Anthropology and political and power Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Anthropology and political and power - Essay Example Anthropology's basic concerns are "What defines Homo sapiens?", "Who are the ancestors of modern Homo sapiens?", "What are humans' physical traits?", "How do humans behave?", "Why are there variations and differences among different groups of humans?", "How has the evolutionary past of Homo sapiens influenced its social organization and culture?" so it is the study of how humans live and interact. The anthropologist Eric Wolf once described anthropology as "the most scientific of the humanities, and the most humanistic of the sciences." Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running a government. It also refers to behavior within civil governments. However, politics have been observed in other group interactions, including corporate, academic, and religious institutions. It consists of "social relations involving authority or power† and refers to the regulation of public affairs within a political unit, and to the methods and tactics used to formulate and apply policy. Anthropology and politics have a direct link between them. POWER IS IMMANENT in human affairs; by definition, human beings are political animals. Power in this sense cannot be reduced to a single social or political instance by either external or internal criteria. Whether or not the social grouping under scrutiny is collectively aggregated by conditions of gender, age, kinship, class, or hierarchy, power is present. In the most basic sense, power is what the political scientist Harold Lasswell defined as political: who gets what and how. Or, as the anthropologist Edmund Leach provocatively noted, all social and cultural change is a quest for power. Power is not a domain but one of the essential forms and conditions of human relations. Three phases may be recognized in anthropology’s relationship with politics. In the first formative era (1879–1939) anthropologists studied politics almos t incidentally to their other interests, and we can speak only of ‘the anthropology of politics’. In the second phase (1940–66) political anthropology developed a body of systematically-structured knowledge and a self-conscious discourse. The third phase began in the mid-1960s when all such disciplinary specialization came under severe challenge. As new paradigms challenged the earlier dominating, coercive systems of knowledge, political anthropology was first de-centered and then deconstructed. The political turn taken by geography, social history, and literary criticism and, above all, feminism has revitalized anthropology’s concern with power and powerlessness. FEW subjects arouse more passion and debate among Muslims today than the encounter between Islam and modern thought. The subject is of course vast and embraces fields ranging from politics to sacred art, subjects whose debate often causes volcanic eruptions of emotions and passions which hardly l ead to an objective scrutiny of causes and a clear vision of the problems involved. Nor is this debate which consumes so much of the energies of Muslims and students of Islam helped by the lack of clear definition of the terms of the debate and an insight into the actual forces involved. The whole discussion is also paralyzed by a psychological sense of inferiority and a sense of enfeeblement before the modern world which prevents most modernized Muslims from making a critical appraisal of the situation and of stating the truth irrespective of

Is music still true?

Is music still true? Is Music Still True? Authenticity is a major issue in popular music, and it also seems to verify the differences between ‘rock and ‘pop. To musicians, rock is the genre that has authenticity and is most trusted, while the pop genre tends to be more of a commercialized type of music, which most musicians today believe that the ‘pop music is about the glamour and the money. In the end it comes down to the listeners point of view. In this argument, authenticity is understood as ‘true to its origins. Some say that with the new technology today, its hard to make anything sound authentic. In some cases, for example Jack White from such bands as The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, and The dead Weather, have stayed away from technology when it comes to the recording end. White also attempts to capture authenticity by using old instruments, to capture the essence of the old time sound. Like White, other artists as well find that the new technology today takes the ‘soul out of the music, as well as go far enough to use authentic old style instruments. Although some believe that you can use technology today to give it even more of a rich authentic sound. Most people believe that ‘soul is the key component to authenticity, while some believe that it is about reenacting the innovators of the past. Some believe that songs or artists can still have authentic meaning. One artists that has dealt with issues of authenticity was 60s folk star Bob Dylan. Dylans first electric