German Culture: Past and Present Essay

German Culture: Past and Present is a book written by Ernest Belfort Bax. It was originally published in 1915 by McBride, Nast, & Company of New York. The current edition most widely circulated was published by Kessinger Publications, LLC, Kila, MT, in 2008. Kessinger Publications specialize in reprints of old books that are public domain and maintains copyright over the works. Bax was born in Britain and was a socialist journalist and philosopher. Ironically his political view as a socialist was important to this book. It assisted him in his efforts to observe German society of the period covered as the governments of the various feudal and bureaucratic forms have always leaned toward socialism. His credentials that add authority to writing this particular book include his studying of German philosophy while actually living in Germany. This gave him a close proximity to the birthplaces of German culture and thought – necessary prerequisites for the preparation of this book. Additionally his familiarity with the German language offer significance to his readers as he interprets historical documents for them. The thesis of this book is to provide a fairly detailed overview of the social and intellectual development of German culture from the medieval period all the way to the modern times (keeping in mind that the ‘modern times’ to this author extended only to the early 1900s). Its secondary point is the more thorough exposition of the earlier part of the culture nearly at the expense of the later period. The author felt that less was known about that era in German history as compared to the modern times and wished to begin to educate ‘modern’ readers about that important foundation. His concern reflected in this thesis is that the earlier times and its documents are difficult to access and properly read, while the times closer to the modern day have been reflected in more widely available forms. Bax develops his thesis in chronological fashion and depends heavily upon some of his earlier writings on the history of Germany. This consolidates his earlier views in one tome which can be more easily understood when presented together in this order. In addition to the simple chronological development of his thesis, Bax refers frequently to the thorough historical treatment of the times as opposed to the personality centered treatment. He supports his thesis by disproving the personality style by demonstrating the broader historical style. Examples include dismissing the Martin Luther-focused interpretation of the Reformation, instead offering the larger events and people that surrounded those events (p. 43). Bax’s commentary on the significance of culture upon the success and failure of individuals begins with Martin Luther and the Reformation. By concentrating on the surrounding historical events and people, he sets the stage for the influences beyond the personalities that enabled their success – in the case of Luther. Similarly Bax describes the success of the Peasant’s Rebellion/War as being dependent upon the culture created by earlier revolts like Franz Sickingen’s (p. 117). These two examples effectively show how Bax as an author ensures that the cultural parts of the book are always the first and foremost consideration; the impact this culture had upon events and people is always secondary to that thought. It is extremely difficult to argue with Bax’s thesis. It is entirely an objective and well ordered writing of a lengthy period of German history. In particular, the reliance of individuals and events upon the general developing culture of the times leaves little room to doubt his conclusions. It is a well presented thesis and the only detriment to it may be its long-windedness. That same breadth and pace, however, also lend academic credence to the book as a whole. ? References Bax, E. B. (2008). German Culture: Past and Present. Kila, MT: Kessinger.

Individualism in Gimpel the Fool and a Good Man Is Hard to Find

The Myth of the Sincere or Authentic Individual In Charles Taylor’s theoretical text, The Ethics of Authenticity, Taylor writes to evaluate the concepts of individualism. He believes that we can, and should, become conscious about what makes us who we are to effectively and sincerely choose which values or qualities to support. Using two short stories, â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† by Flannery O’Connor and â€Å"Gimpel the Fool† by Isaac Bashevis Singer, alongside Taylor’s text and the application of his concepts, one can examine if the central characters function as true individuals who act for themselves, or act to fulfill a historically desirable niche in human nature. Flannery O’Connor’s 1953 short story â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find,† illustrates the story of a husband and wife, along with the grandmother and two children, who embark on a family road trip from Tennessee to Florida. Plot and character both unravel with the path of the family’s travel, revealing the archetypal characteristics of a traditional American family— annoying quirks and behaviors, back seat arguments between siblings; and the elderly, nitpicky, and proper grandmother. Following the greater part of the journey from Tennessee to Florida, the story ends with a final encounter with an escaped convicted murderer, The Misfit. The most prominent and perhaps easily scrutinized character from â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† is the grandmother. Being the central protagonist in O’Connor’s short story, she unfolds to be manipulative and self-involved, yet a prim and proper elderly woman. Throughout the text, the grandmother is continuously caught up in comparing her polished southern past to her disappointments of the present. She is entangled in her roots, appearing as a harmless chatterbox, aloof and amusing within her own progression. It is easy to forgive her for so much, including her innate racism— pointing at a â€Å"cute little pickaninny† from the car window as well as entertaining the children with a tale of â€Å"a nigger boy† (187) who scoffs a watermelon— and her overly sound opinions that she states matter-of-factly. Upon departure for Florida, she dresses herself in her Sunday’s best: dress, hat, and white cotton gloves all for the trip, so â€Å"in case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady† (186). She is filled with the prejudices and traditions of her class and time. The grandmother, even when faced with the foreshadowed confrontation with The Misfit, continues to present her historical and deeply rooted â€Å"lady-like† facade. Her talk with the Misfit begins as a manipulative attempt to save her own life, employing her refined techniques to persuade her killer. (Certainly, in her world, no decent man would â€Å"shoot a lady† (O’Connor 194). ) Her desperate attempts continue, trying further to charm The Misfit. â€Å"I know you’re a good man. You don’t look a bit like you have common blood. I know you must come from nice people! (O’Connor 192). The grandmother seems confident enough that her southern allure will win over the man as she has with all others; there is no resignation to the death she will soon face. Following the execution of the whole family, it is apparent to both the reader and the grandmother herself that death is imminent. Upon this realization, the woman experiences a revelation and attains the first unselfish sensibility displayed in the story. She finally ignores her idea of proper southern values in the face of death and reaches out to The Misfit. In an act of true sincerity, she simultaneously denounced her high moral standing and proclaimed acceptance of his character. In this state of disclosure â€Å"she murmured ‘Why you’re one of my babies. You’re one of my own children! ’† The woman â€Å"reached out and touched him on the shoulder. The Misfit sprang back as if a snake had bitten him and shot her three times through the chest† (O’Connor 195). The Misfit ends the powerful story by commenting on the grandmother’s unauthentic character: â€Å"She would have been a good woman†¦if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life† (O’Connor 195) The assessment of individuality of Flannery O’Connor’s character according to Charles Taylor’s text results with a misleading outcome. In The Ethics of Authenticity, Taylor states, â€Å"we live in a world where people have a right to choose for themselves their own pattern of life†¦to determine the shape of their lives in a whole host of ways that their ancestors couldn’t control† (Taylor 2). The character of the grandmother is developed along a permanent historical linear path of ancestral beliefs and ideals; she was never provided an opportunity to be self-aware and take shape of her own life. In Taylor’s terms, the woman has always been locked into her â€Å"great chain of Being,† adhering to her born role of a southern bourgeois woman that gives sense and meaning to life (Taylor 3). Never questioning her â€Å"natural† values and qualities, the grandmother conformed to the ideals of, but not limited to, race, class, religion, and society, that are inherit to her aristocracy. Up until this point, it is possible to say that the grandmother is an unauthentic individual. When faced with the grave situation involving death and her ultimate existence, the grandmother abruptly diverges from the consistent track of her character development. This divergence from the typical character in the face of death allowed the grandmother to have an authentic experience in her last seconds with her killer. â€Å"†¦The grandmother’s head cleared for an instant. She saw the man’s face twisted close to her own†¦ ‘Why you’re one of my babies. You’re one of my own children! ’† she admitted (O’Connor 195). This moment of true acceptance, sensitivity, and acknowledgement to others of different moral horizons reveals a brief moment of authentic individualism in the grandmother. In comparison to her overall persona for the entire plot, a glimpse of wholehearted moral relativism, or, according to Taylor, a mutual respect to morals and values apart from your own, can be read in the last few lines of the grandmother’s existence. In the fleeting moments of her life, she shed her â€Å"natural† identity, claiming true freedom from her inherited moral horizon. It is possible to say that in the last seconds of her life there was a transformative sense of character, the grandmother passed with the qualities of a true individual. Similar to O’Connor’s character, the character of Gimpel from Isaac Bashevis Singer’s 1953 short story â€Å"Gimpel the Fool† can be equally examined for traits and characteristics of an authentic individual. The ironic story tells the life account of Gimpel: narrator, Yiddish baker, an inhabitant of Eastern Europe, and the one who gets the last laugh (although that comes later). Gimpel, seemingly naive and gullible, is the subject of many tricks and insults from his village for taking everything at face value, but was he really a fool, or an authentic individual? I am Gimpel the fool. † is how he opens his story (Singer 300). He gives his own reason when he says, â€Å"What did my foolishness consist of? I was easy to take in† (Singer 301). His promiscuous wife is disloyal to their marriage throughout his lifetime, resulting in illegitimate children that Gimpel wanted to believe he fathered; his neighbors take unfair advantage of him, subject ing him to endless pranks and fallacies for cruel entertainment; and even the village rabbi conspires against Gimpel, placing him at the receiving end of everyone’s jokes. Gimpel is ultimately surrounded by lies and cynicism to his approach to life. The â€Å"foolish† qualities that are expressed through Gimpel on the exterior are not all that meets the eye. Aware of his surroundings and how his neighbors treat him, Gimpel chooses to keep an open mind, to see the good in the world, and not waste his time with the bad spirits of those who make fun with him. Although constantly deceived by his contemporaries, Gimpel is always willing to give the benefit of the doubt. If he â€Å"ever dared to say, ‘Ah, you’re kidding! there was trouble. People got angry† (301). He says, â€Å"to tell the truth, I knew very well that nothing of the sort had happened, but all the same, as folks were talking†¦Maybe something had happened. What did I stand to lose by looking? † (301). His open approach and acceptance of a possible truth to endless false claims and jokes show Gimpel to be not gullible and simple, but holds a prominent mo ral relativism; he is accepting and sincere to other’s qualities and values, however deceitful they may be. Ironically, it is the whole village that victimizes Gimpel that are the fools, and Gimpel who is the only non-fool. Gimpel didn’t believe more than half the things the people told him, yet he still went along with the deceits. Gimpel exemplifies a character that lacks an understanding of unnecessary anger, hatred, and bad tempers, and acts with a perceptive sense that belief is not a matter of proof but of will. From this perspective, Gimpel doesn’t appear to be so simple and foolish, on the contrary, instead man that fears missing an opportunity of believing something that may be true. Those who abuse Gimpel are the true fools them self, lacking the capacity to believe with Gimpel that everything is possible. This does not make him a fool because he believed the people, he knew for himself that none of the things said were anywhere near the truth. He believed because he wanted to believe. In conjunction with Charles Taylor, Gimpel maintains a heightened sense of awaren ess of his past to inform his present. The constant ridicule has shaped his view on life and despite the negative actions directed towards him, Gimpel is accepting to believe what others share with him. Its possible to say that he is still involved in a â€Å"great chain of Being,† but in context to the setting of the story these philosophies cannot fully apply. As a devout Jewish man, Gimpel lives his life with authentic and sincere individualism, while respecting the historic beliefs his society is based on that have not yet been shattered. In conclusion, the assessment of individuals with Charles Taylor’s text, whether fictional or physical, can result in a broad variety of assumptions based on the moral and historical background of a character. As seen with Flannery O’Connor’s character, the grandmother did not appear to be an authentic individual until the final moments of her life; however, the character of Gimpel maintained a strong individualist approach to his life throughout the majority of the text. The characters, as Taylor wrote, â€Å"†¦are called upon to be true to themselves and to seek their own self-fulfillment. What this consists of, each must, in the last instance, determine for him- or herself† (14). Without the author’s literary devices and plot structure to develop character, or a person’s absolute sense of being, the underlying individual cannot be accessed to live entirely for his or herself. Works Cited O’Connor, Flannery. â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find. † Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. Robert DiYanni. Compact Edition. New York: Mc- Graw-Hill, 2000. 185-95. Print. Singer, Isaac Bashevis. â€Å"Gimpel the Fool. † Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. Robert DiYanni. Compact Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000. 300-09. Print. Taylor, Charles. â€Å"Inescapable Horizons. † The Ethics of Authenticity. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2002. 31-41. Print. —, â€Å"The Inarticulate Debate. † The Ethics of Authenticity. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2002. 13-23. —, â€Å"The Sources of Authenticity. † The Ethics of Authenticity. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2002. 25-9. —. â€Å"Three Malaises. † The Ethics of Authenticity. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2002. 1-12.

