The Role Of Women In Religion Religion Essay

The Role Of Women In Religion Religion Essay Religion has been apparent and ever developing since the beginning of man. Both woman and man have contributed to that development and believed in a higher power to explain their own existence. Now, with the different variations on religion and separation in belief, women and men have taken on different roles that are distinct to their particular faith. Often, among all religions, mans role has been superior to that of women. All of the worlds major religions depreciate women to some degree; so what role do women play in religion? And what impact have they had? In examining three of the worlds major religions: Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism, this paper will compare and contrast the role of women as well as discuss any influence women have had in the development of each faith. How Women Are Viewed? The view of women on the Hindu religion has changed over the course of history several times. The view of women was sometimes, but not always positive. In the earlier Upanishad Age they seemed to have been given more respect than in later times. According to the Hindu religion, a woman is the form of energy or an aspect of Shakti. In many Hindu scripture she is both upheld and respected. High opinion is especially given to women who are mothers and disrespect of her is considered unforgiveable. One Hindu scripture states, All other sins are expiable but he who is cursed the mother never liberated. Another Hindu scripture ranks the value of a woman over that of a man stating, An outcast father may be forsaken, but not the mother, she is never an outcast to the son. Many other religions do not hold the respect of woman over that of men. The Buddhist religion for example, states very little about women. This is not because the Buddhism refuses to recognize women but rather that they strive to have equality among women and men. Thus the scripture speaks of the human race as a whole and makes little distinction between genders. In one scripture, the Visuddhi Magga, a monk asked, Reverend Sir, have you seen a woman pass this way? And the elder said: Was it a woman or a man that passed this way? I cannot tell. But this I know, a set of bones is travelling upon this road. (Mohr, Tsedroen, 2010) In comparison to the Buddhist religion, Christianity also strives for an equal and positive view of women. In the Old Testament the creation of man is explained and represents both women and men as equally valuable. It states, Then God said, Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them, (Genesis 1:26-27.) In society, Christian women have rules and laws to abide by. Christian women are instructed by God to conduct themselves modestly, as a witness of God to unbelievers. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of the gentle and quiet spirit which is of great worth in God s ight. (1 Peter 3:3-4). Christians do not try to earn merit in order that there good deeds may outweigh their bad. Roles of Women Women played many different roles in the history of the Hindu religion. During childhood she is under her parents care but when she marries she becomes the sole responsibility and property of her husband. As his wife, she takes on four different roles. Her roles include; servant to her husband in duty, minister in decision making, as a mother to his children and lover in his bed. Women in the Hindu religion are expected to act and speak with respect for their husband as well as other men. (Sharma, Libraries, 2001) In the days of the Buddha, other religious teachers had also spoken on the duties and obligations of a wife towards her husband. They stressed that it is the particular duty of a wife to bear an off-spring for the husband, and render him faithful service and to provide conjugal happiness. The teachings of the Buddha were not as biased towards the husbands. In the Singalovada Sutta, the Buddha had clearly stated both the duties of the husband towards the wife and vice versa. On the part of the husband, he should be faithful, courteous and not despising. It is the husbands duty to hand over authority to his wife; and from time to time, provide her with adornments. Therefore, we witness the unbiased attitude shown by the Buddha towards both men and women. (Yifa, Yifa, 2010) In the Christian faith there is a contrasting perspective. Women, though viewed as equal to men in value in the eyes of God are given unequal roles. In Genesis 2, there is a more detailed account of the creation of Adam and Eve and discloses the differences in their purpose and responsibilities as given by God himself. The general idea is that God did not create the man and the woman at the same time, but rather He created Adam first and Eve later for the specific purpose of being Adams helper. Eve was equal to Adam, but she was given the role and duty of submitting to him. The womans one and only role in the Christian religion is to be submissive to her husband and be a good helpmate to him. (House, 1995) A woman has no role in the church that is ruled and dictated only by men. The Christian woman is instructed by scripture to remain silent in matters of the church. 