In Justin Torres’ We the Animals, I found the connection of race, identity, and masculinity through “queering” to be the most interesting issue that relates to our class. This connection is shown in the opening passage of the novel as the narrator explains his family’s desire for more in their lives, “We knocked the butt ends of our forks against the table, tapped our spoons against our empty bowls; we were hungry...we were six snatching hands, six stomping feet; we were brothers, boys, three little kings locked in a feud for more” (Torres 1). Queering, as described during class, relates to the feeling of being an outsider or other. More specifically, being queer means having an identity that is not heteronormative or Eurocentric. Torres depicts …show more content…
Dickins argues that a new ideology, Afro-neo-ism, should be used to break down any barriers that limit the potential of Black individuals. Most notably, this essay describes the need for Afro-now-ism while building the future of artificial intelligence. With artificial intelligence becoming more advanced, Dickins emphasizes that there is a need for more representation of marginalized voices as this technology continues to grow. I found the issue presented in the text very insightful, as I hadn’t considered the fact that artificial intelligence may be unintentionally created to represent the same structural inequalities that are present in humanity. If, for example, artificial intelligence is used when making decisions at the governmental level, what if it begins proposing policies that unintentionally worsen issues such as systematic racism? I also find it interesting how Dickins emphasizes that we must redefine our perception of being human, because technology will inevitably become more autonomous. I believe that at some point in the future, the difference between humanity and technology may become blurred, but will we maintain our hierarchical perspective that puts our own species at the top of society? Overall, this text thoroughly explains the importance of maintaining humanity when building artificial intelligence models. To start creating new life in the form of artificial intelligence, we must first confront the current issues that plague our society, otherwise we will always be stuck in a loop of
Miguel Cabrera, also known as “Miggy”, was born in Maracay, Venezuela on April 18, 1983. His real name is José Miguel Cabrera Torres. Miguel was raised by his parents, Miguel Sr. and Gregoria. As a young child Miguel first started playing baseball with his neighbors. Baseball is one of the most popular sports in his home country of Venezuela. Miguel came from a very poor part of Venezuela. One thing that kept his family going, was baseball. His father played baseball as a child on up to his twenties. His mother was on the Venezuelan national softball team for fourteen years. Miguel’s uncle, Davis Torres played Class-AA for the St. Louis Cardinals minor league team, before being released. Baseball ran through Miguel’s family, and it was something that they could all play together. When Miguel wasn’t playing baseball with his local team in Maracay. Miguel’s father, Miguel Sr., was a stud baseball prospect growing up, but was not able to complete his ultimate goal of becoming a pro baseball player. After playing baseball, Miguel’s father became a mechanic. If baseball did not work out for his son, he wanted Miguel to have the proper education to still be able to get a job. Miguel’s father stayed hard on his about his grades, and made sure that he graduated with his high school diploma.
For as long as I can remember, racial injustice has been the topic of discussion amongst the American nation. A nation commercializing itself as being free and having equality for all, however, one questions how this is true when every other day on the news we hear about the injustices and discriminations of one race over another. Eula Biss published an essay called “White Debt” which unveils her thoughts on discrimination and what she believes white Americans owe, the debt they owe, to a dark past that essentially provided what is out there today. Ta-Nehisi Coates published “Between the World and Me,” offering his perspective about “the Dream” that Americans want, the fear that he faced being black growing up and that black bodies are what
Among the most prominent are strains of racism/classism, belonging and dislocation, death and meaning and self-identity, and sexual awakening. In a slim 187 pages the author competently weaves social commentary (via the seemingly innocent adolescent perspective) into a moving narrative that only occasionally veers toward the pedantic.
African American people have encountered political, social and economic challenges that have, in many ways, shaped the way they think and perceive the issues that surround their race from the time of slavery to this day. As a way of fighting disadvantages and injustice, African Americans such as WEB Dubois and Alain Locke have introduced their philosophical views and studies of that African American race and the racism that has oppressed them for decades. In this paper, I’m going to introduce a short biography of the African American philosophers WEB Du Bois and Alain Locke compare and contrast their approaches to philosophical issues pertaining racism.
The thesis of this book is that slavery, racism and discrimination should be set aside and tough penalties laid for those who practice it. This can reduce it by a great percentage and each generations.
Nearly a century later, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., himself a Harvard scholar, addresses the anomaly of the Afro-American as he has existed for the past two centuries; that the Black American's greatest obstacle is the lack of self determination. The inability to define oneself will undoubtedly lead to an unhealthy dependence upon the definition of a biased party that will apply an erroneous definition. Gates states that "the Afro American's attempt to gain self-consciousness in a racist society will always be impaired by the fact that any reflected image that he or she seeks in the gaze of white Americans is refracted through 'the dark veil-mirror of existence'..."(Du Bois, xx).
