastrophic society which makes the state of emergency institutionally established as a norm. (Spence, Keith; p 291). The states have marked emergencies from green to red and make sure that the drills take place regularly. As Keith Spence rightly remarks, the frenzy created by these drills and the supplementary activities leads to a persistent feeling of anxiety which is further responsible for a feeling of uneasiness and discomfort. (p.293) The adoption of the pre cautionary principle has led to a time where it is not the state which has to prove but the individual has to prove that he/she is innocent. Under such a precautionary principle, the people irrespective of the fact that they are innocent or victim, they are guilty unless proven innocent. To quote Keith Spence from World risk society and War on Terror, Neither the conduct nor outcomes of such acts are fully predictable or controllable, and as war and terror overlap and blur so too do distinctions separating civilian from combatant, collateral from non-collateral, and innocent from other victims. (p. 289) Ardau and Van Munster aptly remark, Among the technologies used to avoid a catastrophic future, war is just one. The war on terror or the consequent war of Afghanistan and Iraq do not speak of a recent rediscovery of militarism, but of a govern mentality that activates all the technologies imaginable in the face of uncertainty. There is an interesting similarity between Homeland and Fatherland. As Keith Spence points out the Jacobin Terror which was anticipated by the declaration of Fatherland in danger on 11th July 1972 was the starting point for the nation state to assert its control and authority. In 1973 when the Committee of public safety was constituted and succeeded the Committee of Vigilance (Spence; p. 291), Danton proclaimed, Let us be terrible so that the people will not have to be. One cannot help but agree with T. Ridge (2003) when he remarks that if War on Terror has been announced for peace then Homeland Security is just another name for the vigilance committee and has been formed in the name of freedom. As Helene Guldberg puts it in Challenging the Precautionary Principle, to take regulatory action on the basis of possible unmanageable risks, even after tests have been conducted that find no evidence of harm. We are asked to make decisions to curb actions, not on the basis of what we know, but on the basis of what we do not know Biometrics: As Ardau and Van Munster put it in Governing Terrorism through risk: taking precautions, unknowing the future, 9/11 has given way to more pro-active forms of surveillance of suspect populations, leading to a surplus supply of data and an over-prediction of threats. To quote Aas K. F from The body does not lie: Identity, risk and trust in technoculture, in a globalised and anonymous world, where almost everyone can afford to cross the closest borders, biological identification seems to be the best solution for states to verify peoples identity. Biometrics is simply the measurement of the most unique parts of a humans body i.e. the iris, the fingerprints, retinas, gait and voice. Application of biometrics in the field of security is just significant of the increasing trend of securitization of identity. The basic principle behind the biometrics is, as Aas puts it inThe body, to eliminate bad by keeping away undesired people. The US VISIT programme showcases the advanced and complex system of biometrics govern mentality i.e. a system of categorizing a person as legitimate or illegitimate with the support of technology collecting data biometric information of the human bodies. The case of Guantanamo Bay: As Keith Spence puts it in World Risk society and War on Terror, apart from the invasion of Iraq the archaic excess is prominently elaborated at Guantanamo Bay, where deterritorialization and pre-emption are materialized in a legally determined limbo beyond the reach of civil and international law. (p 291) Guantanamo existence as a state of exception was made clear by the condition of the detainees of Gauntanamo. As Giorgio Agamben seeks to explain, The detainees of Guantanamo are subject to raw power and have no legal existence.( Agamben G. And Raulff U.; (2004) Interview with Giorgio Agamben Life, A Work of Art Without an Author: The State of Exception, the Administration of Disorder and Private Life, German Law Journal) Implication of the risk perspective to the camp exemplifies dealing with an unrestricted risk in the spatial category. The Guantanamo Bay detention camp has been placed outside the regular US legal jurisdiction but it is not fully immune for this order. . To this extent, C. Ardau in Law Transformed remarks, The Guantanamo bay camp perfectly embodies the necessity of defining a new form of war, which breaks the habits of all previous sets. Guantanamo Bay stands as a perfect example of the aftermath of the conditions resulting from the implication of the precautionary logic of controlling the future in other words tackling something that is uncertain and unknown of. Even though Gauntanamo has resulted in making modern day terrorism as a novelty nevertheless it cannot be tagged as a place without any regulations. To put it in the words of C. Ardau, it has resulted in the creation of a place ruled by the dominant principle of governing the social and taming the future. US itself has become a source of violence it wanted to fight by adopting the harsh policies to fight to it and Guantanamo Bay is just one example of this. The thought of taking over terrorism with the principle of pre-empt rather than dealing with risk often leads to a vicious circle by giving way to exactly what it had wished to extinguish. War against terror and the precautionary steps taken thereafter is symbolic of this phenomenon. Conclusion: To quote Ulrich Beck, September 11 drove home the lesson that we now live in a risk society, a society in which there are uncontrollable and unpredictable dangers against which insurance is impossible and where questions of compensation, liability and harm minimization have lost all their social and political significance. The policies adopted and the measures taken post the attacks of 9/11 just makes this quote a lot more acceptable and suitable to the present situation. Even after taking the precautionary steps and becoming increasingly ready by employing latest technologies for uncertain but inevitable emergency situations, US has not only made itself more vulnerable to such attacks but in a way has helped the terror world to spread across its message of fear and panic. The new technologies employed for security purposes are just new challenges posed in front of the terrorist. They might learn to overtake it in a while. The question that arises then is What steps will US take then? It is really a vicious circle the more it will try to secure itself, the more insecure it will become!

