Perspective on social sciences Essay Example for Free

Perspective on social sciences Essay Social science and social theory were to liberate the thoughts and thus aid social groups in deposing domination and repression. This formation of critical social science and social theory stands stridently at odds with the moderate positivist professionalism of mainstream sociology in the sense that it envisions human liberation as the highest rationale of intellectual commotion. Habermas has taken pains to argue that this decisive outset of social science and social theory is not opposed to what he calls the project of modernity, which commenced with the Enlightenment. Certainly, he contends that critical social theory, conceived as communication theory and ethics, accomplishes the project of modernity by further rationalizing social life in ways estimated but not completed by Weber. Though Habermas needlessly divides instrumental and communicative rationalities, much as Kant did, thus limiting the field of human liberation to communicative projects but leaving technology and its dominion of nature untouched, he masterfully reconceptualizes Marxism in ways that provide it empirical and political purchase in the present. Far from deserting modernism and modernity, Habermas argues that Marx was a modernist and that the project of modernity can simply be fulfilled in a Marxist way, although in terms that deviate drastically from the Marxist and Marxist-Leninist frameworks of the early twentieth century. Habermas supports the Enlightenments program of common liberation and rationality through (a reconceptualized) Marx. This assurance to the Enlightenment and modernity must absolve critical social theorists such as Habermas of the inductions that they are Luddites, antimodernists, anarchists. Far from inadequate academic life, including social science and social theory, to be abridged to didactic political education, Habermas wants to open academic life to genuine debate and diversity, which he theorizes in terms of his communicative ethics. though the characterization of left academics as bigoted supporters of political correctness is largely hype promulgated by eighties neoconservatives, many critical social theorists are especially hard on purveyors of multicultural identity politics, particularly those who derive from postmodernism. Professionalized liberal positivists, including numerous U. S. sociologists, conflate all theoretical heterodoxies, particularly where they argue that one should defend the disciplinary project of sociology against the wild men and women who would politicize sociology and social science at a time when reputable sociologists are fighting a rearguard action against budget slashing university administrators. These professional positivists marginalize all thought and research that do not kowtow to the strictures of supposedly value-free quantitative empiricism. This obliterates nuances: Habermas (1987a) takes postmodernism to task; Fraser (1989) urges Habermas and Foucault to be more overtly feminist. It also fails to distinguish that critical social theories hold rigorous analysis, objectivity, professionalism, even disciplinarily. Critical social theorists vary from professionalized positivist sociologists most sharply in arguing that the aim of knowledge is illumination and hence liberation, not the development of personal professional credentials or the progression of ones discipline. Critical social theorists snub Comtes model of the hard sciences as a symbol for their own work as they believe that positivism eradicated historicity and hence the possibility of large-scale structural change. Critical social theorists are unashamed to be seen as political, particularly when they agree with Horkheimer and Adorno in Dialectic of Enlightenment that the charade of freedom from values is the most invincible value position of all, taking up the present as a plenitude of social being and contradicting utopia. It is sarcastic that positivist sociologists in the United States who attempt to establish their discipline in the university by stressing its resemblance to the hard sciences, including both positivist quantitative process and grant-worthiness, also argue that sociology should eloquent what are called policy implications, particularly now that a Democrat is president. Applied sociology proposes state policies in realms such as health care, aging, social welfare, work and family, and crime. Positivist sociologists assert that sociology pays its own way by underlining its real-world applications suggested in the narrow technical analyses propagating in the journals. numerous positivist journal articles formulaically conclude with short excursuses on policy in this sense. This segue into policy investigation both legitimizes sociology in the state apparatus (e. g. , public research universities) and helps sociology evade a more fundamental politics the notion of policy implying moderate amelioration of social problems and not methodical change. As well, the discussion of policy enhances the grant-worthiness of sociological research, which has turn into a trademark of academic professional legitimacy. Thus, the shift from the sociological to the social on