The 'rediscovery' of ethnicity: Theory and analysis
Essay - 9 pages - Social sciences
The end of a millennium provides a rare opportunity to reexamine and assess achievements. In the sociological study of relations between diverse ethnic, racial and minority groups it marks a real, rather than a largely symbolic, watershed. There has been major transformation in the form and...
The sociology of housing and the housing problem
Essay - 9 pages - Social sciences
At its most elementary level, housing serves as shelter, offering protection against inclement weather and victimization by street crime. Housing fulfils other functions as well. It is typically a significant economic investment, for households as well as builders. Residents also tend to hold...
Human behavior in the social context
Essay - 7 pages - Social sciences
Humans are a social species. First, we explore the reasons why humans are social beings and briefly consider the broad implications of this characterization. Next, we go somewhat more deeply into the question what it means to be social. In other words, how does an individual function whose...
The relationship of Science and Religion as seen through the Galileo affair
Essay - 4 pages - Social sciences
It is true that often the church and science have clashed bitterly, leaving both sides--and the rest of the world--with the sense that there will never be a way to compromise. One of the best examples of this clash was in the 17th century, when Galileo crossed the Catholic Church. Although...
Political violence in flux: Changes in today's world
Essay - 10 pages - Social sciences
Terrorism has fundamentally changed the nature of international relations as a whole. With the emergence of small, non government organizations (or NGOs) that have the capability to inflict massive amounts of damage to life and property, states as a whole now face a strong challenge to...
Mendelssohn's 'Elijah': An oratorio for the generations
Essay - 5 pages - Social sciences
On Wednesday, August 26, 1846, Felix Mendelssohn's revered oratorio, Elijah, was premiered at the Birmingham Music Festival. The work met instant lauds, hailed by the London Times, “Never was there a more complete triumph- never a more thorough and speedy recognition of a great art...
Menotti: An American Legend
Essay - 5 pages - Social sciences
Gian Carlo Menotti is often named the premiere American opera composer of the 20th century. Born and raised in Italy, his view is the Italian one, that the theater should entertain, and he has dedicated his life to writing and composing operas in genres from comedy to sentiment, from passionate...
Speaking of the people: Authenticating representations of Native American culture
Essay - 5 pages - Social sciences
Archaeologists and Native Americans have an interesting relationship in this present day. They are both contesting for the same properties (except for the “property” of the Native American oral tradition). In this nation of immigrants, Native American culture and peoples...
Ainu: Spirit of a northern people
Essay - 6 pages - Social sciences
Modern history: that is pretty simple. It is the origins that really trip people up. Perhaps it is the lack of an ancient system of record keeping; perhaps records that existed were destroyed in natural disasters. For all historians know, natural disasters could have wiped out ancient historians...
Untouchability and societal changes
Essay - 6 pages - Social sciences
How quickly can a prevailing attitude shift? What forces can bring about drastic changes in the structure of a society, and how quickly can that change be enacted? How long does it take for crippling stereotypes to disappear? These questions are central to those marked as untouchables, and to...
Symbolism in Japanese animation: Neon Genesis Evangelion and its depth of imagery
Essay - 4 pages - Social sciences
Symbolism has long been a tool employed by authors and directors to fill in the gaps of a story where an explanation would prove unnecessarily wordy or would jeopardize the message's importance. That which is not said, often, is just as important as what actually is. Modern cinema benefits...
History according to the Slave narratives
Essay - 8 pages - Social sciences
The historical account given firsthand by former enslaved peoples has been called into question on many occasions. It has been suggested that because the narratives of these former slaves are so inconsistent with one another, the resulting history was flawed. The allegations are not without a...
Africville: The destruction of a community in the name of urban renewal
Essay - 4 pages - Social sciences
Africville was a black community located on the outskirts of Halifax, built by Loyalist descendants, and destroyed for the sake of urban renewal in the late 1960s. Canada has always prided itself on its race relations, often comparing its own history with that of the United States. However, this...
A more perfect union: Utopian communities in Tennessee
Essay - 5 pages - Social sciences
Tennessee has long been regarded by historians as a crossroads of different ideas and people, its unique geographic position separating it from being overly dominated by established traditions for much of its history. It is this unique situation that makes Tennessee a favored home for idealists...
A study of the beginnings and effects of country clubs in American society
Essay - 6 pages - Social sciences
In today's current society, there is an aspect of social life that is experienced by a portion of those in America's middle and upper classes. This aspect is the country club, which is major part of some American's lives. In present times, such institutions are viewed as places...