1 Corinthians of the Bible states, Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; bu t they are to be submissive, as the law also says. Women in Religious and Leadership Roles The leadership and religious roles of women in all three religions have changed over the course of history. Women in early Hinduism were very well respected. They took part in the royal court, and they were not afraid to push an issue until they were fully satisfied with the answer. These teachers were wise and well valued by other philosophers, of both the male and female genders. These women also contributed to how the various sacred teachings of Hinduism were brought down through the generations. Over the years, the situation surrounding Hindu women is gradually changing. They are gaining respect in both politics and religion and share an equal status with men. In some cases they enjoy more opportunities than women in many western countries. (Sharma, Libraries, 2001) Advances are also being made for women in the Buddhist religion. The Buddha opened the gates for the full participation of women in the field of religion by making them eligible for admission into the Bhikkhuni Sangha the Order of Nuns. This opened new paths of culture, social services and opportunities for public life to women It led implicitly to the credit of their importance to society, and in doing so enhanced the status of women .It was said that under circumstances women are considered wiser and discerning than men, and that they are also capable of attaining perfection or sainthood treading the Noble Eight fold Path. (Yifa, Yifa, 2010) When King Kosala found that he had a daughter Instead of a son, the Buddha pointed out not only their weaknesses but also their potential. The Buddha clearly showed that women are capable of understanding his teachings and also to practice them to some degree of spiritual attainment. (Mohr, Tsedroen, 2010) The modern era of Buddhism is much different than in the days of the Buddha. Womens liberation, their quest for freedom and equality achieved tremendous strides mostly in the West. This came about as the result of modern trends and thinking, and modern education for women in all areas of higher learning. Like women in Hinduism and Buddhism, women in Christianity have gained better status and new roles in religion. In fact, women in Christianity may have made the most progress over history. In the early development of Christianity, women were told to take on the submissive role and only he a helper to their husbands. The womans role in the church was nonexistent and has now risen to a point where she can obtain roles as a minister and/or dean in the church. The Christian woman also has a voice that is respected and valued in making decisions. In conclusion women of all three religions were historically not given the value and respect that men were, but have all gained new status and roles in their religion. Women throughout history have played different roles in different religion, but most of the time women were submissive to men. Women would never dream of becoming a minister or involved in the leadership of the religion regardless which religion it was. Today, women play more roles in leadership than ever before.

Moma Visit – Compare and Contrast Paintings

MoMA visit – Visual analysis Art is an effective way to express beauty. Artists have different ways to express their ideas and communicate nonverbally through their work. In the Early Modern Art period, artists were free to create their pieces in diverse ways that never had been done before. For this essay, I chose the works of two artists of this period to compare and contrast so that the diversity of Modern art can be demonstrated.Even though Vincent Van Gogh and Rene Magritte was born forty five years apart from each other and had different styles, I am interested in analyzing â€Å"The Starry Night† (Vincent van Gogh) and â€Å"The Empire of Light, ii† (Rene Magritte) after my trip to the Museum of Modern Art. At the first analysis, I would like to discuss the famous painting â€Å"The Starry Night† (1889) by Van Gogh. This painting is in oil on canvas and has the dimensions of 73. 7  cm ? 92. 1  cm. Van Gogh depicts the town in Rhone under gasligh t and reflected in the blue river.As it is displayed at MoMA, â€Å"The Starry Night† attracts a great number of visitors to its mysterious blue spirals. The focus of the painting is quite high as the first point drawn to the viewer is at the sky. The spirals meet with each other and the yellow stars are bright throughout the dark blue sky. Van Gogh uses thick brush strokes to draw the mysterious spirals, which occupy most of the center of the painting. The enormous spirals are reproduced images of moving waves in the ocean, but also induce a whirling movement. This technique plays a significant part to create the chaotically moving effect for the picture.Most people who see this picture for the first time feel that the whole scenery somehow shifts, even though it is a still life painting. Moving my view point from the