Intersexuality And Essays - Sexual Reproduction, Gender, Sex

Intersexuality and Scripture As a brute physical phenomenon, the bodiliness of people like us who are born intersexed challenges cherished assumptions about sex and gender made by many people within Western society. A variety of social institutions, including the dominant canons of medical practice and conceptions, much of the domain of the law itself, and some of the religious teachings which have loomed so large in the history of the West, tend strongly to support the notion that sex and gender is a dichotomy, and that any given human being is either deterninately and unequivocally male or determinately and unequivocally female. Congenitally intersexed physicality gives the lie to this dichotomous model of sex and gender. It is scant wonder, therefore, that fundamentalist Christians, who could be expected strongly to support the dichotomy which looms so large in the idealised model of the family, should feel threatened by the phenomenon of intersexuality and should seek to find religious arguments against it. It is not uncommon for Christian fundamentalists, faced with intersexuality as a brute fact, to adduce scriptural grounds for the condemnation of avowed intersexuality, at least, as ``unnatural'' and as something which is at odds with the will of God as expressed in the order of creation. This theological condemnation of lived intersexual identities also finds expression in unconditional support for surgical interventions, as early as possible, aimed at making the unacceptably ambiguous bodies of intersexed infants and children conform to the dichotomous model, in which there is no room whatsoever for ambiguity. This apparently religiously-motivated endorsement of surgery is insensitive to the fact that in most cases surgery is not necessitated by any real threat to the life or health of the infant, so that it is purely cosmetic in character. It is also insensitive to the fact that such aesthetically-driven surgical interventions frequently give rise to medical problems later in life, and can therefore be directly detrimental to the health of an otherwise flourishing intersexed person. Two Biblical proof-texts in particular tend to be cited as part of this rejection of intersexual identities and to show that intersexed bodies must be cut into conformity with the male/female dichotomy. The first of these texts is Genesis 1:27: ``So God created man [the Hebrew is ``Adam''] in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.'' This is claimed to show that human beings are, by virtue of the divine ordering of creating itself, either male and not female or female and not male, and that nothing intermediate or ambiguous is sanctioned. The second of these proof-texts is Numbers 5:3 which, in connexion with those who contract particular ritual defilements, commands that ``you shall put out both male and female''. Those who brandish this verse note that ``both male and female'' means everyone, and that this implies that there can be no-one who is not unambiguously male or unambiguously female. Both proof-texts, but particularly Genesis 1:27, are cited in defence of an absolute division between the sexes which will not tolerate anything in between. Let us therefore look at Genesis 1:27. I am not personally a Biblical literalist, and doubt that the two Biblical stories of creation (a priestly account, in Genesis 1:1 - 2:3, and what is called the Yahwist's account, in Genesis 2:4 - 2:24) were even intended to be taken literally. For all that, it is interesting to note that Genesis 1:27, the proof-text for Biblical literalists who wish to argue that hermaphroditism is somehow unnatural or unscriptural, is perhaps more ``herm-friendly'' than many Biblical literalists realise or than translations suggest; and there are early Jewish exegetical traditions which undermine its use as a scriptural rejection of intersex identity. Genesis 1:27 and Numbers 5:3 (which also has a section which the RSV translated as: ``both male and female'', used as synonymous with ``everyone'') have sometimes been thrown at me in order to argue that God created all human beings determinately male or determinately female with nothing in-between. It has been used, in my experience, to argue that a person like me does not satisfy the Biblical criterion of humanity, from which it was inferred that I am unbaptisable and could therefore not have been baptised validly. The use of either of these passages in this way is in fact odd and indeed rather comical, for there is a Rabbinical gloss on Genesis 1:27 which suggests that ``Adam'', at least, most certainly did not have a clear and unequivocal gender identity, and indeed that Adam was an hermaphrodite. The verse states, in the language

How to Be Prepared for Freshman Year of College

How to Be Prepared for Freshman Year of College Did you know, that approximately one third of students who enrol in college drop out during or immediately after their freshman year. This can largely be attributed to the fact that starting college is such a huge transition for students. It can often be the first real taste of independence a young person has and that comes with responsibilities they might find overwhelming. College life is very different to high school, but if you start out having made appropriate preparations for Freshman year then you are more likely to survive! What to Bring with You to College One of the big questions that most new college students have is what they should bring to college with them and how to pack all that. For many Freshmen this will be their first time living away from their parents, so it can be a pretty overwhelming prospect! A great way to prepare is to make a list of things that you think you