Culinary Class-Difference Between Starch Potato and WaxyPotato Essay

Culinary Class-Difference Between Starch Potato and WaxyPotato - Essay Example Professor McComber (Iowa State University, retired; J.Food Sci.1988, 53:1423-1426) On a molecular level the starch in waxy potatoes is made up of almost entirely of the large branched molecule known as amylopectin (around 74%) and the much smaller linear amylase molecule (26%).Both amylase and amylopectin are polysaccharide which acts as forms of storage of glucose. Starchy potatoes are best used for deep frying, because they are low in sugar and can be fried long enough for them to cook fully at the center without burning their outside. These potatoes also make the best choice for mashed potatoes since they fall apart easily when boiled. Waxy potatoes on the other hand are an excellent choice for boiling and roasting, since they are low in starch, they usually maintain their shape after they are cooked. These potatoes are not the best when it comes to frying because their high moisture content makes them soggy and limp. Professor McComber (J.Agric.Food Chem.1994,

Swax watch Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Swax watch - Essay Example In addition, SWAX Watch has been completely differentiated in the packaging and prices. This will make the product quit conspicuous. The entire market coverage will be divided into various sections where as the demand of each segment is addressed. The first segment will target the youth. The product will be designed to appeal to the young people through coloration and scent. We shall address the concern raised by the young in the market research. Similarly, some product will be manufactured to meet the need of the poor in the society. This product will be designed to be relatively cheaper and within their reach. SWAX Watch will be presented in the best ways that appeal to a large number of audiences. In this case, popular media will be used as advertising platform. Similarly, peak periods of the day will be chosen so as a large number of audience are reached. The best possible method will be used to obtain the largest number of clients. As it has been stated, SWAX watch is targeting the youth. In this case, all its features are identified with the youth. The packaging and distribution is intended to reach to the youths in the society. In some cases, the product is designed to attain expected level of current trends. This is because the youths are attracted to trendy

The Impact Culture Has on Personal Identity in The United Stated of Essay

The Impact Culture Has on Personal Identity in The United Stated of America - Essay Example Due to the ethnical diversity in United States, the social cohesion is chiefly based on common social beliefs and values. Culture is a critical factor in shaping one’s identity. In this new era, there is interaction between the social media and the cultural identity. The cultural identity not only means an individual’s association in a particular group but also a social meshing of individuals copying and adopting the social customs presented by the media. An individual can be identified by the ethnic background. This refers to people who share a common heritage, culture or language. Owing to the ongoing racial favoritism and history in the United States of America, ethnicity carries a different meaning from the other countries. Various groups from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the pacific Islands have been looked down at as minor racial groups. The history of United States as a conqueror, slave society and settler and the informal and formal lettering of racism into t he law and social stratification strategy have added unto race a key identification function of the races in United States. This has been portrayed by both Wright and Rodriguez. According to the Jim Crow laws as indicated in Wright’s â€Å"The ethics of Jim Crow†, they seemed to separate the blacks and the whites since they did not portray equity. This inequality is indicated by Wright when he says that the black woman was beaten up for not having paid her bills and then dragged to the police station on the false accusation that she was drunk (Wright, 1937, pp.159). In 1980’s, the word â€Å"African American† was found to the most suitable for referring to anyone who had a colored skin regardless of the location of origin. This was intended to wipe away the racial differences that existed by then and were related to the historic view of â€Å"Black race†. The word Caucasian was also developed to refer to the people who came from the Middle East, Eu rope and the northern part of Africa. Nationality can also be used in personal identity. It refers to belongingness of a person to a certain state or nation that is always determined by their ethnicity, citizenship or their residence. An individual’s citizenship can be identified by naturalization or by birth. In the United States, people have been identified by the different nationalities they hold. The law states that an individual is free to change his nationality at will. This is what has greatly contributed to the many nationalities in the United States of America. In Richard Rodriguez ‘Aria: A memoir of a Bilingual Childhood, he tries to find his identity as a Mexican-American since he only knew how to speak Spanish. He only learns to write English when he joins school. The first sentence of the essay, his flash back â€Å"I remember, to start with, that day in Sacramento, in a California now nearly thirty years past, when I first entered a class room able to und erstand about fifty stray English words† (Rodriguez, pp. 447) The other children in his class identified him as an Hispanic. Race refers to an assortment system that is employed in sorting individuals into large and different groups by geographic ancestry, physical traits, ethnicity and inheritable phenotypic traits. Due to these

Im not sure about the topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Im not sure about the topic - Essay Example Thirdly there is the guest account, which cannot implement any changes to the computer settings. â€Å"Network and Sharing Center† is the feature that allows a computer user to check his/her network status, change network settings and set preferences for sharing files and hardware such printers and scanners over a network. Here is where users can uniquely identify computers or other shared hardware that are within their local area network (LAN). Examples of this include use of names such as Michael-PC or HP 1320 LaserJet on Manager-PC and so on. This feature allows users to declare different levels of accessibility over their files and documents or even hardware. This way an organization can implement information abstraction within its corporate LAN. Finally, the â€Å"Folder Options† feature provides users with options on how to manipulate folders. Examples include what the user would like the default folder icon size to be and whether to display or hide certain types of files such as system files and encrypted files. This feature also allows one to select whether to open each folder on the same window or a different window upon clicking the folder icon. Further, â€Å"Folder Options† allows users to select how the search function for files will operate for example using file names only or file names with contents and so on. There are numerous other customizations on folders that could be put in place through the use of this

Porter and Kotlers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Porter and Kotlers - Essay Example A large number of child center in Australia is now on the industry. ABC needs to survive and increase its profit and has come up and decide to merge with Child Care Center Australia (CCCA) and Peppercorn Management Group (PMG). Action done by its managing director are being analyze in this paper. Suggestion where given to help the company succeed on its aim to increase sale, profits and shares and survival in this stiff and increasing competition. What is an industry As defined in userweb.nni.com an "Industry" is way of classifying businesses that have something in common. Firms are included in or excluded from an industry classification based on the degree of similarity in the products they make or sell and types of customers they service, and the marketplace in which they compete. Industry analysis is a type of business research that focuses on the status of an industry or an industrial sector (a broad industry classification, like "manufacturing"). A complete industrial analysis usually includes a review of an industry's recent performance, its current status, and the outlook for the future. Many analyses include a combination of text and statistical data. Based on the article of Themanager.org, Porters model is based on the insight that a corporate strategy should meet the opportunities and threats in the organizations external environment. Especially, competitive strategy should base on and understanding of industry structures and the way they change. Porter has identified five competitive forces that shape every industry and every market. These forces determine the intensity of competition and hence the profitability and attractiveness of an industry. The objective of corporate strategy should be to modify these competitive forces in a way that improves the position of the organization. Porters model supports analysis of the driving forces in an industry. Based on the information derived from the Five Forces Analysis, management can decide how to influence or to exploit particular characteristics of their industry. 3 1. Main Aspects of Porter's Five Forces Analysis The original competitive forces model, as proposed by Porter, identified five forces which would impact on an organization's behaviour in a competitive market. These include the following: - The rivalry between existing sellers in the market. - The

The pursuit of sexuality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The pursuit of sexuality - Essay Example Sexual objectification, the act of treating a person as a mere instrument of sexual gratification, is perhaps the single most dominant and recurring theme in gender studies; in this regard, sexual objectification entails disregarding a person’s dignity, or personality, and often takes place at the societal level. Feminists have always regarded the concept of sexual objectification, especially women objectification, not only as intolerable, but also as a significant cause of gender inequalities in society (Papadaki, 2007 p.330). The concept of sexual objectification has always been a contentious issue that has fascinated critics over the years, especially in areas such as sexual ethics and philosophies of sex, leading to varied views regarding the origins of sexual objectification. Social commentators have recently observed that many women in contemporary societies often objectify themselves as a sign of their found freedoms and empowerment over their male counterparts. Other s ocial commentators have also argued that men too, have fallen victims of objectification in contemporary societies due to the increased freedom for women, gay and bisexual men in society. However, social commentators also agree that sexual objectification, particularly of women, has origins in the intricate relationship between the genders in society; in this case, because gender roles are social constructs, gender plays a very significant role in the sexual objectification of women. Women have been the unfortunate victims of objectification over the years because society has often looked down upon their personal and intellectual abilities and capabilities of females. Many societies have unintentionally reduced the worth or role of women to that of a mere object or instrument of sexual pleasure to be used for the entertainment of the men. Pervasive sexual images of women have often dominated the mainstream media such as advertising, and art in general (Harper & Tiggemann 2008, p.649 ), and the sexually oriented depictions of the female gender have enforced the gendered objectification of the women even further. The role of gender in the objectification of women debate stems from the fact that women have often perceived themselves based on what labels they have been given in society; in that respect, women have often been judged based on their gendered social roles, which are typically feminine in nature, and based on their sexual attractiveness. Conventionally, looks or beauty in women have always been glorified over everything else because gender roles assigned to women are heavily dependent on their sexual attractiveness; beauty pageants or contests have focused on aesthetics as a bottom line for judging the worth of women. In this regard, the conventional gender roles assigned to females by virtue of their sexuality have led to the pervasive objectification of women in society. For this reason, women have traditionally been judged and valued based on their p hysical attributes; women’s understanding of the importance of their sexuality has pushed them to seek further enhancements of their sexual attractiveness through a variety of methods. By disregarding women’s capabilities and achievements in fields where men dominate because they are perceived to be exclusively masculine,

