The statement that modernism is Americanismopened the lecture. It is commonly thought that Europe is th eold world.
1849 was a significant year in European historty, Karl Marx had thought this was when the proletiarian revolt would occur finally and the poorer would rise up against the borgouisese. Then in 1849 the Gold rush in California happened. There was amss immigration from Europe to the North Americas. people from Irland, Austria, Hungry and places which were not doing os well economically and suppressed fled in order to start a wealthier life. The Europeans were also activally encouraged ot go as there was a supposed shortage of white people.
New York become something of a mongral city. It was the centre where all the fleeing people headed to. it was considered a city of cosomopolitan and forwards thinking. Due to the sudden influx of forgign people the language become muddled. A New York dialect was created, it is often said that English is a very hard language to use. It is nonsensical and many different forms of grammer.
When William Randolf Hurst was in San Fransico in 1849 there were 150 different languages in use.
The newspapers would fill their pages with stories of how much gold had been found and how easy it was to get to. The first tabloid newspaper was the San Fransico Examiner owned by Hurst. The Examiner was the paper of the gold rush. Tabloids still have much of the same tatctics as before. Sensationalist stories and product placement still happen frequently.
The 1850's Americas was the settlement of the west. Hurst became wealthy by using product placements such as a story about the ease of diggin gup the gold next to an advert for shovels which he also would sell.
Newspapers were used to create the identity of a town. the local press enjoyed creating great hype about even small stories.
Another journalst around at the same time as Hurst was Pulitzer whos paper, when in competition with Hurst's now 2 papers created yellow journalism. Pulitzer was an investigative journalist who examined areas such as the oil industry, the rail network and farming. He advocated paper money and he was not a socialst as Marx was.
Hurst was involved in the so-called newspaper wars. When he moved to New York he entered a newspaper'war' with Pulitzer. Hurst made a copy of Pulitzer's paper and called it the New York Sun. He used simplified headlines, he told his journalists that if they were to make a story longer than 250 words they woul dbe sacked. The civil war that had broken out was the first major event to be photographed and this was when poster style front pages were starting to be used. Cartoons were also starting to become a part of the newspapers regularly. Pulitzer had the most popular cartoon strip but Hurts then brought 'Yellow kid' and over took again as having the most sucsessful paper.
Hurts was an expert on distribution which also helped his circulation numbers greatly. It was not always a ethical way in which he sold papers though. There were rumours of him having thugs to beat up people who did not buy his paper. He was an imperilist, he belived that America should have lots of power. He thought that Cuba, Costa Rico etc. should all become part of the usa.
He drivied the a practical way of approaching tabloid jounalism and reporting: 1- think of a story, 2- stand it up (gain evidence).
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
The Communist Manifesto
Communism has been given the definition of classless political system the political theory or system in which all property and wealth is owned in a classless society by all its members.
the text opens with the statement that the spectre of communism is haunting all of Europe.it says how communism is already recognised by all European powers to be a power in itself.
The first paragraph exemplifies many historical power struggles. examples of freeman and slave, lord and surf and oppresser and oppressed are given. the thought that the modern bourgeois society has sprouted from the ruins of feudal society has not done away with the class system. this was true in 1848; i believe that still we have many unfair class systems and stereotypes which shape our society into the divisions it is at the moment.
By bourgeoisie it is meant the class of modern capitalists, owners of the means of social production and employers of wage labour. Proletariat is the class of modern wage labourers, who having no means of production of their own, are forced to sell their labour in order to live.
it is said in the text that the modern bourgeoisie is itself a product of a long course of development, a series of revolutions in the modes of production and of exchange. the more efficient the modes of production become the greater amount of product is available to be sold to increase their capital. there is a constant reliance on revolution of products and industry. it is submitted that there is need for international links and connections everywhere for a successful business. i believe this still to be true. the most prolific city people and companies are internationally recognised for their constant push forwards in development.
