Are there any economic reasons for continuing EU agriculture support Essay

Are there any economic reasons for continuing EU agriculture support as opposed to leaving agriculture to the mercy of market forces - Essay Example The EU supports a particular model of agriculture that meets the food concerns of its citizens, safeguards the environment, and allows farmers to live decently. The essay discusses possible economic reasons of continued EU agricultural support as opposed to leaving agriculture to the mercy of market forces. The EU plays a critical role in ensuring adequate food supply within Europe. Without food security, Europe would be dangerously dependent on the fluctuating rate of imports(Baldwin & Wyplosz, 2012, p. 422). The agricultural sector needs the stability provided by the CAP in order to ensure maximum production of food reserves. If left to the market forces, farmers would not find it easy investing in the improvements towards productivity, environmental protection and food safety(El-Agraa, 2011, p. 290). The Common Agricultural Policy ensures the Europeans have a stable supply of food at reasonable prices. With the ever increasing impact of global warming on the quantity of harvests, it is important to protect the local food supplies. Without the support of the Common Agricultural Policy, all the 27 EU nations would have developed their competing support systems, creating a chaotic single market(Nello, 2011, p. 368). The EU works towards protecting the rural communities that are constantly under threat. The average farmers’ income is only half the average wage of the EU. It is no surprise that the rate of agricultural employment fell by about 25 percent over the last decade(Dearden, 2005, p. 86). About 60% of the EU population live in the countryside and cover 90% of the Union’s territory. The countryside is one of the greatest interests of the EU since farmers need help in protecting the environment, as well as their way of life. Currently, the CAP offers adequate training to farmers, and assistance to new farmers starting up(Pelkmans,

The Main Stages of PLC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Main Stages of PLC - Essay Example The question of which to use, or where on this continuum to operate, must be made at the introductory stage of the PLC. PLC distinguishes five market-opportunity phases: entry, establishment, expansion, maturity, and decline; and indicates the kind of opportunity analysis that should go into developing the marketing mix (see Appendix 1). This chart shows that markets increase slowly at first, and then increase at an increasing rate, reach maturity, and finally decline (Drejer 62). The time period for this cycle varies by products. Consider the difference in cycle among the dress industry, the lumber industry, and the computer industry. Also, different companies choose to enter markets during different developmental phases. Even so, management must be aware that marketing tasks of a phase 1 situation are different from those relevant to phase 4 (Crawford and Benedetto 44). In the initial phase (market entry), there is no direct competition. Computer games manufacturing should take into account the fact that the tasks of marketing programs and strategies are those of gaining initial market acceptance and changing habits. They are concerned with creating primary demands for the product, providing customer and consumer information, identifying market segments, gaining market knowledge, soliciting channel support, and promoting to gain a foothold in the marketplace. A common market price emerges in this stage, with the range of acceptable prices narrowing (Crawford and Benedetto 44). The marketer is encountering downward pressure on prices, although this depends on the extent of product differentiation among competitors and the rate at which technological improvements are being made to the product. At this stage, a computer games manufacturer should find the most effective channel strategies and promotions activities in order to plan and develop the furth er campaign. For a computer game, traditional marketing channels (through specialized stores) and direct selling methods will be the most effective channels of distribution. It will be appropriate to use a skimming price in order to attract more users, and popularize the new product. The main promotion techniques are advertising and press conferences aimed to inform community about benefits and uniqueness of the new computer game (Drejer 63). Establishment The second phase is characterized by endeavors to establish markets. In this phase, limited direct competition exists, and potential competitors begin to notice the situation. The functions of marketing programs and strategies are to solidify and extend market footholds and to establish differential advantage. Marketing activities center around gaining brand acceptance and developing customer loyalty. The attempt is to establish a market niche. Also, in the growth stage individual need or benefit segments may surface (Grieves 98). A benefit segment is a sizable group of buyers that places heavy emphasis on a specific product attribute or particular mix of attributes. These segments will often differ in their willingness to pay for specific attributes (e.g., faster delivery, smaller inventories, better service, a special feature). There may, at this stage, still be a substantial amount of

Article critique assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Critique assignment - Article Example As Dr. Kedisaletse said â€Å"Sexual reproductive health is important for young people.†(Focus, 2007) For the erotic still arouses acute moral anxiety and confusion among youngsters. The strong emotion aroused enables one to enter the world of sexuality. This scenario produces the question of how many youngsters are aware and ready or rather physically and mentally prepared to accept the after effects. This is a vital issue which is addressed for once teenagers are aware of the consequences I feel one can deal with the issue on abortions then. An important aspect that Dr. Kedisaletse makes is that this education in teenage pregnancy is not only for the youngsters but also for the ‘health workers and youth development practitioners’ for ultimately they are the individuals who interact with teenagers and unless and until they are forceful in their interaction and provide all the necessary facts only then would teenagers understand reality and in a way abortions can be controlled. To begin with what are teenage pregnancies? Teenage pregnancy, by definition, refers to pregnancy in a woman under the age of 20. (Focus, 2007) The general framework would be younger the woman better would be their productive organs and motherhood becomes uncomplicated and more agile. So early marriages are more common or illegal sex is the causes for teenage pregnancies. Education about the negative aspects is vital for many are ignorant about the physical effects wherein the ‘severity of gestational protein uric hypertension’ combined with cephalopelvic disproportion which may result in failed labor. And here again depending on superstitions many would blame the woman for failure in pregnancy or in labor. Economic effects wherein most teenagers are financially dependent on their parents and this becomes unpleasant. Further financial insecurity finds the mother undergoing trauma which in turn affects the child within. Teenage pregnancy is a