mysterious spirals, I can see the big, extremely dark green cypress tree located in the right part of the picture. Cypress appears in Van gogh’s picture often such as in the â€Å"Cypresses† and â€Å"Wheatfield with cypresses. † Unlike these two pictures above, he uses similar sinuous curves tortured from full cycles one after another in this one to reproduce the brush stroke he uses in the spirals.In the bottom one third of the painting, Rhone town at midnight is peaceful in blue. The clearest part we can see at this town is the church and its bell tower. Although the church only consists of simple sketches, it seems to be the most complicated fragment in the painting. The bell tower points up to the sky and draws attention of the viewers to the spirals once again. Secondly, the next painting I would like to mention is â€Å"The Empire of Light ii† (1950) of Rene Magritte. Its dimensions are of 78. 8 x 99. 1 cm. Magritte wants to demonstrate a nocturnal scene under a daytime sky.When I first saw the painting, the initial thought that came through my mind was to admire the peaceful scenery of an ordinary small town. Then I noticed the paradox in the painting. The upper half of the painting is the light blue sky of a peaceful day with floating white clouds. However, the bottom half is a small town at midnight. Houses and trees are all covered with dark hue as if it is late at night. The town looks as if it has already gone to sleep. The thin and precise brush strokes that Magritte adroitly use make the picture look as real as a photo. The closer and longer I look at the painting, the more confused I become.The serenity of the deep-sleeping town, which is dimly lit by the antique street light, along with the floating clouds, makes me feel so calm and peaceful that I am persuaded into its reality. However, I am still able to notice the contrast between day and night in two halves of the painting. This confusion is the result of the eyes tricked to believe in what we see. The placement of day and night remarkably reminds us about our conscious mind that we use in everyday life, and about our lit unconscious mind that waits for us to use it to brighten our senses.This painting conceals Magritte’s psyche that â€Å"The mind loves the unknown. It loves images whose meaning is unknown, since the meaning of the mind itself is unknown. † On the one hand, there are similarities between two paintings that I notice. Firstly, both painters use oil on canvas for the paintings. They also have the approximate dimensions of about 70cmx95cm. Secondly, mystery is an important fact that makes the two paintings worth seeing. People cannot resist taking a look at the spirals and following the moving effect of the whole picture when seeing â€Å"The Starry Night. The spirals themselves are mysterious since they are echoed the movement of ocean waves. Similarly, ‘The Empire of Light, ii† makes spectators wonder the reality of a nocturnal scene of a small town under a sunny day. Their minds are tricked to believe in the true-to-life scene as well as to question th e paradox. In addition, luminosity is created successfully in two paintings. In â€Å"The Starry Night†, the moon and the stars illuminate the sky as stars and moon are in concentric circles and contrary to the dark blue sky surrounding.The moon is placed at the top right corner of the painting, where the sun usually appears, and produces light together with the stars. Correspondingly, in Magritte’s, light comes from the title of the painting itself. The lamppost, as well as the windows’ dim light, creates the luminosity standing alone in the dark night. Finally, even though both paintings have no sign of human and animals, motion still appears clearly. The whole â€Å"Starry Night† is a chaos, moving and moving freely, while the floating clouds in the sunny sky in the upper half of the painting prevents â€Å"The Empire of Light, ii† from lacking in movement.On the other hand, each picture has its own quality. The first difference between the two paintings is the brush stroke. Vincent van Gogh uses the thick brush stroke in â€Å"The Starry Night,† especially when painting the spirals and the cypress, while Magritte’s extremely thin brush stroke appears everywhere in the painting. As a result, the surfaces of two paintings are different; rough in â€Å"The Starry Night† and smooth in â€Å"The Empire of light, ii. † Also, while â€Å"The Starry Night† has an open shape, â€Å"The Empire of Light, ii† is closed-shaped. In â€Å"Starry Night,† there are no edges coming between the stars and the sky.They just merge with one another and create a beautiful â€Å"Starry Night. † However, the thin brush strokes in â€Å"The Empire of Light† identify all objects distinctively. Edges are clear between houses; clouds and sky are clearly recognized. Thirdly, although both painters use blue, the hue, value and intensity are different. Blue is the spiritual color in â€Å"Th e starry night,† and Van Gogh uses blue that varies from the darkest in the town to the lightest in the inside of the spirals. Blue is also diverse in the sky, together with yellow to make a sky lively.Magritte, however, uses