Marx believed that eventually the lower classes will gain enough power to override the higher and seemingly more powerful. he explains that because the rich constantly exploit the poor they will eventually revolt with riots and unions with great strength.
The main points of the communist form are outlined. it specifies that they have no interests separate and apart from those of the proletariat as a whole. The communists are distingusihed from the other working class parties by this only: 1, in the national struggles of the proletarians of the different countries, they point out and bring to the front the common interests of the entire proletariat, independently of nationality. 2, in the various stages of development which the struggle of the working class against the bourgeoisie had to pass through, they always and everywhere represent the interests of the movement as a whole.
they consider relationships and compare the social reasoning of of home schooling to social schooling, the relationship between husband and wife is looked at in a negative manner. it is said that men of the bourgeoisie see their wives as mealy an instrument of production. this is a cold view which i do sometimes think may be the case with today's business men. they must be cold hearted in order to carry out a successful deal sometimes yet they will generally do it for the good interest if his family.
i think the 10 point program of Communism proposed in the text shows a decent way of looking at the world but i do not think that a truly communist way of ruling a society will be for the best. if all wealth is shared and no one person can become better than the rest then the hunger to do better and better yourself will deteriorate vastly. In addition if there was no one person with a greater power then it may be thought that all would live in peace but if one was to murder for example it would be easy for another to then murder as they see it as they have the same power to do the same action.
therefore i believe that the current system of power and wealth being your own is the best way to run an ever growing and increasing population.
the text opens with the statement that the spectre of communism is haunting all of Europe.it says how communism is already recognised by all European powers to be a power in itself.
The first paragraph exemplifies many historical power struggles. examples of freeman and slave, lord and surf and oppresser and oppressed are given. the thought that the modern bourgeois society has sprouted from the ruins of feudal society has not done away with the class system. this was true in 1848; i believe that still we have many unfair class systems and stereotypes which shape our society into the divisions it is at the moment.
By bourgeoisie it is meant the class of modern capitalists, owners of the means of social production and employers of wage labour. Proletariat is the class of modern wage labourers, who having no means of production of their own, are forced to sell their labour in order to live.
it is said in the text that the modern bourgeoisie is itself a product of a long course of development, a series of revolutions in the modes of production and of exchange. the more efficient the modes of production become the greater amount of product is available to be sold to increase their capital. there is a constant reliance on revolution of products and industry. it is submitted that there is need for international links and connections everywhere for a successful business. i believe this still to be true. the most prolific city people and companies are internationally recognised for their constant push forwards in development.
Marx believed that eventually the lower classes will gain enough power to override the higher and seemingly more powerful. he explains that because the rich constantly exploit the poor they will eventually revolt with riots and unions with great strength.
The main points of the communist form are outlined. it specifies that they have no interests separate and apart from those of the proletariat as a whole. The communists are distingusihed from the other working class parties by this only: 1, in the national struggles of the proletarians of the different countries, they point out and bring to the front the common interests of the entire proletariat, independently of nationality. 2, in the various stages of development which the struggle of the working class against the bourgeoisie had to pass through, they always and everywhere represent the interests of the movement as a whole.
they consider relationships and compare the social reasoning of of home schooling to social schooling, the relationship between husband and wife is looked at in a negative manner. it is said that men of the bourgeoisie see their wives as mealy an instrument of production. this is a cold view which i do sometimes think may be the case with today's business men. they must be cold hearted in order to carry out a successful deal sometimes yet they will generally do it for the good interest if his family.
i think the 10 point program of Communism proposed in the text shows a decent way of looking at the world but i do not think that a truly communist way of ruling a society will be for the best. if all wealth is shared and no one person can become better than the rest then the hunger to do better and better yourself will deteriorate vastly. In addition if there was no one person with a greater power then it may be thought that all would live in peace but if one was to murder for example it would be easy for another to then murder as they see it as they have the same power to do the same action.
