Postcolonialism †An Historical Introduction Essay Example for Free

Postcolonialism – An Historical Introduction Essay In these two chapters from the book ‘Postcolonialism – An Historical Introduction, Robert J.C. Young provides the reader with an in depth understanding of colonal and postcolonial history, as well as well pondered definitions of important terms within the academic field of postcolonial studies. To illustrate the cruel and inhumane reality of the imperialistic powers, Young uses the case of Sir Roger Casement, a former member of the British Consular Service who was asked by the British Government in 1910 to investigate allegations of atrocities committed against the indigenous of the Amazon by a British company extracting rubber from the jungle. Casement verified, against the British governments expectations the atrocities, which six years later ironically led to his execution, sentenced by the British government on a charge of High Treason. The case of Casement shows us how the imperialistic powers ruled with devastating inhumanity, not only towards the indigenous but also towards anyone whom opposed the colonialising forces. The author goes on describing the history of 20th century imperialism. He puts forward the shocking fact that by the time of the first World War, imperial powers occupied, or controlled, nine-tenths of the globes surface territory, where of Britain governed one-fifth of the area of the world and a quarter of its population. Later in this chapter Young argues that Britain in fact actually was the first colony of the British empire, as here a minority elite the ruling upper class, controlled Britain both before and well into the nation’ further imperialistic era. With no space left for territorial expansion the leading forces of Europe turned inwards in a last attempt to grow. He points to Aimà © Cà ©saire who was the first to note that fascism was a form of colonialism brought home to Europe. The outcome of the 2nd World War led to the defeated nations loss of colonies around the globe. After the Indian independence in 1947 began a further process of European decolonization that is now largely complete. The author however argues that the list of direct or indirect colonized areas, are still surprisingly long. He also points to the many territories today, which is controlled by external forces not coming from within the European nations. Young states that the colonial history, which began as early as 500  years ago, has determined the configurations and power structures of the present. When we speak about colonialism the term Third World is widely used, Young however supports the criticism of this identification, as the word â€Å"third† in it self carries a negative aura in a hierarchical relation to the first and second. To describe the three southern continents of Latin America, Africa and Asia, young therefore uses the more political correct term tricontinetal and even suggests that postcolonialism should be called tricontinentalism. Postcolonial critique is united by a common political and moral consensus towards the history and legacy towards colonialism. It presupposes that the history of European expansion and the occupation of most of the global landmass between late 15th century and mid 20th century mark a process that was both specific and problematic. Western expansion was carried out with a moral justification that it was of benefit for all those nations, which it impacted. However apologists continue to lean upon this argument, it is impossible to deny the extraordinary suffering and destructive impact on indigenous people the colonisation of the world brought with it. The assumption of postcolonial studies is that many of the wrongs, if not crimes, against humanity are a product of the economic dominance of the north over the south. In this way, Marxist theory became the most important framework in anticolonial thinking, where from postcolonial studies finds its birth. Postcolonial critique is a form of activist writing that looks back to the political commitment of the anti-colonial liberation movements. In an attempt to define Postcolonial critique, we can say that it focuses on forces of oppression and coercive domination that operate in the contemporary world: the politics of anti-colonialism and neo-colonialism, race, gender, nationalism, class and ethnicities define its terrain. Its object, as defined by Cabral(1969), is the pursuit of liberation after achievement of political independence. It constitutes of a directed intellectual production that seeks to synthesize different kinds of work towards the realisation of common goals that include the creation of equal access to material, natural, social and technological resources, the contestation of forms of domination – economic, cultural, religious, ethnic, gendered, and the articulation and assertion of collective forms of political and cultural identity. The Author gives the reader his definitions of the terms: postcolonial, postcolonialism and  postcoloniality. He defines ‘postcolonial’ as coming after colonialism and imperialism, in their original meaning of direct-rule domination, but still positioned within imperialism in its later sense of the global system of hegemonic economic power. The postcolonial is a concept that marks the historical facts of decolonization but also the realities of nations and peoples emerging into new imperialistic context of economic and sometimes political domination. The term ‘postcoloniaity’ by contrast puts the emphasis on the economic, material and cultural conditions that determine the global system in which the postcolonial nation is required to operate, a system heavily weighted towards the interests of international capital and the leading nations of the world. ‘Postcolonialism’, which the author prefers to call ‘tricontinentalism’, names a theoretical and political position, which embodies an active concept of intervention. Unlike the words ‘colonialism’, ‘imperialism’ and ‘neocolonialism’ which adopts only critical relation to oppressive regimes and practices that they represent, postcolonialism is both contestatory and committed towards political ideals of a transnational social justice. It attacks the status quo of hegemonic economic imperialism, and the history of colonialism and imperialism, but also signals an activist engagement with positive political positions and new forms of political identity in the same way as Marxism or feminism.

