...Islamic Civilization Essay Fitzgerald argues strongly that the study of religion does not improve our understanding of societies, but labels them into the structures we associate with Western Christianity. He also argues that religion is not a distinctive phenomenon and should not have its own analytical category. He raises the question of whether or not there is a systematic way of distinguishing between the secular and the non-secular. He also raises the question of whether or not there is a fixed definition of the term religion, if that term is imbued in Western Christian bias, and the confusions that result in this analytically empty but ideologically loaded term. This term is used in so many different contexts that it has no clear meaning. Fitzgerald says that “the word ‘religion’ is analytically redundant and even misleading” (Fitzgerald 5), because religion refers to a “belief in gods or the supernatural” (Fitzgerald 5), and it was of “traditional European usage” (5). Fitzgerald claims that people have “self-consciously attempted to transform the meaning of religion…and extend it as a cross-cultural category” (Fitzgerald 5). The problem is that people have been incorrectly labeling cross-cultural categories under one term ‘religion,’ that imbues Western Christian views that do not accurately reflect the principles of many cultures. According to Fitzgerald, “working with the blurred and yet ideologically loaded concept of ‘religion’ as a starting point can confuse...
Words: 3386 - Pages: 14
...NAME: Angela Ferreira STUDENT NUMBER: 543939 COURSE: Archaeology ASSIGNMENT: Hunter-gatherer essay DUE DATE: 5 September TUTOR/LECTURER NAME: Geoffrey Blundell Plagiarism declaration I know that plagiarism is wrong. Plagiarism is to use another’s work and to pretend that it is one’s own. I have used the author date convention for citation and referencing. Each significant contribution to and quotation in this essay from the work or works of other people has been acknowledged through citation and reference. This essay is my own work. I have not submitted this work, or a substantial...
Words: 3001 - Pages: 13
...Week #3 Checkpoint Hinduism Essay Considering the Hinduism lacks a unified belief system, what makes up the Hindu religion? What are the cultural and societal influences that have made Hinduism vital to the region in which it originated? Explain the desire for liberation from earthly existence. From the standpoint of the outsider, comprehending the attributes and the many facets of the Hindu culture may seem difficult and cumbersome. I believe one of the reasons lies within the fact that in the traditional sense of organized religions, one of which is united under a particular belief system. Hinduism is not applicable in such a regard, however over 80 percent of those making up the population of India consider themselves Hindu. In “Hinduism, with mind absorbed and heart melted in love”, Fisher defines the original usage of the term”Hinduism” as a means of categorizing several Indian religious ways which could not be classed under any of the existing unified religious systems within the region of the Indus River. This nomenclature was introduced in the 19th century for the purpose of census-taking, Sanatana Dharma is the term more preferably used today in describing the devout people of the region, and when translated, carries a meaning which suggests an eternal or ageless way of life (Fisher, pg. 69). The term further conveys a tone of profound insight in that the historical development of the religion is not directly traceable. Fisher observes, however, that although no...
Words: 1183 - Pages: 5
...How has feminism attempted to achieve women’s liberation, and has the battle been won? This essay aims to outline how feminism has and continues its attempt to achieve women’s liberation.This essay will reflect the current situation in Europe. The essay begins by describing the first and second wave of feminism, providing an overview of the ideas of some important feminist thinkers and activists. It then introduces the third wave, modern feminism and concludes with some remarks regarding the development of feminism insofar as it affects modern organizations willing to tackle gender inequality. The concept defined as the ‘first wave of feminism’ finds it origins in the mid-nineteenth century, with the ‘suffragettes’—as those pioneers were called—and their struggle to achieve equal political rights. These women’s central aim was to obtain the right to vote, even if that meant they had to protest through various hunger strikes, as they did in London. The ‘second wave of feminism’ focused on ending all forms of sexism, and it fought both psychological and sexual oppression towards women. Among others, Betty Friedan realized that women felt frustrated due to the oppression that came from their perceived role in society, namely that of staying at home. The patriarchal culture started to be criticized by many radical feminists. This second wave was very marked by Simone De Beauvoir and her work, The Second Sex. She believed “one is not born a woman, one becomes one”. Eva Figes wrote...
