Human Rights And The International Context - 807 Words

Human rights and universality, two terms often considered synonymous with each other within the international system. Such broad conceptualisations however fail to consider the imbued assumptions that these terms carry with them. Redefining the limits of the term universal human rights Donnelly considers the several senses through which the universal, in human rights is better understood as consensus universality, rather than implied universality (2007, 281). Fundamentally such political constructs are difficult to define and even more difficult to apply in the international context. Critically Donnelly underscores that when properly understood, the term human rights leaves considerable space for cross-cultural relativity and national diversity (2007, 281). Anthropological and historical records demonstrate that the lack of an established definition or working conceptual framework has and continues to hamper the realisation of truly universal human rights (Donnelly 2007, 284). Donnelly argues that while there may have been a considerable overlap and potential universality in values across time, cultural and national boundaries, such a consensus in values did not translate into an endorsed human rights practice or regime (2007, 285). The missing vision of inalienable individual human rights presupposing equality, is a lack of established definitions and institutional enforcement. The greatest strength of Donnelly’s argument is his sensitive treatment and understanding ofShow MoreRelatedThe Debate Of Feminists And Cultural Relativists1712 Words   |  7 Pages Based on Western philosophical traditions, human rights are understood to be universal and objective (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948), an understanding that poses unique challenges when imagining human rights in the 21st Century. Over the last fifty years, critique of human rights discourse has evolved into discrete areas, which include feminism and cultural relativism. 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Things Fall Apart (Coming of White Men) Free Essays

Thing Fall Apart Chinua Achebe Discuss how the coming of the White men makes Umuofia â€Å"fall apart†. Make reference to the religious, economic, political and social impact of the British culture on the traditions of the clan. As the novel opens, we get to know Umuofia, one of Igbo’s nine villages, as an organized but somehow different civilization. We will write a custom essay sample on Things Fall Apart (Coming of White Men) or any similar topic only for you Order Now Chinua Achebe portrays life in this village as rough and harsh, conveying to the readers that only brave men would succeed in it. As said before, even though these civilizations are stereotyped and seen as primitive, we can clearly see that their lives are completely balanced between faith and order. It is actually astonishing to see how such a different way of life, to what we think and see as the normal life, may be as much or even more organized than ours. Even though both civilization are completely organized and function perfectly well, they could never live together in harmony. One would end up consuming the other as they were not meant to coexist. We may think we are educating and helping â€Å"uncivilized men†, but we are actually disintegrating their beliefs, their organization, their politics and their language. We are not aiding them, but destroying their religion and their society. We are, in other words, banishing their culture. A culture that will be lost forever. Hence, we may say, that in many ways the coming of White men made Umuofia â€Å"fall apart†. To begin with, the coming of the white men made Umuofia fell apart as their religion was greatly affected. The village of Umuofia was sustained by their beliefs and their gods, who criticized and punished the lazy men and those who were not worthy of worshipping them. Therefore the coming of a new monotheist and more peaceful religion brought huge changes in some of Umuofia’s most important traditions. These white men questioned most of Umuofia’s beliefs such as the dangers that inhabited the evil forest by setting their livings there. This first action brought great controversy in the clan as people thought that whoever stayed in the forest for a certain period of time would painfully die. The resistance these white men showed to that â€Å"evil force† led many people to get interested in the new religion. People suddenly began questioning their own beliefs and traditions, questioning why they should venerate gods who were bound to punish, and not one God who was merciful towards humanity. The village divided in to those who remained steadfast to their traditions, and those who began to adopt the new ones. Society completely turned over after these events. Those who turned into Christianity were seen as the elite of the society. The clan was getting weaker and weaker every day, as more and more people turned into Christianity. The time soon come that the clansmen had not enough forces to control the missionaries. They should have reacted before, but only the exiled Okonkwo was brave enough to face the white men. Hence, we may conclude that the imposition of a new religion severely damaged the village by, splitting it in two, reducing their forces and their willing to fight, and proving most of their beliefs