Voltaire and the Beginning of the Enlightment Essay -- Enlightenment of

Francis Marie Arouet was born on November 21, 1694 in Paris, France. As a child, Arouet grew up in an atmosphere that strictly obeyed the rules of the church. During this time, faith in the church was an obligation for everyone in society and the authority of the church was never questioned, for this would definitely mean instant death. Meanwhile, Arouet enrolled at the Jesuit College of Louis-Le-Grande where he excelled in academics especially his skills in writing. After his schooling, Arouet became noticed by much of the aristocracy for his writing and eventually was imprisoned for supposedly composing two offensive works, the Puerto Regnanto and J’aivu.1 While serving his confinement, he assumed the name de Voltaire. After choosing the new name, Voltaire said, "I was very unlucky under my first name. I want to see if this one will succeed any better."2 Upon his release from the Bastille, Voltaire was exiled to England, a country he grew very fond of. At this time, freedom of speech was continuously exemplified throughout the country of England; Voltaire found this toleration very advantageous to the beginnings of his opinion. While in England, Voltaire decided to redirect his purpose of writing; he now decided to fight for the right of human liberty. From the time Voltaire moved to England through the remainder of his life, he marked the beginning of a new period, the Englightment, a time where he would continuously mock the idea of religion and reinforce the idea of human liberty and opinion fearlessly through his many plays, literature, and essays. Furthermore, Voltaire remained in England for three years while publishing an English version of the La Henriade, an essay concerning the defense of religious toleration.3 Aft... ...zes Voltaire the best when he comments, "Probably no man ever lived who assailed the Church and the State with the same wit and keenness that always at Voltaire’s command; and yet in spite of this he managed to live comfortably, accumulate rich and die in peace."13 Notes 1. "Francis Marie Arouet de Voltaire." http://www.ericjonas.com/ /features/candied/Voltaire/default.asp (20 Feb. 2000). 2. Darrow, Charles. "Voltaire." http://www.aracnet.com/~atheism/hist/ darrow5.htm (20 Feb. 2000). 3. "Francis Marie Arouet de Voltaire," 1. 4. Darrow, 6. 5. Darrow, 9. 6. Darrow, 9. 7. Darrow, 13. 8. Darrow, 17. 9. Darrow, 11. 10. Wendy McElroy, "Voltaire vs. Intolerance," Free Inquiry, Winter 1999, 61. 11. Darrow, 15. 12. Darrow, 16. 13. Darrow, 4.

The Nandi Warriors

Deep in the Western Highlands of Africa lives a group of people known as the Nandi people. These people once lived a sedentary life as cattle herders and agriculturalists.   Interesting facts about the Nandi people include beliefs of male and female circumcision. In the past, large ceremonies were held every seven and one half years for male circumcision, which provided rite of initiation into adulthood (Wikipedia, p.1). While male circumcision is an everyday occurrence here in the U.S., female circumcision is not. Female circumcision was performed among the Nandi females in preparation for marriage. In addition to beliefs such as male/female circumcision, this culture also believed in female-female marriages (Wikipedia, p.1). The female-female marriages solved the problems of marriage failure, and served as a way to rescue young mothers from social and economic distress.   Born from this group of intriguing people were the Nandi warriors. Men young and old formed this protective group who later came to be known as one of the most notorious for slaying in Kenyan history (Kamau, p.1). The Nandi Warriors were successful in keeping out any possible threats to their people by limiting access into their territory. Many outsiders attempted intrusion in order to proceed with trading practices, and as a result, thousands were killed. Small groups of the Nandi warriors would lead intruding caravans deep into the Nandi lands, where, later in the evening, the warriors would massacre their â€Å"guests† (Bishop, p.1).   Only rarely did the warriors entertain trading  opportunities. Items up for trade included ivory and other coastal goods in exchange for cattle (Biship, p.1). While the Nandi Warriors’ protective measures would continue to last only a short time longer, the British’s own slaying of Nandi Warrior leader Kimnyole arap Sameoi would end slayings on the Nandi people’s behalf completely (Kamau, p. 1) in order to proceed with foreign rule. This defeat, enforced by the Imperial British of East Africa, would end the Nandi Resistance, and allow the peaceful beginnings to show face to the Nandi people, as well as surrounding areas. The Nandi were noted warriors (Bishop, p.1). After many battles, many victories and many defeats, the Nandi Warriors were feared by anyone who had reason to walk by their territory. Resistance to foreign rule would eventually weaken the opposition of the Nandi Warriors, and much needed peace would be restored in East Africa. Works Cited 1.Cultural Safari. 2005. Kenya Tourist Board. MK Literary Group. January 2007. 2.   Warriors in the Heart of Darkness: The Nandi Resistance. 2002. Koitalel Kenyan Heroes. Dennis Biship. January 2007. 3. The Unresolved Issue of the Kenyan Freedom Movement. 1999, Rev. 2000. Saxakali.com. Michael Mundia Kamau. January 2007.      

