Rethinking Third World Politics.

Rethinking Third World Politics Frantz Fanon Introduction I will start my presentation with a brief introduction on who Fanon was, then I shall talk about his work concentrating on Black Skin, White Masks and on The Wretched of the Earth. And finally I will conclude with an overview on his work, theories and beliefs. Who was Frantz Fanon? > Fanon was born in 1925, in the French colony of Martinique where he belonged to a middle class family. > In 1943 Fanon left Martinique and volunteered to fight with the French in the Second World War II. > Once the war was over, Fanon remained in France, where he got a scholarship to study psychiatry and medicine in Lyon. Whilst, studying, Fanon began writing political essays and plays and got married to a French woman named Jose Duble. Before leaving France, Fanon had already published his first analysis on racism and colonization, Black Skin, White Masks originally title "an essay for the disalienation of blacks," in part based on his lectures and experiences in Lyon. > Fanon became head of the Psychiatry department at the Blinda Joinville hospital in Algeria in 1953. During his time in Blinda, the war for Algeria independence broke out, and Fanon was horrified by the stories of tortures his patients, both French torturers and Algerian torture victims told him. That led him to resign his post with the French government and

  • Word count: 1936
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Historical and Philosophical studies
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To what extent did commerce flourish in this period?

To what extent did commerce flourish in this period? Before considering how far commerce thrived in this period it is necessary to examine what is meant by this term. The dictionary defines commerce, as "The large scale buying and selling of goods and services". This, however, is a modern interpretation of the word. To truly understand the relevance of this word in the period being studied it is important to think about this term in the correct context. In the modern sense commerce and trade is carried out with the ultimate aim of generating a profit. Usually through acquiring a large number of a particular object cheaply at wholesale price and subsequently selling the objects on individually for a vastly increased price. However in the early middle ages this was not the purpose of trade. Instead it was much more a case of exchanging something that was readily available or not needed for something which was harder to acquire. The fact that these other objects were harder to acquire, or at least not as readily available, meant that they were considered valuable by people at the time. In the societies of medieval Europe objects of value were considered to give rank or status within society. Kings or tribal leaders would publicly display objects of value as a symbol of their leadership. Due to the fact that these objects were hard to come by their origins were usually

  • Word count: 2124
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Historical and Philosophical studies
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Famine and the Black Death: Social and Economic Change in Medieval England.

Famine and the Black Death: Social and Economic Change in Medieval England The fourteenth century was a significant period of economic, social and demographic changes, following several serious epidemics, which affected many parts of Europe. It is probable that the Black Death of 1348-9 was the most significant cause of economic distress due to very high mortality rates. The key disparity in historian's views for this period was whether the Black Death acted as a cause for transitional social change or whether the foundations of social transition had been embedded prior to 1348, thus acting merely as a catalyst. The four books under review were all published within a twenty-year period, from 1977-1996. Whilst focusing upon slightly different chronological periods, they are brought together through consciously discussed thematic approaches, which overlap and indeed, compliment each other. For example, two great events of the first half of the fourteenth century; the Great Famine 1315-22 and the Black Death 1348-9, immediately identify issues of mortality and subsequently, the extent of this impact upon medieval people and their communities. Chronologically, these books are also interlinked. From William Jordan's study concerning the Great Famine of 1315-22, to Bruce Campbell's edited book which acts as a watershed between the expansive demographic and economic trends

  • Word count: 4058
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Historical and Philosophical studies
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historical review of Else Roesdahl's The Vikings