just one value of light blue to paint his sky in a sunny day and the sky looks serene. Last but not least, even though both paintings depict the same subject of a small town at midnight, each painting represents a different style. While â€Å"the starry night† of Van Gogh follows post-impressionism – a style that combines the elements of Impressionism with those of non-Europe to create their own way – â€Å"The Empire of Light, ii† of Magritte is surrealist, whose purposes are to describe the irrational, to examine perception and to create the word and image relationship.In conclusion, â€Å"The starry night† of Vincent van Gogh and â€Å"The Empire of Light, ii† are expressions of aesthetic values. The paintings, either post-impressionist or surrealist, represent the painters’ own way of self-expression and their own way to communicate with the spectators nonverbally. Reference 1. Van Gogh’s letters http://vangoghletters. org/vg/letters/let693/letter. html http://vangoghletters. org/vg/letters/let782/letter. html 2. Magritte’s quotes http://www. rene-magritte. org/rene-magritte-quotes. jsp 3. Other http://www. moma. org/collection/object. php? object_id=78456 http://www. all-art. rg/art_20th_century/magritte1. html The starry night – Vincent van Gogh The Empire of Light, ii – Rene Magritte Claude Monet – Contextual factors influenced his style Claude Monet (1840-1926) was a French artist, who was considered a leader of the Impressionism movement as this style was named after his painting â€Å"Impression, Sunrise† (1872). He is one of the typical artists to mention when we discuss the Early Modern art era. I would like to analyze the contextu al factors that affect his style of painting. First of all, the political circumstances in France from 1870s had effects on Monet’s style.During the Franco-Prussian War (1871-1872), Monet came to England with Pissarro for shelter. He met the dealer Durand Ruel, who then became a great advocator of the Impressionists. Also in England, Monet had chance to study the works of John Constable and Joseph Mallord William Turner, which inspired his innovations in study of colors. After spending a summer (1971) in Amsterdam, Holland, he returned to French, which was damaged by the civil war. He stayed in Argenteuil, which was an industrially growing town near the Seine river until 1878.From 1872-1878, Argenteuil was a center for Impressionist painters to gather after Monet published his painting â€Å"Impression, Sunrise† depicted the Seine river. In addition, innovations in painting manufacture were introduced in public in 19th century. In 1841, John Rahn invented the collapsib le tin paint tube, which revolutionized the color palette and technique of  plein-air oil painting  by offering a range of pre-mixed colors in a convenient medium. This is a major factor to emerge Impressionism. Monet used this plein-air painting as a elementary principle of his art in 1860s,.He sought to combine his Realist investigation with the possibilities of creating a new style of painting. In the paintings produced at La Grenouillere at 1869, Monet found a way establish a challenging tension between appearances and painterly invention that proved sufficient basis for the developed Impressionist manner of the 1870s and after. In 1870s, Monet’s brush stroke became smaller and more diverse. He also tried to conduct experiments to control value contrasts. These experiments with color were played off against and within a traditional framework, essentially perspectives in nature.Finally, 19th century marked the emergence of photography, which had a major effect on Moder n Art. In the first half of the century, cameras were introduced continuously and rapidly improved. For example, in 1814, Joseph Niepce used his  camera obscura  to take picture, but the image required eight hours of light exposure and later faded. In 1851, Frederick Scott Archer invented the  Collodion process, in which images required only two or three seconds of light exposure. Thus, painters were in need of seeking new techniques to innovate their painting. They had to prove that paintings might not be replaced by photos.Thus, Monet sought a way to break the old rules of traditional painting. His brush strokes became thinner; the closed shape in traditional painting became more open as the boundaries between objects were more obscure, as we can see in his â€Å"Impression, Sunrise. † According to the contemporary critics, the painting was rather a sketch than a complete work of art. However, this painting was the first impressionist to be presented. In conclusion, t he political circumstances and developing technique are two crucial factors that affect the style of Monet Claude.After his first painting in 1972, Impressionism became his style for his later life. Work cited MoMA – Monet Claud’s biography http://www. moma. org/collection/artist. php? artist_id=4058 http://www. claude-monet. com/index. jsp House, John, et al. :  Monet in the 20th century, page 2, Yale University Press, 1998 http://www. visual-arts-cork. com/artist-paints/colour-palette-nineteenth-century. htm http://library. brown. edu/cds/paris/finearts. html#impressionism http://inventors. about. com/od/pstartinventions/a/Photography. htm

