George Whitefield Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

George Whitefield - Essay Example He died in 1770 (Orentas). Whitefield was specifically popular among the poor and the illiterate lot for his wonderful power of oratory, so they gathered in large numbers to listen to him. Brief history of George Whitefield: In his childhood days, Whitefield would often skip school in order to prepare himself for the on-stage performances that made part of his school’s co-curricular activities. He was a big fan of plays, and had read hundreds of them. In the later years of his life, Whitefield retreated from acting and spared theatrical performances altogether, yet the practice he did in the early years of his life was sufficient to inculcate the qualities of a potential preacher in him. How Whitefield got into preaching: Whitefield joined Pembroke College, Oxford after his school was over. It was the very college where Whitefield joined a community of pious â€Å"Methodists†. Those Methodists introduced themselves to others as â€Å"the Holy Club†. Wesley brothe rs, namely Charles and John were the leaders of this group. Having joined the Holy Club, Whitefield felt a change inside himself and his concerns for the religion and its teachings grew manifolds. As a result of his increased association with the religion, Whitefield took the decision of serving as a missionary in the colony of new Georgia aside the Atlantic Ocean. â€Å"Fight the good fight of faith, and God will give you spiritual mercies† (Whitefield cited in â€Å"BrainyQuote†). The qualities of George Whitefield: 1. The oratory power: The most distinguishing quality of George Whitefield was that he was blessed with a magical oratory power by the nature. He did not know it from the start, but soon as he began to make speeches in front of the public, Whitefield realized that people in the crowd hung on every single word that he uttered. He had an unusual way of portraying the characteristic features of various characters in the Bible. There used to be a great realis m in his speech. While making the speech, Whitefield used to cry and dance. He spoke at the top of his voice. David Garrick, who used to be one of the most popular actors in UK in those days said, â€Å"I would give a hundred guineas if I could say 'Oh' like Mr. Whitefield† (â€Å"Christian History†). Once, it so happened that he was speaking about eternity. While making the speech, he suddenly paused, looked sideways and screamed, â€Å"Hark! Methinks I hear [the saints] chanting their everlasting hallelujahs, and spending an eternal day in echoing forth triumphant songs of joy. And do you not long, my brethren, to join this heavenly choir?† (â€Å"Christian History†). 2. Gathering of the mass: Whitefield knew the magic of gathering people in no time. Crowds that he used to address often exceeded the entire population of the cities in which he would make the speech. Whitefield made a tour to America in 1739 with an intention to preach. His first stop in America was Philadelphia which was the world’s most cosmopolitan city. To hear his speech, so many people gathered that even the most spacious churches in Philadelphia could not accommodate them. The crowd in Philadelphia had some 8000 people in it. In order to address them all at one time, Whitefield had taken them outdoors. Often, Whitefield himself became surprised to see the volume of listeners and would think how scattered crowds managed to gather so quickly

Statistical regression Statistics Project Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Statistical regression - Statistics Project Example s sustainable development through the prospering of economy is the key ideology of the United States because sustainable development is the road map to justify the economical growth. This means poverty issues, minimum wage rate and new employment would be the key factors to determine the prosperity of lifestyle of the population for any nation in the long run (Corsetti et al, 2011). The decay of economic growth in the United States has been believed to be of a product of different factors like unemployment rate, consumer price index and inflation control. The economical theory of any healthy market is to keep the flow of capital in the market and it would get stagnated or decline with reduced household disposable income, increased consumer price index and decreased wage rates and employee compensation(Corsetti et al, 2011). The various factors may be reviewed as under: i. GDP & Consumption: Gross Domestic product specifies the market value of the total accepted and recognized final commodities produced over a given time. It represents government spending, exports and consumption. Consumption the largest component of GDP includes the private or household expenditure on goods and private investments