| Papers [1-11] of 11 | Search results on "HISTORICISM": |
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New Historicism and "Heart of Darkness", 2002.
A definition of "new historicism and how it is used to analyze Joseph Conrad's novel "Heart of Darkness".
2,158 words (approx. 8.6 pages), 7 sources, MLA, £ 47.95
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Abstract
This paper begins by providing a summary of definitions of New Historicism (NH), which is a genre of literary criticism. It briefly analyzes "Heart of Darkness" while looking at reasons why it was written by Conrad at the particular stage of his life. The writer examines Conrad's personal life in order to get a greater understanding of the novel.
From the Paper
"Joseph Conrad was truly a genius, who was born Polish, and learned fluent French before mastering English. He had an absolute obsessive desire to travel and sail and discover places on the planet that promised intrigue and inspiration. Those facts are presented because here is a novelist for who English was not a second, but a third language, and that he could so brilliantly and thoroughly grasp the English language was, in itself, truly remarkable. Though he would not write his novel until nearly ten years after he completed his trip to Africa, at the time Joseph Conrad was journeying into what he would later call the Heart of Darkness, in 1890, the Belgian Congo was the ?personal property? of King Leopold II of Belgium. Leopold was a vicious tyrant, whose control of the Congo was brutally and mercilessly inhumane. Christian missionaries who had gone to Africa to spread the word of God had reported back to Europe about atrocities committed against natives in the Congo. But the true extent of the bloodletting, slavery, savagery and exploitation could not possibly have been fully comprehended by Europeans."
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New Historicism Analysis, 2007.
This paper discusses the poems "Upon the Burning of our House" and "The Flesh and the Spirit" by Anne Bradstreet.
1,210 words (approx. 4.8 pages), 10 sources, APA, £ 29.95
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Abstract
The writer explains that New Historicism considers the analysis of a literary work complete and right only when incorporated in the time frame of the work, as one could easily recognize from its very name.
The writer notes that the poems written by Anne Bradstreet must be referred to from a New Historicism point of view because, beside their value strictly as literary pieces, they were meaningful to the readers in the 17th Century, first in England, where they were first published, and then, in New England, where they were originally written. The writer examines Bradstreet's religious beliefs portrayed in her poems "Upon the Burning of our House" and "The Flesh and the Spirit". The writer concludes that Anne Bradstreet found a way to speak a universal language that did not attempt to appeal to the universal values of her times and, therefore, her work was understood and not rejected by her contemporaries.
From the Paper
"Her religious views and her attitude towards the religious teachings of the Puritans can be traced along a big part of her work. The people of her time , in England, were divided mostly between the Calvinists and the Anglicans. Some sort of antagonism lay under the unifying power of the Church of England. The human spirit itself is made of pros and cons and the human nature is often questioning and putting the teachings of scholars, scientists and even those of the church under the benefit of the doubt.
Anne Breadstreet' s writings were welcome by the English public, despite the fact that they expressed certain ideas that questioned the puritan ideas of salvation through a life of continuous attempt to overcome the original sin in the hope that one's soul, among other few selected souls will be resurrected by God's will."
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New Literary Theory, 2004.
This paper offers a description of new historicism and theories of the unconscious as the basis for literary criticism.
1,575 words (approx. 6.3 pages), 13 sources, MLA, £ 39.95
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Abstract
The paper provides a discussion of new historicism and theories of the unconscious as the basis for literary criticism. The paper explains new historicism as a theory of textual critique. The paper quotes Jung and Lucan.
From the Paper
"Among the literary and critical theories that gained currency over the course of the ?th century, two strands of thought in particular resonate new historicism and aspects of neo psychoanalytic theory that touch on unconscious processes that operate not so much at the individual as at the social level where experience is shared and unconscious processes are collectively enacted, via encounters between and among inmates of the community to shape human experience."
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Social Theories, 2004.
A comparison of the theories of historicism, functionalism and cultural materialism.
1,258 words (approx. 5.0 pages), 6 sources, MLA, £ 29.95
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Abstract
This paper briefly defines these three social theories and discusses the history of their development. They are then applied to modern-day society, and the paper questions which theory is most relevant today. The writer concludes that the theory of functionalism best describes today?s social organism.
From the Paper
"Functionalist theory is the fundamental metaphor of the living organism, its several parts and organs, grouped and organized into a system, the function of the various parts and organs being to sustain the organism, to keep its essential processes going and enable it to reproduce. Similarly, members of a society can be thought of as cells, its institutions its organs, whose function is to sustain the life of the collective entity, despite the frequent death of cells and the production of new ones. Functionalist analyses examine the social significance of phenomena, that is, the purpose they serve a particular society in maintaining the whole (Jarvie, 1973)."