album rainy day woman had a enormous impact on his fans. The fans were enraged at his desertion from the authentic folk roots that he was so well known for. He received some credit with the fact that his lyrics and song topics were still awarded as authentic. Dylans song were known to make a strong stand toward politics, and had simple lyrics but had complex understanding. Then there are artists like John Mayer, who keep to the authenticity on every level, but seems to add his own modern twist. Mayer is a well known blues guitarist who keeps to his ‘bluesy guitar riffs, but with a sound of a distorted guitar. Mayer at times has also been subjected to the ‘pop commercial genre, with his higher pitched voice and for his criticized lyrics. Artists like these prove that authenticity in music, does not mean that it has to be exactly like the origins it came from. Certain authors have pondered that this distinction may be misleading, but even so, have divided authenticity into several categories (Moore, 2002): first person authenticity, where original music is performed in a manner that makes the audience believe the music is authentic: that is, authentically created, and performed; and third person authenticity, where a performer of music succeeds in conveying the impression of having accurately conveyed the expression of an – absent – other (Moore, 2002). Authenticity is assumed, by many authors, to be inscribed to a musician or performer, yet this assumption is wholly wrong, in that authenticity is actually ascribed to musicians and performers. Authenticity, as a value, is something that must be constructed by each and every listener personally, according to their own response to the music in question. It is only after the listener sees the performance of the music by the musician, that they can begin to understand the musicians relationship to the piece, and their interpretation of the piece, and only then can the musician be said to have any authenticity. The following is based on this view of authenticity as an ascribed value. Eric Clapton and his music are used as an example by many authors on the subject of authenticity in music, and these discussions invariably fall into Moores (2002) second category of authenticity: third-person authenticity. Eric Clapton, a highly able and respected musician, gained a huge worldwide following in the 1960s for his interpretations and performances, solo and with his band, Cream. I say ‘interpretation as many of the songs that Clapton, and Cream performed, such as Crossroads, were not original songs, and were re-worked by Clapton. Crossroads was a song originally written and performed by the country blues star Robert Johnson (Moore, 2002). Johnson led a tragic life, dying early in mysterious circumstances, and living his life as a poor man, with only his guitar for comfort, on which he composed blues music, through which he explored his own life through distorting the sound of the instrument to provide an analogue for his own tortured soul (Moore, 2002). It is argued that, to a certain extent, when Clapton performed Crossroads, he did not authenticate Johnsons music by reinforcement, rather his interpretation of Johnsons song authenticated Claptons own musical presence (Moore, 2002). It was the appropriation of the ‘black blues tradition, of which Johnson was a part, which gave Clapton the material through which he constructed himself as an authentic performer (Moore, 2002). Claptons appropriation of the ‘black blues tradition was then cemented by his full discovery of this tradition, from BB King to Freddie and Albert King, from country blues through to Robert Johnson (Moore, 2002). This tracing of the origins of a practice back to the originator of the practice thus reinforces the tradition to the tracer: this phenomenon, and is well known in discussions of authenticity in popular music (Moore, 2002); this process is also necessarily circular, as Clapton was authenticated via his appropriation of Johnson, who was then authenticated by his appropriation by an artist he himself had a great deal of respect for (Moore, 2002), since only music that is worth acquiring will be appropriated. As Moore (2002) argues, Clapton conveyed the message ‘this is what it is like to be me to his audience, using the message ‘this is what it was like to be Johnson. Thus, authenticity of execution (Moore, 2002) arises when a performer succeeds in conveying the impression of accurately conveying the expression of an absent other (Moore, 2002), and Clapton is a particularly apt example of this third-person authenticity. Thus, during his performances of particular songs (for example, Crossroads) Clapton speaks the truth of his own situation, as during his performances, he can only convey his own particular expression of a particular song openly, honestly and therefore, truthfully. As to whether Clapton manages to convey the truth of the situation of absent others, this is a difficult one to answer. In order for an audience to believe that Clapton is conveying the truth of an absent other, the