Nicholas: The Last Tsar :: essays research papers

In his book, The Last Tsar, Edvard Radzinsky describes a very interesting viewpoint of the life and death of Nicholas Alexandrovich, the last Russian Tsar. Radzinsky's illustration of this ill-fated monarch follows the diaries of Nicholas from their beginning on March 1, 1881, to the final entry on July 16, 1918.1 Radzinsky mainly goes over pre-marital relationship between Nicholas and Alexandra, the medical condition of Nicholas' son, Alexei, and the imprisonment and execution of Nicholas and his family. The relationship between Nicholas II and Alexandra began in 1884. Alexandra, the daughter of Louis IV, the Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, a tiny state in Germany, was born in 1872.2 Her grandmother was Queen Victoria of England, her oldest sister married an English prince, her second sister married a Russian Grand Duke and her third sister married a German prince. Nicholas and Alexandra met during the wedding of her second sister, Ella, to Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. Alexandra was only twelve and Nicholas was only sixteen, but he stated in his diary that he fell in love with her a first sight. Nicholas' father, Tsar Alexander III, did not approve of Alexandra, because of the fact that she was the granddaughter of the English Queen. Instead, he suggested that Nicholas marry a princess from the House of Orleans. His decision was basely mainly on politics, as he was striving for an alliance between Russia and France. Alexander's suggestion did not have any effect on Nicholas, as he seemed certain to marry his childhood sweetheart, Alexandra. That day came in 1894, when Alexander was on his deathbed, suffering from a kidney disease that he had contracted in a train wreck six years earlier. On April 8, 1894, at the wedding of Alexandra's brother, her and Nicholas were engaged.3 On November 14, 1894, a month after the death of his father Nicholas married Alexandra and officially became the tsar of Russia.Alexei Nikolaevich, the first son of Nicholas and Alexandra was born on July 30, 1904, following the births of four daughters. The problem of who would rule Russia in case of an accident to Nicholas was solved. However, there was a new problem, as Alexei was diagnosed with hemophilia. Hemophilia is a disease that weakened the walls of the arteries so that "any blow or intense pressure can cause the blood vessels to burst and can mean the end."4 Rumours of a holy man, named Grigory Rasputin, however, living in the backwoods of Siberia gave rise to Alexander's hopes that her son's hemophilia could be cured.

Living in a World of Warcraft: the Complex Sociality of Virtual Worlds

Living in a World Of Warcraft: The Complex Sociality of Virtual Worlds Through the convergence of gaming, the internet and Web 2. 0 technologies, the virtual worlds of Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) have emerged: complex new social and cultural environments that bring with them tremendous opportunities for learning. This convergence of contexts, a defining feature of new media, combines the potential sociality of the internet with the fun and challenge of gaming, blurring the lines between entertainment, play, information and socialisation (de Freitas & Griffiths, 2008, p. 1). Through fantasy-styled role-playing MMOG (MMORPG) World of Warcraft (WoW), I will explore evidence of the benefits and drawbacks of these new forms of sociality, and examine ways in which of MMORPGs show potential to develop new social practices and ways of learning, both from a player/learner perspective (Jenkins, 2006; Shaffer, Squire, Halverson & Gee, 2005, p. 106), and in terms of studying and u nderstanding social dynamics of human groups on a larger scale (Szell & Thurner, 2010, p. 14). WoW's enormous success exemplifies the massive social phenomenon of online gaming and virtual worlds (Shaffer, Squire, Halverson & Gee, 2005, p. 106). Released in 2004, Steinkuehler & Williams describe WoW as â€Å"the latest step in a progression of social games† (2006, p. 887), referring to the many evolutions in this style of game since its early origins in Dungeons and Dragons-style pencil and paper games (Bradford, 2010, p. 7). Socialisation and the building of relationships is central to the game, which attracts an extremely broad audience worldwide: within 5 years of release, WoW's subscriber base grew to 11. 