Comparing Three Poems Half-Caste Essay Example for Free

Comparing Three Poems Half-Caste Essay Each of these three poems talk about certain problems faced by specific groups of people in todays society. The poems have been written specifically to illustrate to people who have been brought up with derogative ideas about different types of people, that there are people who are different, but are neither superior nor inferior to themselves.  The main themes that run common in all 3 poems are the ideas of individualism, respect, culture and equality. The poem Half-Caste by John Agard talks about the stereo typed judgement about half-caste people in society today. John Agards main argument in the poem is that being a half-caste person does not make you half a human being. He talks about how people make assumptions about half-caste people.  and when Im introduced to yu Im sure youll understand why I offer yu half-a-hand This quote suggests that non half-caste peoples attitudes towards half-caste people is that they are not human, and do not do everyday things the way they would do themselves. Agard exaggerates his ideas in order to make his argument a lot clearer.  ..an when moon begin to glow I half-caste human being cast half-a-shadow It is obvious that half-caste people do not caste shadows different to anyone else, but the emphasis on the ridiculousness of the mere idea of a different type of shadow makes the idea of half-caste people being different just as ridiculous.  He explains quite cleverly how degrading the term half-caste can be by comparing half-caste people like himself to very worldly ideas that you would not title half-caste. Yu mean when light an shadow mix in de sky is a half-caste weather His examples are all of things that people would associate with beauty, such as nature, art and music. His point being that if people call humans of two colours half-caste, then everything else with mixed colours must be aswel. People wouldnt think twice about labeling a human half-caste, but when talking about nature or music and it would again be completely ridiculous to call Tchaikovskys composition a half-caste symphony. The poem itself also relays the message of individualism. It is written in phonetics to demonstrate his own personality with the language being English, but with his own Guyanan dialect. The readers are then forced to read the poem in a certain way, which enforces the message behind the poem.  Tom Leonard also uses this effective technique in his poem from Unrelated Incidents. This poem talks about status and social acceptance. Leonard talks about how people are reluctant to sit secure in the knowledge of a person with an accent, compared to someone who speaks with what is thought of proper, standard English in an English accent. He puts across the idea of how naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve and narrow-minded people can be. if a tokaboot thi trooth lik wanna yoo scruff yi widny thingk it wuz troo  He suggests that people would believe anything from the mouth of a proper speaking person, no matter how insane it may be and totally dismiss what a person with an accent like his, is saying. Even if it was the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so to speak. The way in which he has put this idea across is by using what is very commonly known to be quite English a typical example of where this sort of discrimination occurs. The news, where you will mainly hear the news read from a person who speaks with the right accent. This is thi six a clock news thi man said n thi reason a tok wia BBC accent iz coz yi widny wahnt mi ti talk aboot thi trooth wia voice lik wanna yoo scruff The poem is a parody of a typical British news broadcast, it is ironic the way in which Leonard has used his own dialect and spoken in the style of the commonly known news. It is obvious that Leonard is frustrated and angry at the fact that him and others alike would be looked down upon because of the way they talk. Similarly with John Agard we can see the resentment towards those people who treat half-caste people differently and Tom Leonard with the way society looks upon people with accents that differ from their own. However, Sujata Bhatts Search For My Tongue discusses society and culture from a different perspective. The problem she finds herself faced with is trying to make a correct balance with her own culture and heritage and the culture in which she lives in. She explains her fear of losing her mother tongue and never being able to be totally accepted by the foreign tongue. Her concern with the mother tongue being lost is very explicit in the poem: And if you lived in a place where toy had to speak a foreign tongue, you mother tongue would rot, rot and die in your mouth until you had to spit it out She explains how hard it is to keep your mother tongue healthy in a place where there is no use for it, and eventually it would become useless and you would eventually forget it about it. She talks not just about language but her whole culture and how she was brought up, what she was brought up to believe and live by and how society and different cultures sometimes make you forget. However she gets across to the reader that somehow, sub-consciously while she dreams, she dreams in her own language and reminds herself of her language and that she is still who she has always been and always will be.  modhama pakay chay it blossoms out of my mouth. The tongue is described to blossom out her mouth jus as she thinks she has forgotten it. This imagery of blossoming is beautiful and emphasises how important it is to be who you are because it is beautiful from whatever background and culture you belong to.