Human Resource Law - Consulting Project Paper Essay

Human Resource Law - Consulting Project Paper - Essay Example Due to these threats, organizations need to invent heavily on its human resource department. More emphasis should be put on employee related issues to protect an organization from law suits, which might even lead to collapse of a business. Dataset technology is a company which has suffered heavily due to legal suits from its employees. Dataset technologies is an organization with its roots in the US and have opened branches in other countries in the world. The company was started in 1997 as a small business unit dealing with information technology equipment. The company started with selling of computers and other computer accessories. It has now grown and, it now develops computer programs for governments and other companies. It also offers consultancy in all information technologies related problems. (Jeffers 2005) Its headquarters are based at Dallas Texas in the US. The company is not so popular in the US perhaps as a result of the fact that most of its businesses are done outside the US and specifically in Africa. The company boasts of more than 1500 employees from different origins and backgrounds. Its workforce is probably one of the most diversified in the corporate world. This has been enabled by the organization’s policy on employment where it boasts as an equal opportunity employer. Problem statement The company has suffered several losses from legal suits by its employees resulting from discrimination issues. This has given the company’s top leadership headaches for several days as the company’s reputation is on the verge of deterioration. The company also risks cancellation of substantial contracts with several governments and companies due to the law suits which could lead to massive financial loss for the company. The increase of terrorism cases in the world has led to discrimination of Arab-Americans, working with companies who have consequently engaged the company in a bruising legal tussle leading to loss of finances. The d iscrimination has also led to the company losing some of its highly qualified staffs who are of Arab- American affiliation, as well as Arab employees. Employees who are of the Muslim faith have as well reported cases of discriminations in the recent past. This has been escalated due to terrorist attacks in the recent past. Reports of harassment, intimidation and violence based on ones faith, national origin and race have also been reported. These discriminations escalated after 9/11 attacks. Employees from the Muslim faith have been demotivated due to this and are living in fear hence cannot produce as expected of them. There have been more than 15 cases reported in Dataset technologies from July last year, which is a worrying case for the company. There are cases where an employee of Muslim faith has been regarded as a terrorist. So what does workplace discrimination and harassment entail? (Jeffers 2005). Workplace discrimination and harassment Unlawful discrimination, according to the federal and state laws, arises when someone is treated less favorably than other employees in the organization due to his/her color, religion, age, nationality, disability, marital status, sex and other attributes as described in the anti-discrimination legislation. Harassment at the workplace happens when an employee is made to feel frightened, hurt or humiliated due to their race, color, religion, nationality, sex, disability,