therefore i believe that the current system of power and wealth being your own is the best way to run an ever growing and increasing population.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Cobbett- Ruaral rides
The seminar on Cobbett was one of the more simple topics i felt! Cobbett was a pamphleteer, farmer and journalist. His series, Rural Rides, was a publication of his writing about his travels around the countryside. He would write about his experiences of the country and what he found. I did feel however that these could be biased views and he may not see the real issue.
the issues i feels he may have been neglecting slightly are those of the Corn tax effecting the rural population and the Poor law which was working during the time he was writing. The corn law was a way that the government were trying to impose a higher tax on importation of food into Britain. It forced more production of crop in England which was in turn making the food more expensive. this was forcing more into poverty.
The farmers were at this time also being forced more into the cities and out of the countryside. This was due to the private land owners buying up the land that had previously been common land. it was known as enclosure rights, taking away the rights of the common land. The following trouble was then that of the farmers needing somewhere to work. the only place in the city to work was the factories. the conditions in the inner city factories were dismal. Yet it was preferable to the work houses created to house the poor who were not working. Utilitarianism was believed in greatly around this time. Therefore the work houses were made so terribly dire that the workers would rather go to work in the factories than stay in these work houses. this is a utilitarian idea as it was making the people seek pleasure away from the dreadful pain of workhouses.
Another measure created to deal with the increasing poor population was the Poor law. this was a measure where the criminals who the government did not want to have to pay to keep imprisoned, were sent to Australasia. It was seen as ultimately beneficial to the entire nation; it got rid of expensive convicts and created a population of areas of land that were not desirable to the more wealthy communities.
We also discussed how the average graduate would end up in their first year after graduation would have about £50 spare cash to live. We were considering why people then carry on attending university, why people don't revolt against the many deductions that are made from them and accept that is what is their situation. There were many reasons that we each discovered were slightly different. I believe it is the promise of better things which encourage people still to attend university. A good point which was brought up is that of the stigma attached to the people who claim benefits. People would rather have a job of any sort than have the attached judgment of lazy. This is still similar to the idea of the work houses, the utilitarian idea of seeking pleasure and moving away from pain. The pleasure will be getting the job and earning, the pain would be having to deal with humiliation of claiming the benefits.
I am not sure if i would call Cobbett a serious journalist. I feel his writing was more descriptive and full of bias and unfounded views rather than serious journalistic opinions.
the issues i feels he may have been neglecting slightly are those of the Corn tax effecting the rural population and the Poor law which was working during the time he was writing. The corn law was a way that the government were trying to impose a higher tax on importation of food into Britain. It forced more production of crop in England which was in turn making the food more expensive. this was forcing more into poverty.
The farmers were at this time also being forced more into the cities and out of the countryside. This was due to the private land owners buying up the land that had previously been common land. it was known as enclosure rights, taking away the rights of the common land. The following trouble was then that of the farmers needing somewhere to work. the only place in the city to work was the factories. the conditions in the inner city factories were dismal. Yet it was preferable to the work houses created to house the poor who were not working. Utilitarianism was believed in greatly around this time. Therefore the work houses were made so terribly dire that the workers would rather go to work in the factories than stay in these work houses. this is a utilitarian idea as it was making the people seek pleasure away from the dreadful pain of workhouses.
Another measure created to deal with the increasing poor population was the Poor law. this was a measure where the criminals who the government did not want to have to pay to keep imprisoned, were sent to Australasia. It was seen as ultimately beneficial to the entire nation; it got rid of expensive convicts and created a population of areas of land that were not desirable to the more wealthy communities.
We also discussed how the average graduate would end up in their first year after graduation would have about £50 spare cash to live. We were considering why people then carry on attending university, why people don't revolt against the many deductions that are made from them and accept that is what is their situation. There were many reasons that we each discovered were slightly different. I believe it is the promise of better things which encourage people still to attend university. A good point which was brought up is that of the stigma attached to the people who claim benefits. People would rather have a job of any sort than have the attached judgment of lazy. This is still similar to the idea of the work houses, the utilitarian idea of seeking pleasure and moving away from pain. The pleasure will be getting the job and earning, the pain would be having to deal with humiliation of claiming the benefits.