Greenblatt Guru of New Historicism

Greenblatt Guru of New Historicism According to M.A.R Habib, New Historicism has become a literary term closely associated with Greenblatt, who is generally regarded as the guru of New Historicism and, as a predictable result of his sudden prominence, the focus of much criticism. By breaking disciplinary boundaries between the text and history, and between fiction and reality, New Historicism, eventually and inevitably, has now come to terms with the decision to set up its priority in a place between textualism and contextualism. In other words Karbe believes that text or phenomena cannot be somehow torn from history and analyzed in isolation outside of the historical process (401). Against the traditional view to history as Tyson says history is a matter of interpretations, not facts, and that interpretations always occur within a framework of social conventions(289),so the new historicist critics believes that all historical analysis is unavoidably subjective. Historians must therefore reveal the ways in which they know they have been positioned, by their own cultural experience, to interpret history (290). In order to know the rule of literature in new historicism and the relation between the society and environment of the time or generally the role of history of time and place to create a literary work, it would be highly important to explain some details to understand this notion better. Like the other new historicist critics Tyson believes that for new historical critics, a literary text doesnt embody the authors intention or illustrate the spirit of the age that produced it, as traditional literary historians asserted. In continues he assert that: Nor are literary texts self-sufficient art objects that transcend the time and place in which they were written, as New Critics believed. Rather, literary texts are cultural artifacts that can tell us something about the interplay of discourses, the web of social meanings, operating in the time and place in which the text was written. And they can do so because the literary text is itself part of the interplay of discourses, a thread in the dynamic web of social meaning. For new historicism, the literary text and the historical situation from which it emerged are equally important because text (the literary work) and context (the historical conditions that produced it) are mutually constitutive: they create each other (291-2). Like the dynamic interplay between individual identity and society, literary texts shape and are shaped by their historical contexts. Michael Payne asserts; new historicism is a collection of practices rather than school or a method (2), so thats why flourishing in the 80s, New Historicism mainly based on French philosopher Michel Foucaults theories offered just such a critique of history, and the dominant new historicist theories which have been used in this study would be according to the Foucaults definitions of this term. The new historicism explores the place of literature in an ongoing contest of power within society which has been defined widely latter by Foucault whose ideas have strongly influenced the development of new historicism, power circulates in all directions, to and from all social levels, at all times(Tyson 284). The others notions which are directly related to the new historicism are discourse, identity and the episteme of the time. Dr. Chung Hsiung Lai in his es say Limits and Beyond: Greenblatt, New Historicism and a Feminist Genealogy says that language is bound up with questions of identity because it is through language that we speak of ourselves and interact with others (4). We can promote the role of language in a new historicist reading to discursive power or social self fashioning force which Foucault explain them later fully. New historicist reading of the literary work according to Foucault, could be reading it according to dominant discourse and episteme of the time of the writer which could help the researcher to comprehend the identity of the creative characters of the selected works better and also helps to understand the intention of the author to create this imaginative world. Accordingly it is beyond argument that notwithstanding Greenblatt as a dominant figure in new historicism, Foucaults theories as a new historicist author have been concerned largely with the concepts of power, knowledge and discourse, These concepts alongside of the other concepts like identity and episteme are those which could applied in the text of so many literary works in a new historicist reading of them; but the author that has been selected for this study is Margaret Atwood who the notion of new historicism is highly applicable in her novels especially the selected ones The Handmaids Tale and Edible Woman. Atwood has created a stunning Orwellian vision of the near future in The Handmaids Tale. This is the story of Offred, one of the unfortunate Handmaids under the new social order who have only one purpose: to breed. In Gilead, where women are prohibited from holding jobs, reading and forming friendships, Offreds persistent memories of life in the time before and will to survive are acts of rebellion. According to Dr. Chung Hsiung Lai Greenblatt evokes the traditional privileging of speech over writing, where meaning are thought to be somehow less ambiguous as the speaker consciously aims at reducing the chances of misinterpretation (5).Howells in her essay Margaret Atwoods Dystopian Vision: The Handmaids Tale and Oryx and Crake asserts that this novel might usefully begin with this statement, for Offreds fictive autobiography come to us as a written text, and only at the end do we discover that, what we have been reading was actually a spoken narrative which has been transcribed from the old caste types and reconstructed for publication long after the narrator is dead(165). The second novel which has been analyzed in this study is Edible Woman, The edible woman of the novels title is, most obviously, a doll shape cake cooked and consumed in the novels conclusion. However the title also refers to the novels main character, Marian MacAlpin, who is so preoccupied with food that she interprets life around her in terms of food consumption, eventually come to identify with food, and develops a serious eating disorder as well as some romantic relations, love affairs, a broken marital engagement, a planned pregnancy