also. Investments indicate how the industries invest on manpower and machinery which might act to reduce unemployment and encourage cash flow and production. Increased household expenditure also means that people have the buying power and are maintaining that in spite of inflation. ii. Inflation & Wage rates: refers to the general price of the commodities and services in an economy over time. This means when inflation raises purchasing power of unit money will fall and unless the wage rate increases it will be difficult to purchase the same service over time(Corsetti et al, 2011)( Devereux et al, 2003). Econometric and Social analysis are done by time series data points. Time series is an array of data points which are measured at uniform time intervals to calculate

Evaluating an Argument and bring forth an argument of your own Essay

Evaluating an Argument and bring forth an argument of your own - Essay Example Brent begins his article by describing a scenario where a driver accelerates into high speed in order to get to work early and avoid quarrels with boss. It is good to speed up to meet time deadlines but the risk involved is not worth while there are other easier options such as waking up earlier and driving safely to work. The writer talks about the German case where people drive at speed of over 80 miles per and yet German highways are the safest in the world (Axelrod, and Charles 620). However, Brent should also consider the ease of getting a driving license in the two countries and the also the training involved in the driving schools of the two countries. The USA allows people as young as sixteen years old to drive whereas in Germany one can only obtain a driving license at the age of twenty one years. The maturity between a sixteen years old child and a twenty one years old adult is not comparable. In Germany, one has to attend a driving school for at least three months as oppos ed to one month in the USA and hence the driving skills between the two people are incomparable. The writer argues that nobody would speed up in order to risk their lives and hence there’s no need of imposing the speed limits. However, it is important to understand that speed limits not only protects the driver but also the outside world who maybe more important than the driver. Considering a scenario where people were allowed to drive at their own speed, the rate of accident occurrence would increase and consequently the number of people in hospitals would also increase. An increase in the number of people in hospitals directly increases a cost to the government which is under the pressure of economic battles. Brent Knutson argues that modern vehicles are designed in such a way that they can travel safely at super high speed which i

It’s a Great Big World Essay Example for Free

It’s a Great Big World Essay Japan is also known as the Land of the Rising Sun which is located in Asia. It is a place where East meets West and the Traditional convenes with Modernity. More so, it has a collectivist culture wherein the concentration is on the welfare of the majority rather than of a single person (Pearson Education, Inc). Japanese usually put first the interests of others instead of their own by showing respect and imposing regulations that would benefit the greater good. For example, former Prime Minister Koizumi proposed the â€Å"not wearing of neckties during the summer† to provide relief too many employees and at the same time to save energy which reduces the cost of the daily operations of many business establishments. Moreover, as a sign of respect, Japanese bow to people they encounter whether they are natives or foreigners. They also add the word â€Å"san† to the last name of person that they have just met. Another Japanese practice of showing respect is giving more valuable gifts to individuals who have higher and more senior position. By doing so, it signifies ones’ respect for a person’s position in the company. Also, in handing out business cards, senior level employees are given the privilege to give first and then the card must be received using both hands. Putting of the card in the wallet of shirt or pants pocket is a taboo in Japanese culture. The weird part is that when you â€Å"drop the calling card on the floor,† it immediately shows disrespect. For me, this belief is a little bit absurd because respect is earned and not commanded. More so, a piece of paper like the calling card cannot fully measure the competence and a vehicle to compel people to show respect. I think that the Japanese are a conservative and traditional people who give great importance to their elderly and superiors, which is an admirable characteristic but simple a act such as accidentally â€Å"dropping a calling card† should not be perceived as an act of being ill-mannered (Executiveplanet. com).

