Feminism Essay -- Feminism Sociology Essays

Feminism There has been a great deal of discussion over the Feminist & Gender Studies Program changing its name to Gender & Sexuality. The basis of this debate is over the exclusion of the word "feminist" from the title. It is important to question how this modification will affect the direction of the program and the feminist movement as a whole. The categorization of this area of study must be sensitive to the complex social issues it represents. Bringing the term "gender" to the fore-front, and focusing less on women, is a necessary "part of the attempt by contemporary feminists to stake claim to a certain definitional ground, to insist on the inadequacies of existing bodies of men" (Scott, 166). This new spotlight on gender and sexuality does not detract from feminism at all; rather it represents the next step in the evolution of the feminist movement. As Lacqueur stated, categorization "is an inescapable consequence of our biological makeup" (Lacqueur, 18). This is especially true in any college, where categories are institutionalized in order to help guide students along their academic path. It is hard to imagine academics as "a purely uncategorized and unconceptualized experience" (Lacqueur, 19). However, categories have a way of excluding some people, since people are diverse and do not fit into neat containers. This holds especially true with the Feminist & Gender Studies Program. The term "feminist" is a category that many students do not identify with because of its history of race, class, and sex. Some female students are not comfortable with its overtly confrontational ideas and do not want to be associated with the "man-hating" stereotype that is portrayed in society. African-American students can feel alien... ...ne society provided for me. I felt on the outside of feminism, because I thought my interests in boys, marriage, and motherhood was not included in its definition. After learning what feminism really was during my sophomore year, I discovered I was not on the outside after all. I have to admit that, at first, I was disappointed by the omission of the word "feminist" from the title of the program. At the time, I was just feeling at ease with my personal realization that I was feminist. I found myself feeling, once again, on the outside. I know after taking this class, that defining myself by any category is a wasted effort. The focus should be on who I am and not how well I fit into any category. I now understand why the only required course, one which concentrates on de-constructing gender, and the new focus of the program is the only thing that will save us all.

History and Films Black Robe Essay

In the films Black Robe, The Crucible, The Patriot, The Alamo, and Cold Mountain, the authors created historical inaccuracies for the audience of the generation they were made for. This means they would change some details to fit their idea of what the people felt in that time in history, to grip the audience and give some insight to the characters. These inaccuracies also helped to develop a point, even though a few minor details were changed, the audience eventually saw the whole picture and knew the story. In The Crucible, the director would have been hesitant to address the actual age of Abigail, 11, and John, 60, because the age difference of these two people being involved in a sexual relationship would have been so unacceptable. While the author certainly knew this was going on, it wouldn’t have been talked about in his day. This is why the director chose characters closer in age, to develop a point and show that those type of scandals had been occurring between younger women and older men since Puritan times, making the film also more realistic to its viewers. One major example of these historical inaccuracies, which is also found in Re-Viewing the Past: The Crucible, is that he took the language taken directly from trial records, but would sometimes alter the lines, leaving the movie with a historical feel and providing proof of the satanic possession. For example, he changed the words in the Lord’s Prayer from â€Å"hollowed by the name† to â€Å"hallowed be thy name. † These differences of the text and the movie aren’t negative, but just present more of an understanding of these historic events for the audience. The inaccuracies of these films do not harm my understanding of past events because they didn’t change the huge event in history that they were trying to give a picture of, they just altered minor details. If anything, the changes made by the directors helped me appreciate and get to know these historical figures even more. While using the text to make the movie exactly right, word for word, would be good for students studying the subject, it wouldn’t show the emotion of the event occurring or how the people involved felt. In many cases, this is what helps people to understand what is going on better they would otherwise. While these movies are about historical events, they are still meant to entertain people, any small, left-out details could easily be found in history books; which should be used to learn or understand the past from the beginning.

Conflict is a Major Issue in Othello - 1173 Words

Conflict is a major issue in Othello, the source for all the problems in the story all lead back to love and jealousy. Love can be an extremely powerful thing in life. It can easily draw two people closer together or simply destroy something that could have been great. Ironically similar, jealousy can tear something apart just as fast as love can. This timeless tragedy starts out in Venice, with a plot to attain revenge on Othello. Iago and Roderigo are simply jealous with the fact that Othello has promoted Cassio to his lieutenant instead of Iago, along with the bitterness they both shared towards Othello to begin with (Shakespeare for Students, Othello). Together, Iago and Roderigo have come up with a plan to ultimately push Othello†¦show more content†¦Although Othello had claimed he would need much more that just a few intuitions, little would he know that his ‘friends’ were playing tricks with his mind. Even worse is that is was working like a charm. Afte r a short time of Othello’s jealousy growing at a rapid rate, he demands proof of his wife’s lack of loyalty. Iago’s wife had retrieved Desdemona’s first gift from Othello ,which was a handkerchief, and claims that she had given it to Cassio. Othello has now really felt betrayed more than ever. He immediately gives Iago the task to take care of Cassio, meaning have him killed. One way or another Othello wanted Cassio dead, he could not bare the sight of him ever again. On the other side, Othello has already come up with the perfect plan to execute his own wife. In reality, Desdemona had simply dropped it and Iago’s wife took it to help with the next step in this intriguing strategy. Iago had set it in Cassio’s chamber, Cassio then gives it to his mistress Bianca. Later on Cassio and Iago are talking all about Bianca, little do they know Othello is eavesdropping around the corner. Little does Othello know, the woman the two men are ridiculing is not his so called dear wife, but Bianca. Now he is just infuriated worse than ever. Next Iago has tricked Roderigo into killing Cassio. Iago tells him that Othello is leaving rather soon and the only person that stands between him and Desdemona is dearShow MoreRelatedDifferences Between Film And Othello1503 Words   |  7 PagesThroughout the years the play Othello by William Shakespeare has been adapted both on the screen and on stage many times. The questions or race and racism that have quite often been a point of discussion with William Shakespeare’s play Othello can be seen through the bard, however some may argue that Othello’s skin colour was purely a plot device. 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