Essay --

From the years of 1853 to 1868, the people of Japan experienced major changes in all aspects of their lives. This era, known as the Bakumatsu signified Japan’s change from the traditional Edo period to a modernized Meiji dynasty. This change can be attributed to an American naval officer by the name Matthew Calbrath Perry whom ultimately changed the complexity of Japanese culture. In the eyes of an American, Commodore Perry is seen as one of the greatest influential figures in international history. However, what most people don’t understand is how the very own citizens of Japan perceived Commodore Perry. There are many ways in which, the Japanese may have perceived Perry. However, a fascinating aspect to think about is if he was perceived as a hero or a villain. In order to think about if Commodore Perry was considered a hero or a villain, it’s important to consider what qualities are involved in these antonymous figures. Villains violate accepted moral principles to complete their goals, they have a way of making things bend to their own will, and they lead a life of secrets and a...

Homeless Assistance :: essays research papers fc

a. Issue: Should the homeless assistance program in Sacramento be reformed to give more money to the homeless while allowing them to apply to the program more than once? b. Facts: Currently in Sacramento, the homeless can apply for homeless assistance only once in their lifetime except for certain extenuating situations. The current program is a success. The amount of people in the program living below the poverty line has fallen 21% in the last seven years. Since 2000, the amount of families applying for the program has dropped 69%. Experts claim the fall in numbers comes from the fact that people can't apply more than once. In 1996, the homeless were allowed to apply for assistance more than once in their lifetime, but this was changed as the experts thought there were too many abuses. Now the only time one can get assistance more than once is if the family finds itself homeless again because of domestic violence, the sudden inhabitability of their home, or certain physical or mental illnesses. While these exceptions are good and cover a good deal, they don't get most of the homeless. The program also comes with certain snags. One of these is that the rent o f the housing the assistance goes to must be less than 80% of the maximum amount CalWORKS gives for a family of the same size. The amount of money families have to pay after the assistance to keep the housing usually comes out to about 2/3 of the salary. With the rising housing prices, analysts predict that it is going to be increasingly harder for the homeless to get housing, first time or not. c. Arguments: This issue pretty much breaks down into two sides. Those who wish to change the system (the homeless and their advocates) versus those who defend the status quo (the government). The government's side is simple. This program is a success right now and many people are getting out of poverty. The state also recognizes that California is in a massive debt. Funding for the program, while possible, is not fiscally responsible. As for not allowing the homeless to apply for assistance multiple times, the government holds that there were too many abuses. I could not find any numbers as to how many abuses there have been. Apparently the number was rather high. In the government's eyes, this program is a success and doesn't need to be tampered with.