Sociolinguistics Essay Essay Example for Free

Sociolinguistics Essay Essay INTRODUCTION The research paper deals with personal advertisements presented via the medium of the Internet. This kind of advertising is a relatively new genre because the medium of the Internet is not a very old phenomenon; therefore it is nearly unexplored. The following analysis of personal advertisements appears to be quite interesting as today personal advertisements represent one of the very popular and often used means providing possibility to meet new friends and potential life partners. Ads offer a rich source of written language, as well as research material. They usually facilitate in sending right messages to people of opposite gender identities on dating webpage. The most important goal of the research paper is to focus on the features of online dating from the point of view of gender differences. It tries to find out whether and how the differences between men and women influence the language of personal advertisements. It wants to explore whether some general gender stereotypes also occur in this new kind of personal advertisement. II. RESEARCH PROBLEMS In our society it is believed that men and women talk as they belonged to two different entities. Since personal advertisements are written by both sexes, the research paper tries to explore how language relates to gender and how stereotyped assumptions and beliefs are reflected in the text of online personal advertisements. The paper focuses on how men and women characterise themselves, as well as their potential partners, what kind of expressions they use for this purpose. From the viewpoint of gender stereotypes, the paper will concentrate on the issues of talkativeness and a hedges usage as it is presupposed that women will be more talkative and will use hedges more frequently. It is also presupposed that men will emphasise success in their self – description and appearance in their partner –description. Women are  presupposed to put greater emphasis on their appearance as well as on partner ´s success. 1 III. THEORETICAL PART 1. Advertisement in general 1.1.Role of advertisement Nowadays, advertisement is a usual part of everyday life. Wherever we are, ads are always surrounding us. We can see it everywhere: on TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, billboards, means of transport, the Internet or in public places. Its goal is to attract people  ´s attention and give information about some concrete product or service. The ultimate aim of ads is to persuade people to buy what is advertised. Information provided by the creators of the advertisement has a strong impact on the addressees, either negative or positive. Advertisement is very often rejected and invokes passionate discussions. However, thanks to it, people or companies can quickly inform about their products or services in a very easy way. 1.2.Language of advertisement A great variety of advertisements for different subjects emerges on the market, ads for e.g.: products, services, ideas or images of organizations, charities, companies, individuals. Language of present advertisements is special. It tries to attract possible customers or addressees and focuses on their attention and consciousness to influence them positively. „ Ads use fictions, word play, compressed storytelling, stylized acting, photography, cartoons, puns, and rhythms in ways which are often memorable, enjoyable and amusing. The word and details of ads often come to people ´s minds more readily than those of novels and poems and plays, and they are often recalled with more laughter and enthusiasmâ€Å" (Cook, 2003, p. 3). It can be said that language used in advertisements plays a very important role. It is obvious that the more extraordinary, peculiar, interesting and original the advertisement is, the greater chance it has to draw addressees ´Ã‚  attention and to go deeply into their subconscious. 2. Personal advertisement 2.1. The role of the advertisement As any kind of advertisement, personal ads are part of everyday life. They can be seen in all media; mainly on the Internet and print media. Personal advertisements serve for the purpose of communication between people. The primary aim is to catch attention of an ideal partner. The 2 options for creating personal ads are limited as their writers depend on the space given and words expressing their intention. 2.2. Language of personal advertisement As it was said, language of advertisement is very specific, especially language of personal advertisements. â€Å"Communication adaptation theory (CAT) (Burgoon, Stern, Dillman, 1995; Giles, Coupland, Coupland, 1991) holds that individuals vary their language choices within interactions, depending on their social goals. Thus, speakers may choose to emphasize (or deemphasize) particular aspects of their identities as a way of aligning with (or distancing from) interaction partnersâ€Å" (http://pdfcast.org/pdf/enacting-gender-identity-in-written-discourse- responding-to-gender-role-bidding-in-personal-ads, p.401,cited 30.11.2010) As Winn and Robin (ibid, cited 30.11.2010) continue, the writers of the personal ads regulate their self- presentations by means of language choice. On the other hand, prescribed requirements of e.g. space can have an influence on the way of writers ´ presentation. The authors of personal ads must be brief when they portray themselves. However, they also have to use such language means which help the writers to present elements of their identities that are supposed to be most important to finding partners. Therefore it is obvious that personal ads writers â€Å" will often converge with, or match, the speech patterns of their interlocutors† (ibid, p. 401, cited 30.11.2010). As the authors of article printed in a magazine Journal of language a social psychology point out, writers of personal ads construct their text and use such a vocabulary to be in harmony with what is preferred by their readers; â€Å" individuals are seen to adapt their language† (ibid, p. 401, cited 30.11.2010). 3. Gender differences Gender study appears to be not a very old discipline. It was introduced in the second half of the last century and explores the field of differences between men and women. It is generally assumed that women differ from men in many attributes. Nowadays, comments like woman will never understand man and vice versa nearly become a proverb. Of course, differences between women and men are of various types; however for the purpose of this research paper only difference concerning language use will be discussed. A theory dealing with issues of gender differences in using language is called sociolinguistic. Its major topic is â€Å" the connection between the structures, vocabularies, and ways 3 of using particular languages and the social roles of the men and women who speak these languages† (p. 315). 3.1. Gender and language Nowadays, linguists still have the same opinion that men and women differ in the language use. The distinction is partly caused by biological differences, e.g. a constitution of human brain depends on gender; however the fact is that women and men are also psychologically different, e.g. â€Å"women are more concerned with making connections; they seek involvement and focus on the interdependencies between people. Men are more concerned with autonomy and detachment; they seek independence and focus on hierarchical relationship† ( Boe qtd. In Holmes, 1995, p. 7). According to Coates ( 1993), usually, emotiveness is a typical feature of women, while rational thinking is characteristic attribute of men. Men put emphasis on success, efficiency, power and ability, whereas women regard as the most important relationship, feelings, family, and confidence. We can say, all these areas affect women ´s and men  ´s acting, their decision making, thinking, and their expressing of their emotions, needs and opinions. The distinctions mentioned can be reflected also in personal advertisements. 3.2. Cultural stereotypes and language Not only history and culture of the society but also gender differences influence the existence of certain persistent stereotypes in the society. There are some linguistic stereotypes  concerning communicative competence of men and women based on gender differences that are believed by almost each member of our society. According to Coates ( ibid ), each of us are familiar with linguistic stereotypes, like that â€Å" women talk more than men, that women â€Å"gossip†, that men swear more than women, that women are more polite and so on† ( Coates, 1993, p. 107). Coates mentions also other language areas in which women are distinct from men, which are â€Å"tag questions, hedges, commands and directives, taboo language, compliments, topic and topic development, formal versus informal language, and minimal responses† ( Coates, 1993, p. 114). 4 3.2.1. Talkativeness As for talkativeness, â€Å" there is a widespread belief in our society that women talk more than men† ( Coates, 1993, p. 115). In spoken language Coates calls this stereotype â€Å"verbosity† (Coates, 1993, p 114). Persistence of this stereotype is closely connected with the topic discussed. In societies, it is believed that women like to talk more about  ´trivial ´ topics, as family cooking or personal issues, and they avoid topics that could be titled  ´serious ´. The triviality of topics is usually connected with abundant usage of words. Coates points out another reason for persistence of this belief that is â€Å"different expectations of male and female speakers: while men have the right to talk, women are expected to remain silent. Then talking at any length can be viewed as talkativeness† ( Coates, 1993, p. 115). However; it should be emphasized that no research has proved this general belief (Coates, 1993). 3.2.2. Markers of hesitation, uncertainty As Coates (1993) says, women ´s speech is often viewed as  ´tentative ´. While men and women telling the same, women are supposed to use more features of hesitation like comment clauses, hedges, interjections, and pauses than men. According to Coates, hedges are â€Å"linguistic forms such as I think, I  ´m sure, you know, sort of and perhaps, maybe which express the speaker ´s certainty or uncertainty about the proposition under discussion† ( Coates, 1993, p. 116). The more frequent use of hedges can be a sign of possible women  ´s markers of hesitation based on some stereotypes again as showing of certainty or confidence during  conversation could be viewed as less feminine. This stereotype about women  ´s hesitation for the purpose to be feminine correlates also with another component of conversation, tag questions. 3.2.3 Asking questions, tag questions Concerning the question usage during a discussion, it is known that women often ask questions to keep conversation in process. As Holmes says, they usually ask â€Å"supportive elicitations† (Holmes, 1995, p. 43) to manifest interest and get deeper into a topic. The author continues and points out: â€Å"While women elicit more questions in private conversations, men tend to ask more queries in formal and public contexts† (Holmes, 1995, p 39). The reason why men use more questions in public places could be that they incline to be dominant in public as they are 5 generally more aggressive than women. Women differ from men also in the frequency of using tag questions. Preisler claims that â€Å"women use tag questions more often than men† ( Preisler qtd. in Coates, 1993, p. 119). 3.2.4. Topics of conversations As it was already mentioned, certain topics that are called  ´trivial ´ , such as relationships, family etc., are often applied to women and topics considered to be serious, such as politics, cars, technology, etc. are related to men ´s conversation. According to Coates (1993), for women an conversation serves for the purpose to share problems, consolidate relationships, gain experience or to offer support. On the other hand, for men an conversation means a source of information, giving advice and presenting knowledge. This different expectation very often leads to miscommunication between men and women. The linguistic differences between men and women can be represented also in personal advertisement. The style of personal ads reflects women ´s desires and ideas about men as well as men ´s wishes and needs concerning the opposite sex. 6 IV. PRACTICAL PART The practical part of the paper research will focus on the analysis of women ´s and men ´s advertisements, gender differences from the perspective of self- and partner-description, using hedges and talkativeness. 1. Methodology The sociolinguistic analysis was applied on the material of 40 personal advertisements presented on the web page www.datingdirect.co.uk that belong to the UK  ´s largest dating services. The corpus consists of 20 women ´s and 20 men ´s advertisements that were under a sociolinguistic analysis. The personal ads were chosen randomly. The age of respondents was between 35 and 45 including. All of the respondents came from Great Britain. Texts of all advertisements that underwent the analysis can be found in Appendix 1. 2. Analysis and results 2.1 Graphical arrangement of online personal advertisements The overall graphical arrangement of online personal advertisements on the web page www.datingdirect.co.uk is as follows: a) prescribed items with only one choice from the list, e.g. : relationship status, occupation, body type, height, hair colour, eyes, children, personality, country/residence, smoking, date of birth, education, ethnicity, I live†¦, my style, appearance, my best feature, political view, religion, romance, etc.; b) prescribed items with a multiple choice from the list, e.g.: entertainment, interests, sports, my taste in music, my favourite films, my pets, etc. ; c) prescribed partner ´s description with a multiple choice from the list, e.g.: relationship status, children, body type, personality, smoking, views on marriage, ethnicity, nationality, appearance, height, weight, hair, eyes, style, best features, education, occupation, religion, political view, interests, sports, films, income, etc.; d) fr ee-production part that is limited to maximum of 2000 characters, and where respondents write more about themselves and the partners they are looking for; this is the most important part of the personal advertisements as it serves as a material for the research paper sociolinguistic analysis. 