Allegorical on the Bell Jar Essay Example for Free

Allegorical on the Bell Jar Essay Just as all roads lead back to home, the protagonist exhibits that everyone will eventually become manifestations of the society it is born within. In this excerpt, the author uses the strong allegory of the protagonist plummeting down the slopes and skiing towards the inevitable end of conforming towards mankind and society. Although the protagonist’s gender isn’t explicit, we can assume that it’s a girl due to its unambiguous sub theme of feminine repression. The author presents the protagonists struggle in two distinct parts: the struggle to conform and the inevitable realization and acceptance of her fate. The author is able to do skilfully do so with a myriad of literary devices and extremely significant allegories. In the beginning, the protagonist is still struggling against the implications of society and is unwilling to accept her fate. The monotony of her â€Å"pale† life is emphasized by the repetition alliteration of â€Å"hill after†¦hill† and â€Å"great grey eye†. This shows the boring reoccurrence in the protagonist’s life and is constantly being overshadowed and judged by the watchful eye of society. Additionally, the protagonist is having an internal battle with doing what she innately feels is right against becoming what she knows everyone else wants her to transform into. Therefore, she has an â€Å"interior voice† that is persistently â€Å"nagging† her â€Å"not to be a fool† and conform and lose herself and â€Å"save [her] skin†. Obviously, she has fought hard to persist as her authentic self and is bitter about giving up who she really is. She feels like she has lost her sense of self and is no longer an individual, but merely â€Å"camouflaged† amongst everyone else as a product of society. The long sentence structure in the second paragraph of the excerpt displays that there was a very long and meticulous thought process about her present situation. She is â€Å"bordering† on the edge of a life changing decision. She has to decide – should she â€Å"kill [her true] self†, or should she resist the temptations of society? She is representing man’s struggle against oneself – the hardest battle to. However, she finally overcomes her inner battles and comes to realize that it is in her best interest to abide to society’s expectations. Henceforth, she tries to â€Å"measure the distance† and calculate how much of herself she will have to lose in the process. Buddy is a representation of society and the word is also slang for friend. â€Å"His†¦folded† â€Å"arms† signifying his lack of approval and his natural masculine instinct to repress femininity. As a result, we can understand the extent upon which female repression has been engrained into society and social stigma. Such is the product of a society filled with conformists and a lack of individuality – â€Å"numb, brown†¦ inconsequential† and boring beings. The next paragraph accentuates her defeatist attitude as the excerpt inches to the climax of the plot and has resolved to finally conform to the ‘American dream’ and fit into the mould society cast for her. Inevitably, she â€Å"aim[s] straight down† as she realizes that despite her best efforts at resistance, it is all to no avail. Once again, the short sentence structure is the implicit sign of the distinct change of internal character into one that has finally decided to join and become a part of society. Subsequent to the protagonist’s â€Å"descen[t]† into society, she â€Å"plummet[s]† herself straight into the heart of the situation. Nevertheless, even though she has physically committed herself he is still mentally â€Å"suspended† and trapped between what she wants and who she is. As a result, she represses those thoughts from â€Å"r[ising] higher†. This is the pivotal point upon which she consigns herself to follow society’s expectations because she understands that without social rules and stigma, â€Å"the world would not exist† and be able to function properly. Her â€Å"answering point in†¦[her] body† instinctually gravitates â€Å"towards† following social norms because despite the struggle against it, everyone will eventually cave to the expectations of others. She has become â€Å"inflate[d]† by the â€Å"inrush† of the external pressures of being part of a society . She realizes that she is finally experiencing the typical emotions, even though she feels removed from the â€Å"smiles† and â€Å"what it is [supposed to feel like] to be happy†. In spite of that, she feels â€Å"doubleness† as if it is not really herself going through the motions – she doesn’t feel true to herself and who she really is but simply sees a reflection of her figure that she can no longer recognise. On her way â€Å"hurtling† down, she has flashes of her â€Å"own past† that