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Question in Hamlet
Question in Hamlet
Short ques from hamlet act 1
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Separation or Assimilation? Our country, The United States of America, was essentially founded on the principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness through solidarity of human kind. In Bernard R. Boxill's article, "Separation or Assimilation," he fundamentally poses the Hamletesque question: to assimilate or not to assimilate. Subsequent to the dilemma of some black cultural nationalists, whom not only argue for assimilation of the black American populace, but also believe that this assimilation into white culture is inevitable, against cultural pluralism. Cultural pluralism, which was initialized by W. E.B. Dubois in the late 19th century, is founded upon the peculiarities of races, living harmoniously in one nation-state, and lacking superiority or inferiority. Consequently to posing this question one dictates that there exist certain boundaries between cultures in our American society. Where do these boundaries come from and are they indeed necessary? Is integration of these cultures indeed inevitable? The goal of cultural pluralism as stated by Boxill are to establish pride in one's own race, to maintain the authenticity of one's own culture, and finally to benefit the world populace. Through pride, the disdain of inferiorities along with self respect, one adopts an attitude of self- segregation. Boxill argues for pride as a means of preserving one's race, overemphasizing differences between individuals because of the color of their skin or cultural differences, is a great defense to assimilation. Understanding Dubois's concept of cultural authenticity is to delve into the mysteries of self-actualization, that is to realize one's own potential. He asks himself, as an African American, whether his true identity lies in the jungles of Africa or in this land of America. He is of the opinion that these are his only two options. He concludes that his true identity goes beyond his American birth, citizenship, political ideals, language, laws, and religion; deep into the heart of Africa where a timeless culture was born and should be preserved for its beauty and used to benefit the world populace. "...the Negro people, as a race, have a contribution to make..."(Dubois,p244) The "Negro people" as a race, have certainly had a peculiar world condition throughout time and have had the ability to lend privileged insights into the human condition. The whole of humanity consists of many parts. From the cultural pluralist perspective, this whole can be benefitted most by the contribution of gifts from each race of humanity. But does not true diversity exist in individual persons rather than in large groups of unique individuals. It would seem obvious that the greatest degree of solidarity of humanity can be achieved
Many African cultures see life as a cycle we are born, we grow and mature, enter adulthood, and one day we will eventually die but the cycle continues long after death. In Africa art is used as a way to express many things in their society, in this paper I will focus on different ways traditional African art are used to describe the cycle of one’s life. Since Africa is such a large continent it is important to keep in mind that every country and tribe has different rituals and views when it comes to the cycle of life. It is estimated to be well over a thousand different ethnic groups and cultures in Africa today. Thousands of cultures in Africa see the stages of life bound together in a continuous cycle; a cycle of birth, growth, maturity,
Angeles, Los. (2009). African arts. Volume 28. Published by African Studies Center, University of California.
Bhorat, H. M. (2013, June 20). A Conversation on President Obama’s Trip to Africa (web audio recording). Retrieved March 29, 2014, from Brookings: http://www.brookings.edu/research/interviews/2013/06/20-obama-trip-africa-kimenyi-schneidman
Kandiyoti, Deniz. Invisible to the World? Rep. no. 49842. London: School of Oriental and African Studies, 2009. Print.
“You remember your roots, Aliyah” she said “because one day, that’s all you’ll have left.” I remember my great-grandmother would chant this to me often, she’d usually do so before she’d unfold some story that illustrated the history of my culture. Rocking back and forth in her chair she’d witness to me, about the misfortunes of our ancestors, and the debasement of our race. She’d speak of things that were all result of the darkness of our skin, and how our strong complexion resisted being kept within the shadows of segregation and misunderstanding. She’d often refer back to Africa in these lectures, differentiating between nicknames for the sacred continent, names such as the “Motherland” and “Mama Africa”. This stuck with me, and although I hadn’t known a name for her gospel when I was younger, as I got older and obtained more interest I’d realized she shared the same views of those of an “Afrocentric” follower. This intrigued me to further understand the way she thought, and where she learned these things from.