Creoles & language evolution process Essay

Creoles have generally been considered to have more complex formation processes than pidgins, which lie at an earlier stage in the language evolution process (Culpeper, 1997). The processes that drive the development of creoles and pidgins have been the subject of interest and debate to linguists for many decades. Some have hypothesized that the development of these forms has been driven by variables similar to those that drive the creation of languages. Some of these hypotheses have included biological approaches to creole and pidgin evolution, while others have posited synchronic methods (Adone & Vainikka, 1999; Bickerton, 1999). Many of these synchronic and biological ideas are compelling highly challenging in their plausibility, employing ideas related to Universal Grammar as a means of illuminating creole and pidgin development. The development of pidgins has been considered to be less difficult to understand than that of creoles, mainly because of the precise phenomenon that pidgins describe. As a language form that develops from the mixing of two distinct languages, many have simply considered it to occur as a result of the mixing of two (or more) people groups that possess distinct languages. Yet, some complexity exists in the different scales to which pidgins might develop (Adone & Vainikka, 1999). Furthermore, it is interesting to note that when the languages of a bilingual child develop, even at an early age, that child generally distinguishes between the two perfectly without mixing them (Culpeper, 1997). When languages exist together on larger scales could be when pidgins are more likely to develop, and this appears to stem from the likelihood that the multiplicity of languages is intelligible by a wider range of persons. When this is the case, it creates no real need for any one speaker to make the effort distinguish between them for purposes of being understood. Despite the fact that pidgins and creoles are distinct language forms, many consider pidgins as a form that occurs on the way to the formation of a creole. In fact, the definition of creolization given by Adone and Vainikka is â€Å"the process by which pidgins develop into creole languages† (1999, p. 76). Discussions regarding the relationship that creolization bears to language acquisition processes and language development have led to two distinct schools of thought. One has viewed creolizaiton as being an extended process that takes several generations to mature. Indeed, this process never ends but continues to develop alongside the development of the particular culture in which it occurs. The other school of thought has viewed the process of creolization as on that has the potential to occur suddenly, within only one generation (1999). The gradual development of creoles appears to be more consistent with the prevailing theories of language development. If creoles are viewed according to the definition above (as a product of pidgin development) then it would appear that such a fast development of the language would be very difficult. Such speedy development would afford little time for the creation of the pidgin itself before its further evolution into a fully developed creole. The mixing of more than one language appears to be a phenomenon that would take quite some time, as this would involve a certain degree of standardization concerning which parts of each language should be included in this pidgin. In addition, it would appear that more than one generation would be needed to allow the general spread of this understanding among the population. However, it would also seem that geographical and population-density concerns would have a bearing on the ability of the creole to develop and suffuse an entire region. It may also depend on the demographic of the individuals who act as the agents of this development. Those theorists who believe that creolization has the potential to develop within one generation have cited young children as being the agents of such change (Bickerton, 1991, cited in Adone & Vainikka, 1999). This researcher argues that this form of â€Å"radical creole† develops through a Bioprogram that operates very closely with the theory of Universal Grammar. Such a development, therefore, is based on humans’ innate understanding of language, which is to some degree distinct from the language that is learned in any given cultural context. Because this theory posits humans as having a relationship to grammar that transcends the grammar rules of any given language, the development of a particular radical creole would be based on the similarity of the language variation put forth by each child despite the fact that they may not grow up in close proximity to each other (1991; 1999). This particular view of creolization is based on language evolution theories that take a biological or even genetic approach to language change (Mufwene, 2001; 2006). In the creole form used in Mauritius, for instance, the children have been found to make fewer â€Å"mistakes† that