â€Å"recede[s]† and she has to make a decision between the light of the â€Å"white sun† and the darkness of an endless â€Å"dark tunnel†. Ultimately, she focuses on the â€Å"bright point at the end† of the tunnel and becomes a small â€Å"pebble† in the â€Å"bottom of [a big] well†, which is an analogy to her small and insignificant self in a world filled with billions of people. Her metamorphosis is paralleled to that of a rebirth into her new life. She has chosen the light and she is being christened into her new life as an innocent â€Å"sweet baby† that is being reborn again from â€Å"it’s mother’s belly†. All throughout this process â€Å"Buddy† and the â€Å"other faces† of society watchfully gaze and â€Å"h[a]ng over† her to ensure complete control. Gradually, she is transformed by the â€Å"strokes of [a] grandmother’s wand† creating a fairytale element to her change. The â€Å"familiar voice† of her conscience reminds her that she was doing â€Å"fine† by herself until â€Å"man[kind] stepped into her path† and created the platonic change within her. Society has already taken it upon themselves to â€Å"unfasten [her] bindings† of her previous ‘life’ and releasing her of her previous sins of not conforming. The â€Å"lodge fence† that blocks her way is a symbol of the white picket fence, which is a representation of the American Dream. She is finally being trapped into society’s expectations of what she should become. Yet she is still treated as an outsider and isn’t trusted and treated like an enemy with a â€Å"concealed weapon†. In the end, the light triumphs the dark and society overcomes her. The rising of the white sun shining in the sky displays her birth and final decision to conform to society. Even though she tries to challenge and return to her old self, she is unable to escape. Not only is she restricted by society itself but herself as well. She is â€Å"stuck† as society now has full reign over her. Thus, society and lack of freedom prevail and it’s triumph is evident in the â€Å"final smile†. In conclusion, the excerpt uses skiing as an allegory for mankind’s eventual and inevitable decline into conformity towards the American dream. There is no place in society for people who do not follow social rules and expectations. The protagonist is assumed to be a woman due to the stigma of females repressed role in society. She begins with the struggle between light and dark and the battle between being true to oneself and taking the easier path and following the well-worn road that society has taken. Later on, she understands and realizes that it is inevitable and ultimately conforms. Not matter how hard we may try to contend society, it will always prevail and have the power to manipulate us.

Assessment Of The Clash Of Civilizations Politics Essay

Assessment Of The Clash Of Civilizations Politics Essay Huntington (1993) argues in his well-known theory about the clash of civilizations that the future conflicts in the world will be between civilizations, most especially along the fault lines of these civilizations. He identifies seven or eight civilizations, namely the Western, Confucian, Japanese, Islamic, Hindu, Slavic-Orthodox, Latin-American and possibly the African civilization. This paper will first examine the arguments Huntington employs in favour of his thesis and the critique formulated on this. The second part will look deeper into the research on war causation to look if conflicts can indeed be explained by intercultural differences. 2. Huntington and his critics (300-500) The first argument in favour of the civilization thesis is that, according to Huntington (1993, p. 25), differences among civilizations are basic. The differences can be found in amongst others history, culture and religion. Many critics do not agree with this argument, arguing that the division of civilizations would be imprecise and that Huntington is generalizing too easily. Huntington neglects the diversity which exists the world nowadays (Perry, 2002; Veer, 1999; Esposito, 2003). Perry (2002, p. 3) gives an example that neither religion nor alphabet can justify the differences between the Western and Latin American civilization. Another argument is from van der Veer (p. 2), who acknowledges that religion is important when distinguishing civilizations, but that this also counts for nation-states. That Huntington chooses for civilizations and neglects the importance of nation-states is a short-coming according to van der Veer (1999, p. 2), especially because the two world wars wer e between nation-states within the same civilization. Furthermore, there have been many other conflicts within the same civilization (Iraq-Iran; Kuwait-Iraq). The second argument Huntington (1993, p. 25) gives is that world is becoming smaller, so that interactions between people of