“Danse Russe” by William Carlos William Essay

William Carlos Williams’ poem â€Å"Danse Russe,† is written like most modern poetry, in free verse. Like nearly all of Williams’ work, â€Å"Danse Russe† has no meter nor does it follow any rhyme scheme whatsoever. Disregarding an iamb or steady beat pattern, the poem’s rhythm is organic, rather than metrical, meaning that the poem flows smoothly from one line to the next without any guidelines to follow. It is almost as if the poem is to be read as a small statement or random thought occurring inside the mind of the poem’s voice. After reading the poem in its entirety a few times, the voice of the poem is a middle-aged male, probably of middleclass. There seems to be a sense of urgency, as though the voice does not have much time to himself to enjoy peace and quiet. In the very first lines of the poem, â€Å"If I when my wife†¦/ and the baby Kathleen/ are sleeping,† the reader is given the idea that the time at which the events of the poem are occurring are most likely going to be very late in the evening or early morning. One could assume it is early in the morning as lines four through six describes the sun as â€Å"a flame-white disc/ in silken mists/ above shining trees.† Williams’s vivid description of the sun rising above the shiny trees instantly gives the reader a clear image of that time just after dawn when the sun is clearing the trees and giving them a glowing look. William’s imagery, though in its most vivaciousness here, is not limited to these early lines (Schneider). As the reader moves further down to line eight, the voice of the poem contemplates dancing in his â€Å"north room,† or private study. But not only does the voice contemplate his antics, he goes into detail describing his motio ns as grotesque and crude. While describing his movements as he sees them in the mirror, the voice is one of deep admiration for the beauty of the naked body. The subject of the poem twists and turns in such odd positions in order to be able to admire various physical aspects from multiple views and angles. As the voice speaks, the reader should feel that the subject matter for â€Å"Danse Russe† is very happy and peaceful (Allison). The voice obviously does not have much free time to spare. The few moments that he could spend by himself in his study, dancing about, are probably the only ones he would have to himself throughout the day; he will probably go to work all day and spend the  evening with his wife and children. In lines twelve to fourteen where the voice states, â€Å"I am lonely, lonely. / I was born to be lonely. / I am best so!† the feeling of the poem is still one of extreme joy. Though the subject matter shifts to the voices’ loneliness, that single expression, â€Å"I am best so!† conveys a strong idea of happiness (Kristin). Once again, if the voice has very little time to himself, anything he can get is worth every second. The final two lines really reiterate this point as well. â€Å"Who shall say I am not/ the happy genius of my household?† In ancient Rome, the guardian spirit of the house was known as the genius. The voice is stating, â€Å"I am the head of this household.† My stress and problems could be appeased if I could have some time to my self. In Russian, the poem’s title, â€Å"Danse Russe,† literally translate into â€Å"Russian Dance,† specifically, a ballet. Ballets are very elaborate and formal, and do not follow a repetitious pattern. Like the ballet, Williams’ poem does not follow any particular poetic form. The language of the poem describing the actions of a naked dancer helps to give the poem the fluid organic rhythm that one could also use to depict a ballet dancer’s movements. Obviously, the title introduces its central theme, but it is also encompassed beautifully in the body of the poem. Williams manages to break apart the sequence of the thoughts into a flawless dance of the written art. His reputation of the voice’s thoughtful considerations, using the phrase â€Å"If I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  on three separate occasions helps the reader be aware of the excitement the voice feels as he realizes the potential of having his own secret activity. In addition, what is stopping him from exploring these possibilities? Perhaps he is worried about his wife waking up and finding him out; or that he simply cannot bear the thought of having his happiness stripped away from him as his role in civilization calls. The way Williams describes the serenity of a quiet morning, the dreary grind of day-in, day-out does seem heart wrenching in comparison. However, the central theme of the poem is a dance, and while it may take two to tango, it only takes one to dance.