5 million (Bradford, 2010, p. 56). Steinkuehler & Williams posit that – as new social environments outside of home, school and work – virtual worlds can provide a social context akin to â€Å"pubs, coffee shops, and other hangouts† (2006, p. 889).Cha t channels within the game not only facilitate in-game activities, they also carry â€Å"constant conversation about the game and topics well beyond it† (Steinkuehler & Williams, 2006, p. 894), to the extent that the in-game social interaction is considered by some players to be more important than the actual gameplay (Stetina, Kothgassner, Lehenbauer & Kryspin-Exner, 2010, p. 473). The virtual worlds of MMOGs – such as WoW's Azeroth – are â€Å"known for their peculiar combination of designed ‘escapist fantasy' and emergent ‘social realism'† (Steinkuehler & Williams, 2006, p. 887).Indeed, opportunities for socialisation in virtual worlds are incredibly diverse, evidenced by the unusual records WoW holds for the â€Å"Most People at a Virtual Funeral† and â€Å"Largest Virtual Beer Festival† (Guinness World Records, 2012). Real-world issues can impact the virtual world too, exemplified by WoW's annual â€Å"Running of the Gnomes †, where low-level pink-haired gnome avatars – most created or â€Å"rolled† specifically for the event – run through dangerous terrain to a designated location and, by grouping together, â€Å"form a heart for breast cancer awareness† (Iserloth, 2012).The event raises money for the Cleveland Clinic for vaccine research, and this year exceeded the $1,000 goal (O'Neal, 2012). Such events epitomise the unique social culture of MMORPGs: impervious to the physical boundaries of real-world events, creative player-instigated socialisation takes full advantage of the flexible social environment of the virtual world. Games, in all of their various forms, have given rise to â€Å"new forms of sociality† (Bradford, 2010, p. 63), as evidenced by the role Communities of Practice play in game culture.Bradford's research shows that, whether a game is designed to be played with others or not, â€Å"communities which cluster around games constantly engage i n negotiations over strategies, experiences and opinions† (2010, p. 56). Like most video games, WoW is surrounded by a powerful network of knowledge (Gee, 2003, p. 187) through these Communities of Practice, consisting of â€Å"a content domain, a group of persons interested in this domain and a shared practice to increase the effectiveness of each member† (Wolf, K, 2007, p. 191).There are also communities dedicated to a seemingly endless wave of user-created media, from webcomics created using WoW screenshots to highly-produced â€Å"machinima†, a convergence between games and cinema which combines film-making techniques with computer-generated imagery (CGI), rendered in real-time using game engines (de Freitas & Griffiths, 2008, p. 13). Players forge reputations amongst these robust communities (Shaffer, Squire, Halverson & Gee, 2005, p. 106), participating in forums to share advice on how to advance in the game, hosting news sites or writing FAQs and walkthrou ghs.Along with in-game social facilities, they make up â€Å"a crucial component of MMORPGs† (Bradford, 2010, p. 58), necessitating the learning and development of â€Å"effective social practices† (Shaffer, Squire, Halverson & Gee, 2005, p. 106). Despite the growing popularity of gaming culture, a lack of understanding of the social contexts of gamers still produces stereotypical views of gamers, attributing to them â€Å"deviant behaviours and emotional problems† (Stetina, Kothgassner, Lehenbauer & Kryspin-Exner, 2010, p. 477).In a recent example, Colleen Lachowicz, a Democratic Party candidate for the Maine State Senate, was the subject of a campaign organised by the Maine Republican Party in October 2012 to make public what they called Lachowicz's â€Å"bizarre double life† (Benedetti, 2012) as an orc in WoW. A website created for the campaign proclaimed â€Å"Maine needs a State Senator that lives in the real world, not in Colleen’s fantasy w orld† (Colleen's World, 2012), and a mail-out, featuring images of Lachowicz's avatar with highlighted quotes including â€Å"I love poisoning and stabbing! and â€Å"I can kill stuff without going to jail† was posted to voters (Maine Republican Party, 2012). Lachowicz's casual comments typify the playful tone of MMOG socialisation (Steinkuehler & Williams, 2006, p. 899) and the misinterpretation, whether accidental or deliberate, is evidence of stereotyping due to a lack of understanding of the complex social culture of MMORPGs. When considering the social potential of MMORPGs, it is also important to acknowledge â€Å"problematic play†: playing excessively at the detriment of real-life priorities and relationships (Snodgrass, Lacy, Francois Dengah II, Fagan, 2011).Not all players are effected and numerous studies show that many cases of problematic play are associated with pre-existing psychopathological problems (Stetina, Kothsgassner, Lehenbauer & Kryspin-Ex ner, 2010, p. 474; Snodgrass, Lacy, Francois