Discrimination in College Admissions Essay

There can be many factors that determine whether or not you can get into a college. Do you have the grades, are you involved in your community, have you been convicted. Many questions like those listed above have been commonly asked to applicants who apply for major colleges universities. However, you are never asked your ethnicity during an interview, usually they give you an application to fill out and they have a space that allows you to check which race you are. Some people feel as though they may have been discriminated against because of their race or ethnicity. It may be true for some, but not all cases are alike, in the sense that racial discrimination in college applicants has been going on for quite a while now. In Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, a thirty five-year old man named Allan Bakke applied to the University of California Medical School at Davis and was denied admission on the two occasions that he applied for the university. The school claimed to have had denied his admission because they were designating sixteen of one hundred spots, in each new set of applicants, of one hundred â€Å"qualified† minorities as part of their cooperation of the new affirmative action legislation. Bakke did not qualify for any of these sixteen out of on hundred spots because he was white and not black, or a minority. They did this to readdress the long-lasting one-sided minority omissions from the medical sector. Now, Mr. Bakke’s test score and other qualifications he needed to enter the program were beyond acceptable, but he was still rejected. He then took his case to court. Bakke went to California court primarily, then he decided to go to the Supreme Court, saying that he was rejected from the university because of his ethnic group. The question at hand was did the University of California violate the 14th Amendment equal protection clause and/or the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when denying Allan Bakke admission because he was white. Also, the fact that they used affirmative action to do so, would it still be a violation if they were just following the new law laid down by the big guys to help increase the assortment of the minorities already in the university. Also, you have  to take into account that they had very limited resources and wanted to make sure that everyone had a fair chance to apply and get accepted, which is the point of the reservation of the sixteen spots of one hundred for the minorities. To balance the statistics some would probably say. The case concluded with five votes siding with Bakke, and four votes against Bakke. Ultimately he won the case, but that didn’t stop colleges from not admitting people by their race. This case is similar to the sentiment the Asians are feeling with the bar for them to be able to get admitted into a good college or university being set beyond the maximum. Some Asians feel as though they are not getting a break and are getting harsher treatment then most American. So is this the same as Allan Bakke felt? Did he feel as though he was given an unruly standard that he would have to live up to in order to be admitted inside of his dream school? I believe that the Asians and Allan have been tested with the same trial that they have to battle out. Asian-Americans are now feeling that they are losing out because the Board of Regents established a new undergrad admissions policy that gives them expectations at a chance to widen their applicant consortium. However, not everyone is satisfied with the new legislation, especially Asian-Americans. The new policy however, does not state that Asians wouldn’t qualify, it simply gives colleges and universities more tractability in selecting new students. As the media grapples on to the new concept more and more Asians are coming forward with complaints and angry phone calls and letters from the students of these Asian students and the students themselves. This new policy differs from affirmative action, but not everyone sees the difference between the two. One analysis from a person at the college supports the view of the Asian-American student, implying that the number of Asian students would regress under the new policy. Parents of these Asian students also seem to feel the sting of the new policy. Outraged, many say that they were blindsided by the university and see it as an act of discrimination. Compared to Board of Regents v. Bakke, it was simply discrimination in the obvious form. They denied him because he was a man of Caucasian decent and they wanted to save sixteen spots  specifically for minorities. Which in my view was fair at the time because minorities weren’t given as many opportunities as the whites were. I would have seen that as socially acceptable if I were there in that place of time. Even with the high grades Mr. Allan Bakke presented to the college, he was still rejected twice. In this case when we are about thirty-five years after that incident, we have arrived to a time in the United States were almost everyone has ‘equal’ rights, per say, and we all have ‘equal’ opportunity, but to deny someone because of their race in this day and age will most definitely result in a law and to me is seen as discrimination because if we work hard and meet the qualifications for a specific job, college, or university we fancy to attend we should be able to do as so. However, I do understand that some colleges might look at the campus population and notice many members of the same race and decide that they want it to be more diverse, and that’s understandable, but if someone makes the cut, they make it and if the college or university decides not