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Historical Particularism vs. Functionalism, 2008.
A comparative analysis of the schools of thought of historical particularism and functionalism
1,527 words (approx. 6.1 pages), 6 sources, MLA, £ 35.95
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Abstract
This paper compares and contrasts historical particularism and functionalism. The paper first discusses how historical particularism was a school of thought which concentrated on a holistic historical approach to the study of cultures and civilizations, from the development of their language to their physical appearance. Historical particularists believed in concentrated study of a people and their languages to gain a full understanding on their culture. The paper then discusses functionalism and explains that it sought to be a corrective to the excesses of the evolutionary and diffusionist theories of the nineteenth-century and the historicism of the early twentieth century. Functionalism concentrated all of its resources into describing the material, psychological, physical, and social structures of a civilization. The paper concludes with a brief summary of the differences and similarities of the two schools of thought and notes that they are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
From the Paper
"Historical particularism and functionalism are related in the way that they both concentrate on details and pre-existing conditions. These methods were demonstrated in the various essays by Franz Boas and A. L. Kroeber for historical particularism, and Bronislaw Malinowski and A. R. Radcliffe-Brown for functionalism. Specifically, Boas, in The Methods of Ethnology, argued against the various traditional evolutionary theories proposed by Lewis Morgan, Karl Marx, Sir Edward Tylor, and Herbert Spencer. He criticized the theory of the nineteenth-century evolutionism as non-scientific and claimed historical particularism to be free from preconceived ideas. Stating simply that these theories had a particular resilience, but lacked any sort of empirical evidence, Boas argued that the evolutionary theory was based on the counterfactual assumption that our culture was the most advanced and all others were merely following us (Boas 1920). "
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Marx on Capitalism, 2006.
A critical assessment on Karl Marx's theories about the downfall of capitalism.
2,055 words (approx. 8.2 pages), 8 sources, MLA, £ 45.95
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Abstract
This paper is a philosophical, economic and historical critique of Marx's worldview and theories on the downfall of the capitalist system. It looks at how Marx's own economic determinism, his own unflinching reliance on the economy as the determining factor of our historicism, defeats himself since capitalism, as so clearly demonstrated in "The Communist Manifesto", can be considered both spiritually and ethically futile.
From the Paper
"Marx declares that Proletarian uprising- the ending of capitalism- is inevitable: "It's not a question of what this or that proletarian- or even the whole proletarian movement- momentarily imagines the aim to be. It's a question of what the proletariat is, and what it consequently is historically compelled to do." 10 It seems that Marx misunderstood the proletariat. Observing uprisings and revolutions throughout the last century (and before), he is myopic in two ways: 1) The working class (especially that of today) seems more compelled to work within existing power structures to enforce change in an advanced Capitalist society- not to rebel. And 2) This enforces the suggestion that working class rebellions usually develop from the proletariat, but are rarely purely Communist. In such uprisings, a demagogic figure usually exploits two common factors: people's ignorance, and people's desperation. "
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Arundhati Roy's "The God of Small Things", 2004.
This paper discusses Arundhati Roy's post-colonial novel "The God of Small Things" based on themes and symbols reflecting the latent memory of India's experiences with British imperialism.
2,250 words (approx. 9.0 pages), 6 sources, MLA, £ 49.95
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Abstract
This paper explains that Arundhati Roy in her post-colonial novel "The God of Small Things" weaves in social and political theories based on the sociological work of Paul Gilroy's "The Black Atlantic", Homi Bhabha's "The Location of Culture" and Dipesh Chakrabarty's "Provincializing Europe". The author points out that the story gives prominence to the enduring caste system in a country, which outlawed caste discrimination in 1950 but ironically emerges in Roy's modern India, now harboring strong Indian values within a setting where colonial influences still remain. The paper concludes that, through her use of irony, contradiction, themes and symbols of ambiguity, sly civility, historicism and the deconstruction of an imperial language construct; Roy is able to not only provide a post-colonial narrative but also a truly satisfying work of literature.