will need at college. Start with the basics. You will need things like: bedding for your dorm room crockery and silverware to eat of and of course things like cleaning supplies, towels and other basic items. However, you are also going to need a selection of personal items too. These will include: clothing toiletries books music and other personal belongings. A tip for students who move to another city: If you are moving out of state for college then you are also going to need to take appropriate clothing items. If you know there will be cold winters, then pack a warm coat and boots. Similarly, if there is likely to be a hotter climate than at home you will need lighter clothing. Take a Piece of Your Home With You Everything that we have mentioned so far has been fairly practical in nature. However, one of the most important things that a freshman student needs to pack when heading off to college is going to be a special item that reminds them of home! This could be an ornament with sentimental value, a favorite family photograph or maybe even just something that represents your home town. It is perfectly natural to feel a little bit home sick when you head off to college. However, having a small token to remind you of the people you love will bring you some comfort. How to Prepare for Studying in College So, you are all packed up and you have everything you need for college life, but are you prepared for the actual academic aspect? Many freshmen are astounded by just how different college is to high school and it is a good idea to do some research so that you fully understand what you are getting yourself into. How many classes should you even be taking in Freshman year? The first thing to so is choose which classes you are going to take. However, that might be easier said than done. The answer is highly personal. However, as a general rule most colleges recommend 12 to 15 credits for Freshman year. Classes tend to be worth 3 credits, which means you should be looking to take 4 or 5 classes during that first year of college. How to choose your classes? Once you know how many classes to take, the next step if knowing how to choose your classes. If you already know what you are going to major in, then it makes sense to start with some of the classes you require for that. It is also wise to opt for the introductory classes and prerequisites in your first year if for no other reason than to get them out of the way quickly. If you are not too sure what you want to major in then why not spend some time looking at course catalogs to try and shortlist the topics that catch your interest. It’s not even just choosing the classes that can be a little bit daunting. Making the transition from school to college can be completely different to what you were expecting. We advise trying to do as much preparation as possible before you get there. Here are a few basic steps you can take to be better prepared for your college studies: Research what the teachers and professors are like. Look for forums and social media groups where you can meet other students. Study the requirements and learning outcomes for your chosen classes. Start working on your time management and prioritizing skills. Set yourself some goals you hope to achieve during freshman year. Housekeeping for College Freshmen It is also important to get to know your new home. That’s why researching some general housekeeping tasks is also important to prepare you for freshman year at college. Some of the things you might want to find out about include: Finding out where to do laundry. Is there a place in the dorm or do you need to go off campus? Mapping out the local stores you will need to visit including grocery stores, coffee shops, book shops and restaurants. Look for places with a student discount or special deals to help stretch your money a little further. Checking out some of the on-Campus facilities like the library, canteen and other amenities you might want to make use of. Is there a pool or a student gym? Find out some of the college rules and regulations, especially linked to the dorms. Are you allowed visitors? Is there a sign in system? Are there restrictions over common areas? Most colleges will have a student handbook that covers these types of questions. Some of the listed items we have added to our college freshman survival kit before. Havent you seen it yet? Building Your Social Life A big part of college life is of course socializing. Everyone has heard of the legendary dorm parties! Of course, your college social life doesn’t just revolve around partying! One of the big things about college is the sheer diversity of the people you will meet on campus. It can be scary to go off to college and leave your high school friends behind, but college is really the best place to make new friends! Start building your social life by joining some of the many clubs and organizations that are on campus. Whether you are into sports or science you are sure to find a suitable group to join. There are also lots of social events on campus, so you will have plenty of opportunity to meet new people. If you are struggling to make friends during freshman year, you can also think about joining study groups to get to know your classmates a little better – plus as an added bonus it is sure to help your grades too! In conclusion, if you are getting ready to start college it is a good idea to make sure you are as prepared as possible for freshman year. Heading off to college is a big transition and it is easy to get overwhelmed. You will be amazed at just how much a little preparation can help make things easier! Hopefully, these tips and other freshmen tips (infographic) you can find on our website will help you to get things ready before college begins.