false. Summarizing this, it massively weakened the most powerful and feared clan of the nine villages. Economically, Umuofia was also affected by the arrival of white men. Hitherto, Umuofia had presented us a hierarchical society, were men who showed to be brave, hard workers and strong enough, occupied the highest places in society, while lazy and unmanly men were found at the bottom of the pyramid. Since, the missionaries arrived, things turned around, the lazy and humble men who decided to accept and worship the new god began to get richer and richer, while the hard worker farmers were left behind. Money began circulating in the tribe but only those who turned into Christianity had it. Hence, no one interested in trading, and so, farmers were getting poorer every day. We may say that Umuofia was not destroyed economically but it was greatly affected, some suffered a lot of it, but some others were benefited by these changes. The arrival of the white men also led to massive changes in the village’s politics. They subjected the villagers to their own judicial system and rules, imposing an extremely different and harsh government over them. As white men didn’t respect nor understand the clan’s customs, many men were punished for following their â€Å"uncivilized† traditions. In chapter twenty one Okonkwo discusses with Obierika about Aneto, who was recently hanged by the government after he killed a man with whom he had a dispute. Clearly the new ruling system didn’t take into account old customs. It is completely correct actually, to punish a murderer, or any kind of criminal, but by doing so we are destroying their customs and their traditions. When Enoch unmasked an Egwugwu, considered to be the highest possible crime in Umuofia, the church did nothing, as again, they didn’t respect their customs. Unmasking an Egwugwu in Umuofia is as much or even more harsh than killing a man is for the white men, it can only be compared with killing a god. Once again, the new government doesn’t punish this event. This is a great example of how, Umuofia was left weak and subjected to the white men ruling. We can see now, that they are not trying to make Umuofia a more civilized village, but a more British one. Hence we may conclude that by imposing a new government who ignores their customs, the coming of the white men are making Umuofia fall apart. Finally, culturally Umuofia also fell apart thanks to the arrival of the white man. The new comers introduced a school, which taught their own rules, their beliefs, and their culture. They educated younger villagers that way, so that they could later control them more easily. They were kind of brain washed to believe and trust whatever they do. Education is not bad, of course, but they were not educating them to be better and more intelligent villagers, they were educating them to be other persons. They changed their minds. Young boys were dragged out of farming into the school. In other words, they were dragged out of their lives, from whom they really are. Another cultural change imposed by the white men were hospitals, we can’t say that’s something bad, but that is not how Umuofia is. When we say that it â€Å"fell apart†, we are not actually saying that everything went wrong for them, that all changes were bad. Some, like the introduction of hospitals in the tribe, were actually a massive improvement. Indeed, some of the politics imposed do try to make Umuofia a â€Å"safer† place, where killing is punished, and leaving twins in the forest to die is seen as an abomination. That’s perfectly fine, they may be improving in some ways their lives, but the culture, the old traditions, their beliefs, everything was lost. Everything Umuofia was, suddenly banished. Everything it represented, their gods, their traditions, and their culture were destroyed. Nobody left to defend their customs, nobody left to respect them. Only memories were left of Okonkwo, Umuofia and their old lives. Everything Umuofia was†¦ fell apart. How to cite Things Fall Apart (Coming of White Men), Papers

Humanism Argumentative Essay Example For Students

Humanism Argumentative Essay 1HumanismThe Renaissance, which began in Italy in 1300s, was one of the largest periods of growth and development in Western Europe. The increase in trade caused an abundance in wealth that resulted in the focusing of the arts. Such things as literature, paintings, sculptures and many more works are known to have blossomed from the period known as the Renaissance. The Renaissance was started by many rich Italian cities, such as Florence, Ferrara, Milan, and Venice (Bram 274). Because these cities were very wealthy, many merchants started to spend money on different things, such as painting, learning, new banking techniques, and new systems of government. These things gave rise to a new type of scholar, the humanist, and a new philosophy, humanism. To understand the term humanism, one must first know what some assume humanism to be. Many definitions are widely proclaimed by different groups and organizations. The American Humanist Association(AHA) defines humanism as2arational philosophy informedbyscience, inspired by art, and motivated by compassion. Affirming the dignity of each human being, it supports the maximization of individual liberty and opportunity consonant with social and planetary responsibility. It advocates the extension of participatory democracy