different civilizations are increasing. This creates consciousness and awareness of the differences between civilizations and can also lead to clashes. According to Perry (2002, p. 4) this argument is slippery, because Huntington is referring to one trend happening in many European countries today but which is not present everywhere in the world. He is referring to the tensions between immigrants and natives caused by immigration to western countries. Besides, according to van der Veer (1999, p. 8), this trend does not per se increase feelings of civilizations but can also increase feelings of nationalism or other forms of identity. Thirdly, the nation state as source of identity will weaken due to processes of economic modernization and social change. These processes throughout the world separate people from their local identities and instead increase religion as a source of identity. Religion unites people across borders and, as religion being an important characteristic of civilization, civilizations will become more important (Huntington, 1993, p. 26). However, critics argue that modernization could also lead to a decrease of religion instead of an increase (Veer, 1999, p. 2). This can be seen in the EU nowadays, in which less and less people go to the church. Besides, modernization led in the past to increased feelings of nationalism, and not to feelings of civilization (Muller, 2008). The fourth point Huntington (1993, p. 26/27) makes is the dual role of the West, which is at the moment at the peak of its power but at the same time the period is characterized by a return to the roots in Non-Western civilizations. According to critics, this assumption is also too oversimplified, as in each country there are pro-western and anti-western individuals. Besides, the last years have showed a growing interest in the West among the mass population. Immigration towards Western countries is because people hope to find better lives in there, and they wish that their countries become like Western countries (bron). Fifthly, cultural features are less mutable than political and economic ones. This means that they are also more difficult to overcome. It is hard to change someones ethnicity and religion (Huntington, 1993, p. 27). However, according to Muller (2008), this does not necessarily lead to a clash. As seen in the past, different ethnicities lived peaceful together in empires without conflicts between them. Furthermore, Huntingtons arguments imply that cultural features are primordial, which means that features are a cultural given and a natural affinity. Besides, he does not make a clear difference between civilizations and ethnicities. According to constructivist theories cultural features are not like kinship sentiments, they are constructed and it is thus possible to change them (Rubenstein Crocker, 1994, p. 118; Oberschall, 2000, p. 982/983). The last argument is that economic regionalism is increasing which will be most visible with economic blocs. According to Huntington, economic regionalism may succeed only when it is rooted in a common civilization, a good example of this would be the EU (Huntington, 1993, p. 27). However, nowadays it is not so obvious that the EU is regarded as a success, taking into account the financial problems in Greece and Ireland. 3. War causation (750-1500) Although Huntington is convinced that the future wars will be between civilizations, the research on war and conflict causation shows different findings. As already seen in the previous section of this paper, the two world wars of the last century were between countries within the same civilization (WW I and WW II). Also the majority of conflicts were within civilizations, which implies more inter-ethnic conflicts (Fox, 2005, p. 448) Also the Islamic civilization has seen many conflicts, for example the Iran-Iraq war and the war between Iraq and Kuwait. These conflicts show that it is not per se about cultural differences, but about national interests. But also conflicts between different religions can have a false image. An example is the conflict in Northern Ireland between Catholics and Protestants, in which political and socio-economic issues and grievances are more important than religion itself. This also counts for Islamic-Christian conflicts in Sudan, Lebanon and Bosnia. From the top it looks like a conflict about religion, however at the ground other issues than religion are more important (Veer, 1999, p. 7; Esposito, 1999, p. 228/229). Furthermore, many of the terrorists attacks in the last decade have been against Muslims in Muslim states. Tensions between Shii and Sunni are still there, and also tensions around the Kurds and other ethnic Muslim groups (Fox, 2005, p. 447). Academics in the field of war causation have much critique on Huntingtons thesis, because there are other important causations for war which he ignores. In this part the following question will be answered: Are ethnic or cultural differences a driver of war, or are there others causations? First other theories of war causation will be discussed and at the end there will be reflection to Huntingtons theory. 