How are fashion and appearance central to the construction of social Essay

How are fashion and appearance central to the construction of social identities Discuss, with reference to specific examples - Essay Example Fashion plays a very important role in this process, for it is a way to express our personality, to state our beliefs, to communicate our likes and dislikes. Fashion is a skilled architect for our bodies, using colours, shapes and textures to create pieces of clothing, which combined in a particular way produce, at their turn, a graspable, yet unique image of our identity. As Bennett states in Culture and Everyday Life (2005) â€Å"fashion embodies a range of symbolic values which are collectively understood within and across different social groups†. Therefore, by dressing in a certain way and creating a particular appearance for ourselves, we can send out particular messages about our character, education, financial success, interests and intentions, even sexual preferences. After all, in this fast and complicated world we have very few seconds to make an impression, this is why fashion is a key factor which will help us express all of who we are trough our style and choice of clothing. A piece of clothing can make one feel inhibited, or on the contrary, free and daring, nostalgic for the past or a visionary of the future. The right clothes can help us accomplish our goals and better interact with the people surrounding us. Therefore, given the complex nature of fashion as a central part of our society I will focus on three major aspects: feminism and the way fashion has helped women define and change their social roles and identities, youth and their use of fashion to make statements about their place in the society, as well as their personalities and in the end, intercultural exchange and the way one can create a unique style by combining fashion elements from different cultures. I will start with a short historical map out and thus begin with the Medieval times, since it is considered a period marked by darkness, rigid ideology and strict social delimitations. This is why fashion did not suffer any exceptions: clothes were used to set specific socia l boundaries and thus, dictate social identities. First of all, fashion was inspired at court and it included carefully tailor garments, which offered information about the social status of the person that was wearing the clothes. It included heavy dresses, which did not allow women the privilege of fast movement and which transposed into society as little involvement and obedience. The clergymen’s simple tunics were supposed to represent their penitence and modest life. The peasants’ poor dressing was a result of their placement at the bottom of the Feudal Pyramid of social order. As we slip into the modern era, towards the 18th and the 19th century, fashion still remains a wealth-dominated area. However, new social roles appear, such as public magistrates and the militia, which mark their social identity by particular clothing and uniforms. The tailoring business develops rather faster and cheaper replicas of high-fashion, designer clothes became more accessible for women belonging to lower social classes and disposing of smaller wealth. Luxury was not limited to the elite or the metropolitan any more (Breward, 1995). However, women continued to be restrained in movement by their clothes, which included the corset and the long dresses: women’s dresses were composed of large quantities of fabric and different occasions needed different kinds of dresses, factors which

Gilgamesh, The Iliad, And The Aeneid :: Gilgamesh, The Iliad, And The Aeneid

Even though the Aeneid shares many features with the Homeric epic, as an epic it is diverse in significant ways. For this motive, the Aeneid is denoted to as a literary or else secondary epic so as to distinguish it from primeval or primary epics like the Homeric poems. The word "primitive", "primary" besides "secondary" should not be understood as value verdicts, but simply as signs that the inventive character of the epic was improvisational in addition to oral, though that of the Aeneid, collected later in the epic tradition, was fundamentally non-oral and fashioned with the benefit of writing. As realized, the Homeric poems offer substantiation of improvisational methods of composition concerning the usage of numerous formulas (RankovicÃŒ , Slavica, Melve, and Mundal 6). This form of composition is appropriate to the demands of creativeness before an audience which do not tolerate the poet interval to generate new ways of voicing several thoughts. So to preserve his recital goin g he must hang stock phrases, which are deliberate to fill out innumerable rations of the dactylic hexameter line. Conversely, Vergil, composing in isolation, perceptibly spent abundant time on crafting his own individual poetic linguistic. As a result in reading the Aeneid one will be able to realize the absence of the persistent repetition of formularies, which are redundant in a literary or secondary epic ( Fleming, Daniel, Sara and Milstein 8). Literary works are separated into various groupings called genres in harmony with their distinguishing form and context. The Iliad fits to the genre of epic. An epic is a lengthy poem which tells a story concerning gods, heroes and heroic deeds. Since the epic is by its self-same nature extensive, it tends to be somewhat loosely prearranged. Not every chapter is unquestionably obligatory to the main story and departures from the subject are not unusual. It is significant to notice how diverse in this regard is the genre of drama, in which every single episode tends to be indispensable to the plot and departure from the subject are incongruous (Presnell and Jenny 3). The events recounted in epic are derived from legend pretty than devised by the poet and are characteristically of great implication as in the incident of the Iliad, which transmits an important episode focusing around the paramount hero of the Greeks in the Trojan War, the greatest eminent war of Greek legend. The epic poet inclines to present his tale impersonally, not sketching thoughtfulness to himself except for a few occasions, as in the leading line of the Iliad when Homer talks to the goddess who stands to be the Muse of epic poetry (RankovicÃŒ , Slavica, Melve, and Mundal 9).

