The Sociologists Take on Feminism

The Sociologist's Take on Feminism What feminism means is a hotly contested debate in the twenty-first century. Often, efforts to define feminism are hatched in response to critiques or dismissals of it as angry, irrational, and man-hating. The term itself is so widely contested and derided that many people adamantly state that they are not feminists, despite espousing what many consider feminist values and views. So what is feminism really all about? Equality. Not just for women, but for all people, regardless of gender, sexuality, race, culture, religion, ability, class, nationality, or age. Studying feminism from a sociological perspective brings all of this to light. Viewed this way, one can see that feminism has never really been about women. The focus of a feminist critique is a social system that is designed by men, guided by their particular gendered world views and experiences, and designed to privilege their values and experiences at the expense of others. Who those men are, in terms of race and class, among other things, varies from place to place. But at a global level, and especially within Western nations, those men in power have historically been wealthy, white, cisgender, and heterosexual, which is an important historical and contemporary point. Those in power determine how society operates, and they determine it based on their own perspectives, experiences, and interests, which more often than not serve to create unequal and unjust systems. Within the social sciences, the development of a feminist perspective and feminist theories have always been about de-centering the privileged white male perspective from framing social problems, the approach to studying them, how we actually study them, what we conclude about them, and what we try to do about them as a society. Feminist social science begins by casting off the assumptions derived from the particular standpoint of privileged white men. This means not just reconfiguring social science to not privilege men, but also, to de-center whiteness, heterosexuality, middle and upper-class status, ability, and other elements of the dominant perspective in order to create a social science that combats inequality and fosters equality through inclusion. Patricia Hill Collins, one of the most accomplished and important American sociologists alive today, referred to this approach to seeing the world and its peoples as intersectional. This approach recognizes that systems of power and privilege, and of oppression, work together, intersect, and rely upon each other. This concept has become central to todays feminism because understanding intersectionality is central to understanding and fighting inequality. Collinss articulation of the concept (and the lived reality of it) is what makes race, class, sexuality, nationality, ability, and many other things necessary to include in a feminist perspective. For, one is never simply just a woman or a man: one is defined by and operates within these other social constructs that have very real consequences that shape experiences, life chances, perspectives, and values. So what is feminism really all about? Feminism is about fighting inequality in all of its forms, including classism, racism, global corporate colonialism, heterosexism and homophobia, xenophobia, religious intolerance, and of course, the persistent problem of sexism. It is also about fighting these on a global level, and not just within our own communities and societies, because we are all connected by globalized systems of economy and governance, and because of this, power, privilege, and inequality operate on a global scale. Whats not to like?

ABEKA VOCABULARY, SPELLING, POETRY IV QUIZ 12A Essay Example

ABEKA VOCABULARY, SPELLING, POETRY IV QUIZ 12A Essay Example ABEKA VOCABULARY, SPELLING, POETRY IV QUIZ 12A Paper ABEKA VOCABULARY, SPELLING, POETRY IV QUIZ 12A Paper Essay Topic: Poetry spell each spoken word aerial spell each spoken word guarantee spell each spoken word lieutenant spell each spoken word sheik spell each spoken word sacrilegious spell each spoken word muscle spell each spoken word anoint spell each spoken word hydraulics spell each spoken word symmetrical spell each spoken word connoisseur emaciate to become or cause to become abnormally thin, as by starvation or sickness substantiate to prove existence or validity with evidence or proof; to verify delineate to give a detailed description accelerate to increase the rate of movement, growth, or progress of something iterate to say or mention again repeatedly annihilate to reduce to nothingness fluctuate to vary or change irregularly intimidate to make timid; to make fearful by threats propitiate to cause to be favorably inclined initiate to start or began; to take the first step