7 There is also possibility to add photos on the web page. 2.2. Self – description of appearance 2.2.1. Women Focusing on the description of appearance, only six women depict their appearance (ads No. 1,2,4,5,7,20). As it is obvious from Figure 1, majority of the women (5 of them) put  emphasis on their overall impression rather than on describing single parts of their appearance. The words that are used for that purpose are: sexy (used 2 times); attractive (used one time); fit (used 2 times); pretty (used one time). Two women put emphasis on their hair. Both use the word blonde. Only one woman describes her eyes by using the expression blue eyed. In only two ads an emphasis is put on figure, which is described with the words curvy and slim. There is only one advertisement (advertisement No.7) where a woman depicts all categories which are mentioned above. â€Å"I am a pretty blue eyed blonde, slim†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Generally considered, women do not put great emphasis on descri bing their own appearance. Majority of the women, that is 13 of them, do not mention their appearance at all. Although we predicted that the appearance is considered to be significant for women to attract men  ´s attention, this prediction is not proved. 2.2.2. Men Concerning the description of their appearance, the men do not put a great emphasis on their appearance. Only four of them (ads No. 2,7,8,11) try to catch women  ´s attention by focusing on their look. They use adjectives good looking (1 time) and handsome (1 time) for describing of their overall appearance; expressions athletic (1 time) and in good shape (1 time) for their figure. As it can be obvious from the Figure 1, the men absolutely do not put an emphasis on their eyes or hair. One of the advertisements (No 9) is special concerning the way how a man describes himself. He chooses a totally different way how to attract a women  ´s attention. He does not say whether he is â€Å"handsome† or â€Å"ugly†. The author of this advertisement probably wants to stay mysterious as for his appearance and so to awaken a women  ´s interest: â€Å"I am no George Cloony but am not a Frank Galliger either† Generally considered, as we previously predicted, the men do not seem to put a greater emphasis on their appearance. 8 2.2.3. Differences in self – description of the appearance 80% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% 70% 25% 10% 10% 10% 10% 0% 0% 5% women men Figure 1: Comparison of women ´s and men ´s self-description of their appearance Dealing with the appearance, Figure 1 illustrates the fact that neither women  nor men put emphasis on their own appearance. 70 % of the women and 80 % of the men do not describe their look at all. This fact does not correspond with the stereotype that appearance is very important for women. 2.3. Description of partner  ´s appearance 2.3.1. Women Concerning the description of partner’s appearance, only four women depict how their ideal partner should look like. They use general adjectives, such as attractive (used in No. 17); tall (used in No.16); handsome; and young-looking (both used in No 18). One woman puts emphasis on the partner  ´s eyes, as she uses expression attractive eyes (No 1) , and one women is even more specific in her description of an ideal partner as she writes :†¦. taller men, with nice teeth, 34/36 waist ( in No 16). An overall majority of the women (16 of them) do not mention their ideal partner  ´s appearance at all. 2.3.2. Men At the beginning of the analysis we assumed man will emphasise the appearance of their ideal partners. However; the analysis shows that only two men concentrate on the women ´s look. Those men who mention appearance of their partner use general adjectives such as attractive and slim: I am looking for someone slim and attractive (No 12); †¦someone †¦that†¦is attractive†¦(No 1) The rest of the men do not mention the women  ´s look at all. It seems men prefer other qualities rather than appearance of their ideal partners. 2.3.3. Differences in partner-description of the appearance 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% 90% 80% 5% 10% 10% 0% 5% 0% 0% 5% women men Figure 2: Comparison of women ´s and men  ´s partner appearance description Focusing on the description of the ideal partner ´s appearance, the results are very similar in both groups. 80% of the women and 90% of the men do not mention how their ideal partner should look like at all. The stereotype that men emphasise the women  ´s appearance is not proved. 2.4. Self- description of qualities and personality 2.4.1. Women When creating a personal advertisement, to mention people ´s positive qualities seems to be a very important part. It is a useful way how to easily draw a potential partner ´s  attention. The authors of personal ads do it by various means, however; the most common is using adjectives that help to describe human qualities clearly and briefly. In the advertisements the women use a wide range of adjectives to depict their qualities and personality in the best way. More than 40 adjectives have been used for this purpose. The adjectives are divided into several groups expressing the same element of character: sense of humour; feminity; i ntellect; emancipation; moral qualities; social qualities; success; and others. Figure 3: Women  ´s description of their qualities and personality To compare description of appearance with the description of qualities and personality, only one woman do not put emphasis on description of her personality. It is obvious this part of personal ads is significant for the women. The most important qualities are those belonging to the categories of emancipation, sense of humour and feminity. Concerning the category of success that is connected with a good job, owning a car, or a house, the women to describe themselves as being successful do not use adjectives, but other expressions, such as †¦ I work hard, own my house and car †¦(No 10); †¦ I have a great job in advertising and media which I love. I work hard and long hours, †¦(No 12); or †¦ I have my own home car and good job so i am looking for the same(No16). 2.4.2. Men Focusing on men  ´s qualities and personalities, the men use approximately the same range of vocabulary as the women. They use more than 40 adjectives for the purpose to describe themselves from the point of personal qualities. Again, the adjectives are divided into several groups according to their meaning (see Appendix 3). The  following categories were possible to create: sense of humour; affectionate; intellect; moral qualities; social qualities; success; masculinity; others. Figure 4: Men  ´s description of their qualities and personality As it is obvious from the Figure 4, the vast majority, even 75% of the men, put emphasis on their success. This category includes not only adjectives, however other expressions, such as mentioning their profession, a successful career, owning a company, a car or a house:.. .i own a small yet busy painting and dec firm. .of which ive been doing for 15years now (No 4); I have a successful professional career that I enjoy (No 7); I own a plumbing and heating company (No 10); I have a couple of jobs firstly I head up an International Charity†¦(No 11); I have a fantastic job, Im financially solvent and I own my home own, which is located within a beautiful part of Wales (No 11). The men put great emphasis not only on their success; however they stress also such qualities that belong to the category  ´affectionate ´- even 55% of the men, which is very surprising. Six of the men depict themselves as caring, five of them as romantic, or three as hearted. By contrast, personal quali ties that are part of the group  ´masculinity ´ appear only in seven ads, which is 35%. 2.4.3. Differences in self-description of the personal qualities Concerning the qualities, some considerable differences have been found between men and women (see Figure 5). As it was predicted at the beginning of the analysis, women do not stress their success at all. It seems to be unimportant for them when they try to attract potential partners. Surprisingly, the women attach importance to the personal qualities that are part of the category  ´emancipation ´. They describe themselves as adventurous, confident, hardworking, down-to-earth, independent, or even strong. The women emphasise also their feminity. It is in 12 contrast with the appearance that the women consider being not so relevant for catching men ´s attention. They apparently try to attract more men by typical women ´s qualities as they depict themselves as feminine, warm, sensual, passionate, and caring. The women are may be persuaded that men desire to have such a women alongside. Unlike the women, the men put great emphasis on their success. For the men being successful seems to be rather significant for attracting an ideal partner. On the other hand, they do not stress their masculinity; however emphasise the qualities that soften their personality. Probably, they want to approach a women  ´s ideal of the perfect partner. As it was previously discussed in the theoretical part, the authors of personal ads write their text and use such a vocabulary to be in harmony with what is preferred by their readers. The men present elements of their identities that are supposed to be most important to finding partners. It can be an explanation why even 55% of the men stress the qualities belonging to the category  ´affectionate ´. 2.5. Use of hedges As it was already discussed in the theoretical part of this paper, hedges are markers of hesitation and uncertainty. MiÃ… ¡Ã… ¡ikovà ¡ offers another explanations of hedges: â€Å"†¦hedging is the qualification and toning-down of utterances†¦in order to reduce the riskiness of what one says† ( 13 Wales qtd. in Topics in Linguistics, 2007, p. 76 ), or hedges are â€Å" linguistic expressions that enable the speaker to avoid being too direct in her/his utterance† ( Watts qtd. in Topics in Linguistics, 2007, p. 76 . Mentioned previously, according to gender stereotypes, more frequent use of hedges is typical for woman speech. Concerning frequency of hedge using, the analysis of the personal ads shows following results: total number of elements in ads 2170 Men  ´s ads 3655 Women  ´s ads Figure 6: Number of hedges As it can be seen in the Figure 6, our analysis confirmed the gender stereotype that women use hedges in their utterances more frequently than men. While the women use the hedge expressions in every single advertisement, eight men do not use them at all. Average number of hedges per one women ´ s advertisement is 4,95 and per men ´s only 1,85. Probably, the women use them not to look very direct or confident. By showing certain degree of uncertainty (with the use of hedges), they try to express their feminine identities. 2.6. Talkativeness The theoretical part of the research paper discussed cultural and linguistic stereotype concerning talkativeness. In many societies, it is taken for granted women talk more than men. The analysis of the chosen personal advertisements reveals that the number of elements per advertisement is 182,75 in the women  ´s ads and the total number of elements is 3655, which is more than in the men  ´s ads, where the number of elements per advertisement is 108,5 and the overall amount of elements is 2170. The longest woman ´s advertisement has 354 elements (No 3), the shortest 76 elements (No 7). Surprisingly, the longest man ´s ad has 376 (No 11) elements, which is more by 22 elements than in the longest woman  ´s ad. The  shortest man ´s advertisement has only 33 elements (No 20). Although the analysis finds out that the women use more words, the number of the advertisements under analysis is not sufficient to be able to prove definitely the general myth that women are more talkative than men. V. CONCLUSION The aim of this research paper was to analyse men ´s and women ´s personal advertisements from the sociolinguistic viewpoint and to find out whether there are considerable differences between genders. Because personal advertisements are written by both sexes, the research paper tries to explore how language relates to gender and how stereotyped assumptions and beliefs are reflected in the text of online personal advertisements. The research paper dealt with 40 personal advertisements presented via the medium of the Internet. It concentrated on the issues of talkativeness and use of hedges from the perspective of gender stereotypes. The presumptions stated at the beginning of the analysis were proved as the research explored that the women used hedges more frequently than the men, as well as they were more talkative than the men. The supposition that men emphasise success in their self – description in order to attract potential partners was also proved. However; they do not stressed the appearance of their partners at  all. For the women, neither success nor their appearance and appearance of their partners were important. On the other hand, the women put greater emphasis on their personal qualities. To sum it up, the men and the women differed in their language. Some of the common beliefs and myths were proved, some not. In order to attract attention of a potential partner, both sexes probably varied they language according the expectations of the opposite gender. The extent of this research paper, as well as the number of the advertisements under the analysis did not allow going deeper into language of men ´s and women ´s advertisements. It was not possible to explore and analyse all the differences. However; this research paper can serve as an idea or a source for further research of personal advertisements. There is a great amount of issues which could be studied, such as gender differences in sentence structure or structure of  personal ads; differences in using formal, informal language; differences in doing grammar or spelling mistakes; way of self – identification; differences in intended relationships; way of opening and invitation for respond; use of abbreviations, emoticons; idiomatic and collocative expressions; and others.