Lotteries Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Lotteries - Research Paper Example In the United States, total annual lottery sales have grown into the billions of dollars. Lotteries also provide an excellent opportunity to use elementary financial mathematics, as well as some probability, in a context familiar to students. Most students do not have major financial decisions to make, so the principles of financial mathematics may seem far removed from their lives. However, most of them are familiar with the lottery and the topic readily engages them. The application of these mathematical concepts in the lottery is discussed in this paper. In several USA states and Canada Provinces, the 6/49 lottery operates as an average lottery. To win the lottery grand prize the contestant needs to select all six numbers exactly as drawn in the weekly or monthly contest. This will be used as the model system for the computations in this paper. Starting with a bag of 49 differently-numbered lottery balls, there is clearly a 1 in 49 chance of predicting the number of the first ball selected from the bag. Accordingly, there are 49 different ways of choosing that first number. When the draw comes to the second number, there are now only 48 balls left in the bag (because the balls already drawn are not returned to the bag), so there is now a 1 in 48 chance of predicting this number. Thus, each of the 49 ways of choosing the first number has 48 different ways of choosing the second. ... This continues until the sixth number has been drawn, giving the final calculation, 49 48 47 46 45 44, which can also be written as : . The order of the 6 numbers is not significant. That is, if a ticket has the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, it wins as long as all the numbers 1 through 6 are drawn, no matter what order they come out in. Accordingly, there are 6 5 4 3 2 1 = 6! or 720 ways they could be drawn. Dividing 10,068,347,520 by 720 gives 13,983,816. This can also be written as: . This function is called the combination function, denoted as COMBIN(n, k) in some spreadsheet. Taken as a class, the number of possible combinations for a given lottery can be referred to as the "number space" (n). "Coverage" is the percentage of a lottery's number space that is in play for a given drawing (k). Mathematical concepts can also be applied in making strategies in picking a number. Frequency analysis is a popular strategy that is used. It involves keeping track of the individual numbers that are drawn over a period of time. You might compare it to handicapping a racehorse; rating his past performance to determine what his chances of winning are in the future. The figure below shows how many times each of the numbers has come up in the main National Lottery draw. Here we look at whether the observed distribution of the number of times each of the 49 numbers has come up fits with what would be expected with a truly random draw. Figure 1. Number of occurrences of 1 to 49 in 1240 lottery draws (UK National Lottery, 1997). Numbers that appear often in a certain game are called hot numbers. Some players will play these hot numbers exclusively on the assumption that since they have appeared often in the past, they should appear again in the future.

Student debt management and student budgeting Research Paper

Student debt management and student budgeting - Research Paper Example Rising inflationary pressure and skyrocketing tuition fees are expected to make the situation worse. There is an overwhelming need to allow students to deal with debt management and budgeting in order to make the most out of an educational career. This memo delineates various online sources to help students with their debt and budget management. Online sources analyzed for this task have been assessed under three different suitability criteria – ease of understanding, ease of navigation and relevance to fiscal management. Ease of understanding is included the primary criteria since all students may not be able to comprehend fiscal language well. Ease of navigation is the secondary criteria since finding the right resource at the right time to deal with a fiscal management problem is essential to student debt and budget management. Relevance to fiscal management is the tertiary criteria since myriad material is available online but only some websites offer true fiscal management techniques. CanLearn covers all aspects of educational financing including secondary and post-secondary education. The information presented on CanLearn is specific to the Canadian educational scenario. Information included covers various methods of educational financing including financial aid, scholarships and student loans. CanLearn covers various aspects of student loan financing and repayment in detail though the language is a little advanced. In contrast, Debt 101 presents a simple interface coupled with direct and to the point articles. The information covered on Debt 101 uses simplified language that covers basic as well as advanced student fiscal management topics. This ensures that the information presented on Debt 101 appeals to simple as well as advanced student debt managers. In addition to student loans, Debt 101 offers budgeting tips and techniques that are arranged in a simple interface. This adds to

Neo-Conservatism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Neo-Conservatism - Essay Example This new policy was also, in some ways, ineffective – as unions failed, blue-collar workers felt let down by the system and turned to neo-conservatism. The lack of contradictory political ideologies also played its part, giving dissatisfied Democrats the terrible choice of sticking with a disappointing party or turning to the right. As the century wore on, event after traumatic event shook the American culture, fatally dismantling people's faith in the current leftist governments. The Vietnamese war, the Watergate scandal, and the Iranian hostage crisis (amongst others) generated a pervasive sense of cynicism and alienation (WBA 695) which made neo-conservatism strangely more attractive. The culmination of such events combined with the inefficacy of the Democratic government to become a deathly blow to leftist politics. Many American people, particularly the working class and poor who had previously identified with the Democratic party, felt let down by a system which appeared to not care about them. This led to a massive drop in the amount of people going to the polls, meaning even before the results were in that a significant change in contemporary politics was almost guaranteed.