Words: 1171 - Pages: 5
...technology factors. Economics Factor Being a producer of first-rate and specialty coffees, Starbucks requires a market that able to withstand the demand for the coffee. Starbucks marketing decisions for an economy with high disposable income that leads to high quality of life country like US. It is an example of a developed country that has the high purchasing power and spending patterns which most of the citizen in US are willing to spend more in return for a quality product such as Starbucks coffee. It shown that economic factors affect the business function and largely alarm consumer purchasing power. This requires an important market research about economic and financial stability of a city before they move it in. http://www.ukessays.com/essays/marketing/internal-and-external-factors-affecting-starbucks-marketing-essay.php There are two economics factors that help a company to determine if the country would be a good market, which are the country’s industrial structure and income distribution. Country’s industrial structure is referring to industrial economy, raw material exporting economy or subsistence economy of a country. These show the employment, product and service needs and also income level. On the other hand, income distribution determines if there will be enough demand from the income of families to warrant the products. http://bryantaodombookkeeping.blogspot.com/2012/01/environmental-factors-of-starbucks.html Socio-cultural Factor Among the environment factors...
Words: 916 - Pages: 4
...However it is somewhat contradictory. The Hijab is used as a point of distinction for French secularity, the headscarf is presented in such a way that it comes to represent the oppression of women and the removal Muslim religion from the Public sphere becomes a feminist movement. While on the one hand this is intended to mark French secularity as progressive and pluralistic, Wallach Scott discusses this as a form o f French Racism. Scott continues by arguing that French feminists initially had been critical of the contemporary, western consumer society’s tendency to reduce women to sex objects, however, this view transformed when the headscarf became an issue of debate in regard to-French secularity. The Islamic hijab was redefined in French Secularity and became a symbol of inferiority in the way that it allegedly organised gender. Through attributing this meaning, the Stasi Commission Can claim the Hijab is a blatant religious symbol that breaches principles of Laicite and therefore must be removed, in public spheres such as schools. This law, which bans ostentatious yet permits discreet religious signs, does not...
Words: 1134 - Pages: 5
...The Hijab Republic “The meaning of subculture is always in dispute, and style is the area in which the opposing definitions clash with most dramatic force” (Hebdige, 1979: 3). Throughout this essay I would draw and analyse the Hijab republic subculture. Further referencing on the theories of; Semiology by Gillian Rose (2001), The Meaning of Style by Dick Hebdige (1979), and Dress and Globalization by Margaret Maynard (2004). The purpose of this essay is to further dissect the Hijab republic as a subculture, the reasons behind it and semiotically decode their dress as intentional communication. In order to do this, I will firstly, conduct a semiotic analysis to an image, thereafter apply Hepdige’s theories on subculture lastly, I will further discuss and apply Maynard’s theory on the relationship between style and communication. Mieke Bal and Norman Bryson (1991:174) cited in (Rose 2001) explains that human culture is made up of signs, each of which stands for something other than itself. This statement makes you want to understand and make sense of those signs. Observing Yuna in figure01 who wears the hijab along western trends as a form of self-expression and her Islamic identity. Yuna’s iconic and idexcical sign is the head-scarf (hijab) as it is a performative agent through which the sense of common sociality is being achieved by practicing a dress code that is a visible identity maker, and that sends a message to outsiders...
Words: 1228 - Pages: 5
...there is NO God, you actually affirm there is one. Hence I must conclude that the answer to our openeng question is a simple and flat no. No, it is not necessary for a truly contemporary person to be an atheist or to disbelieve in the existence of God. And I find no arguments, no reasons, no evidence or facts, not in Bishop Robinson's writings, nor in Bishop Pike's, nor in the writings of Tillich, Bultmann, and Bonhoeffer, or in the lesser breed of new theologians, which support the opposite answer. The new theologians are impressed by the secularism of our society, by the spread of irreligion and of atheism or disbelief in God. It is this which leads them to propose a religionless Christianity, or an atheistic Christianity, a secularized religion to meet the needs or fit the condition of present life. All this is...