Towards Speaking English Through Creative Drama English Language Essay

Towards Speaking English Through Creative Drama English Language Essay This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of creative drama on the enhancement of learners positive attitude towards speaking English in state high schools. A one-group pre-test/post-test study was carried out with 12 intermediate level students who were voluntarily selected. As a treatment students attended a 4-week creative drama program run by the researcher who received 320 hours of training for being a creative drama instructor. Four different instruments were employed to collect data in the study: Attitude questionnaire, student interviews, teacher observation notes and reflective journals. The attitude test was administered to the participants before and after the 4-week creative drama program, and the findings were compared to see the impact of the treatment. The data obtained by reflective journals, observation notes and interviews was grouped and analyzed. The results of the obtained data indicate that there were significant differences before and after the treatmen t in terms of enhancement of positive attitude towards speaking English. I.INTRODUCTION Statement of the purpose The present study was designed to determine the empirical validity of the assumption that providing learners of English as a foreign language with creative drama activities during English classes can enhance their positive attitude towards speaking English. It is suggested that learners will be more eager to learn and practice English if they adopt a positive attitude towards it. Justification It is clear that in the age of communication the role attached to speaking skill is far greater than it used to be. Due to the increasing mobility of nations, it is not surprising to see people who witness others speaking a number of languages in their daily life. The change in social structure has been reflected in linguistics through shifts in thoughts and notions, methods and techniques. What was once linguistic-oriented has now become a communicative one. With the increasing importance of learning English as a foreign language, many studies have been conducted to investigate better ways to teach English so far. Creative drama is shown as one of those ways by contemporary trends in language teaching. It is suggested that with creative drama activities learners cooperate with each other effectively during the application of the knowledge and the skills that they have acquired, learn better and discover new things about themselves. Creative drama is a kind of education technique that was developed by Peter Slade, Brian Way, Dorothy Heathcote and Gavin Bolton in England and is applied for almost all kinds of learning activities especially in improving verbal and written expression in language learning lessons. According to Davis (1996), in national education programmes in England, it is obligatory to use drama in English lessons. It is a known fact that in England, drama is being used as a method in speaking and writing fields of language teaching for a long time. In Turkey creative drama started to be applied especially in preschool education and elementary schools, in order to develop their creativity, self-confidence, independent thinking, self-control, and problem solving skills. In our world where individual, national and international competition is getting hard and there is a constant change, existing is based on having these qualities not on rote learning. In order to bring the children and adults in these qualities, instead of traditional education methods, methods of learning by living in social and natural environment should be used. One of these methods is creative drama. AdÄ ±gà ¼zel (2006) defines creative drama as follows: Creative drama is to represent or animate a subject, an experience, an event, a concept or behaviour with a group utilizing improvisation and role play techniques and using the experiences of group members. These improvising activities are carried out with an experienced leader and creative drama directly utilizes the general facilities of children games. In the light of this definition creative drama may be considered as a method of learning, a tool for self-expression, as well as art. In order to add more to this definition, UlaÃ…Å ¸ (2008) briefly explains the scope of creative drama through six learning principles: A student learns meaningful content better than other contents. Learning occurs as a result of a students interaction with his environment. The more sensory organs a student uses while learning, the greater the retention of the lessons. A student learns best by doing and experiencing. Effective participation is important in learning emotional conduct. Learning becomes easier and more permanent in educational environments where there is more than one stimulus. (p.876) Creative drama emerged from the work of John Dewey which emphasized the importance of the instinctive and impulsive attitudes and activities of children to education (Siks, 1981; cited in Freeman, 2000, p.7). It is believed that if the childrens natural activities and the games they played with their friends in daily life are transferred to the field of education, children will be more motivated towards learning. Learning by doing is the core of the idea that creative drama is an effective method of learning. As Mally (1983) said, Drama is more concerned with what is happening within and between members of a group placed in a dramatic situation. It is never intended for performance and rarely if ever rehearsed, since it depends on the spontaneous inventions and reactions of people involved in it. Drama involves the participants themselves (cited in AldaÄÅ ¸, 2009). As it is stated participants are completely active in drama activities. They have to receive the message quickly, find out practical solutions to the problems, and convey their responses to the other players. Like other fields drama is an effective technique in language teaching. By integrating drama activities in English classes, the monotony of a conventional language class can be broken and the syllabus can be transformed into a more meaningful one which prepares learners to face their immediate world better. If it is remembered that one of the significant problems for English language learners in Turkey is having a negative attitude towards speaking English, it will be more meaningful to claim that creative drama activities should be used in language classes. Learners negative attitudes are mainly caused by anxiety, lack of confidence and motivation Thus, it is important for teachers to find ways to motivate learners and reduce their anxiety while enhancing their confidence. Recent studies show that the use of creative drama activities could be regarded as one of the effective methods to help learners improve a positive attitude towards speaking English and also support them to acquire necessary communication skills. As Wagner (as cited in AldaÄÅ ¸, 2010) states that drama is powerful because its unique balance of thought and feeling makes learning exciting, challenging, relevant to real life concerns, and enjoyable. The integration of drama brings both real life and imaginary situations and characters into the language classroom. Through their imagination the students have to produce various actions that fit in with the situation they encounter. Teaching language skills through drama gives students a context for listening and meaningful language production provides opportunities for reading and writing development and involves children in reading and writing as a holistic and meaningful communication process. As Slade and Way (1967) state, Drama is a good way of teaching second language because students are learning and practicing the language with communicative activities in a real context. Another important benefit of integrating drama with second language teaching is that it improves relationships among learners and consequently, the class atmosphere. When the classroom context is relaxing and friendly, anxiety levels of learners are expected to be low. This principle is supported by Krashens affective filter hypothesis. According to the affective filter hypothesis, there is a kind of filter which determines how input is turned into intake. It is this filter through which learners motivation, anxiety level and self-confidence are shaped. Thus, who have a low anxiety have a low filter while the opposite is true for the opposite case. In the light of this hypothesis, it can be postulated that when the learner is unmotivated or lacks confidence, the filter will be up. (Gas and Selinker, as cited in SaÄÅ ¸lamel, 2009). Therefore, the classroom environment needs to be as stress-free as possible in order to lower the affective filter of the learner and consequently let the acquisition take place. (Krashen and Terrell, as cited in Shand, 2008). According to AldaÄÅ ¸ (2009), the most important benefit of using drama in second language teaching is that it increases self-esteem, self-confidence and spontaneity by reducing inhibitions, alienation feeling and sensitivity to rejection. In addition, drama develops problem-solving skills, working in groups, taking more risks and communicational skills such as turn taking, topic changing, and leave taking. To sum up the advantages of drama Ã…Å ¾amlÄ ±oÄÅ ¸lu and KarakuÃ…Å ¸ (2008) list what effective use of creative drama can achieve in learners: Creative drama; 1. Promotes long-lasting learning 2. Nurtures empathy 3. Empowers imagination, 4. Offers new dimensions, 5. Triggers curiosity and investigation, 6. Improves problem-solving and analysis-synthesis skills, 7. Concretizes the abstract, 8. Provokes creativity, 9. Assures self-confidence and personal development, 10. Enhances studentsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ repertoire, 11. Helps students develop effective addressing strategies and improve their rhetoric. 1.3 Significance Although there are a number of studies on attitude towards speaking English and those studies, to a great extent, give a rough idea about the importance of the problem. However, there is still need to elaborate on the issue with respect to creative drama applications. When we reduce the scale to Turkey, it is possible to see the scanty literature welcoming further studies. The literature on creative drama is pretty abundant, as well. However, the literature about the use of creative drama in EFL contexts is rather scarce. Thus, documenting any probable advantage of creative drama techniques for EFL contexts would be of great help for those who want to experiment without losing the enjoyable and pedagogical nature of the courses. 1.4 Literature Review There are several studies (AldaÄÅ ¸, 2010; Fuentes, 2010; KÄ ±lÄ ±Ãƒ §, 2009; SaÄÅ ¸lamel, 2009; Saraà §, 2007, Shand, 2008; ) which have demonstrated that the use of creative drama activities not only creates a motivating environment for speaking English but also contribute positively to learners speaking skills in the field of EFL both abroad and Turkey. 1.4.1 Studies Conducted Abroad Shand (2008) conducted a study on the effects of a creative drama curriculum for a group of third, sixth and seventh graders. As a mixed study participants response to the drama curriculum was measured by pre-test and post-test, observations and interviews. Results of the study showed that drama activities were successful in lowering the third grade participants anxiety and increasing their confidence and motivation towards speaking English. Drama clearly helped motivate these students, reduce their anxiety, and increase their confidence. Shand (2008) stated that the students were much more relaxed when speaking English. They spoke more, and when they spoke, they were louder and uninhibited. In another study, Fuentes (2010) conducted a qualitative study to examine the effect of drama on second language learning. A total of 40 pupils of the first year of Primary Education participated in the study. The participants were separated into two groups. With group A, a didactic unit based on a simple play adapted to their level was developed and with group B several drama activities and techniques to support the existing planning were used. The implementation of the unit in group A took seven sessions of 50 minutes each; whereas in group B six sessions were dedicated to drama techniques. For evaluation a diary was used by the researcher in which she has taken notes of the learners difficulties and progress. Children also evaluate their own performance in the L2 (self-assessment), they received feedback from both their partners and the teacher (co-assessment). Fuentes study demonstrated that the activities presented during the study had some very positive and interesting results regarding learner autonomy, motivation and pronunciation. 1.4.2 Studies Conducted in Turkey Several studies on creative drama and teaching English as a foreign language have also been conducted in Turkey. One of those studies is SaÄÅ ¸lamels study (2009), which aimed to find the effects of creative drama as an alternative way to reduce language anxiety of university students in English speaking classes. At the beginning of the study the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale was administered to 565 randomly selected students from different levels. Next, semi-structured interviews were carried out with 30 students and 20 speaking teachers to get their perceptions of language anxiety in speaking courses. In the light of the findings from the interviews carried out with students, it was observed that almost half of the students found learning and speaking English as an anxiety-provoking experience. The possible reasons for language anxiety were investigated from the students perspective through interviews. It was found that linguistic difficulties (vocabulary, grammar a nd pronunciation), cognitive challenges (fear of failure in front of others, fear of exams, fear of failure in communication, lack of self-esteem, fear of making mistakes), the role of the teachers, competitiveness and lack of information were considered to be correlates of language anxiety. After covering the role and possible sources of language anxiety and possible ways to alleviate language anxiety from a variety of perspectives, the study focused on a single way to lower language anxiety in speaking classes: applying creative drama activities. 22 participants chosen on a voluntary basis attended a 6-week creative drama program. The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale was administered both at the beginning and at the end of the study, and then the findings were compared. The difference between the pre-test and the pos-test was found to be statistically significant and the findings indicated that creative drama activities could be useful to lower language anxiety. In another study Aldag (2010) aimed to investigate the effectiveness of creative drama on the enhancement of motivation of the students who learn English in public elementary schools. Fifty randomly sampled 4th grade students of a state school participated in the study. The Control Group continued their conventional lessons while the Experimental Group was exposed to drama-based curriculum, but the content of the course was the same. Five different instruments were employed to collect data in the study: Motivation Questionnaire, Personal Information Form, Student and Teacher Interviews, Individual Diaries, and Observational Field Notes. Motivation test was applied twice: Firstly at the beginning of the study as pre-test; and secondly at the end of the study as post-test. The results of the obtained data indicate that there were significant differences between Experimental Group and the Control Group in terms of enhancement of motivation and speaking skills. At the end of the study, m otivation of the students of Experimental Group who were exposed to creative drama activities increased in a considerable extent, whereas motivation of the students of Control Group who continued their traditional curriculum remained the same. AldaÄÅ ¸ (2010) states that when learners overcame the fear of making mistakes in foreign language and relied on themselves, they were very eager to speak in English during activities. They were more enthusiastic about speaking in later stages of training. In another study Saraà § (2007) aimed to investigate whether creative drama has a positive impact on developing the speaking skills of young learners. For this purpose, the researcher conducted eight English lessons in which creative drama activities were applied. The lessons were recorded and checked by an observer. In addition, with the purpose of determining the expectations, feelings and thoughts of the students in terms of the influence of creative drama on the learners, the students were asked to keep journals. The observed lessons showed that speaking skills gradually increased towards the end of the research implementation. In addition, the students journals indicated that creative drama made a positive influence on the learners, such as providing a stress free environment, developing self confidence and providing high learner participation. Saraà § (2007) highlights that after the creative drama activities the students experienced only the positive feelings, most were happ y and found the activity to be fun. Not a single student felt anything negative about the activity afterwards. According to the data obtained, almost all the students show some of information routine, negotiation skills, simplification skills and rephrasing, use of fillers and hesitation devices in their journals. The results also showed that class participation and learner motivation was at the highest level in creative drama classroom enabling even the most shy and passive learner gain self confidence and thus become more active in the classroom. Another study which aimed to investigate the effect of creative drama on speaking English and students attitudes towards speaking English was submitted by KÄ ±lÄ ±Ãƒ § (2009). She included a research sample composed of high school students, who are between 15-16 years old. Research was designed according to experimental model with pre and post test control group. The advised methods and techniques in the course book were applied by the teacher to the students of control group. Unlike the control group, in addition to the methods and techniques recommended, drama activities were also applied to the experimental group. Speaking test and attitude test were applied before and after the treatment to determine the effect. The results of the study suggested that there had been a significant change on the attitudes of the students in the experimental group towards speaking English. Learners answers to the questionnaire after treatment showed that they felt more relaxed and were n ot afraid of making mistakes while speaking English. KÄ ±lÄ ±Ãƒ § (2009) stated that this may be because of the power of creative drama to help learners gain self-confidence during creative drama activities. In the light of this literature review the current study aims to find out whether creative drama has a positive effect on the attitudes of intermediate level high-school students towards speaking English in Turkey. 1.5 Research Question Does the use of creative drama in English classes help learners developing a positive attitude towards speaking English? 1.6 Research Hypothesis Creative drama activities can help developing positive attitude towards speaking English among intermediate level learners of English in state high schools in Turkey. 1.7 Limitations and Delimitations In this study the number of participants was one of the limitations. Since high school students have a very tough program during the week it was not possible for so many students to stay at school for the study. Therefore, only 12 students were available. This may limit the generalization of the study results to other populations. Another limitation is the time factor. The treatment was only applied for four weeks despite the fact that this kind of treatment must take a great deal of time. If the treatment had been applied for a longer period, it is anticipated that the results would have been more significant. II. METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY 2.1 Sampling and Setting The study took place at a state high-school in Sultanbeyli. The school is located in a socio-economically disadvantaged district of Istanbul. There are approximately 600 students and 50 teachers in the school. 9th grade students have 6 hours of English every week, while 10th, 11th and 12th grade students have 4 hours. As it is an Anatolian high-school, great importance is attached to the teaching of English. The administration provides support to ensure that there are enough foreign language teaching materials and resources. However, there is a shared opinion among English teachers that students are not eager to communicate in English. Instead they prefer studying grammar as memorizing grammar rules is easier for them than producing real language. The participants of the study are 12 students who were chosen on a voluntary basis. There are 8 females and 4 males. They are 15-16 years old and this is their third year at the school. 2.2 Design of the study The study is a combination of pre-experimental and qualitative research design. It is pre-experimental because there is no control group. Due to curricular issues, participants were not assigned as the Experimental Group and the Control Group during the study. Therefore, only the impact on the experimental group was measured. The study contains elements of both qualitative and quantitative research techniques. Qualitative data was obtained from students reflective journals, semi-structured interviews with students, and a colleagues observation notes on the study. Quantitative data was obtained from the attitude questionnaire which was applied before and after the treatment. 2.3 Instrumentation In this study four types of instruments were used for data collection. These instruments are attitude questionnaire towards speaking English, students reflective journals, semi-structured interviews with participants and a colleagues observation notes. The attitude questionnaire was developed by KÄ ±lÄ ±Ãƒ § (2009). It was designed to explore what an individuals attitude towards speaking English. The questionnaire has 30 phrases and designed as a five likert scale (1=strongly disagree, 2=disagree, 3=neutral, 4=agree, 5=strongly agree). This scale was applied before the treatment as a pre-test and after the treatment as a post-test. At the end of each creative drama session the students were asked to write in their reflective journals about that session. They were provided with some guideline questions and asked to write in their journals in a way to answer those questions. The questions are: What did you learn in this session? What did you feel in this session? Was it different from your other English classes? Which three words would you choose to describe this session? Do you think you could express yourself in English? In which activity? Would you like to attend more creative drama sessions? Why? The main purpose for keeping journals was to collect data about students feelings and opinions about the session in order to find out how the session affected their attitude towards speaking English. Participants were allowed to write in Turkish as the priority is to reach their ideas and feelings rather than evaluating their language competence. At the end of the creative drama program two randomly selected students were interviewed with the aim of getting more information about how creative drama activities affected their attitude towards speaking English. They were asked open-ended questions related to the activities and their responses were recorded, transcribed and evaluated by the researcher. The questions asked in the interview are: What do you think about creative drama? Do you think creative drama sessions are beneficial for you? Can you compare the English lessons in the classroom and the creative drama lessons? Would you like this program continue? What would happen if this program continued? In order to decrease the level of researcher subjectivity, a colleague was invited to observe one of the creative drama sessions. She was kindly asked to take notes during the session and share those notes with the researcher. Procedures Necessary permission was taken from the school management in order to conduct the study at school. It was announced to the intermediate level students that there would be a 4-week study about English teaching. Twelve students were chosen on a voluntary basis. Since the study was going to be carried out after the school, their parents were asked to sign a form which showed that they were willing to let their children participate in the study. The room for the sessions was determined and prepared for creative drama activities by placing comfortable seats, cushions and costumes. Before the first session the pre-test (the attitude questionnaire towards speaking English) was administered to the participants to identify their attitudes towards speaking English. They were also provided with guideline questions for their reflective journals. The participants were exposed to the creative drama program for 4 weeks. The program was planned as 3 hours each week. Therefore, it consisted of 12 hou rs in total. The participants were requested to write about their opinions and feelings in their reflective journals by following the guidelines after each session. A colleague was invited to observe the third weeks session. The post-test (attitude questionnaire towards speaking English) was administered to the participants reporting their attitude towards speaking English at the end of the creative drama program. Interviews were conducted with four randomly selected participants at the end of the treatment. The findings gathered from the instruments were analyzed and compared to see the impact of the treatment. III. DATA ANALYSIS 3.1 Results In this section, the analysis of the data obtained from the pre-test and post-test of attitude questionnaire of the participants will be presented. 3.1.1 Results of attitude questionnaires The attitude questionnaire was applied twice during the research study. It was firstly applied before the treatment as pre-test and then secondly at the end of the treatment as post-test. It was applied before and after the treatment in order to reveal whether there is any effect of creative drama on enhancing positive attitude or not. This questionnaire was formed by using Likert Scale (1=strongly disagree, 2=disagree, 3=neutral, 4=agree, 5=strongly agree). The results of these tests were analyzed through Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows 20.0, in this programme Paired Samples T-test was used in order to reveal whether drama activities affect the learners attitude towards learning English in a positive way or not. Pre-test Results of the Participants Pre-test Results Table 1 ITEM Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 1.I have difficulty speaking English. 0 0 5 5 2 2.I am afraid of making mistakes. 2 3 4 2 1 3.I dont want to speak English. 0 1 0 0 11 4.Lack of grammar knowledge inhibits my speaking. 0 1 2 4 5 5.Lack of vocabulary inhibits my speaking. 1 3 2 4 2 6.I can speak English fluently. 0 4 6 2 0 7.I feel nervous while speaking English. 3 2 2 2 3 8.I forget what to say when I am nervous. 2 2 4 1 3 9.Lack of correct pronunciation inhibits my speaking. 1 1 4 2 4 10.Lack of knowledge inhibits my speaking. 0 1 1 9 1 11.I cant express my ideas. 1 1 3 7 0 12.I cant understand what others say. 1 1 0 3 7 13.I dont know how to study to speak English. 0 0 2 3 7 14.Because of my teachers negative attitude. 0 0 1 0 11 15.I think nobody will understand me while speaking. 0 1 1 3 7 16.I think in Turkish. 1 1 2 4 3 17.Because my friends are teasing me for my mistakes. 0 0 0 1 11 18.Other students are better at speaking English. 2 1 1 0 8 19.I am afraid of not being understood by others. 1 1 2 4 4 20.I think I have no ability in learning a foreign language. 0 0 1 1 10 21.I cant remember the English meaning of words while speaking. 0 2 6 3 1 22.I think my teacher isnt interested in what I am saying. 0 0 0 0 12 23.I dont have to speak English in class. 1 0 4 1 5 24.My friends tell what I think before me. 0 3 2 4 3 25.I cant realize the mistakes I have done while speaking English. 1 0 1 5 5 26.I prefer learning grammar structures rather than speaking English. 0 0 1 6 5 27.I cant use computer because I dont know English. 0 0 0 1 11 28.I cant surf the Internet. 0 1 0 0 11 29.I cant watch movies in English. 1 1 0 2 8 30.I cant read newspapers or magazines in English. 5 5 2 0 0 Table 1 summarizes the participants responses to the items in the questionnaire which demonstrate their attitude towards learning English before the treatment. Post-test Results of the participants Post-test Results Table 2 ITEM Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 1. I have difficulty speaking English. 1 1 2 5 3 2.I am afraid of making mistakes. 1 3 0 3 5 3.I dont want to speak English. 1 1