to accept them because they might want the African-American straight A student to join their institution rather than accepting another Asian straight A when they already have so many people from that heritage. Colleges might also look at creating a more diverse campus as a way to prevent those lawsuits, because if the media starts getting reports of there being an overflow of white students at a college or university ran by a white man or woman, they look dubious, and just racist, but if they start accepting more minorities into their school, spreading a little color over the campus, in a sense, then they look more appealing to applicants who want that diversity in their dream school. Plus it shows good when schools are being taken to court for discrimination. If they show the statistics, the numbers, of the racial diversity, then that builds on their case. If they show a pie chart and 75% of the chart is green, and green represents white for example, then that makes the school look bad, ultimately allowing a jury to see a possibility of discrimination, but if it’s near equal for minorities and whites, etc. , then it’s good for the school. Making their case more believable. Debacles like this may never end for years to come because we need diversity  in public places, without it, it would be like the Civil Rights era all over again, and we don’t need any more violent protests like we have today. I agree and disagree with the Regents v. Bakke ruling because I believe he should’ve been accepted, but I also believe that if he was aware of what they were doing after the first time he got rejected he should have went to the courts sooner, but there is always the accusation of speculation and that can hold grounds for a dismissal of the case. However I do agree with the Board’s idea of creating a more diverse campus. By doing so they allowed minorities, who back then had fewer opportunities then the white men and women, to integrate themselves with the majority and find out for themselves that they are all alike. They have two legs and a beating heart and they can tolerate each other’s presence. They should America that public places shouldn’t be segregated, but should hold equal opportunities for minorities and majorities, and by the Board striking the thought of holding those sixteen spots was just the start of a major movement towards desegregation and eventually diversity. Although it’s sad to see that even in these ages we still have to do that, it is understandable when the media scrutinizes people for the smallest things, and does it even worse to larger corporations, businesses, colleges, universities, etc. I still do not believe that the decision of the Board to make that decision was intentionally targeting keeping Asians out of there schools. I still believe that they did that to create more diversity in a place they saw a populated with the majority of one race. If that is the case then I think everyone should come to an understanding that there will be a majority and people will want to see changes in that majority, by adding none other than minorities. Adding those minorities keep things balanced and keeps the media away. Again, it provides the students who want major diversity to see that as the perfect school for them. If a fresh out of high school student decided to go an all-African-American school, applied and got denied, even with the best grades and extracurricular activities. Would that be considered discrimination, even if he was in fact African-American? I doubt that people would try to fight that, but only see that as he didn’t rise up to the standard that the school  had set for the applicants. The case would not stick because he qualified, just wasn’t admitted to the institution. In conclusion, Bakke v. Regents is similar to the slim chances of Asians getting accepted into colleges and universities because of their race. However, in Bakke v. Regents the Board was trying to create equal opportunity for minorities, but in the example of the Board seeking new policy to give the campus more flexibility in who they choose to accept into the college, just seems like discrimination. In both cases there was discrimination, but is there a thing as good discrimination? I think that there is a good grounds for discrimination if there needs to ever be more diversity, but I don’t think us, being the ‘land of the free’, should ever succumb to that. As far as we have come from the Civil Rights movement itself and having to decide whether or not the whole world was racist, pretty much. We shouldn’t have to input new policies like that, making a certain group feel insecure about their educational future. Works Cited † Asian Americans sue University of California System over Holistic Admissions sham – College Confidential. † College Confidential. N. p. , 4 Apr. 2009. Web. 15 May 2013. . Daniel, Golden. † Asian Americans sue University of California System over Holistic Admissions sham – College Confidential. † College Confidential. N. p. , 2 Feb. 2012. Web. 15 May 2013. . â€Å"Regents of the University of California v. Bakke | Casebriefs. † Law Cases & Case Briefs for Students. N. p. , n. d. Web. 15 May 2013. . â€Å"Regents of the University of California v. Bakke | The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. † The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law | A Multimedia Archive of the Supreme Court of the United States. N. p. , n. d. Web. 15 May 2013. . SCHMIDT, PETER. â€Å"Asian-Americans Give U. of California an Unexpected Fight Over Admissions Policy – Students – The Chronicle of Higher Education. † Home – The Chronicle of Higher Education. N. p. , n. d. Web. 15 May 2013. . View as multi-pages