3.1 Ethnic and cultural differences as a driver of war Explanations of conflict by ethnic differences is a popular topic in the war causation theories nowadays. However, it is not only popular but it also received much critique. Since the end of the Cold War the world has seen many ethnic conflicts. To name just a few: Tutsis and Hutus in Rwanda, Abkhazians and South-Ossetians in Georgia, Uzbeks in Kyrgyzstan and Kurds in Turkey. In the debate about the ethnic differences as a driver of war, there is one group of scholars that sees these differences as the main driver. These can be called the primordialists. The primordialists see ethnicity as a given: people are born with it. Different ethnicities can be seen everywhere in the world, the world exists of different traditions, cultures, religions, norms and values (Baumann, 1999, p. 59). Furthermore the world exists of inequalities. Mostly these inequalities run parallel with different ethnicities mentioned before. In other words, inequalities are caused by different ethnicities, because different ethnicities exist just because they are there. The inequalities cause conflicts between different ethnicities. Clashes and conflicts between ethnicities and cultures are thus unavoidable (Baumann, 1999, p. 61-62). Also Huntington can be regarded as a primordialist, because he sees no other option than a clash between civilizations. A clash will occur, just because different civilizations and cultures are there. The second group of scholars are the constructivists. They argue that ethnicity is being viewed as a cogent existential reality, which is a process of reification (Baumann, 1999, p. 61-62). Reification is when an abstract belief or idea is taken for granted as being real. Something which in fact is not real, is being treated and viewed as real, just like ethnicity (Baumann, 1999, p. 63). According to the constructivists ethnicity is made by mankind and it is socially constructed. Baumann (1999, p. 64) gives a clear example of how ethnicity should be regarded: it can be compared with wine, which is made of natural ingredients. But these natural ingredients do not make wine themselves. The ingredients need to be added to each other and they need to ripe. In the end, a wine will have different flavours depending on a certain context. Also ethnicity exists of different natural bonds which do not in themselves create ethnicity. It needs economic and political interests in order to work in everyday life. Furthermore it needs social conditions, because the ethnicity needs to make sense for the people. Furthermore, ethnicity has also different meanings related to various social settings (Baumann, 1999, p. 64). So in other words, ethnicity is a peoples creation based on natural products and not a natural product on its own (Eriksen, 1993, p. 16; Barth, 1998, p. 15). So although ethnicity is being viewed by many academics like Huntington as something absolute and a natural given, in fact it is not because it is socially constructed. People can change their identity (Eriksen, 1993). For the explanation of war this has consequences, because if ethnicities are constructed, clashes between ethnicities could be avoided. There should be some other forces which cause war and feelings of ethnicity. The next part will deal with some of these other theories. 3.2 Other explanations of war Greed: economic factors One group that does not agree with Huntingtons Clash of Civilizations is the group who argue that economic factors are the main drivers of conflict (Collier, 2000). They see greed as the important cause for war (Collier, 2000; Collier Hoeffler, 2004). Economic incentives make rebellion possible and there are groups with economic power who tend to gain from the continuation of the conflict. This has all to do with the rational choice paradigm, conflict gives rebels the opportunity to enrich themselves (i.e. rebels are rational) (Bulte, 2009, p. 2). When looking at the ongoing conflicts in the world nowadays, it becomes clear that in many cases economic aspects indeed play an important role: Colombia, Mexico, Congo, Afghanistan, Sudan, Iraq, etc. All are cases in which drugs, oil or natural resources are (leading) factors in the war. This leads us to the resource curse, which implies that the availability of resources would increase the risk of conflict (Collier Hoeffler, 2004). Resources in a country are associated with 1) a slower economic growth; 