After slavery ended, many hoped for a changed America. However, this was not so easy, as slavery left an undeniable mark on the country. One problem ended, but new problems arose as blacks and whites put up “color lines” which led to interior identity struggles. These struggles perpetuated inequality further and led W. E. B. Du Bois to believe that the only way to lift “the Veil” would be through continuing to fight not only for freedom, but for liberty - for all. Others offered different proposals on societal race roles, but all recognized that “double consciousness” of both the individual and the nation was a problem that desperately needed to be solved.
When talking about the future of technology, one can only imagine what it will be down the road. The future of technology evokes many questions about the preservation of human existence, human advancement and intelligence. Some writers even discuss their positions on the future of technology and human kind. Writers such as James J. Bell, who explains the theory of the ‘Singularity’. In summary, he states that the rate of technological advancement, compared to human intelligence, will one day reach the ‘singularity’ were it will surpass the human mind (pg. 52). We may never know if technology will ever have the power to surpass the human intellect or what the consequences will be if it does attain these capabilities. Will humans still maintain control over them, or will they control us? Theses eight articles illustrate the implicit and explicit control that technology holds over humans in the future.
In today’s age, African-Americans are still viewed as the lower race. There are entire ghettos associated with housing only African-American individuals and cities are divided among racial lines. For example, our hometown of Chicago, the north serves as residence to the “whites” while the south end of the city home to “blacks”. There is a wide-spread belief that African-Americans are not as smart as the rest of the population, are in some way related to a criminal background, and/or do not care about their betterment in any way and are lazy. This is because, Mills argues, racial realists associate racial characteristics to the “peculiar” history of that race. This makes argument makes logical sense given the oppressive history of African-Americans in
Guante uses various literary devices with finesse to effectively raise awareness of people’s perception of masculinity as a social issue. In his poem, Guante uses a combination of analogy, changing tone, and repetition to engage his audience and successfully highlight the misunderstood views of masculinity. Thus, Guante’s poem successfully reprimands the American social construct of masculinity, emphasizing how a wrong interpretation of masculinity dehumanizes men.
As the world turns, so do the minds of people who embrace the idea of equality and fairness to all. While society has many ills that prevent its potential growth, racism remains the most prevalent and consistent issue that hurts society’s ability to create unison. From the western to the eastern hemisphere, this ‘ism’ has manifested itself in every aspect of social life; even today, it still marks people’s philosophy and so much so that it influences practices, laws and social action across the world. Although there have been substantial gains in racial equality over the past century, racism still remains a deeply embedded and enduring ideology because of the creation of social divisions that allows power over a certain group of people and
When we look at the issue of racism from a politically correct, nineties perspective, evidence of the oppression of black people may be obscured by the ways in which our society deals with the inequalities that still exist. There are no apparent laws that prohibit or limit opportunities for blacks in our society today, yet there is a sense that all things are not fair and equal. How can we acknowledge or just simply note how past ideologies are still perpetuated in our society today? We can examine conditions of the present day in consideration of events in the past, and draw correlations between old and modern modes of thinking. Attitudes of racism within the institutions of education, employment and government are less blatant now than in the day of Frederick Douglass, none the less, these attitudes prevail.
I will use this article’s arguments and logic in the counter argument section of my essay. I will address the arguments Boden utilizes and will mention the additional fears that are mentioned in the article. While dehumanizing aspects of artificial intelligence are not a great threat given artificial intelligence’s limitations, artificial intelligence will continue to advance. Meanwhile, the issue of humans depending too heavily on inaccurate information is a concern. Artificial intelligence cannot know everything, so decisions may not be as thought-out as humans. This article is unbiased, as it uses strong logical arguments without employing logical fallacies. The article also addresses other fears, instead of claiming that artificial intelligence is a flawless concept. This article is limited, as it doesn 't discuss two of my arguments in my essay
Racism is a daily obstacle for some, but also serves as a falsified daily reminder that they are not as intelligent, as worthy, or as capable compared
In his novel The Hours, Michael Cunningham creates a dazzling fabric of queer references, managing to intertwine the lives of three different women into one smooth narrative. In this essay, I will discuss what makes The Hours queer literature, how the novel has contributed to the queer genre, the cultural significance of the novel, and I will discuss several points made in Jeanette McVicker’s critical article “Gaps and Absences in The Hours.” My aim, however, is not to say that Michael Cunningham’s The Hours is strictly a queer novel, but to highlight what makes the novel queer and to discuss Cunningham’s idea of sexual orientation as a fluid entity. To begin my analysis of the queer narrative in The Hours, we must first discover what makes a queer narrative.