the part of significant social theorists who support interdisciplinary is intimidating to disciplinary positivists because it augurs the politicization of social theory and social science at a time while some believe sociology should put definitive distance between itself and its sixties engagements. The tired stand-up line of sociologys critics that sociology alliterates with socialism, social work, and the sixties symbolizes this preoccupation with the legitimating of sociological disciplinarity and explains why interdisciplinary approaches to the social are so threatening. The interpretive disciplines and sociology are moving in contradictory directions: Interpretive scholars and cultural critics acclaim the politicization of the canon, whereas positivist sociologists want to subjugate politics. Leading U. S. literary programs such as Dukes are awash in these new theoretical movements that hassle the obsolescence of canonical approaches to the study of literature and culture. In these venues, politics is not a afflict to be eliminated but an opening to new ways of seeing, writing, and teaching. Suddenly, with the invasion of these new European and feminist influences, traditional approaches to representation (depicting the world) in both art and criticism could no longer be trusted. Postmodern fictional and cultural theory blossomed in a post representational era, specifically the opposite of what was happening in positivist sociology, which clings more obstinately than ever to representation -achieved through quantitative method as the supposed deliverance of an embattled discipline. Not all versions of postmodernism are eligible as either social or critical theory. However, as Fredric Jameson (1991) has argued in Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism, postmodern theory has the potential for new forms of neo-Marxist social and cultural investigation pertinent to late capitalism. Foucault, Jean Baudrillard, and Derrida make means for critical theories of the social, especially where they make possible the critical analysis of cultural discourses and practices that intimately resemble and deepen the Frankfurt Schools analysis of the culture industry. And postmodern theory has made it nearly unattainable for people in interpretive and cultural disciplines to approach texts as if the meanings of those texts could be revealed to presuppositionless, really positivist readings. Postmodernists drive home the point that reading is itself a form of writing, of argument, in the sense that it fills in gaps and contradictions in texts through strong literary practices of imagination and interrogation. Few today can approach the act of reading or writing concerning reading in the same secure way that they could read texts before postmodernism, before representation was quizzed as a severely theoretical and political project in its own right. A momentous number of sociologists and anthropologists (Richardson [1988, 1990a, 1990b, 1991a, 1991b], Denzin [1986, 1989, 1990, 1991c], Aronowitz [1990], Behar and Gordon [1995]) draw from postmodernism in reformulating both social science research and theory in light of postmodernisms influential challenge to positivist theories of representation, writing, and reading. However, it is clear that most American sociologists and others in neighboring social science disciplines not only distrust but deplore the postmodern turn for its alleged antagonism to science and hence objectivity, rigor, disciplinary legitimacy, quantitative method, and grant-worthiness. The new scholarship in humanities departments enlightens critical social science in that it reads cultural discourses and practices as ideological and commoditized and helps formulate more general hypothetical understandings of society. For example, the work of Jameson, the author of numerous vital books on cultural and social theory from Marxism and Form (1971) to Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism (1991), clearly puts in to the project of critical social theory. Jameson is in dialogue with critical theorists and postmodern theorists. He develops a postmodern Marxism that learns from but does not give in to the detotalizing implications of postmodern theory. Although many of Jamesons references are from culture and literature whereas Habermass, for example, are from social theory and communication theory Jameson in effect does postmodern critical theory in his readings of works of literature, architecture, music, painting, and philosophy, presenting not simply close textual analysis but expanding his readings into oversimplifications quite similar to those of postmodern social theorists (e. . , Aronowitz, Luke) in social science disciplines. Cultural studies is intrinsically a pandisciplinary project in the sense that culture, as the Birmingham theorists conceptualized it, is not simply found in everyday life as well as in museums and concert halls but also disquiets a wide range of disciplines in the human sciences or human studies, broadly conceived. Almost no social science or humanities discipline falls outside of the potential purview of cultural studies, which could be seen as a theoretical perspective, a discipline, a corpus of writing, and even