Free Essays on Kingdom Of Mathias

Johnson, Paul E. and Sean Wilentz. The Kingdom of Matthias. New York: Oxford University Press Inc., 1994. â€Å"The meeting of the Prophets Matthias and Joseph Smith was one of hundreds of strange religious events that occurred all across the United States from the 1820s through the 1840s† (6). These were the peak years of the market revolution and the Second Great Awakening. During anytime of great change and uncertainty, people who are directly affected can be left searching for answers to such questions as why did this happen, and why did it happen to me? They may feel like they have lost their place and interpret certain things that only apply to them or want to apply to them. Certainly the market revolution and Robert Matthews are no exception. The major theme of The Kingdom of Matthias is that uncertainty breeds individual vulnerability. This can make people susceptible to believing and behaving in ways that they normally would not. The first example is Elijah Pierson. â€Å"He was a supremely unlikely candidate for membership in the cult of Matthias† (13). Leaving a tight-knit patriarchal society, he took a job as an apprentice clerk in New York City hoping to earn his fortune in the nation’s fastest growing seaport. Pierson later married Sarah Stanford. â€Å"Their marriage was a spiritualized union between partners: it began in a shared vocation in Christian missions, and it thrived on prayer and feminine influence† (27). Sarah and other influencing radicals as Frances Folger became his guides in matters of spirituality. These evangelical ideas were quite a change from those of the patriarchal society he had come from, but it wasn’t until his wife’s death that he was truly vulnerable to Matthias. Robert Matthews had much more to deal with even from the time he was a young child. His parents died around 1795, leaving him alone with his four brothers and five sisters to the care of rel... Free Essays on Kingdom Of Mathias Free Essays on Kingdom Of Mathias Johnson, Paul E. and Sean Wilentz. The Kingdom of Matthias. New York: Oxford University Press Inc., 1994. â€Å"The meeting of the Prophets Matthias and Joseph Smith was one of hundreds of strange religious events that occurred all across the United States from the 1820s through the 1840s† (6). These were the peak years of the market revolution and the Second Great Awakening. During anytime of great change and uncertainty, people who are directly affected can be left searching for answers to such questions as why did this happen, and why did it happen to me? They may feel like they have lost their place and interpret certain things that only apply to them or want to apply to them. Certainly the market revolution and Robert Matthews are no exception. The major theme of The Kingdom of Matthias is that uncertainty breeds individual vulnerability. This can make people susceptible to believing and behaving in ways that they normally would not. The first example is Elijah Pierson. â€Å"He was a supremely unlikely candidate for membership in the cult of Matthias† (13). Leaving a tight-knit patriarchal society, he took a job as an apprentice clerk in New York City hoping to earn his fortune in the nation’s fastest growing seaport. Pierson later married Sarah Stanford. â€Å"Their marriage was a spiritualized union between partners: it began in a shared vocation in Christian missions, and it thrived on prayer and feminine influence† (27). Sarah and other influencing radicals as Frances Folger became his guides in matters of spirituality. These evangelical ideas were quite a change from those of the patriarchal society he had come from, but it wasn’t until his wife’s death that he was truly vulnerable to Matthias. Robert Matthews had much more to deal with even from the time he was a young child. His parents died around 1795, leaving him alone with his four brothers and five sisters to the care of rel...

2 Discussions manage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

2 Discussions manage - Essay Example There is a direct supervision of employees who work on projects determined by managers – there is little independence and individual performance is recognized and highly rewarded. Examples of how such a system helps to manage employees and their responsibilities include: provision of knowledge and skills, motivating employees to perform better, encouraging hard work, and building trust and loyalty. Workplace diversity is important to company’s culture and performance because it encourages teamwork. Secondly, it brings together different ideas, knowledge and skills that may be used to improve the performance and productivity of the company (Mondy et al, 2005). Thirdly, workplace diversity enables employees to share different beliefs and attitudes and learn to appreciate other people’s opinions and ideas. My coworker motivated me to perform better for the organization when he confessed to me one day that he had been trying to report to work earlier than me because I used to report to work earlier than anyone else. Therefore, the coworker inspired me by recognizing my efforts. From then on we were the first to report to work and we performed better than ever

World Economy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

World Economy - Research Paper Example The industrial revolution had produced marked differences between developing and developed countries based on the extent of their overall production and growth. Broadly speaking, the entire global economic literature has been studied under two broad headings namely macro or meso level. The former emphasizes on the role of transnational organizations. The later treats countries and firms as the building blocks of the global economy and engages in their analysis (Baylis, Smith & Owens, 2013). The main aim of this paper is to uncover two things. The first one is to discuss the general characteristics of the world economy and the second one is to find the main factors which are responsible for the smooth function of the global economy. Most of the researchers who had considered world economy as their subject of research had pointed out this topic is rather interdisciplinary and cannot be treated in isolation (Gereffi, 2005). Increasing trade between nations can be considered to be the first step of integration between nations. The origins of trading can be dated back to as early as the period of 15th century. It is this historical period of beginning of trade which had automatically rendered some nations stronger than the others. The capitalist system of production had become quite dominant in the 18th century and this has become the basic state of the world economy (Gereffi, 2005). Economists like Adam Smith had focused on the idea of division of labour and the way it fits into the capitalist regime of production. Different countries had begun to specialize in different forms of economic activity and some of them were considered as industrial countries while others came to be known as agricultural countries. The period of 1940’s was particularly very important in the history of the world economic development because this era had witnessed some of the most important changes that had occurred in

