Transactionalism Analysis of Political Processes

Transactionalism Analysis of Political Processes Political Swat Barth Assess Barths Theory of Transactionalism In this book, such a paradigm of political experience not only tells us something important about the traditional political situation in Swat, it is also the basis of a trenchant criticism of views prevailing at the time when Barth wroteIt reveals that a quest for personal advantage could flourish in a traditional setting.† (Meeker 1980 : 684) It is important to distinguish, when discussing Political Leadership among Swat Pathans (1959), between its effectiveness as an ethnographic account, and its role as a work of theory. Barth’s later works were written when he had further developed his method with the support of the ‘Bergen school’, which included other Scandinavian ethnologists and continental authors such as Robert Paine. F. G. Bailey, in 1960, affirmed in his review for Man (p. 188), that â€Å"Barth’s book is a monograph and not a work of theory†. However, Barth’s 1959 article Segmentary Opposition and the Theory of Games: A Study of Pathan Organisation forms a â€Å"case study of unilineal descent and political organisation among Yusufzai Pathans [which] exemplifies a pattern, not previously described in the literature, of deriving corporate political groups from a ramifying unilineal descent charter.† (p. 19) Barth’s transactionalism, as a form of methodological individualism, developed in a general movement away from the dominant Durkheimian models of Radcliffe-Brown and Fortes. In a return to more Malinowskian traditions, authors including Bailey, Barth and Paine explored the ways in which cultural actors manipulate social rules so as to maximise their own profit. In addition, there was a growing need for anthropologists to account for change in societies which were increasingly exposed to a strongly Western, global political social model, rather than remaining static, as some theories would have had them. In his 1959 ethnography, Barth shows that the strategic choices of individuals significantly determine the political hierarchy, the latter which recognises the contractual right of individuals and thus demands that leaders consistently prove their status-worthiness. â€Å"In this respect the political life of Swat resembles that of Western societies† (Barth 1959a : 2). In moving away from the structural functionalist model, Barth took a decisive step in his proposition that the bases of the society were united by a solidarity based on â€Å"individual strategic choices†, rather than by the mechanical solidarity elaborated by Evans-Pritchard and Fortes in Africa. The authority systemis built up and maintained through the exercise of a continual series of individual choices. (Barth 1959a : 2) Criticism It is a saddening, but no doubt common, experience to see one’s analyses made banal and one’s points of view reduced to simple stereotypes. It is perhaps even more distressing to be attributed a web of trivial and fundamental errors and omissions which one has not committed. (Barth, correspondence in Dupree 1977 : 516) While much praised, Barth has had his fair share of able critics. In 1972, Talal Asad delivered a class-oriented polemic of Barth’s Pathans, insisting that the landlords exploited their tenants consistently, and that the author suffered from the â€Å"illusion of consent† in attributing free contractuality to their exchanges. Four years later, Akbar S. Ahmed wrote Millennium and Charisma among Pathans, arguing that Barth suffered from a â€Å"khan’s-eye view†, again proclaiming that the reality of Swat society involved far less ‘free choice’ than Barth would have us believe, people’s lives instead being shaped strongly by â€Å"a matrix of interacting and largely fixed social patterns† (cited in Dupree 1977 : 514). As did Asad, Dupree praises Barth as an â€Å"indefatigable fieldworker and imaginative theorist† (1977: 514); but Ahmed, he points out, was well qualified to document Barth’s ‘Norwegian entrepreneur bias’, not least since his wife is the grand daughter of the late Wali of Swat. â€Å"What Barth observes from the outside, Ahmed explores from the inside† (Charpenter, C. J. correspondence in ibid: 516). Louis Dupree’s 1976 article was republished in Current Anthropology in 1977, appended by correspondences from Barth and others interested in the debate. They address the issues raised by Dupree, especially that â€Å"there is a great distance between Barth’s model and the Swati ethnography as he (Ahmed) saw it in 1974† (Pettigrew J., correspondence in Dupree 1977). Pettigrew goes on to make an engaging point, to counter this, that â€Å"the issue is instead whether the models we use yield adequate information about societal processes† (ibid.). Somewhat later, in a review of Barth’s Selected Essays (1981), Ian Prattis is keen to point out Barth’s inability adequately to account for social change, and is of the belief that Barth is â€Å"opposed to grand conceptual schemes in general and to the direction taken by 1950s social anthropology in particular† (Prattis 1983: 103). Barthing Up the Wrong Tree shows that â€Å"Barth missed out crucial variables (power, intrinsic value) and claimed too much for the power of transactions to integrate social systems† (ibid. : 108). However, Prattis was concerned with the author’s output of two decades, while I am interested more specifically with his initial formulation of transactionalism, especially as exemplified in Political Leadership among Swat Pathans of 1959.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Essay