Many people in America want to assimilate to the U.S. because they think that being American is a better option. People such as the Italians in the 1870s tried to assimilate in order to become an American to not become an enemy in the U.S. Also, the Mexicans today are constantly coming to the U.S. to have a better life because they know being American is the best solution for their problems at home. What assimilation mean is when a person leaves one’s own culture to join a different culture the person wants to be. For the purpose of this essay, an American is a person who has commitment to succeed in what one wants, able to speak english, to love the pop culture in the U.S. at the time one is living such as the hit songs, games, T.V. shows, etc. but not to other cultures, and be a citizen in America. People throughout history must assimilate to become a true American
Because of the concept of the word race, wars have been started and millions of people have been discriminated against. To me, it appears to be simply another evil in the world that we, as humans, must deal with and potentially overcome. Since the beginning of time, race has done nothing but give people a reason to argue, fight, and discriminate. It gives people reason to not associate with their fellow man. It causes a fear of the out-of-the-ordinary. Without education, race can be a barrier separating us.
Multiculturalism vs Assimilation America is a place where many cultures and races co-exist, so there are many different opinions and beliefs. Of course there is bound to be tension and misunderstandings, which unfortunately escalates (in some cases) into violence that we hear about in the media. So what is the solution? Should we all assimilate to one standard or should we recognize our individual cultures and consider ourselves multicultural? The answer is not an easy one to define.
...’s depictions of both traditional and modern beliefs in varying degrees illustrate the importance of both in contemporary Nigerian culture, as well as the greater Africa as a whole, and how both are intertwined and cannot exist without the other. In effect, she skillfully subverts stereotypes or single perceptions of Africa as backward and traditional, proving instead, the multifaceted culture of Africa. She further illustrates that neither traditional African nor western culture is necessarily detrimental. It is the stark contrast of the fundamental cultures that inevitably leads to clashes and disagreements. In the end, what holds African countries such as Nigeria together is their shared pride. Modern, western influences can bring positive changes to society, but new cultures cannot completely eradicate the foundational cultures to which a society is founded on.
The time after World War II (Postwar 1950s, and 60s) was a time of change in America. The main change from the time from before the war was the rise of Liberalism. This political idea would bring about changes in in the economic and the industrial corners of the world. Due to this we saw the rise of consumerism in teenagers and also the stimulation of the housing and automobile industries. It also saw the rise highway construction and suburban society (known as Levitowns or suburbia). However it did not bring change to an issue that had been within the United States since really when the country had begun. This problem was racial discrimination and it was an idea that
Khapoya, Vincent B. The African Experience: An Introduction. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998. Print.
Located on the south-west coast of Africa surrounded by water and one of the oldest deserts in the world, lies a place most people do not recognize by name. its a place that is full of vibrent people with extreme pride in there culture and ways of life.
Africa is home to a great and thriving art culture. Until recently, African art hasn’t had enough attention, due to scholars’ and art collectors’ emphasis on traditional art, while being part of the most diverse legacies on Earth. Although some people consider African art ‘traditional’, the art actually consists of hundreds of different people groups, cultures, and civilizations. The artwork favors abstraction rather than naturalistic representation because the artwork represents objects or ideas rather than depict them.
However, for the purpose of this confernece, ‘literature’ refers to works of art, of imagination and includes written texts as well as oral ones including such genres as epic, legend, myth, ballad, forms of oral poetry and folktale. In Africa, for instance, oral literature is highly regarded and seen as the precursor of the written form which borrows heavily from the resources of oral tradition. Consequently, we cannot discuss written African literature without reference to the oral forms and the way writers have incorporated them in the exploration of their people’s past and contemporary experiences. Critics of African literature have long realized that “writing is only a symbolic way of representing speech and as such is secondary to it” (Chika Nwankwo, 315). The gap between the two has long been bridged and both scholars and writers can conveniently draw from the former to enrich and embellish the latter, thus creating a literature that is dynamic and aesthetically
The small African village located on the bank of the river Niger has a story of its own, that only the old and wise are able to des...