School Uniform :: essays research papers

School UniformThroughout the Japan, numerous school boards have been attempting to standardize the clothing that students wear. The school superintendents who are in favor of uniforms will argue that the children who wear them will experience many benefits. I disagree with this idea. I feel that the use of uniforms will strip identity, stifle creativity and unnecessarily burden the families that cannot afford them. The use of uniforms has already been implemented in several long-standing social environments. The prison or penal system uses uniforms to brand those who are incarcerated. Moreover, military uses them to separate and remove the individualism inside of the soldier. In both cases, individual identity is stripped away and the subject is forced to conform to the same outward appearance as every other subject.Another problem that will surface due to the implementation of school uniforms is the suppression of the individual's creativity and expressions. Many students express wh o they are though the way they dress. If a teenager wants to show something that he or she likes, then he or she might wear a T-shirts that states a positive view on the subjects. School uniforms would end of this example listed within this paragraph and much more.The last problem that needs to be addressed is the necessary load that will be placed upon families. Many low-income families do not have the money available to provide uniforms to their children especially, private schools. In Japan, especially mission schools, the school board trying to pass the legislation that a child cannot attend school unless they have on the proper uniform. An education is supposed to be available to all children, not just the ones whose parents can afford to buy the government ordered, or schools ordered uniform.

Essay on Contrasting Couples in The Taming of the Shrew -- comparison

Use of Contrasting Couples in The Taming of the Shrew      Ã‚   William Shakespeare's comedy, The Taming of the Shrew illistrates the difficulty of trying to tame a headstrong, stubborn, and a high-spirited woman so that she will make a docile wife. The one attempting to tame Kate, the shrew, is Petruchio. They contend with each other with tremendous vitality and have a forced relationship. In contrast, there is another romantically linked couple who seemingly possess an ideal relationship. These young lovers, Bianca and Lucentio, share a love that is not grounded in reality, but in fantasy. These two sub-plot characters are stock characters and Shakespeare creates the irony of the play through the differences between the two couples. It is through his use of stock characters and irony that the differences between the two couples are revealed.    Bianca and Lucentio are considered stock characters in this play for many reasons. On the surface of things, Bianca is a sweet, mild-tempered young woman. She shows obedience towards her father and fosters his favoritism for herself by playing the part of a noble victim who cannot marry until her shrewish sister is wed. "Bianca is the epitome of a stock character. She is the sweet, innocent girl that all the g... ...terary Criticism Vol. IX, Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Co., 1983. Shakespeare, William, The Taming of the Shrew New York, New York, Washington Square Press, 1963. Snider, Denton J., "William Shakespeare" on The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespearean Literary Criticism Vol. IX, Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Co., 1983. Wade, Charles, "William Shakespeare" on The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespearean Literary Criticism Vol. IX, Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Co., 1983. Webster, Margaret, "William Shakespeare" on The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespearean Literary Criticism Vol. IX, Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Co., 1983.

Education Cannot Be Found in a Book :: Personal Narrative Writing

While baby-sitting my younger cousin, I noticed that she was frantically searching through a stack of books. When I questioned what she was looking for she responded frankly, "An education." I had to laugh at such a childish remark. Many individuals believe that education is simply obtained by reading books, listening to lectures or sitting in classrooms. However, education is not received by being an active listener, or an excellent reader. College does not guarantee a higher education; rather, it provides the atmosphere and tools that are required to develop into an educated, and scholarly individual. Education therefore is achieved by progressing through the different stages of knowledge, and acquiring the skills required to be an active observer and participant in the real world. Education is too often emphasized by the regurgitation of facts, which diminishes the use of critical thinking. There are too many dualistic students in society today who think topologically. That is, they believe that there are only two different answers to every question, the right one, and the wrong one. This type of thinking not only limits the quality of education that the student receives, but it also exploits the teacher's indolence and insufficient ability to bestow a higher education upon their students. Although I was ranked number four in my graduating class of 371 students, I do not feel like I have received a higher education than the student who was ranked number 371. Why? Simply because high school is equivalent of a board game, one repeats what the teacher said, one's thinking is emulative of the teachers, and one turns in the "busy work" on time. Hence, high school has educated an individual on how to be resistant to critical thinking. On the other hand, college professors attempt to make students think critically about issues, which concern their lives, and the lives of others. A good college education is not bestowed to the students by their professors; rather, the students furnish their own quality of education. A student can choose to remain resistant to critical thinking, or the student can maneuver into the next stage of education, which is thinking with multiple perspectives. In this multiple stage, the student begins to regard issues with diverse perspectives and to consider multiple answers to questions (Mitchell, 2000).