and birth. The concept of body is what Atwood use widely, during the plotline of these two novels, and Foucault in Discipline and Punishment and also History of Sexuality use and explain this notion which would be highly useful in this study and At the centre of the study is a triangulated set of concepts concerning the body and its articulation with relations of power and knowledge. Barry Smart asserts that Genealogical analysis reveals the body as an object of knowledge and as a target for the exercise of power. The body is shown to be located in a political field, invested with power relations which render it docile and productive, and thus politically and economically useful (69) Thus the exercise of power necessarily puts into circulation apparatuses of knowledge, that is creates sites where knowledge is formed. Foucault himself in Discipline and Punishment asserts that a knowledge of the body that is not exactly the science of its functioning, and a mastery of its forces that is more than the ability to conquer them(26). and also Bartky believes that Both [feminism and Foucault] identify the body as the site of the power (102).Thus this analysis of power has set in motion an entirely new way of examining power relations in society, focusing more on resistance than simple passive oppression. Foucault also interested in the way that power operates through different forms of regime at particular historical period , Foucaults genealogical analyses begin with an examination of the character of modern power relations literally with the question of how power is exercised and the associated issue of the relationships between power and knowledge(Smart p. 69), and also Mills declares that For Foucault, discipline is a set of strategies, procedures and ways of behaving which are associated with certain institutional contexts and which then permeate ways of thinking and behaving in general(44). History is the other word, plays a dominant role in Foucaults ideas. Sara Mills explains that for Foucault the past is not seen as inevitably leading up to the present, a view of history which renders the past banal; it is very strangeness of the past which makes us able to see clearly the strangeness of the present(24). Then in The Archaeology of Knowledge Foucault develops the term episteme that is the body of knowledge and the ways of knowing which are in circulation at the particular moment. This study has been circulated around those Foucaults ideas which are relevant to analysis of selected novels. Argument David Staines in his essay Margaret Atwood in Her Canadian Context introduces Atwood as a prolific writer and a hit with literary critics, who became internationally famous after the popular and critical success of her 1984 novel, The Handmaids Tale. Atwood began her career in the 1960s, teaching English and at first publishing poetry, short stories and literary criticism. Her other novels include Surfacing (1972), Cats Eye (1988), Alias Grace (1996) and the 2000 Booker Prize winner, The Blind Assassin. About the concept of history Atwood in one of her lectures on her first historical novel asked a fundamental question which she tries to answers in her later novels, she asked What does the past tell us?Then she answered, In and of itself, it tells us nothing. We have to be listening first, before it will say a word; and even so, listening is telling and then retelling( Coomi S. Vevaina 86. ) . Coomi S. Vevaina tries to explain how far Atwood believe the concept of history and how far she used this concept in her Novels; he declares that in all her [Atwoods] works, Atwood reveals a distinctly postmodern engagement with history(87). He then continues that by recording some tapes Offred becomes an elocutionary act and her narrative(87); or better to say her story status warning against moral dictatorship and atrocity is summarily dismissed in an editorial aside by the male professional historian how is interested in reconstructing his grand impersonal narrative of a vanished nations hi story(87). Howells in her essay regarding the dystopian vision in Margaret Atwoods Handmaids tale asserts that this novel might usefully begin with this statement, for Offreds fictive autobiography come to us as a written text, and only at the end do we discover that, what we have been reading was actually a spoken narrative which has been transcribe from the old caste types and reconstruct for publication ling after the narrator is dead(165). Thus by help of this story we recognize the episteme of the time which Atwood tries to criticize, episteme according to Foucault is: the total set of relations that unite, at a given period, the discursive practices that give rise to epistemological figures, sciences, and possibly formalized systemsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦The episteme is not a form of knowledgeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦or type of rationality which, crossing the boundaries of the most varied sciences, manifests the sovereign unity of a subject, a spirit, or a period; it is the totality of relations that can be discovered for a given period, between the sciences when one analyses them at the level of discursive regularities(191). Moreover Howells believes that the issue of language and power has always been crucial in construction of dystopias:throughout the history of dystopian fiction the conflict of the text has often turned on the control of language (166). and it is Offreds attempt to seize it [the language] to make it hers (Cixous, Medusa. 