Dengah II & Fagan, 2011, pp. 1212-1213) including depression, OCD and low self-esteem. Certain player motivations may increase risk of problematic play, such as reliance on online socialisation and escapism as a coping strategy (Stetina, Kothsgassner, Lehenbauer & Kryspin-Exner, 2010, p. 478).A 2011 study suggested playing with real-life friends or family minimises problematic play, by helping to retain awareness of the real world (Snodgrass, Lacy, Francois Dengah II & Fagan, 2011). Furthermore, such play can enhance existing relationships (Steinkuehler & Williams, 2006, p. 891). While immersion – â€Å"experienc(ing) the avatar as ‘I'† (Bradford, 2010, p. 57) – can play a role in developing problematic behaviour, it is important to note that not all immersive play is problematic (Stetina, Kothsgassner, Lehenbauer & Kryspin-Exner, 2010, . 478). Immersion plays a vital role in games such as WoW, allowing players to â€Å"think, talk and act in new ways† and â€Å"inhabit roles that are otherwise inaccessible to them† (Shaffer, Squire, Halverson and Gee, 2005, p. 105), creating a more level playing ground for socialisation and situated understanding (Steinkuehler & Williams, 2006, pp. 891-892). With their complex economic, social, political and cultural systems and the potential to access the data of thousands of online players at any given time (Szell & Thurner, 2010, p. 14; Shaffer, Squire, Halverson and Gee, 2005), MMOGs are potentially ideal environments for researching â€Å"collective human phenomena and social dynamics† (Szell & Thurner, 2010, p. 314). In 2007, Lofgren and Fefferman suggested that WoW could be used as a tool to â€Å"substantially boost the reality quotient of disease simulators† (Vastag, 2007), following an in-game epidemic of the virtual disease â€Å"Corrupted Blood† in 2005. Corrupted Blood, introduced through a downloadable upda te, was a highly infectious â€Å"de-buff† designed to make combat more challenging in a new area of the game, accessible only to higher level players.A programming error allowed the disease to spread beyond the intended area into heavily populated areas of the game, â€Å"mimicking the travel of contagious carriers over long distances that has been the hallmark of many disease outbreaks in history† (Lofgren & Fefferman, 2007, p. 625). Lofgren and Fefferman noted that players' â€Å"dedication to the virtual community† (2007, p. 627) provoked diverse reactions – some risking their own character in an effort to heal others, others logging out in â€Å"a panic response† (Vastag, 2007, p. 264) and some even propagating the chaos by intentionally spreading the disease (Vastag, 2007, p. 64) – approximating to â€Å"reactions of people in real-life situations of danger† (Lofgren & Fefferman, 2007, p. 627), suggesting MMORPGs hold great prom ise in terms of measuring social dynamics and collective human response for purposes of scientific research. At its core, gaming culture relies on effective cooperation and collaboration, both in-game and through communities of practice outside of the game. Participation in video games and the communities surrounding them teaches and encourages players to engage in â€Å"effective social practices†, establishing and building upon new and effective forms of entertainment, pleasure and sociality. Bradford, 2010). The success and popularity of these unique worlds has shown immense potential for further study into large-scale social dynamics and human phenomenon, potential which has yet to be fully explored. As contexts and media forms continue to converge, it seems certain that the millions of players whose avatars inhabit the rich virtual worlds of MMORPGs and other online games will continue to create and explore new and innovative opportunities for socialisation and learning. Works Cited Benedetti, W. (2012). Republicans out Democrat in World of Warcraft Witch Hunt.Retrieved from http://www. nbcnews. com/technology/ingame/republicans-out-democrat-world-warcraft-witch-hunt-6283586 Bradford, C. (2010). Looking for my corpse: Video games and player positioning. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 33(1), 55-64. Retrieved from http://www. informit. com. au Colleen's World. (2012). Retrieved from www. colleensworld. com de Freitas, S. , & Griffiths, M. (2008). The convergence of gaming practices with other media forms: what potential for learning? A review of the literature. Learning, Media and Technology, 33(1), 11-20. doi:10. 