Ken Wilber

The man who, for many years, has been acknowledged by colleagues as the leading theoretician of consciousness and transpersonal psychology, Ken Wilber, was born in 1948 in Oklahoma City, to two devoted parents. Wilber's intellect has been hailed as truly extraordinary in its penetrating, synthesizing, and discriminative capacities. His knowledge of psychology, philosophy, sociology, comparative religion, mysticism, anthropology, and even â€Å"hard† sciences such as biochemistry and physics is virtually encyclopedic, but, most importantly, he has personal experience with the states and levels of consciousness about which he writes.Although he certainly should not be viewed as only an intellectual, his affinity for the mental and spiritual realms, as opposed to the bodily and emotional realms, is clear. Likewise, although his passion is greater for transpersonal than prepersonal and personal stages of development, he has nonetheless consistently emphasized the dire need to reco gnize and embrace a full-spectrum view of consciousness and humanity's place therein.Life and Major WorksWilber grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska. His father was an air force officer. As a youth, he was absorbed in the world of natural sciences, biology, chemistry and mathematics. Referring to his late high-school and early college days, Wilber notes, â€Å"My mental youth was an idyll of precision and accuracy, a fortress of the clear and evident.† (Wilber 58) His encounter with the Tao-te-Ching changed everything: â€Å"It was as if I were being exposed, for the very first time, to an entirely new and drastically different world -a world beyond the sensical, a world outside of science, and therefore a world quite beyond myself.† (Wilber 58)From here on, the investigation of the world beyond the personal self yet accessible to human consciousness became a passion that involved not just Wilber's intellect but his entire being. Beginning in his early twenties and continuing to this day, he has taken up training in various contemplative practices such as Zen and Dzogchen (a form of Tibetan Buddhism) that would enable him to walk the terrain he charts in his writings.Wilber dropped out of graduate studies in biochemistry to devote himself fulltime to the pursuit of his research and writing about consciousness. His first major book, The Spectrum of Consciousness written in 1977, was a synthesis of Western psychological theories and therapies with Eastern spiritual disciplines. From this time onward, Wilber supported himself by his own writings, living outside of institutional affiliations and commitments, free to develop and express his own ideas, free to live a lifestyle of contemplation and writing. To balance mental and spiritual work with embodied living, he at times engaged in manual labor, such as working in gas stations (Wilber 88).Several books and over a hundred journal articles soon appeared. The Atman Project 1980 set forth a vastly expanded fr amework for human development from infancy to adulthood and beyond into transpersonal stages described by diverse contemplative disciplines. Up from Eden (1981b) presented a detailed map of the evolution of the human mind and consciousness within this framework. The popular No Boundary (1981a), explains Wilber's early ideas in a highly readable style, while some of his more technical works such as Eye to Eye: The Questfor the New Paradigm for the New Paradigm (1990a) discuss the epistemological bases of knowing in the various sciences and how these could be expanded to accommodate the fun spectrum of consciousness.Wilber's ideas, larger than life and expressed through a powerful and often sharply critical writing style, have left few readers neutral or indifferent. Over the years he has engaged in lively debates with people who have taken issue with his controversial ideas, including other prominent theorists in transpersonal psychology. Most of these debates were carried on in the pages of journals and in his most recent books. Few of his colleagues in transpersonal and consciousness studies have met him in person. To their chagrin, Wilber guards his privacy carefully and rarely makes an appearance in public.He initially accepted invitations to teach, lecture, and give interviews but then quickly pulled back from such activity, as he felt thrown off center by the attention and admiration from his audiences. Regarding this experience, Wilber said in an interview, â€Å"What you get are a lot of people telling you how great you are. Within a short time, you start believing them, and then you're headed for disaster. I simply did not feel competent to appear in public as a teacher† (Schwartz 186). Getting Wilber to agree even to an interview is not easy. Yet when he does give his time, he gives generously, and to his small circle of close friends. Wilber is known as a devoted friend who can be warm, charming, and funny (Schwartz 204).Wilber's first marriag e to his best friend Amy Wagner in 1972 lasted for nine years, after which they parted ways amicably. Two years later Wilber met and married Treya Killam. One week after the wedding, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. The next five years were spent battling a relentless cancer that eventually claimed her life. During those five years Wilber set aside most of his writing and devoted himself full-time to nurturing Treya and, eventually, to helping her to die. Grace and Grit (1991), which appeared two years after her death, provides a moving account of the emotional and spiritual struggles and transformations in both Wilber and Treya during those trying years.The long hiatus in Wilber's writing ended in 1995 with the publication of the first volume of a planned three-volume series, Sex, Ecology, and Spirituality: The Spirit of Evolution (SES) (1995b). This 800 page volume was soon followed by two shorter companion works, A Guide to Sex, Ecology, Spirituality (1995a) and A Brief Hist ory of Everything (1996). A new chapter had just begun in Wilber's writing career. Up to this point, the emphasis had been largely on the upward movement of evolution, but in SES the upward movement is balanced by the movement downward: Spirit ascending to higher unities is at the same time Spirit descending to embrace and integrate the manifold of phenomena. By Wilber's own estimation SES is his first mature work. It offers an integral vision that encompasses practically everything humans have ever sought to know or be.Wilber’s IdeasTranspersonal TheoryKen Wilber has been the most influential theorist in transpersonal psychology. Wilber's developmental model in The Atman Project has the advantage of meshing with developmental psychology and extending it to transpersonal growth. Wilber says that people move through three life stages: pre-personal, personal, and transpersonal growth. The pre-personal stage begins at birth, before a personality is developed.From birth to adoles cence the task is to build a personality. In the personal stage the individual's task is to use the personality in work, relationships, and mature life in the world. In the transpersonal stage, usually beginning in adult life, the person begins to move beyond the external world and explore the inner reaches of the self and spiritual realities. The ultimate purpose is to attain the state of oneness or unity with the consciousness of the universe. Wilber contends that the growth toward these levels of being is a natural movement of the self, an inward arc in contrast to the outward arc that relates to the external world.The Spectrum of DevelopmentDevelopment, for Wilber, extends from inanimate matter and primitive life forms through the developmental stages of human consciousness to its farthest reaches as manifested by the mystics and sages of various Eastern and Western spiritual traditions. The stages leading to mature adulthood are familiar enough. They have been charted by theori sts such as Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson, Lawrence Kohlberg, and various psychoanalysts. Wilber draws especially from Piaget for the un-foldment of the cognitive and mental capacities and integrates these with the dynamic theories of object-relations psychoanalysis.Wilber identifies four transpersonal stages beyond mature adulthood: psychic, subtle, causal, and ultimate. Through these stages the sense of self or identity becomes more and more flexible and inclusive as self-centrism or narcissism continues to decrease, until at the highest stages of transpersonal development even the subtlest and most inclusive self-structurations are transcended in a sense of identity and connectedness that embraces all.At each stage things can go wrong, and so there is a spectrum of pathology corresponding to the spectrum of development all the way up to the highest transpersonal stages. Wilber discusses treatment modalities for each pathology and calls attention to the importance of correctly discern ing levels of pathology for example pre-personal or transpersonal so that appropriate treatment can be chosen. For example, he argues that meditation may not be suitable for borderline and other pre-personal pathologies, whereas for an existential depression or â€Å"dark night of the soul† that may occur in the lower transpersonal stages meditation may be a successful method of treatment.The charting of transpersonal development is undoubtedly Wilber's most controversial project. It implies that human development is open ended and that some individuals are â€Å"farther along† in development than other people, or that at any given time some people, and perhaps some cultures, have a more encompassing sense of self and a greater capacity for integrating the spectrum of consciousness than others. A number of cultural anthropologists, feminists, and ecophilosophers have criticized Wilber's theory in this regard. Certainly, the idea of development beyond â€Å"the average well-adjusted† is not new; it was celebrated in Maslow's notion of the self-actualizer. But in proposing developmental stages beyond self-actualization, Wilber is venturing into ever more rarified realms of human experience where the stakes are set high yet evidence is hard to come by.Nevertheless, it seems fair to say that Wilber's transpersonal stages have opened up the horizon far beyond anything conceived in Western scientific psychology. This horizon had been there all along, of course, and through the centuries it was explored by the mystics and seers whose anecdotal accounts, couched in religious symbolism and interpretations, only helped to shroud it in impenetrable mystery. For consciousness researchers, Wilber offers a greatly expanded paradigm of scientific inquiry. For those on a spiritual quest, he provides a map for the road.The Three Eyes of KnowingThe paradigm of consciousness research has been too narrowly modeled after the empirical sciences, argues Wilber. It can be significantly expanded once we realize that the eye of flesh, that is, our senses aided by laboratory instruments, is just one of the possible ways in which knowledge is gathered. We also have the eye of reason that understands the meaning of text, cultural symbols, and mathematical equations as well as the meaning of the data the eye of flesh observes. Beyond reason, says Wilber, there is the eye of contemplation that intuits directly the nature of reality and of the meanings deciphered by the eye of reason.The Pre/Trans FallacyAnother important concept of Wilber's that helps clear up misunderstandings regarding the transpersonal domain is what he calls the â€Å"pre/trans fallacy.† This is the failure to distinguish between primitive phenomena of early developmental stages, on the one hand, and insights and experiences that transcend the egoic mode of rational consciousness, on the other. Both types of phenomena are, in their own ways, â€Å"nonrational† an d â€Å"nonegoic,† and this is why they can appear similar or even identical. But phenomena of the first type are â€Å"prerational† or â€Å"preegoic,† whereas phenomena of the second type are â€Å"transrational† or â€Å"transegoic.†The pre/trans fallacy can occur in two ways. In the first, â€Å"trans† is reduced to â€Å"pre.† Freud's interpretation of the â€Å"oceanic feeling† associated with mystical experience as an irrational, regressive urge to return to the womb is a classic example of such a reduction. In general, the dismissal of all spiritual insights as regressive exemplifies the reductionist form of the pre/trans fallacy. In the second form of the fallacy, â€Å"pre† is elevated to â€Å"trans.† The elevationist form of the pre/trans fallacy is evident in the various ways in which prerational experience and modes of expression are promoted in the name of higher personal growth.Wilber's discussion of the pre/trans fallacy may well be one of his most useful practical contributions to the growing numbers of people searching for a spiritual path or engaging in some form of contemplative practice (Schwartz 260). Often the spiritual search masks primitive longings rooted in early developmental deprivations. On the other hand, sometimes an apparent psychotic break signals a major spiritual breakthrough. An insight into the pre/trans fallacy helps spiritual questers as well as therapists to be more discerning of the nature of the beast they are dealing with.Holism: Restoring Connectedness in the WorldIn his more recent writings, Wilber has articulated his philosophy of holism. To be truly holistic, the vision of a whole must include everything, including itself. But more important, it must integrate and connect all that it embraces. So the issue is not holism versus atomism, but fractured ness versus connectedness. Furthermore, the solution cannot be a matter of articulating the bes t and most holistic position, for this still leaves out the person proposing or accepting the position. Rather, what is required is a transformation of consciousness within the person, within all of us that shifts the viewpoint from the exterior increasingly to the interior and on to a superior view that is ever more inclusive and connected.Wilber has sounded a powerful call for us to awaken to the evolutionary process taking place within us, within the universe, not in some distant future but right now (Puhakka 152). This evolution is fundamentally open and creative and therefore, at every turn, incomplete and uncertain. We live in systems within systems, contexts within contexts, of indefinitely expanding structures of experiences, meanings, and relationships. These systems are constantly sliding and the contexts shifting, says Wilber.The vision of an open universe unfolding and enfolded upwards and downwards without end effectively removes all bases for certainty and completeness . For many people, the postmodern quicksand world spells despair and a sense of being lost in the ever-shifting contexts that claim power of determination over meaning and values and render human lives pointless and empty.The absolutizing of context is an unfortunate, even if unintended, legacy of much of postmodern thought. Wilber sees the emphasis on context as being appropriate but not going deep enough: We must recognize that the contexts themselves are shifting and evolving, along with everything else. The evolution, we are a part of excludes nothing, not even the contexts that bound our understanding and awareness. Evolution is the journey of the universe toward self-awareness, now through human consciousness that is becoming increasingly aware of its own contexts.ConclusionKen Wilber is a controversial figure among the late-twentieth-century thinkers on culture and consciousness. The evolution of consciousness is Wilber's main concern. He finds all of the major sciences, phil osophies, and spiritual traditions, both Eastern and Western, relevant to this concern, for they exemplify the process of evolution even as they shed light on it. The light is always partial, however, and how to fit the partial truths together is, for Wilber, the supreme puzzle. A superb synthesizer with ability to absorb and integrate large amounts of information across various disciplines, he sketches the contours of a panoramic vision of evolution as an unfolding of Spirit through matter, life, and mind.Works CitedEngler J. Therapeutic aims in psychotherapy and meditation: Developmental stages in the representation of self. Boston: Shambhala, 1986.Puhakka K. Restoring connectedness in the Kosmos: A healing tale of a deeper order. Humanistic Psychologist, 23 (1995): 373-391.Schwartz T. The full spectrum: Common Boundary. Los Angeles: Tarcher, 1995.Wilber K. The spectrum of consciousness. Wheaton, IL: Quest Books, 1977.Wilber K. The Atman project. Wheaton, IL: Quest Books. 1980.Wil ber K. No boundary. Boston: Shambhala, 1981.Wilber K. Odyssey. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 22(1) (1982): 57-90.Wilber K. A sociable God. New York: New Press, 1983.