2) violent civil conflict; and 3) undemocratic regimes types (Bulte, 2009, p. 2). An important aspect of the greed theory is Cramers (2002, p. 1857) point of view that capital and capitalism is an international phenomenon. He says that none of the contemporary civil wars can be explained without the magnitude of the interests and activities of international capital linkages. Economic powers intervene when they can get profit out of it. It is no surprise that the Middle East has seen so many conflicts in which the U.S. was involved. Oil and natural resources are main drivers to intervene and main drivers for conflict. Grievances: inequality Another group that does not agree with Huntingtons thesis is the group that focus on the explanation of conflict by grievance. Grievance is in contrast to greed rooted in a behavioural paradigm and emphasized by relative deprivation, inequality and social exclusion (Bulte, 2009, p. 2). The definition of relative deprivation is the perceived gap between peoples value expectations and their value capabilities that is, the discrepancy between what people think they ought to get from society and what they believe they will actually obtain (Schock, 1996, p. 101; Gurr, 1970). When people feel they cannot obtain what they want, people feel that they suffer from inequality. The feeling of inequality leads to frustration which may lead to aggression and violence. This happens mainly with people who suffer from social exclusion, for example an ethnic minority (Gurr, 1970). However, critique on the grievances theory is that it does not explain how the people get mobilized. Therefore, political factors should be taken into account. Political factors The last group of theories that will be discussed is the group that explains conflicts by state (trans)formations, weak states and democracies, i.e. the political context. They argue that there is more chance on violence during a period of democratisation than in a full authoritarian or a full democratic regime. This means that when a state is changing from an autocracy to a democracy, the state is in transition and this increases the chance on war. In a transition period a situation of social change, institutional weakness and threatened interests arises. This can produce a political impasse for getting to democracy: it becomes difficult to form stable political coalitions and to gain sufficient support for power (Mansfield Snyder, 1995, p .26). Some add to this that not only transition can explain the level of civil war, but also the degree of democracy (Hegre et al, 2001, p. 42/43). They state that semi-democracies are unstable, because they are partly open yet somewhat repressive: a combination that invites protest, rebellion and other forms of civil violence (Hegre et al, 2001, p. 33). Political participation is ineffective but mobilization is possible. Potentially effective violent protest is thus selected to oppose the government (Schock, 1996, p. 124/125). 4. Conclusion This paper discussed Huntingtons theory about the clash of civilizations and to what extent this theory find its support in research on war causation. Huntington is right to a certain extent, that future wars will be more and more between different cultures. However, the explanation of this statement and a great understanding of what is happening in the world is very important. Clashes between different cultures do not happen just because different cultures are there. Clashes between cultures happen because of a certain context in which they exists and because of certain forces which influence a conflict. These can be economic aspects, feelings of inequalities or the political context. All should be taken into account in order to understand future conflicts. Furthermore it is necessary to say that although Huntington can be right that clashes between different cultures will occur, this does not have to be per se between civilizations. It makes more sense that conflicts happen between ethnicities or nations, also within the same civilizations. The concept of civilizations is too generalized. Only time can learn us what will happen in the future. Literature Barth, F. (1998), Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: the social organisation of cultural difference. Long Grove: Waveland Press. Baumann, G. (1999), The Multicultural Riddle: Rethinking National, Ethnic and Religious Identities. London/New York: Routledge. Bulte, E. (2009) Natural resources and violent conflict: resource abundance; dependence and the onset of civil wars Oxford Economic Papers. Collier, P. Hoeffler, A. (2004) Greed and grievance in civil war, Oxford Economic Papers, 56:563-595. Collier, P. (2000) Doing well out of war: an economic perspective, in: M. Berdal D.M. Malone (eds) Greed and Grievance; Economic