Power And Resistance In Human Society

Power And Resistance In Human Society Where there is power, there is resistance, and yet, or rather consequently, this resistance is never in a position of exteriority in relation to power (Foucault, 1978: 95-96). In human sciences one of the main issues has always been the relationship of resistance to power. Where there is power, there is resistance; power affirms that there exists resistance and visa versa. But before starting to think about resistance, we have to take in mind that power is no longer considered a unitary, constant force that emanates from a particular social class or institution, rather it is seen as a more tenuous fabric of hegemonic forms (Constable, 2007: 11). Foucault (1978: 95-96) questions our assumption that power is always and essentially repressive, he wants to show how power also can be positively in a way that it can produce forms of pleasure, systems of knowledge, goods, and discourses and that it not only works negatively, by denying, restricting, prohibiting and repressing (Abu-Lughod, 1990: 42). The focus within studies of resistance recently shifted from large-scale collective revolts to more unlikely forms of resistance such as subversions and small or loca l resistances which do not especially aim to overthrow the system and which do not result from ideologies of emancipation (Abu-Lughod, 1990: 41). Hence both concepts have turned to be more complex than initially supposed, but this makes it even more interesting and more widely applicable to various situations where people try to construct their life within structures of power. Resistance The term resistance has been used by many scholars to describe a wide range of actions and behaviours in all aspects of human social life and in different settings. Hollander and Einwohner (2004: 534) illustrated how everything from revolutions to hairstyles has been described as resistance. Consequently following from the diversity of actions and behaviours which used to be named as resistance, they found in their analysis of the concept that there is little agreement on the definition (ibid: 234). Therefore it is important to outline the range of characteristics that can exist within the concept of resistance. First of all the scale whereat the resistance occurs has not always the same size; acts of resistance may be for example individual or collective, widespread or limited to local areas. Levels of coordination are also variable, in some situations there will be a higher extent in which the resisters intentionally act together, than in other. Thereby the targets where resistance is directed to also differs, they vary from individuals to groups and from organizations to institutions and social structures. As well the direction or goals are variable, while resistance mainly is understood to be aimed at achieving some sort of change, sometimes it is possible that the behaviour described as resistance aims to constrain change. Finally, while resistance is generally understood to be a political action, some writers suggest that resistance can also be identity-based (ibid: 536-537). Action and Opposition After having observed the dimensions of variation of resistance Hollander and Einwohner (ibid: 537) tried to describe the core elements of resistance to see how all these phenomena can be described with the same term. They identified action and opposition as two core elements within the discussions of resistance where authors seem to agree on. Resistance is not a quality of an actor or a state of being, but involves some active behaviour, whether verbal, cognitive, or psychical, and another component common to almost all uses is a sense of opposition. After having identified these core elements, the lines of disagreements became clearer, which made them realize that several debates of resistance above all differed in their position on two central issues: recognition and intent (ibid: 537). Recognition and Intention Acts of resistance are not always equally visible, their variation in visibility becomes clearer when we analyze the contrast between everyday resistance and more (and more obviously contentious) forms of political mobilization. Sometimes the intention of resistance is to be recognized, while other resistance is purposefully hidden, so recognition depends in part on the goals of the people who resist (ibid: 540). While Scott (1985) in his book about modes of everyday resistance among peasant workers argues that resistance need not to be recognized as such and that it may remain relatively invisible to the powerful, other scholars define resistance as necessarily provoking recognition and even reaction from others (Hollander Einwohner, 2004: 541). This level of recognition also varies depending on the two different groups of others who can identify an act as resistance, to wit targets and observers. The first group contains those to whom the act is directed and the second group can comprise the general public, members of the media and researchers (ibid: 542). After the question if oppositional action must be readily apparent to others, and if it must in fact be recognized as resistance, Hollander and Einwohner wonder if the