Modernity And The Holocaust Sociology Essay

Modernity And The Holocaust Sociology Essay The Enlightenment was an intellectual and cultural movement of the 18th century which desired to replace the obsolete, irrational ways of thinking by the rational, the sensible and the progressive. The immediate stimulus of the enlightenment movement was arguably the scientific revolution of the 16th and 19th century. Through the application of science and reason to the study of the natural world, men like Galileo and Isaac Newton made leaping advances and discoveries which exposed many scientific truths. These new found truths usually contradicted the conventional, religious beliefs and explanations for the natural world, held and propagated by the church. It was thus a tremendously exciting and controversial time. A time, where the truth about the world and the heavens could be discovered by the application of reason based on study. The modern thinker of the 18th century Europe thus believed that anything and everything could be subjected to the study of reason. Art, customs, morals, traditions etc. hence could all be submitted to the study and rational understanding. It was felt that the truth of these reveled discoveries could be applied in political and social spheres to fix the problems of society and improve upon the general conditions of mankind. However the era of Enlightenment and its resulting outcomes did hold an arguably central failure. The Enlightenment in great part, failed to hold the capacity to deal with general human differences and diversity in terms of culture, tradition and ethnicities. The grave consequence of this failure can clearly be seen in Europes relationship with non-European peoples and cultures in the period that came during and after the Enlightenment era. This period was the epoch of cultural in-sensitivity, colonization and racism etc. And these can attributed in great part, to the universalist frameworks of inquiry of that time. The intellectual thought of 18th century Europe was arguably steeped in abstract conceptions of a standardized and inflexible human nature and majestic narratives of a progressive history of human civilization. The legacy of Enlightenment thus is plagued by an epistemological inadequacy of presumptions which fostered a manner of thinking that would for two centuries, serve to legitimize European global domination, racism and destruction. Modernity The birth of modernity, took place in roughly the same time frame of that of the Enlightenment movement. In general terms, modernity refers to an historical era which is characterized by a move from feudalism towards modern day capitalism, secularization, rationalization and industrialization. Modernity means the cultural schemata and mechanisms of social action stemming from the Enlightenment and the modernization process. It is a set of new and man-made rationalized mechanisms and rules for human societies. The interrelated dimensions of modernity may be roughly grouped into intellectual and institutional categories including subjectivity and individual self-consciousness, a spirit of rationalized public culture, rationalization of economic operations, bureaucracy in administrative management, self-discipline of public sphere and democratization etc. Modernity remains the major support and dynamic in keeping human society running today. Characteristics of modernity are based on hig hly industrialized societies, which have regular patterns of everyday life. Some of the main characteristics of these modern societies include have already been mentioned; however are some central ones, described in more detail: Bureaucracy: Impersonal, social hierarchies that are based on the general division of labor coupled with regularity of systems, methods and procedures. Rationalization: A way of looking at the world and managing it through the use of logic, objectivity and impartial theories and data. Disenchantment: A move away from understanding the natural world, the heavens and general life through metaphysical ideas. Secularization: A move away from religious influence at a societal level Commodification: The decline of all facets and aspects of life to the items of monetary exchange, utilization and consumption. Alienation: Isolation of individuals from institutions of meaning and emotions i.e. religion, family, tradition, meaningful work etc. Modernity and the Holocaust A number of postmodern theorists have attacked modernity for causing racism. Far from seeing the Enlightenment belief in rationality as likely to undermine racist beliefs, they have argued that modernity has actually encouraged racism. Postmodern theorists have also argued that racism arises out of a modern