audience needs to know that Clapton has respect for that absent other, enough respect to have made a thorough study of the tradition to which that musician belonged, a study which allows Claptons interpretation of that particular piece of music to be authentic in the sense of being true to its origins. As to whether Clapton speaks the truth of his own culture and thereby represents present others when performing the music of absent others, this is an even more difficult point of discussion. This point needs to rely on a meaning for the word ‘culture in order to fully answer this question, and this is difficult. Can Clapton, a white man, from a white culture, ever delve deeply enough in to a tradition to be able to authentically convey music from an entirely different (‘black) culture? Cultural purists would argue not, but in todays multicultural society, the answer to this question is increasingly (and increasingly believably) likely to be yes, at least for white audiences, and for ‘blacks who agree with the idea, and principles, of cross-cultural artistic expression. However, it has to be recognized that there are certain tensions and resistance encountered in the process of cross-cultural appropriation of music, particularly in this case, as it concerns the black community, who see their musical heritage as something pure, a badge of identity entirely their own. This is entirely understandable, particularly in reference to appropriation of the blues tradition by whites, as blues is a black music, which arose out of unspeakable suppression and hardship at the hands of the white man. Tensions that arise from within the black community at the (mis)use of the blues tradition by whites should therefore be listened to, and could also be used as a lesson to learn from. A recent book by Todd Gitlin (2001) argues that we, as a society, are becoming so overwhelmed with information from the media, in so many varieties of the media, that we are becoming immune to its lure, and are even beginning to shy away from this media onslaught. It seems that one way people can avoid this media onslaught is to search out authentic performances from authentic musicians, as this would guarantee quality and purity of enjoyment. Authenticity of an artists like Clapton, really come down to the listeners and their opinion on whether or not the artists is authentic. Music has always been about the listeners, so they are the only ones who can really decide what is authentic. Most fans will say the authentic ones are the ones who ‘keep it real, which is just another way of saying keeping it true to the original genre. Which makes Authenticity in music a very long ongoing topic. There will always be those who say ‘he is to commercial for me and those who will think that that artists perfected and recreated a new side of the authentic origin. Artists, like Clapton, who appropriate music from other cultures, and who we can argue do this in a compassionate manner, are perhaps the guiding lights for many of todays media-overwhelmed generation; they serve, for many, as a good introduction to the traditions from which such music is drawn, from which point the interested can do their own research and discover the authentic music from which such adaptations are developed. Cross-cultural musical evolution can only be a process for good in terms of the development of music, as long as authenticity and the ‘donor culture are respected.

The Crazy Lady in The Yellow Wallpaper :: Yellow Wallpaper essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Yellow Wallpaper does nothing but confuse me.   It seems to be about a high strung, mentally ill woman who is obsessed with rotting wallpaper.   This yellow wallpaper obsesses her so much that she begins to distrust everyone, even her husband.   She is terrified that someone will take her wallpaper or find out more about it than she knows.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One point I found interesting is that she sees a woman behind bars trying to get out in the pattern of the wallpaper.   This might be the only thing in this story that made sense to me.   The pattern with the woman seems to be related to the way she is being treated by her husband, John.   John is very protective of her wife because she is in all reality a very sick woman.   She feels trapped because of this and the way she sees the paper must be an indication.   She stays up late at night and hours on end during the day to stare at worthless, tattered, yellow wallpaper.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This story really bored me to death.   All I could think of was, "when is this story going to be over?"   I remember having a highly active imagination as a child but this is ridiculous. She sees mushrooms sprouting and women shaking bars and she's a middle aged woman.   The last time I ever saw anything close to that was when I was 10 years old and I saw G.I.Joe's crawling up and down my walls at night.   I don't understand this woman behavior nor have I ever experienced anyone in real life who acted this way.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   John's wife is not an abused woman.   She is actually well taken care of and