343), which gives her narrative its appeal as one woman story of resistance against patriarchal tyranny. In both Edible woman and Handmaids Tale the efforts of heroin for resistance is obvious because both of them revolt against something and someone, Such revolts about conditions, staff, practices, and treatments have at root been resistances against the very materiality of the prison and punishment as instruments of power, resistances against a particular technology of power exercised over both the mind and body of the individual (Smart 74). Identity is the matter which Atwoods protagonist deals with and the great impact of society on them is not deniable, they are what the society likes to be, thats why they are looking for a way to resistance. As the case in point Goldblatt in Reconstructing Margaret Atwoods Protagonists asserts that in The Edible Woman Marians body is also a battlefield. Unable to cope with her impending marriage to Peter, Marian finds herself unable to ingest any food that was once alive. Repulsed by her societys attitude of consumerism (275), On the other hand the story of Offred in Gilead society is the same, Goldblatt continues Offreds identity and value as a child bearer as well in The Handmaids Tale, are proclaimed by her clothes in her totalitarian city of Gilead, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ she is no longer owns a name; she if Of Fred, the concubine named for the man who will impregnate her(276). Considering the new historicist approach according to Foucaults ideas (especially those which are fit to selected novels) the researcher wants to proof that, the purpose of present study is to trace the fundamental and substantial elements of new historicism in Atwoods Handmaids Tale and The Edible Woman. In order to gain the purpose the researcher tries to answer the following questions: Upon what social understanding do these works depends? What other cultural events occurred surrounding the original production of these texts? How may these events be relevant to the text under investigation? Why might reader at a particular time and place find these works compelling? Do contemporary issues and cultural milieu of the time of the author operate together to create her novels? Significance of the study There are two main reasons, which make doing this research important. The first reason is the author herself who is the contemporary leading novelist. And the second one is that this research gives a chance to know how Foucault ideas as an approach applicable on Atwoods selected novels. What makes this research significant is that up to the present time there are so many researches and studies on Atwoods short stories, poem or novels but in none of the researches deal with new historical approach. The present study wants to show, against so many critics who place Atwood in the list of feminist critics, there are others aspects rather than feminism in Atwoods works that could be noticeable. Sawicki asserts that Foucault emphasis on the sexual body as a target and vehicle of this new form of power / knowledge is reproduced in feminist analyses of modern form patriarchal control over womens mind and bodies in the context of the emergence of the sciences of medicine, social work, and psychology(290). From this stand point which most of the protagonist of Atwoods Novels are women, to look at the overall pattern it is generally accepted these heroines are in search of knowledge in order to gain power for resistance but in contrast to the traditional definition of power, the power which Foucault talks about is totally different. Mark Robson in Routledge Critical Thinkers: Stephen Greenblatt indicates that: Central to Foucaults work is the notion that knowledge is always a form of power. Thus advances in psychiatry or in the treatment of illnesses also lead to new ways of controlling the people who are mad or ill. Such control tends to reinforce the power of those in a position to impose the categories. But this does not mean that power is simply exercised from the top down. As Foucault puts it:power is everywhere; not because it embraces everything, but because it comes from everywhere ( 55). To sum up, the present study tries to insist on the element of new historicism specially Foucaltian approach on Atwoods selected novels which are believed that would be fully applicable. Review of Literature This study is a library research and all the information is obtain through different books, whether directly or indirectly discussing the materials, essays, electronic sources and many other possible sources in which the related materials can be found. This research is mainly focused on the original text of selected novels which are published, and also secondary sources, which explain and criticized these Novels, are used in order to help elaboration of the novels. The primarily concentration is on those studies which are related to the conception of new Historicism. Coral Ann Howells in The Cambridge Companion to Margaret Atwood tries to gather essays by Twelve leading international Atwood critics, provides the most comprehensive and up to date account of Atwoods novels. These essays consider Atwood theme, language, humor and narrative techniques. As a case in point Somacarreras essayPower politics: power and identity or Vevainas Margaret Atwood and history with many other essay from this book could help this study to move up in a better way. The Greenblatt Readers which is edited by Michael Payne makes available in one volume Greenblatts most important writing on culture, Renaissance studies and Shakespeare. It also features occasional pieces on subjects as diverse as storytelling and medicals, demonstrating the range of his cultural interests. Taken together, the text collected here dispel the idea that new historicism is antithetical to literary and aesthetic value. By the help of this book the researcher would like to reveal the progressive process of new historicism from Greenblatt to Foucault. Especially part one of this book which dedicate to culture and new historicism, could be highly useful for present study. Rutledge Critical Thinkers are some books which offer introductions to major critical thinkers who have influenced literary studies and humanities. Each book will equip the reader to approach these thinkers original text by explaining their key ideas, showing the reader why they are considered to be significant; Stephen Greenblatt by Mark Robson is the one of these series which not only introduce Greenblatt as a leading figure of new historicism but also ties to explain exactly what new historicism means and the relevance of new historicism to all aspects of literary criticism this book will help the researcher to find the dominant similarity and contrast between Greenbelts new historicism and Foucaltian new historicism. Various articles which make use of the theories of Foucault are referred to, such as Saundra lee Bartkys Foucault, Femininity, and the Modernization of Patriarchal Power, in which the author exclusively examines the discursive pressures upon the female body. In The History of Sexuality, Volume I: an Introduction Foucault provides much useful information on the origin, definition, and the treatment of the sexual body. This information is