Words: 1920 - Pages: 8
...THE UNIVERSITY OF Manchester “Human Rights in World Politics” POLI 70492 Essay title: East meets West: Human Rights in Perspective. Lecturer: Dr James Pattison Essay Question: “Should Universal Human Rights Be Enforced regardless of Cultural differences?” ID Number: 8262033 Introduction: Even though human rights are of the major issues in our current day world, it has not been the case over the course of human history. Despite some early calls by the Greeks especially Aristotle for citizenship rights and participation in the political life, slavery was regarded as a normal feature back then and it was not until the 18th century that serious attempts to protect human rights and dignity took place: The two major events promoting these rights were without doubt the United States of America’s declaration of independence in 1776 and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in 1789 both of which endorsed some basic rights and freedom which were a huge step forward at the time. As an example, the French declaration clearly enclosed the following article “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. Following these two events, many Western writers and philosophers such as John Stuart Mill, Thomas Paine, and G.W.F. Hegel defended human civil rights and liberties in their writings...
Words: 3640 - Pages: 15
...He was from the Myoshinki, a lineage of zen, and followed popular teaching styles by religiously practicing the zazen and koan. He created a new koan system in the eighteenth century which had 5 general categories and three classifications. Because meditation practices are the foundation of Buddhism, Hakuin was able to categorize the use of koans through Zen Buddhism and allowed himself to reach satori. By reaching satori, Hakuin was able to help others reach Satori and focus on logic and understanding monastic language. He was significant in the development of training Zen monks throughout Rinzai Zen Buddhism. D.T. Suzuki (1870-1976): D.T. Suzuki is an American who is accredited with merging Western influence to Rinzai Zen. He is the main founder of Zen Buddhism in the United States and advocates that Zen needs to be understood in the context of Buddhism. He embraced the essence of Zen as mystical experience that uses meditation and spiritual instruction to become...
Words: 2006 - Pages: 9
...Examine the appeal of New Religious Movements and New age movements Previously, religions such as Christianity and Islam, and beliefs such as the belief of science and evolution dominated world beliefs. Nowadays, more and more people are rejecting traditional religious explanations of spirituality and scientific accounts of the natural world, and moving more towards New religious movements and new age movements. New religious movements take aspects from other religions and form a modern group and claim a monopoly on the truth (usually a sect or cult), whereas in a new age movement, the groups focus on unlocking the individuals true potential and then succeeding their goals. The both highlight the flaws in modern day society, but often NRM focus on the group, whereas NAM focus on the individual. In this essay, several argument why people move from religious and scientific beliefs to NAM’s and NRM’s. New religious movements have seen a rise, and there are an estimated 25,000 new religious groups in Europe alone. New religious groups fit into on out of 3 categories, world affirming, world rejecting and world accommodating. World affirming are individualistic and life positive, releasing human potential. They accept the world, and often appeal to older adults who are disinterested with a materialistic lifestyle, and agree with the laid back attitude of the world affiliating groups. They often have a therapy group as opposed to churches etc. and examples of affiliating movements...
Words: 894 - Pages: 4
...The shocking real life images from the horrifying terrorist attack in September 2011 has triggered various interpretation on the discourse of what it means to be Muslim and the image of Islam and its culture in the western media, and still have profound influence even after more than a decade and ongoing. Apart from the coverage on news media, TV entertainment, especially TV dramas also provide a powerful outlet for the popular prevailing discourses on Muslim and Islamic culture, which compare to news reports, leaves a more vivid and graphic impression on audience with its discourse and narratives. The proposed subject I am going to study is revolved around the representation of Islam and Muslim identity in the popular US TV drama Homeland. (Showtime, 2011) Homeland (Showtime, 2011) has been arguably the most successful TV series focusing on the theme of counter-terrorism and national security across the Atlantic since 2011, following its predecessor 24 (Fox, 2001) developed by the same producers. When asked what made the show distinctive compared to its predecessors, Damian Lewis, who played as Sgt Nicholas Brody, the male lead in Homeland replied, “We feel a bit differently about the War On Terror now. We’ve gone to war in the name of defending western democracy and our freedoms, but a lot of us don’t like the way in which those wars have been perpetrated, and we feel ambivalent about our governments as a result”. (Radio Times, 2012) The other main actor Mandy Patinkin...