Frederick Douglass was born as Frederick Augustus Bailey, a slave in Tuckahoe, near Hillsborough, Maryland. His mother Harriet Bailey was a slave and Frederick also became a slave since law required children to follow status of their mothers. He was separated from his mother at an early age and was raised with a group of slave children. Driven by thirst for knowledge and learning, he bought his first book, â€Å"The Columbian Orator† at the age of thirteen. The book made him understand the miseries of enslaved people and to realize the necessity of universal freedom. This knowledge sowed a seed of revolt in Douglass that ultimately made him escape the slave camp in 1938. After his arrival in New York he changed his name to Frederick Douglass and started working for abolitionist movement. After joining American Anti-Slavery Society, he came to be known as a famous orator, journalist, and slave leader of the 19th century. His autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass was published in 1845, followed by My Bondage and My Freedom in 1855 and Life and Times of Frederick Douglass in 1881 respectively. In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, he has provided a deep insight into a slave’s life working on the Southern plantations. At the age of eight, he was sent to the custody of Hugh and Sophia Auld at their farm house. The slaves were by law prohibited to get education and knowledge and those guilty of violation were subject to heavy fines, whipping or imprisonment. Blacks and slave did not have access to purchase books or even Bible. The plantation owners considered educated slaves as a threat to their authority and thus barred them of the privilege. Douglass faced same resistance from his master at his early age when his master’s wife tried to teach him Bible and was stopped by her husband. Literacy therefore, became of primary importance for Douglass since he thought it to be the only means to freedom and emancipation. In the narrative he states, â€Å"I have found that, to make a contented slave, it is necessary to make a thoughtless one. It is necessary to darken his moral and mental vision, and, as far as possible, to annihilate the power of reason. †¦ he must be made to feel that slavery is right; and he can be brought to that only when he ceases to be a man† (99). Douglass was highly critical of the slaveholders religion as that added even more to their cruelty towards the colored labor on their plantations. He describes the conversion of his master, Captain Auld, in August, 1832 of which he thought to bring a positive change in his behavior towards slaves. Against his hopes, â€Å"It neither made him to be humane to his slaves, nor to emancipate them. . . . it made him more cruel and hateful . . . a much worse man after his conversion . . . he found religious sanction and support for his slaveholding cruelty† (57). Regarding cruelty of religious Southerners, Douglass opines, â€Å"For of all slaveholders with whom I have ever met, religious slaveholders are the worst† (80). At the Southern plantation, the conduct of masters towards slaves was bad beyond imagination. They were deprived of basic and fundamental rights such as education and denied freedom on least degree. The slave-owners presumed that if slaves get education they would be of no use for their masters. The slaves were supposed to be yes-men to their masters and they did not require those who argued or questioned their authority. Any effort or attempt for freedom was crushed with an iron hand. Physical and intellectual oppression became interconnected during that period. Those who tried to seek mental freedom by acquiring knowledge were more exposed to physical penalties than others. The penalties were horrible including cutting of fingers and sometimes of hands, whipping and finally killing them. In such circumstances, Douglass developed a strong urge for emancipation supplemented further by the fair treatment he received from William Freeland as he craved to be his own master. Douglass witnessed a wide difference in slave’s living conditions after he arrived in Baltimore. Life for slaves, he observed, in the northern cities was far easier than those at Southern plantations. He writes, â€Å"A city slave is almost a freeman, compared with a slave on the plantation. He is much better fed and clothed, and enjoys privileges altogether unknown to the slave on the plantation (38). Like many other revolutionary slaves, Douglass planned to escape his master’s brutalities and seek freedom body and mind. He was dissatisfied with almost everything in his slave life. Above all, he was discontented with the way slaves were robbed of their monetary gains. He started planning to flee in 1835 but stayed back due to a number of reservations. Primarily he was concerned with his fellow slaves and wanted them to accompany him in the attempt for independence. He convinced each of them personally and took days to chalk out a feasible escape plan. The multiple fears of being caught and return to slavery were horrifying and difficulties numerous. Finally, a group of six bound for the Chesapeake Bay was constituted to flee on Saturday night. Douglass even managed to prepare fake undertakings on behalf of their masters for all six. As the last moment, however, the mission failed and all of them were held due to the betrayal of one of the fellow slave. Finally when Douglass succeeded to escape towards North in 1838, he found the region totally different from what he presumed. While living in abysmal depths of slavery at the Southern plantation, he thought of the Northern slaveholders having just a few comforts of life or rather they didn’t own any slaves. In his simplicity, he thought the slaves a source of wealth and extravagant life that was supposedly inexistent in the North. He writes, â€Å". . . upon coming to the north, I expected to meet with a rough, hard-handed, and uncultivated population, living in the most Spartan-like simplicity, knowing nothing of the ease, luxury, pomp, and grandeur of southern slaveholders† (111). In contrast, he found himself â€Å"surrounded with the strongest proofs of wealth† (111). The blooming northern industry engaged numerous workers living in far better conditions (both physically and economically) than the pathetic southern slaves. In short, he found a new world, a world of hope where future lies. Works Cited Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library. Accessed August 20, 2008 http://etext. virginia. edu/toc/modeng/public/DouNarr. html