an investigative methodology. Like the Unit for Criticism at the University of Illinois, in which Cary Nelson, Lawrence Grossberg, and Norman Denzin had part-time faculty appointments, the CCCS at the University of Birmingham has brought together scholars from a variety of disciplines. Like interdisciplinary projects such as cognitive science, cultural studies is a perceptible interdisciplinary project collecting scholars who believe they cannot practice their interests in cultural studies within their home disciplines or who want to claim an individuality somewhat diverse from their disciplinary identities. By and large, scholars in humanities departments have been better able to do and teach cultural studies within their home disciplines, particularly where their home disciplines have embraced the new postcanonical, postcolonial, feminist scholarship. Social scientists have had a greater tendency to identify their interest in cultural studies outside of their disciplines proper, many of which have been indisposed to abandon their relatively narrow concepts of culture in favor of a more inclusive one or do not acknowledge the need to practice the study of culture outside of a discipline for which the study of culture has always been central, such as sociology and anthropology. This distinction between the ways that humanists and social scientists build up their identities, affiliations, and academic practices as cultural studies scholars is also replicated in their respective attitudes toward the matter of politicization. Although most scholars around the campus who do cultural studies are leftist and feminist, social scientists lean to position cultural studies as an empirical and theoretical contribution without close ties to politics, therefore legitimizing their work within fundamentally empiricist and objectivist disciplines. Humanists lean to embrace their close ties to politics, as the Birmingham scholars did, even arguing that curricular politics, including the politics of the norm and the resist to define and implement multiculturalism, is an important place for social change today. Cultural studies increasingly splits into politicized and apolitical camps, through the former group deriving from Marxist cultural theory and joining the influences of the Birmingham School, feminism, and Baudrillard. The latter group includes scholars who do not view cultural studies as a political project but somewhat as an occasion for deepening their own disciplines or working across disciplines. Much work on popular culture, such as that of the Bowling Green group mentioned, comes from this second group. Humanists are more probable than social scientists to belong to the first group. This is satirical in that left-wing and feminist cultural studies grew out of Marxist social and cultural theory and only later were modified by humanists such as Jameson to their own projects. In this sense, critical social theorists involved in culture tend to cluster in humanities programs, or if they work in social science departments, they are typically isolated among their colleagues. It is much more common to find gathers of culturally oriented critical social theorists outside the social sciences, for instance, in English and comparative literature departments and programs. Though these comparative literature students and faculty are more obviously and blatantly politicized than most of my erstwhile colleagues and students, they approach society through the text. This peculiarity is far from absolute. Nevertheless, much of the best critical social science and social theory is being done in humanities disciplines. Sociology, for instance, sought greater institutional authenticity by attempting to imitate and integrate the methods of the natural sciences. Disciplines such as English, comparative literature, womens studies, and media studies were concerned with culture as well as politics and thus were usual gathering points for faculty and students interested in the politics of culture. PART 2 Modern-day slavery breaches the basic right of all persons to life, freedom and the security of the person, and to be liberated from slavery in all its types. It weakens the rights of a child to grow in the protecting environment of a family and to be liberated from sexual maltreatment and abuse. Migration is some what Modern-day slavery that has become a main concern of government officials, political leaders, policymakers, and scholars, and many books and journal articles have been published on a diversity of topics related to migration comprising cultural change (Sowell, 1996), health (Loue, 1998), law (Weiner, 1995), mental health (Marsella, Bornemann, Ekblad, Orley, 1994), population movements and demographics, politics, urbanization, and the survival of human society. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is conceivably the most noticeable international organization concerned with migration. However, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), and the World Council of Churches, Refugees and Migration Services also have high visibility as policy, service, and research agencies. Other private agencies that have high visibility include Amnesty International, International Rescue Committee, Doctors Without Borders, Human Rights Watch, and the U. S. Committee on Refugees.