Words: 4172 - Pages: 17
...In the seventeenth century, European intellectuals developed a new understanding of scientific endeavor, namely to discern natural causes through quantitative measurement. Galileo first challenged the Scholastic supposition that mathematical astronomy was merely ancillary to natural philosophy, and by the middle of the century, both the Cartesian and Newtonian mechanical systems had placed mathematics at center stage, disdaining qualitative physics as irrelevant, unknowable, and misleading. Consistent with their methodology, the mechanists tended to reduce the ontological reality of the natural world to its quantitative aspects, implicitly or explicitly eliminating all categories other than extension, time, space, and motion. In this interpretation, Descartes’ treatment of matter as extension merely formalized an intellectual aesthetic that even his adversaries held in practice. We can easily see this penchant for quantification in Newton’s belief that all physics is mechanical, but we might not expect to find a mania for quantity among those who held a more poetic view of reality. Such an enigma is precisely what we discover in Blaise Pascal, a man who intensely contemplated the ineffable qualitative aspects of human and divine reality, yet remained as thoroughly mechanistic in his treatment of the natural world as Descartes himself. By exploring this dual reality of Pascal’s intellectual life, we can examine how his brand of fideism synthesized the enchanted world of his...
Words: 3358 - Pages: 14
...countries, continents, cultures and people Dubai is a very cosmopolitan place that combines old tradition and religion with modernity, innovation, pioneering and extravagance. From the old traditional souks to the new modern malls we see people from all over the world, dressed in many different ways. It is sometimes easy to spot where people come from, especially if they are wearing a traditional costume for their culture. The locals of Dubai and the surrounding Emirates are called Emirati and the official religion of the United Arab Emirates is Islam. The traditional dress of the Muslim woman from the UAE is the Abaya, a kind of maxi dress or robe, it is long, has long sleeves, it is loose fitting and in the UAE it is generally black and simple, it is made of very thin fabric to make it cool in the scorching summers of Dubai and the surrounding Emirates. Muslim women in different parts of the world wear different garments, but all with the same purpose, to cover the body and not show the shape of the body, but in Dubai there is a large number of women in the black Abayas. There is a great contrast between the tourists, wearing tank tops and shorts revealing a lot of skin, and the Muslim women covering up their entire body, and some even their faces. There are many misconceptions, assumptions and prejudice about the Abayas and the women beneath them. For the western woman the Abaya is often seen as a way for men to oppress and undermine women. The media has often made it out...
Words: 3920 - Pages: 16
...other submission for an academic award and is solely my own work Signature of Candidate Type of Award School ___PhD_________________________________ ___Centre for Professional Ethics___________ 1 Abstract It was long assumed that both multiculturalism and feminism are connected to progressive movements and hence have comparable and compatible goals. However, both in academia and in popular media the critique on multiculturalism has grown and is often accompanied with arguments related to gender equality and/or feminism. According to political scientist Susan Moller Okin for example there are fundamental conflicts between our commitment to gender equality and the desire to respect the customs of minority cultures or religions. If we agree that women should not be disadvantaged because of their sex, she argues, we should not accept group rights that permit oppressive practices. Okin’s claims led to a complex and highly important debate both in academia and in public debates. The main aim of this thesis is to explore in depth the different discourses about multiculturalism and feminism and develop a more inclusive and nuanced...
Words: 97145 - Pages: 389