Lord of the Flies Challenge Project Essay

Any of several mammals of the family Suidae, having short legs, cloven hooves, bristly hair, and a cartilaginous snout used for digging, especially the domesticated hog, Sus scrofa domesticus, when young or of comparatively small size. Even though a pig is one animal, they have several symbolic meanings. The various meanings of pigs change from region or culture though. In an earlier culture such as the Ancient Egyptians the pig was a symbol for fertility. Here, the pig was sacred to Isis, a fertility goddess of the Ancient Egyptians. In many other cultures the pig represents strength, and vitality. In the Native American culture the Indians would use a pig to sacrifice to the rain Gods in order for their crops to grow. This is another example of pigs being used to represent growth and fertility. Pigs are not always viewed as a good thing though. In the Jewish and Islamic cultures pigs are viewed as unclean and therefore they are forbidden to eat pork. And in an interesting note, in dream symbolism domestic pigs indicate fertility but a wild pig represents overindulgence and lust. This relates to Lord of the Flies in the sense that Jack never wanted to give up his passion for hunting. He became greedy and his desire to hunt inevitably lead to the separation of the group. In the Christian religion pigs are associated with gluttony. In Lord of the Flies Simon is the Christ like figure and when he views the decaying pig head he becomes nauseated. Christians believe that a pig is in common relation with the Devil. In Lord of the Flies it shows the struggle between good and evil, Christianity and the devil. Jack and his followers use the pig as a sacrifice to the â€Å"Beast† and this is an example of the loss of religion in the novel. This is another reason why a pig is not considered a positive thing in Christianity because the main reason Jesus came around was due to the overwhelming practice of sacrificial acts to Pagan Gods. When Jack renews this blasphemous act, Simon was killed shortly after which confirmed the loss of religious values on the island. Here are examples from the bible prohibiting the digestion pigs. â€Å"Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcass shall ye not touch, they are unclean to you.†(Leviticus 11:7-8) and â€Å"And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you. Ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcass.†(Deuteronomy 14:8). In folklore, superstitious sailors would not sail on a boat with a pig aboard. And often time’s sailors would refuse the admittance of pigs on their vessels. Sailors associated the hooves on pigs to the hooves on the devil. Because of this bad omen, if a sailor were to see a pig on their way to work, they would rather turn around and go home. This further explains the theme of the devil in Lord of the Flies. Even though it seems impossible for evil to be involved with young boys, it certainly was proven in this novel. Simon was an innocent little boy and when he was in the jungle the Lord of the Flies was talking to him. Obviously, the pig’s head was NOT talking to him but it shows that Simon’s subconscious talking to him. This shows that even the most innocent has an innate sense of evil in them. When Simon is in the jungle, this is when the reader realizes that the â€Å"beast† is not an external force but that it is part of the boys themselves, which is even more frightening. â€Å"Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and kill! Ãâ€" You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you?† (p. 143). In Lord of the Flies the pig represents the evil that lies within every person, innocent or not. The pig becomes a game, no longer being a hunt for sustenance. As mentioned earlier, Jack wanted more. He became greedy and his hunts led all of the boys to shift from being playful little boys to savages. That is why in the Christian religion pigs are not appreciated. They are unclean, which in the novel the pig is described as disgusting with the flies hovering around it and black grime in its teeth. The Muslim religion views the pig in the same manner. It is interesting though to compare the thoughts of modern religions to the ancient ideas of pigs. In the ancient cultures like the Greeks, Egyptians and Romans the pig was seen as a fertile being and therefore they were heavily worshiped in order for their own people to experience the gift of fruitful abundance. The literal translation of the Lord of Flies is Beelzebub which is Hebrew for the Devil. The Lord of the Flies has the theme of religion in it, and the pig’s head plays an important part in allowing the shift of innocence to evil to be seen easily to the reader. Due to the many symbolic meanings of pigs in various cultures, there is no definite idea of what a pig stands for. In Lord of the flies though, the pig demonstrates the evil that each of the boys was capable of undergoing.