also useful in discussions concerning body and resistance. Gary Gutting in The Cambridge Companion to Foucault tryes to present a systematic and comprehensive overview of Foucaults major theme and texts from his early works on madness through his history of sexuality, and relates his work to significant contemporary movements such as critical theory and feminism. This book consist of several articles by different thinkers such as Foucault mapping of history by Thomas Flynn , Power/Knowledge by Joseph Rouse and Foucault feminism and question of identity by Jana Sawicki, which help the researcher in this study. Lisa Downing is Professor of French Discourses of Sexuality and Director of the Centre for the Interdisciplinary Study of Sexuality and Gender in Europe at the University of Exeter. her book The Cambridge Introduction to Michel Foucault provides ways in to understanding Foucaults key concepts of subjectivity, discourse and power. The book also explores the critical reception of Foucaults works and acquaints the reader with the afterlives of some of his theories, particularly his influence on feminist and queer studies. Each of these books represents fully the term of new Historicism which can be good theoretical bases for present study. Methodology New historicism study is a divergent field with numerous ideas, theoreticians, articles, and branches. One prominent flow of this kind of criticism is limited to Foucaults Ideas regarding power, identity, episteme, history, sexuality, knowledge, discourse and culture. According to Gearhart in Cultural Analysis and Its Discontents The issue of culture has been at the center of critical and literary-critical studies for quite some time now, and nowhere has it been more prominent than in the influential form of literary criticism that has come to be known as the new historicism. Colebrook in his book New literary Histories: New Historicism and Contemporary Criticism asserts that new historicism, a term applied to a trend in American academic literary studies in the 1980s that emphasized the historical nature of literary texts and at the same time (in contrast with older historicisms) the textual nature of history. As part of a wider reaction against purely formal or linguistic critical approaches such as the new criticism and deconstruction, the new historicists, led by Stephen Greenblatt, drew new connections between literary and nonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ literary texts, breaking down the familiar distinctions between a text and its historical background as conceived in established historical forms of criticism. Inspired by Michel Foucaults concepts of discourse and power, they attempted to show how literary works are implicated in the power relations of their time, not as secondary reflections of any coherent world view but as active participants in the continual remaking of meanings(Baldick 227). New historicism is less a system of interpretation than a set of shared assumptions about the relationship between literature and history, and an essayistic style that often develops general reflections from a startling historical or anthropological anecdote. The framework of this study is Foucault ideas but before that the reader should become familiar with the concept of new historicism form Greenblatt to Foucault in order to understand its process and changes; so the chapter two has been devoted to this notion. Therefore, one principle aim is to know how literature of the specific time could be read according to new historicism. Following this new historicism methodology, chapters three and four argue the dominant concepts of new historicism according to Foucaults definition of this notion and their application to selected novels. These concepts could be the episteme of the time of the author which influence her work of art, power circulation and the role of body in this circulation, challenges of protagonist for gaining knowledge and identity and so on. And chapter five could be a conclusion and sum up of this study. Limitation and delimitation of study The present study is concerned only with Margarets two selected Novels, rather than her poetries or short stories. The choice of novels was also difficult because Margaret Atwood has variety of novels which more or less deal with different subject matters, therefore it is not possible to cover all of them in this study. As a result, the researcher concentrates only two novels which are most famous ones and suit the capacity of the content of the study. These selective novels can be studied from different approaches but the researcher is not going to say what other have said, so she chooses to examine the notion of new historicism according to Foucault definition of this term because this notion has variety sub branches. According to present study the new historicist elements such as Apparatus, Discipline, Discursive Practice, Episteme, Ethics, Identity and Power will be discuss fully in the shadow of Michel Foucault definition of these terms. In this study, the researcher will use the philosophers and theories which are related to her discussion and help its progress. Tentative outline The Concepts of Identity, Power and Knowledge: A Foucaltian Study of Margaret Atwoods Handmaids Tale and Edible Woman. Abstract Acknowledgements Chapter I. Introduction General Background The Argument Literature Review Thesis Outline Approach and Methodology New Historicism Definition of Terms Chapter 2. New Historicism from Foucault to Greenblatt Chapter 3. Foucaltian study of Handmaids Tale Chapter 4. Foucaltian study of Edible Woman Chapter 5. Conclusion Summing up Findings and implications Suggestion for farther reading Bibliography Definition of the Key Terms The below key terms are among many which may use in the present study: Andocentric: centered on the male. The term has been coined by feminist theorist wishing to describe a habit of mind and set of attitudes which are based upon a male perspective and which ignore female experience and interest (Hawthorn 10). Apparatus: Foucault generally uses this term to indicate the various institutional, physical and administrative mechanism and knowledge structure, which enhance and maintain the exercise of power within the social body (Hawthorn 12). Bio-power: Numerous and diverse techniques for achieving the subjugation of bodies and the control of populations (History of