actor must be aware that she or he is resisting some exercise of power and intending to do so for an action to qualify resistance (ibid: 542). Also on this matter scholars do not completely agree, roughly classified Hollander and Einwohner (2004) distinguish three different views. The first group of scholars believes that the actors conscious intent is a core element to be able to classify certain behaviour as resistance. The second group thinks that measuring intent is difficult or even impossible, as resistance not only arises in public, but also privately. People in these cases may be conscious of oppression and may intend to resist in some fashion, but this will not be visible and therefore impossible to measure. Following to the last group of scholars we must not focus on the intent, as resistance can occur cons ciously or unconsciously, concentrating on intent will neglect important forms of resistance (ibid: 542). Types of Resistance Hollander and Einwohner (2004) didnt want to define the verities and the falsities among all possible meanings and contends of the term resistance. Therefore they decided to analyse the various opinions to see if it would be possible to describe different forms of resistance without judging what is wrong and what is not. They already observed that all scholars seemed to agree that resistance implied oppositional action of some kind. Leaving discords about whether resistance must be intended by actors or whether it must be recognized by targets and/or observers. They therefore argue that it is useful to think of resistance in terms of distinct types, each defined by a different combination of actors intent, targets recognition, and observers recognition. Not all scholars will agree that all behaviours summarized in Table 1 should be called resistance, but it will help to emphasize again the core elements of resistance. The first type, overt resistance, comprises for example social movements and revolutions, and individual acts of refusal. It is visible behaviour, which is recognized by both targets as observers as resistance and is also intended to be recognized as such. Covert resistance refers to acts as gossip and subtle subversion in the workplace; they are intentional but go unnoticed by their targets. However they are recognized as resistance by culturally aware observers. These two forms of intentional forms of resistance are followed by some unintentional forms of resistance. The first one is recognized as resistance by both the observers as the targets but is not meant as such. And the second one contains so called self-defined targets who may be the only ones who recognize certain behaviour as resistance (target-defined resistance). A separate category contains externally-defined resistance, these are acts of resistance that are neither intended nor recognized as resistance by actors or their targets, but are labelled by third parties. The last two forms of resistance go to a certain degree unnoticed by others. If recognized by their target but unrecognized by third-party observers, they have called it missed resistance. If an actors intent ional act goes unnoticed by both targets and observers alike, it may be classified as attempted resistance (ibid: 544-547). Interaction Understanding the interaction between resisters, targets, and third parties plays a central role in the comprehension of resistance. Resistance is socially constructed; resisters, targets, and observers all participate in this construction (ibid: 548). Of course often there is no overall agreement on the question if certain behaviour can be seen as resistance or not. What one observer (or participant) sees as resistance, another may see as accommodation or even domination this does not only happen between the different participative groups but also within the parties there is variation. Resistance is a complex set of thoughts and behaviours (Ortner, 1995: 175). Dichotomizing resistance and dominators ignores the fact that there are multiple systems of hierarchy, and that individuals can be simultaneously powerful and powerless within different systems (Hollander Einwohner, 2004: 548). I n her article about resistance and the concept of dà ©brouillardise (a way of social manipulation) used by Auvergnat farmers in rural France, Deborah Reed-Danahay (1993: 223) describes how Kondo (1990: 221) based on her research in Japan also emphasizes the intertwining of power and meaning, so that no one can be without power. Everyday Resistance After appointing the different types of resistance, it is necessary to take a first glimpse into possible forms of resistance among undocumented migrants to see on what kind of forms we have to continue focussing. First of all, it is obvious that undocumented migrants wont participate in any overt form of resistance (i.e. demonstrations) because it probably endangers their precarious situation. Therefore it is not very likely that the target of the resistance will recognize their acts as such. It will also vary if the acts are intended as resistance. Consequently, it is more likely that possible forms of resistance among undocumented migrants will be: covert resistance, attempted resistance and