and the expansion of the open society, standing for human rights and social justice. Free of supernaturalism, it recognizes human beings as a part of nature and holds that valuesbe they religious, ethical, social, or politicalhave their source in human experience and culture. Humanism thus derives the goals of life from human need and interest rather than from theological or ideological abstractions, and asserts that humanity must take responsibilityfor itsown destiny. (Schafersman)Humanism is also defined as a democratic and ethical point of view on life that reiterates the fact that human beings have the right to and responsibility of giving meaning to and shaping ones own life, according to the International Humanist and Ethical Union (Schafersman). The Union also believes their philosophical view on humanism stands for the building of a 3more humane society through ethics based upon the reason and the inquisitive capabilities of the human nature. The Bristol Humanist Groups view on their ideology is much simpler. It states, Humanism is an approach to life based on reason and our common humanity, recognizing that moral values are properly founded on human nature and experience alone (Schafersman). This new word, humanist, and the principal practice became more prevalent during the late 15th-century in Italy and was used to describe a tutor or teacher of the humanities. The word humanities refers to those subjects which formed the curriculum in the educational program formulated by Florentines like Leonardo Bruni (Hays 9). These formulations were put into regular practice by Guarino da Verona and Vittorino da Feltre (Hays 9). The new form of education was set up for the purpose of educating the young adolescent males of the Renaissance for a productive and active life of service within the community. This goal was achieved by providing the young scholars with a solid stock of knowledge, along with a sturdy foundation of morality, along with the eloquent tongue and graceful hand of a well fluentstatesman (Hays 9). Some of the other works the young students were made to learn about were those of not just Plato, but also ofDionysius,Alexander,Plutarch,and Trajan. This new4educatio nal outlook put more emphasis on the attitude that was less God-centered, and more self or human-centered. The Latin language was one of the many antiquities that was acquired by these scholarly humanists.The works of the great thinkers of Greek and Roman decent were now upheld in high regard. The humanists of the day did, and still do, believe them to contain both the lessons one needed to lead a moral and effective life and the best models for a powerful Latin style (Billington). The humanist movement started in Italy, where the late medieval Italian writers Dante, Giovanni Boccaccio, and Francesco Petrarch greatly contributed to the finding and conservation of classical works (Danto). The study of this ancient grammatical rhetoric led in turn to the interest into the Roman literatures. Humanists were not necessarilysusceptibletoartisticexperience.Their admiration for antique art was often motivated by aesthetic interests

Status of Qualitative Research in Early Childhood Education and Development (Eced) Essay Example

Status of Qualitative Research in Early Childhood Education and Development (Eced) Essay The field of human development has recently gained considerable importance globally. This results in shifting the contemporary educational discourse, one that moves ECED closer to the front of policy formation. Literature shows that developed nations are investing enormous resources into their early intervention programs, hence, during the last decade international aid agencies, and some education systems, have promoted the creation and expansion of ECED programs in developing nations too. With the innovations in ECED, there has been conducted a large number of researches to form an objective theoretical foundation (Penn, 2004) to support this advancement. Following passage presents the literature review on the status of qualitative research in the field of ECED. The reviewed articles were published in 3 international journals, Early Years, Early Education and Development and Early Childhood Education Journal during 2005-2010. The first two journals are published by Rutledge and the last one is published by Springer. The starting point for the literature review was library data base of IED, which permitted access to full text articles. Large no of qualitative studies were found in each journal however, for the present review, only 25 of them were selected on the basis of different research traditions within qualitative paradigm. 15 of them are reviewed for the present task and bibliography of the remaining articles is attached with this paper. The review of the selected research articles is presented in the perspective of trend seen in the topic addressed, methodology used and other critical findings. We will write a custom essay sample on Status of Qualitative Research in Early Childhood Education and Development (Eced) specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Status of Qualitative Research in Early Childhood Education and Development (Eced) specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Status of Qualitative Research in Early Childhood Education and Development (Eced) specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Present review of literature reveals that during year 2005- 2010 a variety of topics related to ECED have been addressed in the qualitative research paradigm. For the purpose of this review the topics are divided into different themes based on their focus. Stakeholders’ perceptions of early childhood setting are explored in various studies. For example, children perception of their ECED and their transition to formal schools are presented in (Linklater. 