I am not sure if i would call Cobbett a serious journalist. I feel his writing was more descriptive and full of bias and unfounded views rather than serious journalistic opinions.
Friday, February 12, 2010
First lecture after looong holiday...not half bad!
Our first HCJ lecture back from the holiday period begins with liberty and the focus on John Wilkes, Mary Wollstonecraft and John Stewart Mills.
We began with John Wilkes, a man who is famed for his unattractive looks, his lisp and his poem 'Essay on Woman' which has been described as the dirtiest poem in the English language. A quotation from him I find quite stimulating to think about is "it only takes 20 mins. to talk away the ugliness". I believe this is a true statement and that more people should try to embrace the idea that we should try to look past the way somebody will look or act and listen to their views irrespective of how they look.
Wilkes had a colourful life filled with drugs, drink and sexual scandals. He was a member of the Hellfire club who were prominent 'bad' figures during his time. He managed to bribe his way into Parliament, which gave him the experiences he later went on to write about in a derogatory way in his paper The North Briton. It was a paper attacking the official paper, The Briton which was published by the Government. His satirical paper was filled with rumour and insults which attacked the Government. Although, nobody knew who was writing the texts so they were powerless to do anything to stop him. But, this did result in many people being arrested all for the same crime.
Wilkes was also responsible for creating some of the laws put in place which journalist benefit from. He was always a critic of the power which gets attached to the richer people of society. This made him very popular with the poorer as he fought for the down-trodden. The USA also liked the way that he showed them how to agitate the system.
After he was arrested Wilkes tried suing the Government, establishing the right of privacy. Wilkes was then expelled from the House of Commons as it was found he could not be tried whilst still a member of Parliament. During the time of his expulsion his poem Essay on Woman was read aloud in the House of Commons by the Earl of Sandwich. It caused great troubles in due to its content.
Wilkes re won his seat whilst he was still in prison, yet once again he was not allowed to join: the house voted that he was unable to be elected because he was still imprisoned. He was eventually re-elected as a councilor of London then went on to become mayor. While in this role he was reporting on Parliament once more and was printed.
Next we looked at Mary Wollstonecraft. She also had a difficult early life, being forced to become a governess in Ireland. She became obsessed with education and leaning and her first book was entitled Thoughts on the education of Daughters. the focus of the book was her argument that girls should be educated in more areas than simply sewing. She enjoyed Locke's idea that the mind is shaped by education. That we are all born with a blank slate and we gain our ideas and morals through learning. She believed that if we are all educated properly then it will make for rational, responsible citizens.
When she returned from Ireland she set up a school in London. She was fascinated with Rousseau and played with ideas of anti-elitism (attack on modern manners.).
She wrote another book , Vindication of rights of men, which was a response to Edmund Burke. Hers was a publication with a main theme of a diagnosis of current state of female manners and trying to explain how a false sense of self has come around.
This book had a good response yet Mary was highly unpopular until he end of the 19Th century.
John Stewart Mill was an important political figure. He also had a troubled past with being jailed at 17, also being threatened with death for the prosecution of Eyre. At 16 he was considered the most educated person in Europe. Yet at 20 he then had a nervous breakdown. It is said that Wordsworth's poetry saved him from complete ruin.
He believed in freedom of speech and the fact that people should not be silenced. He dismissed social contract, yet he did admit that there are certain rules society should follow. These would be called self-regarding actions- don not harm people.
He believed in utilitarianism- maximising happiness, minimising pain. He thought all actions were about consequences. It avoids problems of dealing with religion or morals: ideas of right or wrong are not dealt with. Mills' Godfather had an interesting idea of dealing with ethics as science or maths; you can calculate what is right to do. It takes the view that everybody happiness matters, 'greatest good for the greatest number'.