Historical review of Else Roesdahl's, The Vikings. The Viking Age is, in Roesdahl's own words, "an important and fascinating period of Scandinavia's past".1 Else Roesdahl, Professor of Medieval Archaeology at the University of Arhus, Denmark, in her own words sets out to charter what she deems to be "the most important aspects of the Viking Age, where interpretations and problems are reasonably clear."2 The book is a revised edition of an earlier 1992 edition, whereby it has been updated with information from new archaeological excavations. With the current influx of new information and research, our perception of the period is under constant revision.3 Our knowledge of the Viking Age in Scandinavia and abroad is based on a wide range of sources: written sources, (such as runic inscriptions on stones) poetry, archaeological finds, landscape and climate. Each source poses its own advantages and disadvantages. In the book, The Vikings, Roesdahl goes through each source in detail providing the reader with examples of finds from that particular source and the importance and impact of that find. Pictures and maps are provided to help us gain a better mental picture of how it was to live during this exciting period in history. With this book we are led to believe that Roesdahl's aim was to give the lay person a good solid introduction to the life and times of the Viking era. Was

  • Word count: 1862
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Historical and Philosophical studies
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Why was it so hard to resolve the Great Schism?

Why was it so hard to resolve the Great Schism? When, in September 1378, the cardinals at Anagni declared Robert of Geneva Pope Clement VII (rather than Urban VI, whom they had elected in April of that year), a period of controversy and schism in the western Church began that was not resolved until the election of Martin V in 1417, some thirty-nine years later.1 Unlike previous instances of disputed papacy, however, the Great Schism of 1378-1417 (or 'Papal Schism', to distinguish it from the 1054 East-West Schism)2 was self-perpetuating. This was due to the creation by Urban VI of a new College of Cardinals, leading to the situation where both the Urbanist and Clementine papacies, and the division between them, would continue following the death of either Pope.3 However, with the schism almost universally regarded as undesirable, since having two (or, from 1409, three)4 Popes defeated the very object of the Papacy as an institution, attempts were made during the period to resolve the schism. The question that therefore needs to be addressed is this: why did it take so long to resolve the Papal Schism? For one thing, the schism proved hard to resolve due to the "unprecedented complexity" of the legal situation it created, which "called into question much of the accepted ecclesiastical constitution".5 It was far from clear what actions could canonically be undertaken to end

  • Word count: 1987
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Historical and Philosophical studies
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Similarities and differences in approaches of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X to the grievances of Black-Americans.

Name of the student: Amrullayev Emin ID: 160806 Department: Political Science Name of the course: Politics and Identity Tittle of Position Paper: Similarities and differences in approaches of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X to the grievances of Black-Americans Black civil right movements are considered as one of the most important phenomena of American history of the 20th century. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X are considered as the most celebrated leaders of these movements. Despite the fact that their approaches to the issue differ from each other's, both of these leaders made a significant contribution to Afro-American civil right movements. In this paper, I will analyze M.L King's and Malcolm X's approaches to the problem of "being black" in America. My main purpose is to explore the similarities and differences in how both authors identify the category of "blackness" and to critically discuss the political solutions that they offer. The construction of the category of "blackness", or the answer to the question "what is being Negro in America like?" should be considered as the crucial point in both authors' works. In "The Dilemma of Negro Americans" King depicts two main factors - "being scarred by a history of slavery" and "family disorganization" (M. L. King, 1967, p.103) - that affect the Negro life in the United States. I completely agree with King's

  • Word count: 1497
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Historical and Philosophical studies
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The second industrial revolution.

Introduction The First Industrial Revolution, as called in the narrower sense the revolution of coal and iron, started in Britain in the manufacture of textiles in the middle of seventeenth century. It implied the gradual extension of the use of machines, the employment of men, women, and children in factories, a fairly steady change from a population mainly of agriculture workers to a population mainly engaged in making things in factories and distributing them when they were made. By the mid nineteenth-century, Britain became the world's industrial leader--the "workshop of the world." After the age of coal and iron (the first industrial revolution), there came the following age of steel and electricity, of oil and chemicals. The second industrial revolution began around the last decade of the nineteenth century. It was far more deeply scientific, far less depended on the "inventions" of "practical" men with little if any basic scientific training. It was also far quicker in its impact, far more prodigious in its results and far more revolutionary in its effects on people's lives and outlook. The second industrial revolution was a new thing in human experience and it went on corresponded with the economic, social and political consequences it produced. Economical issues on Productivity and technology The second industrial revolution witnessed the growth in some