Modern Aboriginal Issues Essay -- Aboriginals Australia History Essays

Modern Aboriginal Issues The first Europeans to settle Australia treated the Aboriginals in a brutal, unfair manor. They downgraded Aboriginals to a lower status as human beings. They tried to force the Aboriginals to conform to the western way of life for more than 200 years. It is only fairly recently that the Aboriginals have finally been able to gain back some of their indigenous rights and traditions. Yet they are still deficient in many areas. The land that their ancestors held has not all been returned to them, they struggle to meet the requirements of western education systems, and they have a very limited access to health care. In spite of these problems, many aboriginals are working to better themselves and their community. It will just take time for the western and Aboriginal cultures to merge into the one final Australian society Introduction The Aboriginal people have undergone much change and turmoil in the 220 years since the British first started a colony. They have seen their land and their freedom stripped away. The Aboriginal people are slowly regaining ground after two centuries of unfair political and social treatment. How far have Aboriginal people come, and how far do they have to go, before they will truly be equal citizens? To answer this question, one must first look at how they were forced to the bottom of the ladder. Next, some of the recent changes that have occurred in government policy and social acceptance will be looked at. Finally, education and health care as faced by the Aboriginals in their lives daily will be discussed. History The problems facing Aboriginals today are many an... ...lian Nursing Journal. 11(9):37. Fasoli, Lyn, Margot Ford. 2001. "Indigenous early childhood educators' narratives: Relationships, not activities." Australian Journal of Early Childhood. 26(3):18-22. Griffiths, Max. 1995. Aboriginal Affairs, A Short History. Kangaroo Press Pty Ltd, Kenthurst NSW. Howitt, Richard. 1998. â€Å"Recognition, respect and reconciliation: steps towards decolonization?† Australian Aboriginal Studies. 1998(1):28-34. Mail, Koori. 2001. "Course provides local EN opportunities". Australian Nursing Journal 9(5):33. Mary Greely Medical Center. Website. www.mgmc.org/about/stats.htm. Accessed April 20, 2005. Windisch, Lydia E., Vickii B. Jenvey; Marlene Drysdale. 2003. "Indigenous parents' ratings of the importance of play, indigenous games and language, and early childhood education." Australian Journal of Early Childhood. 28(3):50-56. Modern Aboriginal Issues Essay -- Aboriginals Australia History Essays Modern Aboriginal Issues The first Europeans to settle Australia treated the Aboriginals in a brutal, unfair manor. They downgraded Aboriginals to a lower status as human beings. They tried to force the Aboriginals to conform to the western way of life for more than 200 years. It is only fairly recently that the Aboriginals have finally been able to gain back some of their indigenous rights and traditions. Yet they are still deficient in many areas. The land that their ancestors held has not all been returned to them, they struggle to meet the requirements of western education systems, and they have a very limited access to health care. In spite of these problems, many aboriginals are working to better themselves and their community. It will just take time for the western and Aboriginal cultures to merge into the one final Australian society Introduction The Aboriginal people have undergone much change and turmoil in the 220 years since the British first started a colony. They have seen their land and their freedom stripped away. The Aboriginal people are slowly regaining ground after two centuries of unfair political and social treatment. How far have Aboriginal people come, and how far do they have to go, before they will truly be equal citizens? To answer this question, one must first look at how they were forced to the bottom of the ladder. Next, some of the recent changes that have occurred in government policy and social acceptance will be looked at. Finally, education and health care as faced by the Aboriginals in their lives daily will be discussed. History The problems facing Aboriginals today are many an... ...lian Nursing Journal. 11(9):37. Fasoli, Lyn, Margot Ford. 2001. "Indigenous early childhood educators' narratives: Relationships, not activities." Australian Journal of Early Childhood. 26(3):18-22. Griffiths, Max. 1995. Aboriginal Affairs, A Short History. Kangaroo Press Pty Ltd, Kenthurst NSW. Howitt, Richard. 1998. â€Å"Recognition, respect and reconciliation: steps towards decolonization?† Australian Aboriginal Studies. 1998(1):28-34. Mail, Koori. 2001. "Course provides local EN opportunities". Australian Nursing Journal 9(5):33. Mary Greely Medical Center. Website. www.mgmc.org/about/stats.htm. Accessed April 20, 2005. Windisch, Lydia E., Vickii B. Jenvey; Marlene Drysdale. 2003. "Indigenous parents' ratings of the importance of play, indigenous games and language, and early childhood education." Australian Journal of Early Childhood. 28(3):50-56.