Browning Peal Essay

Browning PEAL Essay Robert Browning uses many techniques one such example being his continuous reference to women being similar to roses. Browning uses the imagery of roses throughout the poem to represent women and femininity. It is a common practice in literature for poets to refer to women as flowers, in particular roses; such as Browning has done in ‘Women and Roses’. This is because they represent natural beauty that has been created by God, which compliments the woman Browning is talking about because it shows his feelings on how he believes they don’t have to try to be beautiful.Roses also represent love and passion, the colour red is an intimate colour that represents seduction and sometimes danger as seen in ‘Of Mice and Men’ where Curley’s wife is referred to as having â€Å"full rouged lips† and â€Å"red fingernails†. The thorns on roses continues this theme of potential risk, because the simple idea of men picking ros es for women could injure the man due to the thorns on the stem, this could represent how men have to fight past the hard things in love to get to the beauty or the woman.In ‘Women and Roses’, Browning also uses roses as a representation of the stages through a woman’s life going into womanhood and how she grows from a young shoot full of promise to something incredibly beautiful and natural and eventually to an old and wilted flower, â€Å"bees pass it unimpeached†. The poem is about finding perfect love with a woman, which is represented as finding a rose with no thorns, thorns being the trouble in a relationship or a woman.Browning wrote ‘Prospice’ after his beloved wife, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, died in 1861. The poem shows Browning’s beliefs on death and how he feels that he will once again be reunited with his love in the afterlife. The title ‘Prospice' can be translated as ‘look forward’, and in this poem, p ublished in 1864, Browning is most likely looking forward to death, when he expects ‘I will clasp thee again’, meaning he will be with Elizabeth once more.Such optimism seems to contrast noticeably with the religious doubt or searching of many Victorian writers. But Browning does not claim that there is anything easy about facing death, instead he shows one way of coping. He gives the ‘Arch Fear’, death, a ‘visible form’ so that he can imagine taking him on in one last fight to show that he will not be taken easily, ‘Barriers’ and ‘guerdon’ suggest a tournament took place. In ‘A Woman’s Last Word’ Browning uses Roman numerals to show the breaking down of a omplex subject such as a woman’s feelings after an argument. By doing this it makes it easier for the reader to follow and distinguish the different stages of feelings the character goes through and also shows the changes in direction of he r attitude until she reaches submission towards her love. This is a good technique used as he wrote the poem from a woman’s point of view and has gone into a lot of detail on how she feels and reacts to the argument.

Community Involvement Program Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Community Involvement Program - Essay Example Community Academy Public Charter Schools (CAPCS) and Northwestern University have implemented community involvement programs as part of the learning process. CAPCS incorporates parent involvement in teaching young children at the elementary level. The Amos 3 campus at CAPCS provides early childhood programs that give children a firm academic career foundation (CAPCS, 1). The program focuses on basic concepts of math and reading as part of educational introduction. Social development, respect, good behavior, and passion for learning are promoted at the campus. Parents team up with teachers and administrator to assist the development process. CAPCS has been successful by concentrating on science and technology to emphasis hand-on problem solving skills. Children learn critical thinking and problem solving and acquire basic knowledge required in all academic fields. This has been instrumental in preparing children academically and socially before venturing into secondary school, which h as led to successful academicians from Amos 3 campus (CAPCS, 2). Northwestern university has several programs within their community involvement program that provides students with local and international opportunities. The Applied Medical Society provides events targeting students with interest in healthcare provision. Participants learn basic skills such as CPR in these events (NU, 1). Campus kitchens employ volunteer students who learn the process of recycling un-served food into nutritious meals for seniors, community organizations, and youth programs. Graduates and undergraduates also participate in exchange and capacity building programs with cohorts from over 50 universities in over 40 countries. These workshops provide mentorship and prepare students for career opportunities. Most activities are centered on students and there is little participation from parents. The program prepares students for career ventures and student organizations within the campus have been instrumental in the success of the community involvement program.