externally-defined resistance. Especially the first two forms of resistance are familiar to Scotts concept of everyday resistance. He describes: What everyday forms of resistance share with the more dramatic public confrontations is of course that they are intended to mitigate or deny claims made by superordinate classes or to advance claims vis-à  -vis those superordinate classes. Where institutionalized politics are formal, overt, concerned with systematic, de jure change, everyday resistance is informal, often covert, and concerned largely with immediate, de facto gains (Scott, 1990: 32-33). Scott points out different expressions of everyday resistance: foot dragging, dissimulation, false compliance, smuggling, etc. He refers to these practices as hidden transcripts (Scott, 1990) that are not easily visible in official transcripts and those on-stage behaviours controlled by elites (Reed-Danahay, 1993: 222). He described the existence of a too strongly focus on official and public transcripts of culture resulting in an underestimation of subordinated people and argued for a look into the unofficial transcripts to see the variety of forms of resistance taking place in this area of social life (ibid: 223). Though, Reed-Danahay (ibid: 223) points at a, ly to her, disturbing simplification [by Scott] by describing resistance as something which can be found in the hidden transcripts of the weak while only conformity becomes visible in the public transcripts of both the weak and the strong. This derives from the fact that he sees ideology as a coherent message, while there is c ontradiction and ambiguity in any discourse (ibid: 223) Everyday Practices Similar to Scotts everyday resistance is Michel de Certeaus (1984) concept of everyday practices. He divides strategies and tactics and explains why many everyday practices are not strategic but tactical in character. A strategy is the calculus of force-relationships which becomes possible when a subject of will and power can be isolated from an environment. Strategies possess their own place which forms a starting point from where relations with the outside can be generated. Tactics on the other hand, do not possess their own place, so the other cannot be singled out as a visible totality. Tactics constantly manipulate events to turn them into opportunities. De Certeau (ibid: xix) describes: A tactic insinuates itself into the others place, fragmentarily, without taking it over in its entirety, without being able to keep it at a distance. Everyday practices are a gathering of ways of operating characterized by victories of the weak over the strong and consisting of clever tricks, knowing how to get away with things, hunters cunning, manoeuvres, polymorphic situations, etc (De Certeau, 1984: xix). Tactics produce a certain movement within the system. They show to what extent it is possible to use intelligence to consort power within the daily struggle. Strategies, on the contrary, have a rather ambiguous relation with power. They use the instruments of the power for their own purposes. Hence, the structure of power where the strategies compete against at the same time sustains them (De Certeau, 1984: xviii). Scotts concept of everyday resistance, consisting of practices as foot dragging, dissimulation and smuggling tends to be more similar to strategies than to tactics. While De Certeaus concept of ways of operating (or everyday practices), like knowing how to get away with things, are more tactical in character. We could say that strategies aspire to undermine the structures of power and thus are more saturated with a notion of resistance, whereas tactics not only aim to resist, but also comprise an accommodating component. Cunning Despite their differences, De Certeau and Scott are concerned with the same kind of behaviour. Reed-Danahay (1993: 222) presupposes to use the concept of cunning to refer to this behaviour. ly to her, Detienne and Vernants (1978: 3-4 in Reed-Danahay: 1993: 222) description of the Greek quality of mÄâ€Å"tis summarizes accurately the significance of cunning: [it] combine(s) flair, wisdom, forethought, subtlety of mind, deception, resourcefulness, vigilance, opportunism, various skills and experience acquired over the years. It is applied in situations which are transient, shifting, disconcerting, and ambiguous, situations which do not lead themselves to precise measurement, exact calculation, or rigorous logic (1978: 3-4; quoted in Scott 1990: 164 in ibid: 222). Also De Certeau (1984: xix) is conscious about the connection between mÄâ€Å"tis and his ways of operating. Together with cunning, mÄâ€Å"tis refers to the idea of Goffmans concept of making do in difficult situations and overcoming hardships (Reed-Danahay, 1993: 223). ly to Reed-Danahay, resistance suggests a mechanical metaphor of solid bodies coming into contact. Unlike resistance, cunning includes some fluidity in social life, leaving room for play or manipulation (ibid: 223). Dà ©brouillardise Reed-Danahay therefore speaks of a more complex notion of power and resistance, where forms of power lay both with agents of the dominant culture and with the resisting people themselves (ibid: 224). In her fieldwork in a mountain