tendency to see the world in terms of binary oppositions, or pair of opposites. Western modernity has contrasted itself with others who are taken to be very different. Out of this process racism develops. In Modernity and the Holocaust (1989) Zygmunt Bauman argues that the Holocaust was a product of modernity. The mass extermination of Jews (and others in Nazi Germany) was not simply a result of anti-Semitism, an illogical racism directed against Jews. Rather, the Holocaust was a product of the central features of modernity. Bauman says: The truth is that every ingredient of the Holocaust-all those many things that rendered it possible -was normalà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦in the sense of being fully in keeping with everything we know about our civilizations, its guiding spirit, its prioritiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦of the proper ways to pursue human happiness together with a perfect society. (Bauman 1989) The links between the Holocaust and modernity take a number of forms: The Holocaust was a product of modern, bureaucratic rationality. The German bureaucracy (particularly the notorious SS) were charged with the task of removing Jews from Germany. In keeping with the principles of modern bureaucracy, the people involved did not question the aims given to them by their political masters. They simply sought the technically efficient means to achieve the objective. Moving the Jews to Poland caused administrative problems for those Germans who had to govern the annexed territories. Another proposal at that time was to send the Jews to Madagascar, a colony of defeated France. However this proved impractical as well. The distances involved and the British naval capabilities meant that millions of Jews could not be sent there. Mass extermination was chosen because it was simply the most technically efficient means with which to rid Germany of Jewish presence. The Final Solution did not clash at any stage with the rational pursuits of efficient, optimal goal i mplementation. On the contrary it arose out of a genuinely rational concern, and it was generated by bureaucracy true to its form and purpose. Thus bureaucratic organization can be used to serve any end, and the modern ethos that bureaucrats should not question the purpose of their organization, precludes them from taking steps to prevent events such as those of the Holocaust. Evidence from the Holocaust survivors suggests that most of the members of the SS responsible for carrying out the Holocaust did not appear to be psychologically disturbed sadists. They in fact, appeared to be relatively normal individuals. However, they were able to participate in such inhuman acts because they were authorized to do so by their superiors and because the killing was routinized. They subjected themselves to the discipline of the organization to which they belonged. Accepting organizational discipline is another feature of rational organization in modernity. The honor of civil servants depends upon their ability to follow the orders of their political masters, even if they personally disagree with those orders. Furthermore, modern, rational organization tends to make the consequence of individual actions less obvious. The part played by each member of a bureaucratic system may seem distant from the final consequence. Thus an official who designated people as non-Aryan in Nazi Germany would be unlikely to think of himself or herself as being responsible for mass murder. Even the actual killing in the Holocaust was sanitized by the use of gas chambers. Earlier methods had included machine gunning victims. However, this was both inefficient and made the inhumanity if what was going on, markedly more obvious. Gas chambers minimized such difficulties. Modernity is based upon the existence of nation-states with clear cut boundaries. Jews were regarded as foreigners within in European states. According to Bauman, in pre-modern Europe the presence of Jewish otherness did not on the whole prevent their accommodation into the general social order. Pre-modern societies were divided by castes and Jews were a different group. Modern nation states emphasize the homogeneity of a nation in order to foster nationalist sentiment. Their desire to maintain boundaries involves excluding the alien other. This produces a condition within which racism can thrive. From the Enlightenment onwards, modern thinking has maintained that human societies can progress through the application of rational, scientific knowledge in planning society. The anti-Semitism that was expressed in extreme form in the Holocaust was backed by German scientists who could supposedly prove the inferiority of the