Alvin Plantinga's Free Will Defense Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Alvin Plantinga's Free Will Defense - Essay Example Platinga demonstrates how theistic belief, about God being omnipotent and wholly good, is logically consistent. Permitting evil means creating a world with moral good, as well as, moral evil. This is an argument that answers the questions raised by different philosophers, or defends itself against some philosophers, with contradictory ideas about the existence of evil and the role of God. In the logical problem of evil, it is indicated that there are different possibilities to the existence of evil. Some of these mentioned are that God: can eliminate evil but he is adamant, wants to eliminate evil but is incapable of eliminating it, does not wish to eliminate evil and cannot eliminate evil, and wants to eliminate evil and can eliminate evil (Zagzebski, p. 146). Platinga gives an argument that creatures are given free will to do moral good and evil, and God had a valid reason for it. This paper is an explanation of Platinga’s argument of ‘free will’. In Platinga’s Free Will Defense, he has made certain definitions and distinctions. Being free is defined with respect to an action. Being free with respect to a certain action means that the individual has the free will to refrain from performing it or to perform it. There are no causal laws or antecedent conditions that predetermine the person’s choice of action. Free will means the person has the power to decide to act or not to act. A second definition or distinction is about the action. An action is morally significant if it is right to perform the action and wrong to refrain from it or vice versa. Significantly free means a person is free with respect to a morally significant action. There is also a distinction between naturally evil and morally evil. Moral evil is that which results from free human activity while natural evil is any other kind of evil (Plantinga, p, 30). Based on these distinctions and definitions, Platinga notes that a world is more valuable when it contains creatures with significant freedom than when it has creatures with no freedom at all. In their freedom, the creatures should be able to perform more good than evil actions. Platinga argues that there is no freedom if people are created with the freedom, but their actions are predetermined by God. According to him, God has the capability of creating creatures that are significantly free, but has chosen to give them the freedom to act on their own always. God cannot cause or determine the creatures to do only what is right. Freedom according to Platinga means being given a choice. A choice has to exist between two or more variables. In this case, the variables are good and evil, or moral good and moral evil. If God creates creatures with free will, but determines what their actions will be, there is no freedom at all. Free will creatures are given the will to choose from moral evil and moral good, and to act according to what they think is right or wrong. His argument, th erefore, is that God cannot create creatures capable of moral good without giving the same creatures the capability of moral evil if they are to have free will. In exercising their freedom, some of God’s creatures went wrong in exercising their freedom. This does not mean that God is not omnipotent and not good. It means that he has given the free will with no determinations of what actions the creatures should engage in (Plantinga, p, 30). Free will defenders believe that or find propositions that are consistent with; God is omnipotent, God is omniscient, and is wholly good. They also believe that alongside the existence of these characteristics of God, there is still evil. God has very good reasons for creating both moral

Study skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Study skills - Essay Example n the said phase is the determination of the personal strengths, weaknesses, feedbacks from other people, both positive ad negative and the different performance indicators (Cottrell, 2010; Self Improvement Mentor Website, 2009). Based on the said parameters, the first focus is the determination of skills. On a personal note, my strengths include capability of expression and logical and critical thinking. In most cases, the capability to establish the principles surrounding certain events is one of the fundamental attributes. In terms of the capability of self-expression, there is a number of ways which can be considered as strength such as in verses as well as artistic visual expression. These are considered strengths since it can support the professional expertise that ca be achieved through studies. Upon the determination of the strengths, knowledge of one’s weakness is another important phase (Self Improvement Mentor Website, 2009). Although self-expression is one of the strengths, my professional communication skills and self-esteem can be limitations in certain cases. This can be attributed to the inadequate experience in the said skills. Basically at the present, self-evaluation can bring about the need to polish technical skills to be able to have the capability for expertise on the professional level. This view had been achieved through the feedback gathered from other people of close interaction, in addition to self-assessment. Feedback of other people is important on a person’s development because they can observe performance and attitude on a perspective different from the person himself. In taking into consideration of feedback though, it is important to prioritize objectivity of the person (Self Improvement Mentor Website, 2009). Positive feedbacks from people of close interpersonal interaction had been gathered. One of the constructive criticism that had bee received is the need to be focused in doing a single task due to the