agendas in civil wars. Lynne Rienner Publishers, Colorado. Cramer, C. (2002) Homo economicus goes to war: methodological individualism, rational choice and the political economy of war, World Development, 30(11): 1845-1864. Eriksen, T. H. (1993), Ethnicity and Nationalism: Antropological Perspectives. London: Pluto Press. Esposito, J.L. (1999), The Islamic Threat. Myth or Reality?. Third Edition, New York/Oxford: Oxford U.P., 1999, 212-289. Fox, J. (2005) Paradigm Lost: Huntington ´s unfilled clash of civilizations prediction into the 21st century, International Politics, 42:428-457. Gurr, T.R. (1970) Chapter 2, Relative Deprivation and the impetus to violence, in T.R. Gurr, Why men rebel. Princeton: Princeton Universtiy Press. Hegre, H., T. Ellingsen, S. Gates N.P. Gleditsch (2001), Toward a democratic civil peace? Democracy, political change, and civil war 1816-1992, The American Political Science Review, 95 (1):33-48. Huntington, S. (1993), The Clash of Civilizations. In: Foreign Affairs (72,3) Summer 1993, 22-49. Institute of International Studies (IIS) (2003), Islam and the West Conversation with John L. Esposito. In: Conversations with History, Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley. [Accessed 6 January 2011]. Available at www: http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/people3/Esposito/esposito-con0.html Mansfield, E.D. J. Snyder (1995), Democratization and the danger of war, International Security, 20(1):5-38. Muller, J.Z. (2008), Us and them. The enduring power of ethnic nationalism. In: Foreign Affairs, March/April 2008 Oberschall, A. (2000) The manipulation of ethnicity: from ethnic cooperation to violence and war in Yugoslavia, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 23(6):982-1001. Perry, G. (2002), Huntington and his critics: the West and Islam. In: Arab Studies Quarterly 24 (2002) 1. Rubenstein, R.E. J. Crocker (1994) Challenging Huntington, Foreign Policy, 96:113-128. Schock, K. (1996) A conjuctural model of political conflict: the impact of political opportunities on the relationship between economic inequality and violent political conflict, Journal of Conflict resolution, 40(1):98-133. Veer, P. van der (1999), Political Religion in the twenty-first century. In: T.V. Paul and John A. Hall (eds.) International Order and the Future of World Politics (Cambridge University Press, 1999), pp. 311-327.

Antony and Cleopatra :: William Shakespeare Plays Literature Essays

Antony and Cleopatra The legend of Cleopatra has percolated in the world consciousness for the past 2000 years. By the time Shakespeare wrote the tragedy Antony and Cleopatra the alluring reputation of the queen had existed primarily as a biased representation of a foreign female who insinuated herself into the Roman power structure. Shakespeare’s role in perpetuating the allure of the last of the Ptolemaic rulers was the result of synthesizing the existing biases and distilling the dichotomy between the woman and the queen. Consequently, Shakespeare portrayed her not only as an alluring woman who was thought of as a wanton corrupter of Roman ideals, but as a queen who tried to do what was best for her country, and a woman who tried to do what was best for herself. Shakespeare brought all of these aspects together and molded a character that Joseph Summers describes as the â€Å"transcendent image of beauty and nobility† (135), and firmly entrenched Cleopatra into the collect ive consciousness. As suggested in the introduction to Norton’s Antony and Cleopatra, the play â€Å"presupposes familiarity not only with events dramatized in that play [Julius Caesar] but also with earlier Roman conflicts† (Cohen 847) and, I would add, the reputation of various characters. Interestingly, there is no mention of Cleopatra in Julius Caesar even though she is the mother of Caesar’s son.[1] This relationship obviously infuriated the Roman leaders and as a consequence her role with Caesar is effectively diminished and her reputation is vilified. Cicero, the great Roman orator, described Cleopatra as â€Å"unacceptably regal and arrogant† (Higgs 229), while Octavian refers to her as â€Å"the wanton daughter of the Ptolomies† (Hamer 311). Northrop Frye contends that propaganda was necessary because â€Å"she was one person the Romans were really afraid of† (Frye 123). The propaganda, as Christopher Pelling alludes, was a result of â €Å"Octavian work[ing] seduously on Italian misogyny and xenophobia† (Pelling 294). Octavian’s promulgations evoked suspicion and hostility towards Cleopatra, and their main intent was to mitigate the idea that â€Å"Cleopatra [was becoming] a legend for Romans too† (Pelling 294). There is no way they would have described her as a woman who grieved the loss of Antony so passionately that â€Å"she beat her