The mysterious history of Scientology
Essay - 6 pages - Social sciences
What is Scientology? The answer is as simple or as complex as the one asking and the one answering wants to make it. Since its creation in 1952, Scientology has been seen by some as a religion, others as a cult, still others as a joke. Is it, as its creator L. Rob Hubbard asserted, a philosophy?...
Cultural and material remains of the Chiricahua Apache
Essay - 12 pages - Social sciences
The Chiricahua Apache, prior to forced displacement, occupied a broad swath of land surrounding the modern nexus of New Mexico, Arizona, Sonora, and Chihuahua. This traditional territory offered a spectrum of natural environments that varied from mountainous regions to desert environments to...
Cultural analysis: The Maury Povich show
Essay - 4 pages - Social sciences
The Maury Povich show is a television programmed that has been syndicated to networks since 1991, hosted by Maury Povich (IMDB). His most popular “theme” of his series is paternity tests for woman, or their man who is involved in a dispute surrounding the baby's father...
Religious ambivalence: Geology and the Victorian crisis of faith
Essay - 5 pages - Social sciences
Edmund Burke wrote, “There is nothing so fatal to religion as indifference.” If religion were the driving force in pre- and early Victorian society, indifference and confusion would have been the contenders of its power. Religion, a societal stabilizer, political voice, and moral...
Families make a difference
Essay - 5 pages - Social sciences
Research suggests that adolescent delinquent substance abuse is one of the more prevalent social problems in the United States. I chose this topic because I have seen it among my own peers. Substance abuse is a problem regardless of race, class, ethnicity or gender among adolescents. In a study...
The origins and functions of religion
Essay - 9 pages - Social sciences
Religion is a subject that has been of constant interest to anthropologists. Before discussing origins, functions and examples of religion however, it is first necessary that we develop a proper definition. For the purpose of this paper I will define religion as a group of beliefs concerning the...
Religious belief and religious identity as separate forces in politics in the Middle East
Essay - 7 pages - Social sciences
In the debate over slavery that took place in America in the nineteenth century, apologists for both sides appealed to Christianity, the Union's dominant religion, to justify their respective cases. George Armstrong, in his 1857 book The Christian Doctrine of Slavery, stated that, “[I]t...
Islamic finance and the gates of Ijtihad
Essay - 11 pages - Social sciences
If the sharia comes from God, then how can it change? This question, quite reasonable in itself, misses a large point about the sharia. When the Quran and the Sunna—the sources of the sharia—were compiled soon after Mohammad's death, there was no assumption on the part of Muslim...
How Jazz Musicians inspired a political re-imagining of America
Essay - 5 pages - Social sciences
The concept of jazz music being truly American art form is both sadly ironic and inspiringly beautiful. Being that the music itself is a direct product of the black experience in America, it is a national symbol that while challenging the nation has come to define it. As Eric...
A world without Music
Essay - 5 pages - Social sciences
I walked nervously down a dark, damp, crowded corridor. Condensation, like a light but steady rainfall, dripped from the poorly maintained air conditioning system high above in the ill lit hall way. Unfamiliar faces gazed in my direction with zombie-like indifference as I brushed shoulders,...
A better look at Islam and Al Qaeda
Essay - 5 pages - Social sciences
Since the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the words “Muslim” and “Islam” have become synonymous with the feared word “terrorism.” As Americans learned that the enemy was factions of Muslim extremists operating in the Middle East and that they were driven to...
African American economic growth
Essay - 8 pages - Social sciences
African American community as far as the 1960s has maintained a rich tradition of philanthropy due to the challenges the community faced in the past decades. The resources that contributed to the philanthropic activities include the mutual aid organizations, churches, major political...
Obesity in children
Essay - 5 pages - Social sciences
In the year 2002, America watched closely as Samuel Hirsch, a lawyer from the federal court of Manhattan, filed a lawsuit against McDonalds. Hirsch filed a complaint against the famous fast-food chain accusing the company of violating the state of New York consumer fraud statutes by intentionally...
Secrets uncovered: A textual analysis of the use of rhetorical strategies in Teen E-Zines
Essay - 6 pages - Social sciences
Using specific rhetorical strategies to persuade and inform is a writing technique that has been used for many decades. The art of rhetoric is often taught in higher education, particularly in persuasive writing classes. However, these strategies are not always used to accomplish what many would...
World cities: The global north and south
Essay - 4 pages - Social sciences
The 20th century witnessed the pivotal inauguration of Western expansion, also historically known as the Age of Exploration. The Europeans were the first people to manipulate global affairs to a large extent. Consequently, this period of discoveries, occupations, and colonization put forth a...