A critical theoretical and visual analysis of my experience of work Essay

A critical theoretical and visual analysis of my experience of work - Essay Example During my work experience I had faced situations where my favorite project was cancelled though I worked very hard on it, also there were times where the customers treated me badly though it was totally unfair, my best friend at work was terminated, my colleagues were being unfair towards me and also my boss use to shout at me although I was really working hard. All these things pile up and you feel like shouting at the top of your voice or probably run away from your work. At work showing your emotions especially negative emotions can seriously harm your professional reputation along with the productivity. Stressful situations are very common at workplace where we have to deal with budget cuts along with department changes. It becomes very hard to deal with your own emotions in such circumstances. There is a lot of work load along with a constant push of getting promoted and becoming more efficient. It was very important to know how to handle your emotions in such circumstances. It is important to know how to react in bad situations. It is important to always share positive emotions, both ways constructively and also professionally. It is very important to have that in a workplace.... It is important at work to avoid anxiety and worry. I made a worry log where I would write down all the worries which churn my head and then tried finding solutions to the problems. Physical relaxation plays an important role here with proper risk analysis. Anger is another important factor which is very obvious in the picture, anger management is very crucial at work in order to achieve success, we need to properly deal with unfair criticism. It is very important to be respectful towards others and also to be assertive if the other person is rude and unprofessional. Disappointment can be dealt positively by keeping a proper check at one’s mindset and to adjust the goals properly. My work experience taught me that smile is a very important and also a very crucial factor which helps in solving many problems. We all have to deal with negative emotions and we have to learn how to cope up with them as it is very important. It is crucial to know what type of feelings cause such emo tions and also how you can deal with them before they become very prominent. The other picture I have selected is depicting the importance of team work in an organization and how a good team can make work experience a very memorable one and amazing, and a bad team can sabotage the experience and also affect your performance negatively. Now there are few things which are important to analyze before going for team work that includes why the team is developed, what can make teamwork successful, group dynamics overview along with encouraging positive and productive groups. The picture is showing why the team is made and how various individuals with similar

The Hope Athena Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Hope Athena - Essay Example Although Athena was a Greek goddess, the Romans adopted her as one of their own, renaming her Minerva and adopting many of the legends regarding her and her abilities. Her importance to her new society can be seen in the intricate detail of the copyist to remain true to the Greek original.  Athena was a very powerful Greek goddess who epitomized everything the Greeks admired, intellect, wisdom, strength, courage, strategy and more. â€Å"With a battle cry that resounded through the kingdom of heaven and earth, she springs from the head of Zeus. She is one of the most powerful forces on Mount Olympus, representing war and the immortal spirit of wisdom. Athena embodies the matriarchal goddess, a complex figure of internal strength and reflection. She is a powerful source of interpretation for the idea of the goddess as a balance between nature and humanity† (Ortengren, 1998). As a goddess of military strength and protection, she is often depicted in battle, such as in the scen es featured on the Parthenon, or ready for battle. The statue the Hope Athena is believed to be modeled after is believed to have once held a spear in her one hand and a Nike, â€Å"a winged personification of victory†, in the other (Lansberry, 2005). Experiencing the statue in person does little to solve the mystery of her handheld iconography. The details of what the Hope Athena might have held can only be conjecture as one of the first things noticed about her is the fact that she is missing her arms. The scars marking where they once were do suggest that one hand was held out in front of her, as if holding something in the palm of her hand, and one arm might have been stretched to the side somewhat, as it would have been if holding a long spear. There is another evident damage to the statue as well.