Zappos Swot

Re:SWOT Analysis of the Culture of Zappos. com Zappos. com is an online shoe store that was created in 1999 by a man named, Nick Swinmurn. Today it is a multi-billion dollar company thanks to its current CEO, Tony Hseih. One of the reasons Zappos. com has become such successful empire is because it got the economics and operations right. The management of Zappos. com is in my personal opinion, a necessity to a happy and thriving company. Their strategy is to find employees that are going to dedicate themselves to the environment and purpose of Zappos. com.They rely on passion, purpose, happiness, and emotional connection. If you don’t fit right into this, they even offer a $1,000 quit-that-day bonus. They strive on â€Å"weeding out† the employees that don’t extend their positive energy to the company. Zappos. com has a lot of different strengths, all of which play a part in their major success. They are a company that focuses on company culture and hiring passio nate employees. Which allows the company to run as Hseih designed it out to. Another strength that aids Zappos. com in success is their demand for effective communication.They also believe the importance and impact of feeling good, for both the employee and customer, is key. Tony Hsieh quickly discovered that becoming successful did not begin with the intention to make as much money as possible. He realized then that he should work towards making it a passion instead of an income. â€Å"Passion and determination are contagious,† he says. â€Å"We believe in having a positive and optimistic (but realistic) attitude about everything we do, because we realize that this inspires others to have the same attitude. † Which I believe is their biggest strength and most powerful.The weaknesses that affect Zappos. com are how the way their management affects their outside controls. Amazon just recently purchased Zappos. com for about $1 billion. One weakness they could experience is how Zappos. com’s fun and relaxed work ethic and environment collides with the way Amazon. com runs. Another weakness Zappos. com faces is the average salary a sales representative makes. Zappos. com main goal, and what most of its reputation is built upon, is customer service. To keep up with the high demand of customers seeking help and asking questions, Zappos has a large number of ustomer service representatives. Where this becomes a weakness is, Zappos. com pays their representative’s and average of $23,000 a year, three percent below the national average. This makes them vulnerable to other competitors. Zappos. com strategy is very unique in the fact that they focus on happiness. They want to make sure that not only the customers are satisfied, but their employees as well. They look for dedicated and passionate people to work hard and play hard. They a set of ten core values that the company lives by.They are deliver wow through service, embrace and drive cha nge, create fun and a little weirdness, be adventurous, creative, and open-minded, pursue growth and learning, build open and honest relationships with communication, build a positive team and family spirit, do more with less, be passionate and determined, be humble. They use a strategy of making sure the employees are in good spirits and enjoy their work place. It reminds me of the saying, â€Å"happy wife, happy life. † If their workers are happy in their job then they will work harder for the company.This strategy puts Zappos. com at a definite advantage over other companies that, say, pay a higher salary. I know that I would rather work in a laid-back, fun and enjoyable environment over a bigger paycheck. If you’re miserable in your job it will leak into other parts of your life. The first recommendation I would provide Zappos. com is to cover more area. Instead of their main focus to online retail, they could open up Zappo storefronts to up their sales. Continuing their up-keep with social media is also a high recommendation for Zappos. com.They are a huge hit on Twitter, which allows their customers to see their every move and what exactly is going on with promotions and deals. They need to focus on their core values, especially the last of the ten, be humble. Earlier when there was a security breech in company, there were a lot of upset, confused, and concern customers. It takes a lot of patience to deal with that high volume of calls but if zappos. com sticks to the words they say they live by, they are going to continue to receive loyal customers who spread the word and their business.Works Cited Bailey, Jean. â€Å"Happiness as a business strategy. † Massage Therapy Journal Winter 2012: 25+. Academic OneFile. Web. 22 Feb. 2013. Chafkin, M. (2009, May 1). The Zappos Way of Managing. Retrieved from ? http://www. inc. com/magazine/20090501/the-zappos-way-of-managing. html McDonald, Shelley. â€Å"Delivering Happiness: A Path to Pro fits, Passion and Purpose. † American Economist 56. 1 (2011): 127+. Academic OneFile. Web. 22 Feb. 2013. Reid, K, Carolina.. â€Å"SHOULD BUSINESS EMBRACE SOCIAL NETWORKING?. † EContent. 01 Jun. 2009: 34. eLibrary. Web. 22 Feb. 2013.