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  • Word count: 1692
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Historical and Philosophical studies
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Political Catalysts of the Witch Hunt in Early Modern Europe

Political Catalysts of the Great Witch Hunt in Early Modern Europe Witchcraft was an almost universally held belief during the early modern period, and the 'crime' of witchcraft was responsible for the prosecution and execution of thousands of individuals - mainly women - in the period 1450 to 1750. Although certain rational thinkers firmly proclaimed their disbelief (for example, Cyrano de Bergerac, 1619-1655, in his Letter against Witches: No, I do not remotely believe in witches, even though many great persons have not been of my opinion, and I defer to no one's authority, unless accompanied by reason .... Reason alone is my queen ....)1 Others (for example, Joseph Glanvill, although also a rationalist and founding member of the Royal Society), held that Those that dare not bluntly say, "There is no God" content themselves (for a fair step and introduction) to deny that there are spirits and witches."2 In other words, disbelieving in witches was tantamount to disbelieving in God. Although Cyrano's opinion eventually became the orthodoxy, at the time Glanvill's was the conventional view. This gave people from the highest to the lowest levels in any country in Christendom the justification, even the duty, to persecute those of whom they disapproved, whether for political, financial or personal reasons, under the very convenient blanket accusation of witchcraft. In this

  • Word count: 3983
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Historical and Philosophical studies
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English Property Rights vs. French Peasant Farming & Productivity

English Property Rights vs. French Peasant Farming & Productivity The view that England's advantage in terms of agricultural productivity was related to its system of property rights and agrarian institutions is far from new. It was Arthur Young in the late 18th century that famously cited enclosure as the major factor in the differing levels of agricultural productivity the two countries. To Young big was beautiful and the agglomerated and enclosed farms of England were far superior to the "infinitesimally small" peasant farms of France. Young furthered his arguments by suggesting that partage, the opposite of English primogeniture, augmented the creation of inefficiently small farms. On the standard of living of the peasants who inhabited these farms, he remarked: "In general they are poor and miserable, much arising from the minute division of their little farms among all children". On the subject of agrarian institutions Young was equally scathing. He described the open field system as "The Goths and Vandals of the open system" as well as referring to French agricultural practices as barbarous. The classic, pre-revisionist response to this question is an unequivocal yes. However a revisionist school has countered the tradition of Young and others. A reassessment of old data and the formulation of new data have led to opposing answers to this question. In this

  • Word count: 2230
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Historical and Philosophical studies
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"The Taipings Uprising was a rebellion rather than a revolution" - Do you agree with this statement? Justify your answer.

2000 Q3 "The Taipings Uprising was a rebellion rather than a revolution." Do you agree with this statement? Justify your answer. There were internal convulsions in China during the period 1850- 64. The Taiping Uprising was one of the greatest convulsion which it almost succeed in overthrowing the Qing govt. It aimed at driving out the Manchurians and established the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace. Although it resembles the features of a revolution, it did not aim at drastic changing of China's political structure. This great uprising carried a lot of features of a rebellion but also a revolution. It was said to be more than a rebellion, but less than a revolution. Revolution is known as a large-scale uprising which aim at overthrowing the existing system and set up a new kingdom with completely different form of government. It needed to have a well-trained army, good leadership and solid foundation in order to have good planning and strategy. Comprehensive programme of changes should be carried out for the sake of the people. All these features could be found in the Taipings. Firstly, the Taipings was similar to a revolution in the sense that it aimed at drastic change. The Manchurians were not welcomed in ruling China after the downfall of the Ming dynasty. They were always regarded as barbarians and aliens. The Hans had always wanted to overthrow the Qing and restore a

  • Word count: 1759
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Historical and Philosophical studies
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