From the Paper
"In chapter 2, the family is in their Plymouth which has a plywood billboard attached to the roof rack, promoting the family business of pickles and preserves: there are painted pictures of jars juxtaposed with a kathakali dancer for "Regional Flavour." As the story unfolds, the reader is exposed to a description of a real kathakali dance, except it has been shortened from hours to a mere twenty minutes to accommodate the "short attention spans" of the foreign guests as they loll by the poolside at the Heart of Darkness Hotel (which is in itself an irony of "civilized" foreigners residing in a symbol of backwardness and primal roots). While one might see the truncated dance as Indian submission or alteration for the sake of the Western tourists, I believe it is in fact evidence of the opposite; a mockery of sorts of the foreigners. In a large sense, this is Bhabha's concept of hybridity in that the dumbed-down version of the play is a counter-narrative against the dominant culture, premised by the deconstruction of the very entry of the formerly excluded subjects."
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The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg, 2006.
A look at the controversial poet, Allen Ginsberg.
4,849 words (approx. 19.4 pages), 7 sources, MLA, £ 87.95
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Abstract
This paper takes a look at the life of Allen Ginsberg, one of America's most controversial poets of the mid to late 20th century. Ginsberg was made famous by his radical poem "Howl" and his views on American society, politics and the Vietnam War. This paper also takes a look at New Historicism, and Ginsberg's involvement.
From the Paper
"Thus, most of the work of Allen Ginsberg can be seen as culturally significant, for it explores through verse and narrative the inner workings of the cities and how the people that worked and died in these cities during the late 1940's and 1950's experienced everyday life. In essence, Ginsberg's poetry and narrative pieces are filled with "cultural poetics," also known as New Historicism, "a theory that emphasizes the importance of history as a standard of cultural value or as a determinant of events" (Schumacher, 56).
Before commencing on the biography of Allen Ginsberg, it seems appropriate to make some brief comments on the status of America during the 1950's, the period which highly influenced Ginsberg and his writings. Following the close of World War II in 1945, America was plunged into a "Cold War" with the Soviet Union, a war based on threat instead of action. Culturally, America was in the throes of massive change, due to the victories over Nazi Germany and Japan and the economic boom that followed in the wake of World War II. For the most part, Americans were experiencing new and at times disturbing cultural trends linked to politics, economics and the rapid development of technology, especially regarding television. Also, as a result of World War II, Americans had a sense of belonging to the greater whole and began to see themselves as conformists, meaning that they never questioned authority and subscribed to "herd mentality."
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Aphra Behn's "Oroonoko", 2000.
A discussion of Aphra Behn's "Oroonoko", read from a feminist perspective.
1,153 words (approx. 4.6 pages), 3 sources, APA, £ 27.95
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Abstract
Examining the autobiographical content of the novel and discussion with relation to current feminist criticism and new historicism. The writer explains how the novel is an examination and perhaps a critical analysis of Behn?s role as a woman and a writer as separate entities and also her status as a woman writer.
From the Paper
"Aphra Behn’s novel Oroonoko can be read from a feminist perspective very effectively as it is possible to draw parallels between the slave experiences of Oroonoko and the experience of being a woman at that time. The novel has a somewhat autobiographical content. Behn moved from her birthplace near Canterbury in England to Surinam in the West Indies during her childhood, her father died during the crossing, as did the narrators, so we assume that the narrator is Behn herself. There she met an enslaved prince called Oroonoko who was the basis for her novel Oroonoko or the Royal slave."
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?Pudd?nhead Wilson?, 2005.
A sociological analysis of Mark Twain's "The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson and the Comedy of Those Extraordinary Twins".
1,197 words (approx. 4.8 pages), 5 sources, MLA, £ 29.95
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Abstract
This paper looks at how Mark Twain's "The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson and the Comedy of Those Extraordinary Twins" is one of Twain's classic social commentaries. It examines how, under the lens of new historicism, the story reveals the inner-workings of the Old South and how it interacted with those someplace between slave and free.
From the Paper
"Mark Twain, whose 1890's literary prowess was not always recognized but his peers, capitalized on the quirks of his post-bellum world, ripe with racism, discrimination and crime to paint a careful picture of the fledgling New South. At this point historically, the South was ruled by the Jim Crow Laws recently enacted, modeled with solidified reminiscence of the South before the Civil War; racism was not only a personal characteristic, it was the whole world. This truth is evident in Pudd'nhead Wilson, in which race and slavery play a critical role."
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Max Weber: A Social and Political Analysis, 2006.
Examines and analyzes the political, sociological and economic works of Max Weber within the context of the events in his own life time.
3,150 words (approx. 12.6 pages), 7 sources, £ 88.95
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Abstract
When interpreting the work of a political theorist, it is useful to relate his theoretical work to the major events of his own time. This paper examines the political, sociological, and economic works of Max Weber within the social and political context of the nineteenth-century. The paper further explains that doing so serves to historicize Weber's contributions to political theory and reveals how his work relates to the existing social and political distribution of power in his own society.
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