3 ways of looking at consequences were felt: acts-evaluate right or wrong action by determining the consequences of the action. Moral rule, and Disposition-evaluate the actions in terms of traits they exemplify.
We began with John Wilkes, a man who is famed for his unattractive looks, his lisp and his poem 'Essay on Woman' which has been described as the dirtiest poem in the English language. A quotation from him I find quite stimulating to think about is "it only takes 20 mins. to talk away the ugliness". I believe this is a true statement and that more people should try to embrace the idea that we should try to look past the way somebody will look or act and listen to their views irrespective of how they look.
Wilkes had a colourful life filled with drugs, drink and sexual scandals. He was a member of the Hellfire club who were prominent 'bad' figures during his time. He managed to bribe his way into Parliament, which gave him the experiences he later went on to write about in a derogatory way in his paper The North Briton. It was a paper attacking the official paper, The Briton which was published by the Government. His satirical paper was filled with rumour and insults which attacked the Government. Although, nobody knew who was writing the texts so they were powerless to do anything to stop him. But, this did result in many people being arrested all for the same crime.
Wilkes was also responsible for creating some of the laws put in place which journalist benefit from. He was always a critic of the power which gets attached to the richer people of society. This made him very popular with the poorer as he fought for the down-trodden. The USA also liked the way that he showed them how to agitate the system.
After he was arrested Wilkes tried suing the Government, establishing the right of privacy. Wilkes was then expelled from the House of Commons as it was found he could not be tried whilst still a member of Parliament. During the time of his expulsion his poem Essay on Woman was read aloud in the House of Commons by the Earl of Sandwich. It caused great troubles in due to its content.
Wilkes re won his seat whilst he was still in prison, yet once again he was not allowed to join: the house voted that he was unable to be elected because he was still imprisoned. He was eventually re-elected as a councilor of London then went on to become mayor. While in this role he was reporting on Parliament once more and was printed.
Next we looked at Mary Wollstonecraft. She also had a difficult early life, being forced to become a governess in Ireland. She became obsessed with education and leaning and her first book was entitled Thoughts on the education of Daughters. the focus of the book was her argument that girls should be educated in more areas than simply sewing. She enjoyed Locke's idea that the mind is shaped by education. That we are all born with a blank slate and we gain our ideas and morals through learning. She believed that if we are all educated properly then it will make for rational, responsible citizens.
When she returned from Ireland she set up a school in London. She was fascinated with Rousseau and played with ideas of anti-elitism (attack on modern manners.).
She wrote another book , Vindication of rights of men, which was a response to Edmund Burke. Hers was a publication with a main theme of a diagnosis of current state of female manners and trying to explain how a false sense of self has come around.
This book had a good response yet Mary was highly unpopular until he end of the 19Th century.
John Stewart Mill was an important political figure. He also had a troubled past with being jailed at 17, also being threatened with death for the prosecution of Eyre. At 16 he was considered the most educated person in Europe. Yet at 20 he then had a nervous breakdown. It is said that Wordsworth's poetry saved him from complete ruin.
He believed in freedom of speech and the fact that people should not be silenced. He dismissed social contract, yet he did admit that there are certain rules society should follow. These would be called self-regarding actions- don not harm people.
He believed in utilitarianism- maximising happiness, minimising pain. He thought all actions were about consequences. It avoids problems of dealing with religion or morals: ideas of right or wrong are not dealt with. Mills' Godfather had an interesting idea of dealing with ethics as science or maths; you can calculate what is right to do. It takes the view that everybody happiness matters, 'greatest good for the greatest number'.
3 ways of looking at consequences were felt: acts-evaluate right or wrong action by determining the consequences of the action. Moral rule, and Disposition-evaluate the actions in terms of traits they exemplify.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)