Sexuality, Foucault 77). Confession: an important component of bio-power. People are taught that their liberation requires them to tell the truth, to confess it to someone who is more powerful and this truth telling will somehow set them free (Dreyfus and Rabinow p. 141, History of Sexuality, 58-65). Discipline: The methods, which make possible the meticulous control of the operation of the body, which assure the constant subjection of its forces and impose upon it a relation of docility-utility (Discipline and Punishment, Foucault 137). Episteme: a term coin by Foucault and widely used by Derrida, to indicate the totality of relations and laws of transformations uniting all discursive practice at any moment of time. Episteme established rules by the dominant power in a social body that effect individual and their knowledge of true or false (Mills 28). Historicism: a means of working with the problem that all history is history from the perspective of the historian. Historicism is a means of validating for itself the perpetual critical relation at play between history and human sciences (The Order of Things, Foucault 372).all knowledge is rooted in the life, a society and a language that have a history; and it is in that very history that knowledge finds the element enabling with other form of life (The Order of Things, Foucault 372-3) Language or discursive practice: this term refer to historically and culturally specific set of rules for organizing and producing different form of knowledge. It is a matter of rules, which, a bit kind the grammar of language, allow certain statement to be made (Mills 53). Power: power is not a thing but relation, it is not simply repressive but productive, and also it is not simply a property of the state, but exercise throughout the social body (Mills 34). Subject: Foucault uses the term subject in place of the individual, which is structuralisms preferred term for the self, in two ways: He uses the subject as both the grammatical subject, and subject as a verb (Mills 1617).

greek vase painting Essay -- essays research papers fc

Greek Vase Painting   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In modern society, Greek pottery is considered an art which is regarded as much for its aesthetic splendor as its historical significance. However, the role of pottery in ancient Greek culture was far more functional as its primary use was for the transportation and storage of such liquids as water and wine (Encyclopedia Britannica). Due to the durability of the fired clay material, Greek pottery is the only remaining art form that allows us to explore the evolution of this ancient culture. Through that examination, three distinct stylistic periods have been unveiled: Geometric, Orientalizing and Archaic. This analysis will detail these distinct periods as well as three design techniques prevalently used: black figure, red figure and white ground   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first definable period of Greek pottery, Geometric (c. 900-700 BCE), accounts for the majority of ancient vase painting still in existence today; and as such, affords us the broadest view into this art form. The period attributes its name to the geometric forms that artists used to detail their vessels. The primary decorative motifs that distinguish the period include parallel lines, concentric (Metropolitan Museum of Art) rituals as depicted in this Krater from 750 BCE which is characteristic of this era. The primary scene that occupies the widest portion of this particular vase depicts a deceased body placed on its side on a funeral bier surrounded by family members and mourners. The secondary zone below details a procession of horse drawn chariots and soldiers carrying hourglass shields. The illustration of people and animals is both abstract and two-dimensional as artists of the Geometric era regularly used triangular torsos and long thin arms and legs (Stokstad, 160).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second distinct period which originated in Corinth in 700 BCE and spanned one hundred years is now known as the Orientalizing period. This period gets its name from the introduction of Egyptian and Eastern influences on Greek pottery during this time. The impact of foreign styles lead to the introduction of the black-figure technique that has come to epitomize the era. In Black-figure painting, figures and ornaments were drawn in silhouette on the natural clay surface of the vase ... ...des us with a glimpse into the ancient culture using beautiful and detailed designs. The art form has been sustained in fired clay for thousands of years indiscriminately telling its story to the world and to history. Bibliography 1.Chamoux, Francois. The Pallas Library of Art: Greek Art. Greenwich, New York. Graphic Society. 1966. 2. Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History. New York, New York. Harry Abrams, Inc. 2002. 3. â€Å"Black Figure.† http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/CGPrograms/Dict/ASP/OpenDictionary.asp?name black-figure.html 10 November 2004. 4. â€Å"Red Figure.† http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/CGPrograms/Dict/ASP/OpenDictionary.asp?namered- figure.html 10 November 2004. 5. â€Å"Orientalizing.† http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/Pottery/Lecture1/Script/GreekPaintedPottery1.asp 30 September 2004. 6. â€Å"Greek Pottery.† http://www.search.eb.com/search?query=pottery&ct=eb 11 November 2004. 7. â€Å"Greek and Roman Art.† http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/viewHigh.asp?dep=13&full=0&set=3 11 November 2004.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Abstract Paper Co-Curricular Education Essay