How the English language influenced African literature Essay

The use of the English language plays a crucial and dominant role in African literature. In contemporary African literature the use of English is often the key element for success as an African writer. This enables them to express their views across a larger area of today’s global world. However writing in English instead of their native tongues may come at a high price for these African writers. By them replacing their native languages with English could eventually lead to the eradication of their native tongues. The aim of this essay is to address the following key elements which influence the role of English in African literature. Colonization played a leading role in placing English at the forefront of African literature. English can be viewed as a ‘necessary evil’, especially by most of those African writers who did not inherit the English language. The English language forms the core of African literature, throughout most parts of Africa. This is often evident in our everyday experiences. For example, the majority of the educational institutes in Africa, use English as a medium for engaging in learning activities. English has long been the language of politics. Furthermore, in the media and in literature, English is clearly the dominant language. In order for us to gain an understanding as to why English is the dominate language in African literature we need to address the main factor which has placed English at the centre of African literature. The effects of colonialism had the most influence over this situation. In 1884, Europe divided the African countries into separate colonies and ‘shaped’ the African nations under their colonial powers. These separate colonies were classified according to the languages of Europe, English- speaking, Portuguese-speaking and French-speaking African countries. Colonialism controlled and limited the use of African languages by imposing negative and stereotypical views upon these African languages. This is clearly stated by S.N.Dlamini.. Another interpretation of the use of the Zulu language comes from its  association with illiteracy and ignorance. This interpretation was historic, and a typical example of how British colonisation and a British education system impacted on language use. With colonialism, African languages were downgraded, and the language of the colonising country, English became the language of commerce, education and an instrument with which to measure knowledge(Dlamini:2005:16) The use of English in African literature can most definitely be viewed as a necessary evil. On the one hand, the English language plays a fundamental part in many aspects of communication. For instance, those African writers who choose to write in English can express their opinions, views, experiences and the like, across a more global scale. On the other hand, it’s a different scenario altogether for those whom have had to acquire English as their second language. Obviously, people would generally feel more comfortable writing in their home language as opposed to an additional language. Chinua Achebe wrote: â€Å"Those of us who have inherited the English language may not be in a position to appreciate the value of the inheritance. Or we may go on resenting it because it came as part of a package deal which included many other items of doubtful value and the positive atrocity of racial arrogance and prejudice which may yet set the world on fire. But let us not in rejecting evil throw out the good with it.† (Achebe;2005;31) There is no use in ignoring the fact that most literature will continue to be written in English. There are many reasons as to why it would not be feasible to banish the use of European languages in Africa, in replace of an African language. Firstly, this would affect the levels of communication within Africa and in relation with the rest of the world, as there are very few individuals in other parts of the world that understand one of the African languages. Secondly, this process would entail many expenses and complications. For  instance, the changing of educational institutions into ones with and African language as a medium for learning. ‘†¦those African writers who have chosen to write in English or French are not unpatriotic smart Alecs with an eye on the main chance-outside their own countries. They are the by-products of the same process that made the new nation states of Africa’ (Achebe;2005;31) Clearly, there are many advantages of writing in a first world language. Firstly, this would cultivate Africa to be a part of the global network of communication. For instance, this would allow African writers to express their views across a broader scale of the globe. Mazizi Kunene stated, â€Å"African literature is no literature unless it is used as a vehicle of ideas.† Furthermore, the use of a ‘universal’ language helps to destroy the barriers between different social or cultural groups by creating the link of communication. Secondly, with the ability to communicate, this allows these different social and cultural groups to interact, thus creating recognition for these different cultural groups. Charles Taylor creates a clear indication of the importance of recognition in his article The politics of recognition. The demand for recognition in multiculturalism is given urgency by the supposed links between recognition and identity, where this multiculturalism designates something like a persons understanding of who they are, of their fundamental defining characteristics as a human being. The thesis is that our identity is partly shaped by recognition or its absence, often by the misrecognition of others, and so a person or a group of people can suffer real damage, real distortion , if the people or society around them then mirror back to them a confining or demeaning or contemptible picture of themselves. Nonrecognition or misrecognition can inflict harm, can be a form of oppression, imprisoning someone in a false, distorted, and reduced mode of being. In other words, communication helps to facilitate the recognition of groups,  which is especially crucial for those smaller cultural groups from being oppressed and viewed as inferior, due to people’s ignorance. On the other hand, one needs to address the obstacles facing the African writer. For those who have acquired English as their second language, often feel that they are incapable of expressing themselves in the correct context when writing in English. Some feel they have to first think in their native tongue and then translate it into English and in the process their writing looses its meaning. Achebe stated in his article, ‘The English language and the African writer’ â€Å"The real question is not whether Africans could write in English but whether they ought to. Is it right that a man should abandon his mother-tongue for someone else’s? It looks like a dreadful betrayal and produces a guilty feeling. But for me there is no other choice. I have been given this language and I intend to use it.† (Achebe,C:2005:33) Firstly, in order to retain ones self identity, the sense of who you are and where you came from, one must first define themselves in relation to their language and their environment. This should be a crucial element, before adopting other languages. Ngugi wa Thiongo stated, â€Å"The choice of language and the use to which language is put is central to a peoples definition of themselves in relation to their natural and social environment, indeed in relation to the entire universe.(2005:25) Hopefully there will still be writers who choose to write in their native languages, to ensure the existence and the development of African literature. Evidently as the above evaluation states, African literature will continue to be dominated by the use of the English language. Although this is the reality to date, those Africans should not do so at the expense of abandoning their mother-tongue.