valley in the Auvergne region of central France she describes how people from a place fictionally named Lavialle have adopted a stance of resistance to agents who threaten their cultural autonomy. She shows how these farmers use the French concept of dà ©brouillardise as a manner to talk about social manipulation expressing accommodation, resistance, cunning, ways of making out and ways of making do (ibid: 221). Dà ©brouillardise connotes both resisting domination and other forms of social manipulation or even partial accommodation. It is a form of everyday resistance and it is a way of taking advantage of a situation that presents itself. Dà ©brouillardise has a dual nature, it consist of both making out and making do and is associated with both defensi ve postures and coping strategies in everyday life (ibid: 224). Conclusion Migrants and Resistance Abu-Lughod and romanticizing resistance With the concept of dà ©brouillardise Reed-Danahay tries to cover the gap between theory and practice. This is viable because the villagers she observes are actually using the concept in their ordinary language. According to her dà ©brouillardise refers to a more complex form of power than the theories of Scott (ibid: 224). Dà ©brouillardise Accomodation The ethnographic literature also contains examples of positive values associated with behaviours interpreted as everyday resistance when no native term or vocabulary for it is present. (223) Even while resisting power, individuals or groups may simultaneously support the structures of domination that necessitate resistance in the first place. Various authors have referred to this complexity as accommodation (e.g., Sotirin and Gottfried, 1999; Weitz, 2001), ambiguity (Trethewey, 1997), complicity (Healey, 1999; Ortner, 1995), conformity (St. Martin and Gavey, 1996), or assimilation (Faith, 1994).These authors stress that a single activity may constitute both resistance and accommodation to different aspects of power and authority (Hollander Einwohner, 2004: 549). Nevertheless it is easy to romanticize resistance as Abu-Lughod says, to view its forms as signs of ineffectiveness of systems of power and of the resilience and creativity of the human spirit in refusal to be dominated, to focus on successful forms of resistance and neglecting to consider accommodation, passivity or acquiescence adequately (In: Constable, 2007: ). It is only valuable if we can find a way between romanticizing resistance and portraying young migrants as passive oppressed victims.

Witchcraft in the Ibibio Tribe Essay -- Religion

Witchcraft has become a phenomenon in the last few years, launching TV shows and movies onto the screens of televisions and cinemas. It has become an inspirational topic for writers to launch their next book. But, as entertaining as witchcraft maybe to us, it is feared by the Ibibio tribe of Nigeria. This paper will focus on how the Ibibio tribe detected, prevented witchcraft and the massive anti-witch hunt that took place all around Africa. Also, this paper will analyze presumptive causes that could have led to a witchcraft outbreak in the Ibibio. Nigeria has had its share of outbreaks but, out of all of them the most unique must have been the witchcraft outbreak that plagued all of Nigeria and the rest of Africa. The Ibibio tribe of Nigeria in the seventeenth century, where about two million people that were mostly â€Å"agrarians† or â€Å"petty traders†, according to Daniel Offiong, researcher and author of â€Å"Social Relations and Witchcraft Beliefs Among the Ibibio† and â€Å"Witchcraft Among the Ibibio of Nigeria†. The tribe was mainly Christian with a few Muslims (Offiong, 1983, pg. 73). They believed in one god and the Holy Ghost, but when they had to deal with an affliction, they went to diviners or spiritualists for treatment (Offiong, 1983, pg. 73-74). When they were plagued with a problem, their main reaction was to blame the problem on witchcraft with no logical explanation behind it. The existence of witchcraft started in Nigeria, due to the continuous process of blaming witchcraft f or unexplainable problems. Once witchcraft became the cause of the unexplained problem, people started accusing each other of being witches. Research conducted by Daniel A. Offiong, suggests that the people who were more prone to be accused of witchcr... ... used and the anti-witchcraft crusade that took place. It also went into the social elements that may have played a part in the outbreak of witchcraft in this tribe. Works Cited Shaman. (2011, 1 11). Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. Marwick, M. G. (1952). The Social Context of Cewa Witch Beliefs. Cambridge University Press, 120-135. Offiong, D. (1983). Social Relations and Witch Beliefs among the Ibibio. Cambridge University Press, 73-82. Offiong, D. A. (1983). Witchcraft Among the Ibibio of Nigeria. African Studies Association, 107-124. Offiong, D. A. (1999). Traditional Healers in the Nigerian Health Care System and the Debate Over Integrating Traditional and Scientific Medicine. Anthropological Quarterly, 118-130. William A. Haviland, H. E. (2008). Cultural Anthropology: The Human Challege. Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.