Information Essay Middle School Websites

The Canon McMillan School District Middle School has a very informative website for parents and students. The News & Information section contains topics such as: McTeacher Night, School-Home Communication, Smoking Prevention, On Demand Homework Help, and Library/Media Center Website. Contact information for the administration and teachers can be found with pictures of key staff. There are links to the student handbook, cafe, principal corner and calendar. The Teachers Webpages will connect you to your student’s academic team.The News & Information section is cumulative; you can find current activities as well as information that were posted in the fall. Each topic provides a brief description with some having a link to more information. The link to the Library/Media Center has book reviews, book club updates, and special reports on library activities. Those that do not have a link provide bullet points or a brief factoid. The links on the left side of the website cover topics from the student handbook to the music department.The calendar has dates underscored that have specific school activities associated with them. The student resource section includes opportunities for students to get more involved in extra activities. The link for staff will provide you with contact information and the subject they teach. The Teachers Webpages sections will take you to your student’s assigned academic team. There are pictures of the facility so you can put a face to the name. When you click on the picture you are taken to information specific to that team.On the right side of the page are links to the textbooks used in each subject. The Canon McMillan Middle School website offers parents and students the opportunity to stay connected with the academic process. In addition to the Middle School specific information there are links to district information such as the school board and employment. The Parents Links connects you to PowerSchool, My Lunch Money and ot her tools for parents to access financial resources. With the school district going green the website provides the information for a well-rounded middle school experience.

A Common Theme Of Shakespeare s Hamlet - 1573 Words

A common theme of Shakespearean plays is the balance between thoughts and actions. Many of the characters are able to shift the plot and affect the story according to their actions, while other characters are able to have thoughts and speeches that provide lore to the story and provoke the audience to theorize the reasoning behind theses speeches. It could be argued that Shakespeare holds one theme over the other and that his emphasis on which theme varies from play to play. In Hamlet specifically, Shakespeare establishes a much larger emphasis on thoughts rather than actions. Shakespeare places a great amount of thought into the protagonist, Hamlet. Throughout this tragedy, the reader sees Hamlet as a more†¦show more content†¦And so he goes to heaven; and so I am revenged. That would be scanned†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (3,3 79 - 80) and chooses to wait for a better time and send Claudius to Purgatory, effectively drawing out the story and the murderer’s life. These thoughts su pport that Shakespeare prefers thoughts to actions as he has Hamlet stop and think about where Claudius would go then refusing, effectively drawing out the story rather than ending the conflict right there. Hamlet often reveals his thoughts in the form of soliloquies, often about death, his uncle, or both, sometimes having more than one soliloquy per act. During these soliloquies Hamlet discusses his current surroundings and situation, often thinking about what action he should take next or how he’s feeling. A number of his soliloquies revolve around death and his most famous soliloquy stems from this topic, such as in his 4th soliloquy Hamlet ponders â€Å"...Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (3.1. 64 - 65) or if it’s better to â€Å"take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (3.1. 66 - 67). Hamlet’s asking whether it’s better to take suffering as it comes in this worthless life or the try to end these many problems. This relates back to Shakespeare preferring thoughts rather than actions because he has his main character think about whether he should stop his problems, delaying them further rather than just having him get on with his revenge. It is not until Hamlet sShow MoreRelatedHamlet Is A Theater Performance Of The Shakespeare Play1715 Words   |  7 PagesEssay 2 The play Hamlet is written by William Shakespeare whereby he uses a combination of poetry and prose. The film, Hamlet is a theater performance of the Shakespeare play. The play is written in blank verse offering an insight into the state of mind of the character as well as a reaction to the ongoing actions in the stage. The style is reserved for the nobles and informal situations like courts. 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