Jewish race. The mass extermination of the Jewish population was based on the grounds that doing so, would improve the fabric of German society as a whole. Such projects to transform society are typically modern and would not be considered in pre-modern societies, which lacked such a sense of progress. The claims made by Bauman, are controversial to the say the least and thus have been met with much criticism. Critics like sociologist, Karen Malik denies that modernity can be seen as responsible for racism and is highly critical of the postmodern approach to race. He does not deny that racism has been a powerful and corrosive force in modern societies but he does not view racism as a product of modernity itself. He does not believe that the celebration of difference, which he sees as a key feature of postmodern thinking, is the way to undermine racism. Instead, he argues that racism can best be tackled by reviving some of the principles upon which modernity is based. In particular he believes that the application of universal principles is preferable to acknowledging and celebrating variety in human groups. Karen Malik is also critical of the claim that the Holocaust can be blamed on modernity simply because modernity provides the technological means to accomplish mass extermination. Modern technology has also been used to alleviate problems such as famine and material poverty. The existence of advanced technology in itself cannot be held responsible for the political decision to use technology to exterminate people by gassing. I find it odious that scholars can in all seriousness equate mass extermination with the production of McDonalds hamburgersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦or make a comparison between technology aimed at improving the material abundance of society and political decisions which annihilate whole peoples and destroy entire societies. (Malik 1996) Other criticisms have attacked Baumans claim that the Holocaust was a product of modernity. They argue instead, that the Holocaust arose in specific historical circumstances rather than being a product of modernity in general. If blame for the holocaust can be attributed to anything, it should be to capitalism rather than reason. Modernity involves a belief in reason and the application of science, while capitalism involves economic relationships based on the pursuit of profit. The two are not the same, indeed capitalism may make it difficult to achieve the equality that was the objective of many modern thinkers. The inequalities produced by capitalism may encourage people to think of other races as inferior, but this is not the same as saying that racism is produced by science and reason. Michael Hviid Jacobsen is another critic, who criticizes the claim that racism can be understood in terms of the concept of the other. He does not believe that modernity causes people to automatically compare themselves to other people, and that as a result racism develops. He suggests that such claims are so sweeping as to be seriously misleading. In his view, it cannot be assumed that, over many centuries Westerners have seen all non-Westerners as the Other in the same way. Western views of other people have been related to specific contexts and circumstances. For example, different meanings have been given to the possession of black skin at different times and at different places in modern history. At one time, most westerners thought it was acceptable to enslave people with black skins however; this is no longer the case. The meaning of otherness is often disputed and contentious, and not all modern, post-Enlightenment thinkers have been persuaded of the truth of racist beliefs. Conclusion Bauman claims that the possibility of the Holocaust was created by modernity. He does not deny that modernity has had its benefits, but he does believe that it created the conditions in which racism can thrive. This is particularly because modernity detaches morality from rationality and technical efficiency. In later works, Bauman goes onto discuses post-modernity and argues, that in post-modernity authority becomes dispersed amongst different groups of experts and is not centralized in the hands of the state. This returns more moral responsibility to the hands of the individual, who can now choose at least which authority to take notice of. Bauman therefore believes that post-modernity reduces the chances of events such as those of the Holocaust occurring. It opens up more opportunity for challenges to racism and more likelihood of the tolerance of diversity. Bauman associates post-modernism with the acceptance of pluralism and the rejection of harmful attempts to direct the develo pment of society.