Plastics-Advantages and Disadvantages

An average time for a plastic bottle to biodegrade fully is approximately 450-1000 years. However, there are many different kinds of plastic in the world, most commonly the hard and reusable ones, which take a longer time, and the soft and non-reusable ones, which take a shorter time. Time also varies with the size of the bottle. The obvious disadvantage is the length of time it takes plastic to break down as well as the harmful chemicals that will be released. You may find that in garbages 90% or more will be of plastics only. so its main disadvantage is its non bio degradable nature.. nd by some means if tried to burn it then it will create much envi pollution!! Advantages The durability, strength, low cost, water and chemicals resistance, welding properties, lesser energy and heavy chemicals requirements in manufacture, fewer atmosphere emissions and light weight are advantages of plastic bags. Many studies comparing plastic versus paper for shopping bags show that plastic bags ha ve less net environmental effect than paper bags, requiring less energy to produce, transport and recycle; however these studies also note that recycling rates for plastic are significantly lower than for paper. 2]  Plastic bags  can be incinerated in appropriate facilities for waste-to-energy. Plastic bags are stable and benign in sanitary landfills. [3] Plastic carrier bags can be reused as trash bags or bin bags. Plastic bags are complimentary in many locations but are charged or â€Å"taxed† in others. Disadvantages The following disadvantages have also been identified: Plastic bags are made of petrochemicals, a nonrenewable resource. Plastic bags are flimsy and often do not stand up as well as paper or cloth. When disposed of improperly, they are unsightly and represent a hazard to wildlife. Conventional plastic bags are not readily biodegradable in a  sanitary landfill. Plastic bags can cause unsupervised infants to suffocate. [4]   They clog roadside drains, which could cause the flooding of the street at heavy rainfalls. Advantages: It's useful for carrying things, and can be reusable. Disadvantages: It takes 100 years to biodegrade, and if plastics are thrown and left anywhere it could get to animals and harm them The disadvantages of using plastic bags is that you cant recycle them and that's horrible for our planet , like what the world is saying to us, â€Å"help make me stay green† —— As a self declared environmentalist, I am at odds with using plastic bags versus using reusable cloth bags (also called reuse bags), because both types of bags have advantages and disadvantages. Here is why. First, plastic bags are cheap, so they can be given away free without thought. Cloth bags are much more individually expensive, and only become cost effective in the very long term assuming they last a long enough time. Second, plastic bags can be found everywhere. Only large chain stores carry reusable bags and for a cost. So you need to remember to bring enough cloth bags each time you go to the store. Third, I reuse plastic bags at home as trash bags instead of buying trash bags. Why pay for trash bags when plastic bags are free? And trash bags are only used once, unlike plastic bags that can be used at least twice. Also, plastic bags are great for wet and messy waste that you wouldn’t want to dirty a cloth bag with. For example, plastic bags are perfect for dirty diapers or gooey kitchen waste. Fourth, after I’ve collected a large number of plastic bags, they are easy to recycle. Are reuse cloth bags recyclable? Will they degrade over time buried in a landfill? I don’t know which type of bag is more environmentally friendly. Finally, cloth bags are much sturdier than plastic bags, so you can put more in cloth bags thus carry more per bag and they last a lot longer if you are careful with them. As a result, I find that I use both reuse cloth bags and plastic bags, since I have a reasonable need for both types of bags.

Transition From Empire to Modern State System in the...

Introduction: Middle East considers one of the most studied areas in the world due to its rich history of politics, social, economic, and its culture and civilization. Its borders are still arguable geographically, generally in the west it starts from morocco until Iran in the east, however, many scholars don’t agree on including Turkey either as a Middle Eastern or as a European country (Milton-Edwards, 2006. P: 4). The origin of the name was invented by the colonies as a necessity to describe the place geographically, which was the era of bringing â€Å"Middle East† the language of academic writings and political scientists. Changes, innovations, and new ideologies create gaps between the transformations of any perspectives to a different†¦show more content†¦Ottoman Empire was an Islamic empire, which ruled Middle East and some other parts of the world for almost 400 years. On one hand Ottoman Empire became an ally with Germany in the First World War and on the other hand some of the Arab leaders held a revolt against the empire, which were the main reasons of its collapse. While Arab leaders were dreaming of an Arab unification, European powers were seeking their interest and try to secure the territories they took over in the war period. Versailles conference was held between Arab and the European leaders to define borders and create new states. Due to weakness of Arab leaders and their lack of experience most of the decisions were made in favor of the Europeans expectations of the state. And as a result Jordan, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon were emerged (Pappe, 2005) and (Fawcett, 2005). European Empires British and French were main actors in that period which came after the collapse of ottoman power and state formation. After the industrial revolution and Enlightment, there was a new need for raw materials that counts as the main reason of the European mandate over Middle East(Fawcett, 2005).At that period the states were existed, but not every element of a modern state, because they were under other powers and there were only conflicts, resistance of self-determination, andShow MoreRelatedPolitical Influence : Milton Friedman And The Chicago School Of Thought Essay1580 Words   |  7 Pagesintersecting of international global markets like the Middle East or Central America. Fighting political economies waiting for the perfect storm extreme measures such as Patriot Act and NAFTA shipping hundreds of American jobs to third world sweat shops. In the work of Hardt and Negri’s writing, Empire the notion of empire destruction can sometime means the replacement of a more extreme political climate after a political role has been removed from a country. 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