The school is â€Å"in a verandah in his father’s palace; Gautama Buddha being instructed, with three other boys, by a Brahmin teacher. On their laps are tablets†¦ caged birds, musical instruments, a battle-axe, bows. Gautama, a prince, was given, along with literary education, education in music and military arts like archery. The making of man was regarded as an artistic and not a mechanical process. Indeed, the aim of education is to develop pupil’s personality, his innate and latent capacity. The academic curriculum has never been all that schools and colleges offer to their students. Often a range of other classes and activities are available to students in class routine and even after school. These are referred to as the co-curricular activities and they are mostly voluntary for students. Examples would include sports, musical activities, debate, Model United Nations, community service, religious study groups, charitable fundraising, Young Enterprise projects, military cadet activities, drama, science clubs, and hobbies such as gardening, crafts, cookery and dance. Co-curricular activities prepare students practically for the future. CBSE refers to Work Experience, Health and Physical education, games, painting, music and art education as Scholastic subjects. Then why importance of these subjects is negligible as compared to Mathematics, Science, Social Science and languages? But, most of the teachers teaching in various schools have no idea about art education, games and other similar subjects. As a result, there are unplanned and un-interesting instructions in the classroom because the teacher has no clue or inclination towards these subjects. There is no plan, criteria or syllabus in schools for these subjects. If you ask an art teacher who has studied art – whether a tree is green or purple? They would say colours show moods, depends which kind of painting you are making both colours could be used. Other teacher who has not studied art would rebuke students and make them colour the tree only brown trunk and green leaves. CCE activities are also a point of discussion amongst the teachers. Cutting and pasting pictures from somewhere is the most common activity done as a part of CCE. Bloom’s taxonomy is taught as a part of B. Ed. education but not implemented. Without effective activities children are not able to create, analyze, solve real life problems, express and innovate. They are scared to take risks and make decisions. If co-curricular activities are coupled with CCE activities then both important aims can be achieved. In-service teachers should be taught to integrate activities of Health, Physical education, games, painting, music and art, craft or dance in their lesson plans. Teachers should know how to include available resources in their everyday lessons but, because teachers are not trained to include co-curricular activities in everyday classroom teachers are not able to use these periods effectively. Most of the teachers are not even aware about what kind of activities could be done in the class, directions and purpose for doing an activity are not clear as a result the main aim of having these activities is defeated. These activities do not need report card to certify because they prepare you for life and not merely for a forthcoming competitive exam. Education requires concentration. Children are thrilled; the day they know they have a routine breaking activity or sports period or even if they get to cut paper, fold paper, sing a jingle, share a joke etc. The activity has to be planned well and then executed. The main concern is that teachers do not use their creativity to build activities according to the level of students. We have to teach students to learn instead of studying, do useful work instead of hard work and develop self-discipline instead of discipline, work voluntarily instead of assigned work*. This can be done only when teachers are trained to do so. According to the changes brought about in CBSE curriculum, changes should be brought about in B. Ed. curriculum. Everybody encourages practice of Yoga. But we do not realize even if students sing they are practicing kind of yoga. They regulate their breath, concentrate and think creatively. They try to create a balance between their bodies, mind and attain self-enlightenment. This is healthy and ensures that students are exposed to practical tasks, not just what is taught in class. Kids don’t come to know how much time they pass while they get lost in their hobbies. Schools cannot make Painters, Sports persons, Dancers etc. but they can help kids to decide their field of choice. The joy of creating something gives happiness. Concentration in a particular activity is like meditation which relaxes students from repeated reading, writing and arithmetic activities. The happiness children get from playing instruments, helping others, dancing or running makes them lively. Most co-curricular activities are physically ctive, getting the student out from behind their desk and making them try new things. All those things which break the monotony of class routine are welcome by kids. It could be an action song, small classroom game, managing the school garden, painting a poster for school competition, modelling clay etc. It teaches students to work in groups, think, take responsibilities, develop social skills, soft skills etc. Schools make infrastructure available to teachers but teachers have no clue how to use it. For example IT infrastructure. In olden days, education systems included Martial arts, drawing, singing, painting, sports and debate etc. as a tool for gaining wisdom, insight, concentration, compassion, mental piece, creativity, stamina etc. For example Buddhist mandala serves as a tool for guiding individuals along the path to enlightenment. Monks meditate upon the mandala, In service teachers when given duties for club activities they are clueless to the new tasks assigned. Even if they know one form of art concretely, they can teach it to students as a part of education. Teachers should concentrate on learning one form of art during their B. Ed. education. When teachers learn one form of art, they will not have to run to Art or Dance teacher every now and then for small ideas. Among the teachers many problems can get solved, school functions can be organized in a better way. Art teachers can get more time to complete their art syllabus in classrooms. In service teachers should be asked to plan activities with their lesson plans. Currently, it is observed that cut-and-stick pictures related to the topic is the most common activity done by teachers. Education must therefore promote and nourish as wide a range of capacities and skills in our children as possible. The gamut of such skills include the performing arts (music, dance, drama, and so on), painting and crafts, and literary abilities (weaving, stories, wielding language to portray different aspects of life, a flair for metaphorical and poetic expression etc. ). Also, skills as diverse as some children’s special capacity to bond with nature – with trees, birds, and animals-need to be nurtured.