My Study Plan for Korean Language

A. Study plans to improve foreign languages(Korean, English, etc) required for taking a bachelor’s degree course BEFORE and AFTER you come to Korea. Before coming to Korea I've always been interested in foreign languages such as : Japanese and Korean aside from English . I taught myself a good amount of Korean and a basic Japanese ,too . It was hard for me because there weren't enough time due to my school schedule and there weren't any language institutes here that my family can afford either. I taught myself Korean using sites like : Korean101. om , TalkToMeInKorean. com , HaruKorean. com and busyatom. com . These sites helped me improving my Koren and I plan to continue using them more frequently if I get accepted . Aside from these sites , I picked up a lot of my Korean just by watching English Subbed Korean shows and dramas . It was both entertaining , fun and educational too ! As for English I have been developing it ever since I was 9 years old , even before learning it in school I was mesmerized by this amazing language !!And as my curiosity grew , my desire to master this language grew too ! I had a very good background before learning it in school . In my class I was always ahead of my classmates in English because I loved it . After 2 years I started making friends with other American girls and that improved my skills . Movies , novels and websites , It all helped me to speak English fluently aside from what I was learning in school . My family wasn't financially able to get me a seat in a language institute , which is why I haven't done the TOFEL exam yet .Still I managed to teach myself . That makes me confident that if I get chosen for the scholarship and learn Korean and in an institute I'll be able to achieve more !! If I get chosen I'd spend the whole year studying as much as I can . Since I managed to teach myself English even though I was busy with school , exams and home works , I'm confident & 100% sure that if I spend a whole Year s tudying Korean and focusing on Korean I'll master Korean and learn very well . I would practice what I learn as I interact with people .I would learn outside the institute using the websites that I mentioned above to rich my Korean and my English at the same time . I'll make use of every situation , every second starting from my arrival – since all I'll have to do is study the language I've always yearned to learn for a long time – and soak in whatever I can get my hands , ears and eyes on ! It just can't get any better . It has always been my dream to speak Korean fluently and more than that , I've always dreamed of having Korean friends and living in Korea .I even wish that I'll be allowed to do volunteering in Korea & I really hope to get approval of my request and be able to pay back to the Korean community and get close to its people whether it's elders , children or anything I absolutely want to do it , please help me fulfill this request too . I know that it's t oo much to ask but I really want to volunteer . I wish that my Korean will help me earn Korean friends . I'd be honored if I get accepted by them and I'll be really thankful if they teach me about their country , traditions and morals .I hope that I can be good enough to get close to them and be worthy enough to learn from them . I'm always willing to try and willing to learn . Having a chance to become a step closer to my dreams , who's crazy enough to mess such an opportunity ! Aside from Korean I want to improve my English . As I taught myself Korean and some Japanese , I came to find my English improving gradually . When watching Korean media ( drama , shows .. ect) I learn new vocabularies in the English subs and after I translate them , I learn the Korean version of the words .In my first year I'll focus on Korean but I won't forget my English either . I'll make sure to double the educational benefit of the scholarship that I'll receive . If I'll be given the chance to Learn K orean , I'll make sure to get the best of what I have and double it up and improve my English and after that I'm having a new language : Japanese . If I was given the chance to receive a good education I'll make it double and gain not only education and knowledge , I'll learn experience from everyone around me .I will make friends with new people that'll be studying Korean with me . Practice both Korean and English with them & exchange culture with them ,too . As I progress in Korean I'll keep up with English . I'm planning on saving up from my allowance – or working part time job – to be able to pay for the TOFEL and perform the exam , Since I've never been able to do so because I didn't have money . This is only the beginning for me . I want to learn Japanese , Italian , French and Spanish too . That way I'll be able to contact other people. If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart† . said Nelson Mandela As a person who's constantly fascinated by languages . I believe that a human being is on a journey of learning as long as he's breathing & never too old to learn . There's just so much to learn from everyone in this world ! by learning new languages I want to get in touch with its people and their minds , their culture and experiences !My curiosity of the teachings other people carry around the world , fuels my desire to speak their language which will inspire me in my works and enlighten my life and my mind . I believe in myself and in my abilities & I'm yearning for attention , care and support . I know that if I live in a constructive , educational environment it'll help me sharpen my skills and be a productive promising talent . If I get the chance to be a KGSP student , I will work hard to prove that you chose the right student and do my best in order to achieve that.