080/17439880701868796 Gee, J. P. (2003). What Video Games Have To Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. New York, NY: Palgrave Mamillan. Guinness World Records. (2012). Retrieved from www. guinnessworldrecords. com Iserloth, A. (2012). World of Warcraft gathers for breast cancer. Retrieved from http://www. universitychronicle. net/index. php/2012/10/22/cancer-wow-walk/ Jenkins, H. (2006). War Between Effects and Meaning: Rethinking the Video Game Violence Debate. In D. Buckingham & R. Willett (Eds. ), Digital Generations (pp. 19-31). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.Lofgren, E. T. & Fefferman, N. H. (2007). The untapped potential of virtual game worlds to shed light on real world epidemics. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 7(9), 625-629. doi:10. 1016/S1473-3099(07)70212-8 Maine Republican Party. (2012). Candidate's Bizarre Double Life Raises Questions. Retrieved from https://www. mainegop. com/2012/10/candidates-bizarre-double-life-raises-questions/ O'Neal, A. (2012). World of Warcraft players go pink to raise money for breast cancer research. Retrieved from http://www. examiner. com/article/world-of-warcraft-players-go-pink-to-raise-mo

Anaximenes and the Milesian School

Anaximenes (d. c. 528 B.C.) was a Pre-Socratic philosopher, who together with Anaximander and Thales, was a member of what we call the Milesian School because all three were from Miletus and may have studied with one another. Anaximenes may have been a disciple of Anaximander. Although there is some controversy, Anaximenes is thought to be the one to have first developed the theory of change. The Underlying Substance of the Universe Where Anaximander believed the universe was composed of an indefinite substance he called apeiron, Anaximenes believed the underlying substance of the universe was the Greek for what we translate as air because air is neutral but can take on various properties, especially condensation and rarefaction. This is a more specific substance that Anaximanders. In his Commentary on Aristotles Physics, the medieval Neoplatonist Simplicius repeats what Theophrastus (the successor of Aristotles school of philosophy) wrote about the Milesian school. This includes the ideas that that, according to Anaximenes, when air becomes finer, it becomes fire, when it is condensed, it becomes first wind, then cloud, then water, then earth, then stone. According to the same source, Anaximenes also said that change came from motion, which is eternal. In his Metaphysics, Aristotle links another Milesian, Diogenes of Apollonia, and Anaximenes in that both consider air more primary than water. Sources of the Pre-Socratics We have first-hand material of the pre-Socratics only from the end of the sixth century/start of the fifth B.C. Even then, the material is spotty. So our knowledge of the Pre-Socratic philosophers comes from fragments of their works included in the writing of others. The Presocratic Philosophers: A Critical History with a Selection of Texts, by G.S. Kirk and J.E. Raven provides these fragments in English. Diogenes Laertius provides biographies of the Pre-Socratic philosophers: Loeb Classical Library. For more on the transmission of texts, see The Manuscript Tradition of Simplicius Commentary on Aristotles Physics i-iv, by A. H. Coxon; The Classical Quarterly, New Series, Vol. 18, No. 1 (May 1968), pp. 70-75. Anaximenes is on the list of Most Important People to Know in Ancient History. Examples: Here are the relevant passages on Anaximenes from Aristotles Metaphysics Book I (983b and 984a): Most of the earliest philosophers conceived only of material principles as underlying all things. That of which all things consist, from which they first come and into which on their destruction they are ultimately resolved, of which the essence persists although modified by its affections-this, they say, is an element and principle of existing things. Hence they believe that nothing is either generated or destroyed, since this kind of primary entity always persists....In the same way nothing else is generated or destroyed; for there is some one entity (or more than one) which always persists and from which all other things are generated. All are not agreed, however, as to the number and character of these principles. Thales, the founder of this school of philosophy, says the permanent entity is water....Anaximenes and Diogenes held that air is prior to water, and is of all corporeal elements most truly the first principle. Sources The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Edward N. Zalta (ed.). Readings in Ancient Greek Philosophy: From Thales to Aristotle, by S. Marc Cohen, Patricia Curd, C. D. C. Reeve Theophrastus on the Presocratic Causes, by John B. McDiarmid Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, Vol. 61 (1953), pp. 85-156. A New Look at Anaximenes, by Daniel W. Graham; History of Philosophy Quarterly, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Jan. 2003), pp. 1-20.