Hello My Name Is Austin Mcgrath And I Am Going To Talk

Hello my name is Austin McGrath and i am going to talk about the different perspectives that leonardo da vinci s and Tintoretto took when creating there different versions of the last supper and as to why they did . Leonardo da vinci s spent 3 years creating his version of the last supper, he started in 1495 and finished it in 1498, and 100 years later Jacopo Tintoretto spent 2 years creating his version he started in 1592 and finished it in 1594. Both paintings depict the biblical story of the last supper where jesus hosted a supper before he had to go back to heaven after his resurrection, and At this supper he turned water into wine and broke a single piece of bread apart to feed the men at the table. The different perspectives and†¦show more content†¦In the high renaissance, the power and influence on religion was still as high as it was in the dark ages, but unlike the dark ages religion in the renaissance was taught and looked at from a humanistic point of view. For example people looked up to it for morals and philosophy more than a form of worship and a complete way of life and absolute truth, and because of that change many paintings regarding to religion or any other painting painted at that time had some sort of religious and or humanistic meaning behind it. Know to talk about the contents of the paintings themself and the different perspectives of the painting. In the last supper leonardo decided to make the scene in the painting very realistic, with not a lot of dramatic imagery. In the background of the painting is some landscape outside of a doorway and windows. There is a long table with 13 people sitting at it, and in the center of the painting sits jesus at the long table with his arms outstretched and on the left of jesus in order are groups. The groups consist of, Group 1 Judas is taken aback, and next to him there is peter holding a knife and looks angry, and john swoons, and then in Group 2 Bartholomew, james minor, and Andrew are all surprised. Then on jesus right in order Group 3 consisted ofShow MoreRelatedProject Mgmt296381 Words   |  1186 Pagesmanagement: the managerial process / Erik W. Larson, Clifford F. Gray. —5th ed. p. cm. —(The McGraw-Hill/Irwin series, operations and decision sciences) Grayâ€⠄¢s name appears first on the earlier editions. Includes index. ISBN-13: 978-0-07-340334-2 (alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-07-340334-2 (alk. paper) 1. Project management. 2. Time management. 3. Risk management. I. Gray, Clifford F. II. Gray, Clifford F. Project management. III. Title. HD69.P75G72 2011 658.4904—dc22 2009054318 www.mhhe.com About the Authors