Who Invented the Game of Softball

Softball is a variant of baseball and a popular participant sport, particularly in the U.S. About 40 million Americans play a game of softball in any given year.  However, the game owes its development to another sport entirely: football.   The First Softball Game George Hancock, a reporter for the Chicago Board of Trade, is credited with inventing softball in 1887. That year, Hancock gathered with some friends at the Farragut Boat Club in Chicago on Thanksgiving day to watch the Yale vs. Harvard game. The friends were a mix of Yale and Harvard alumni and one of the Yale supporters threw a boxing glove at a Harvard alumnus in triumph. The Harvard supporter swung at the glove with a stick he happened to be holding at the time. The game was soon on, with participants using the glove for a ball and a broom handle for the bat. Softball Goes National The game quickly spread from the comfy confines of the Farragut Boat Club to other indoor arenas. With the advent of spring, it headed outdoors. People began playing softball throughout Chicago, then all over the Midwest. But the game still didn’t have a name. Some called it â€Å"indoor baseball† or â€Å"diamond ball.† True baseball fanatics didn’t think much of the game and their names for it, such as  Ã¢â‚¬Å"kitten baseball,† â€Å"pumpkin ball† and â€Å"mush ball†Ã‚  reflected their disdain. The game was first called softball at the National Recreation Congress meeting in 1926. Credit for the name  goes to Walter Hakanson who  represented the YMCA at the meeting. It stuck. An Evolution of Rules The Farragut Boat Club invented the first softball rules pretty much on the fly. There was little continuity from game to game during the early years. The number of players on each team could vary from one game to the next. The balls themselves were of different shapes and sizes. Finally, more official rules were set in place in 1934 by the newly-formed Joint Rules Committee on Softball. The first softballs were reported to be some 16 inches in circumference. They eventually shrunk to 12 inches when Lewis Rober  Sr. introduced softball to a group of Minneapolis firefighters. Today, softballs are even smaller, ranging from about 10 to 12 inches. According to the International Softball Federation, which was  formed in 1952, teams must now be comprised of nine players manning seven positions on the field. This includes the first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, pitcher, catcher, and outfielder. There are actually three outfielders positioned in the center, right and left field. Slow-pitch softball, a variation on the game, provides for a fourth outfielder. Most softball rules are similar to those for baseball, but there are typically only seven rather than  nine innings. If the score is tied, the game will go on until one team wins. Four balls are a walk and three strikes mean you’re out. But in some leagues, players go to bat with a strike and a ball already against them. Bunting and stealing bases typically aren’t allowed. Softball Today Women’s fast-pitch softball became an official sport of the Summer Olympics in 1996 but was dropped in 2012. Still, that hasn’t deterred millions of enthusiasts in the U.S. and more than a hundred other countries from pursuing the sport.

Reflection On The Business Management Module And...

Self-Reflection Student name Student number Self-reflection essay This essay has been written in order to provide self-reflections on the business management module and internship experience by incorporating Gibbs reflective cycle. Moreover, this essay also highlighted improvement in skills by getting enrolled in this module. With the intention to make the process of learning updated it is better to rely on the framework proposed by Gibbs (1998) which has mentioned below: Figure 1: Gibb s Reflective Cycle (Gibbs, 1988) Referring to the model of Gibbs reflective cycle, the essay first described the good or bad experiences from the event occurred to me. Secondly, it discussed the solution required to overcome the bad experience and finally, the action plan highlighting the fruitful benefits that I have achieved. First Phase: Description, Feelings and Evaluation: Last year when I was enrolled in previous semester I have received a call from a reputable organization to work as an intern for a period of two months. The internship was placed in marketing department and I was very happy because I felt that this internship would be very fruitful in terms of work experience and exploring new things in the dimension of marketing. However, unfortunately, I couldn’t secure good marks and perform better at the organization due to lack of communication and interpersonal skills and this was the worst experience that I encountered. Lack of communication skills made me unable toShow MoreRelatedStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesCover Designer: Wanda Espana OB Poll Graphics: Electra Graphics Cover Art: honey comb and a bee working / Shutterstock / LilKar Sr. Media Project Manager, Editorial: Denise Vaughn Media Project Manager, Production: Lisa Rina ldi Full-Service Project Management: Christian Holdener, S4Carlisle Publishing Services Composition: S4Carlisle Publishing Services Printer/Binder: Courier/Kendallville Cover Printer: Courier/Kendalville Text Font: 10.5/12 ITC New Baskerville Std Credits and acknowledgments borrowed