006), perceptions of parents regarding their choices of early years education for their children are discussed in (Ceglowski, Shears Furman, 2010), similarly, Rentzou Ziganitidou, (2009) in their study focused on experiences of ECED teachers, moreover, their own and societal perceptions regarding teaching in early years classrooms were also explored. Additionally, teaching and learning processes of early years were studied by (Ahn Filipenko, 2007, Chana, Juana Foon, 2008 Smith 2010). Moreover, Lives and Professional Development of early years teachers were also addressed by various studies, like, Blank (2009) studied teachers’ lives and experiences in ECED center and Brown (2009) explored the Professional development of ECE teachers in relation to engagement of parents in ECED centers. Early Years Curriculum framework and related topics were also addressed in studies like Goldstein (2008) and Squibb (2010). Addition to the topics addressed, this literature review also analyzed the methodological trends within the qualitative research paradigm. Case study method was found to be the dominated tradition in this review of research articles. 10 out of 15 reviewed studies were conducted as case studies. (Blank, 2009; Brown, Knoche, Edwards Sheridan, 2009; Ceglowski, Shears Furman, 2010; Chana, Juana Foon, 2008; Goldstein, 2008; Ranz-Smith, 2007; Saracho, 2008; Shield, 2009; Quintero, 2010 Squibb, 2010). As compare to high number of case studies only 2 were conducted as ethnographical studies (Linklater, 2006 Trawick-Smith, 2010), similarly, Ahn Filipenko (2007) and Garavuso (2006) were phenomenological studies. Moreover, some writers haven’t given their sampling procedure explicitly, however, majority of studies have used purposive sampling based on the purpose of their studies ( Ahn Filipenko, 2007; Garavuso, 2006 Linklater, 2006). Throughout the review it was found that within the qualitative approach to triangulate the data multiple strategies were used. Among multiple methods of data collection observation and semi-structured interviews remained the dominant strategies; however, some of the researchers have also analyzed related documents and artifacts. In some studies anecdotal notes and reflective journals are also used to get more comprehensive data. Addition to these, in the phenomenological and ethnographic studies participant observations were used as compare to the case studies where the researcher took the role of non-participant observer (Maxwell, 1997). Moreover, in majority of the studies interviews and discussions were audio taped and observations were videotaped. After the transcription of the data in some of the studies, data was rechecked by the esearch participants, which, is important to maintain reliability and validity of the collected data (Robson, 2002). Addition to this, ethical considerations like, maintaining the confidentiality of the research participants, prior permission for interviews, respecting participants’ autonomy were taken into consideration throughout the studies; however, none of the writer could describe their ethical framework in more detail, probably due to the word limits. Another very critical trend was found between the backgrounds of the researchers. All 0f the qualitative researches were being conducted by the people related to the field of ECED, however, only 1 of the studies were conducted by the ECED practitioner who teaches in the ECED classroom (Linklater, 2006). Most of the researchers are working as a faculty of education departments in various universities (Ahn Filipenko 2007, Chana, Juana Foon 2008, Goldstein 2008, Blank 2009, Brown 2009, Shields 2009, Trimis Sava 2009, Ceglowski, Shears Furman, 2010 Smith 2010 Squibb 2010) who no doubt have extensive experience in working in the field of ECED, but, one can argue that how much implications these studies carried out by someone from university would carry to the real classroom contexts where the ECED practitioners are making efforts to make difference in the lives of the young children. Additionally, literature review also revealed that all most all of the qualitative researches were conducted in western contexts. This exploration has serious implications for the ECED practitioners and the education systems in developing countries particularly Pakistan who is novice in the field and need to be acquainted with research based knowledge in order to strive in the field. In conclusion, the present literature review revealed informative findings regarding status of qualitative research in the field of ECED during the past 5 years in the selected journals. Case study being the well-established research strategy (Robson, 2002) was found to be dominant research tradition, hence, this also implies that qualitative researchers need to use other traditions of qualitative research particularly life histories and grounded theories in order to present more holistic picture of ECED and its important factors. ?