represent a non-conformity to the language than those found in many standardized, non-creole language (Adone & Vainikka, 1999; Bickerton, 1999). Bickerton writes, â€Å"Children acquiring English and other noncreole languages make a number of â€Å"mistakes,† a very high percentage of which would be fully grammatical utterances if the children were acquiring a creole language† (1999, p. 66). The opposite of this does not appear to be true—children acquiring creole languages do not make as many mistakes that would be considered grammatical in a noncreole language such as English or French (1999). It would seem therefore that creole might be considered a more naturally occurring form of a given language as distilled through the human’s biological propensity toward language expression. However, while this supports the idea of Universal Grammar, it does not appear to offer much support of radical creolization, as the Mauritian Creole has been evolving for many generations. Creoles and pidgins are interesting in that they offer insight into the earlier stages of language development. Many ideas exist concerning the classification of these language forms. Theories also exist concerning how such forms are developed, as well as the relationship they have to each other and to the languages on which they are based. Biological and synchronic approaches have both pointed toward the idea of Universal Grammar as having a bearing on the development of these forms of language, and intriguing (yet inconclusive) discussions have come about as a result of research done in that direction. . References Adone, D. & A. Vainikka. (1999). â€Å"Acquisition of Wh-questions in Mauritian creole. † Language creation and language change: creolization, diachrony, and development. Boston: MIT Press. p. 75-95. Bickerton, D. (1999). â€Å"How to acquire language without positive evidence: what acquisitionists can learn from creoles. Language creation and language change: creolization, diachrony, and development. Boston: MIT Press. p. 49-75. Bickerton, D. (1991). â€Å"Haunted by the specter of creole genesis. † Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 14: 364-366. Culpeper, J. (1997). History of English. Oxford: Routledge. Mufwene, S. S. (2001). The Ecology of Language Evolution. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. Mufwene, S. S. (2006). Language evolution : the population genetics way. Marges linguistiques, 11, 243-260.

Muslim Girls essays

Muslim Girls essays The central Bosnian village Dolina is located in a valley north of the Bosnian-Hercegovinian capital, Sarejevo. From a very early age Muslim girls are taught that their role as a female is to assist their mother with household chores and to serve the men. While her male siblings, who spend most of their time playing and walking around the village, are not expected to work around the house (Bringa 106). Muslim boys were given privileges because they were male. Muslim women usually did not leave the household for employment because they maintained the household agriculture, however they could sew and knit for other villagers. Womens work mainly consisted of tending to the garden where they grew the vegetables for household consumption. The women also did the milking and the processing of cheese (Bringa 52-4). The busiest part of a Muslim womans day was in the morning when she did the cooking and the cleaning. A womens daily routine, which includes social calls to her neighbors, know as coffee visits, revolves around both her children and husbands schedule. A woman was expected to be home whenever her husband was home (Bringa 87-8). The daily interaction between neighboring households occurs mainly through the womens coffee visits. During the coffee visits the women are expected to uphold Muslim community values so as not to damage the reputation of their household (Bringa 91). Tone Bringa wrote: as a wife a womans behavior was judged in relation to her behavior within the neighborhood and village, and in terms of her critical role as representative of the moral standing of her household on a daily basis(105). Women determine and maintain the environment that exists within the household while the men are the providers of material substance (Bringa 86). The men spend most of their time working outside the village in nearby market town...

An instrument That Drives Society

An instrument That Drives Society An instrument That Drives SocietyTechnology over the decade has essentially influenced society. Technology is an instrument of exercise and maintaining a source of power. It is used to enhance symbolic and material position. This is shaped through the ideologies of technology. Ideology is the set of values and beliefs shared by members of a group, culture and nationality. Some of the dominant ideologies that have structured the discourse of technology are measured in determinism, efficiency and technological progress.Technological determinism is a theory that views technology as the principle that drives the development of its cultural values and social structures. It is based on two hypotheses; the technical base of a society is the fundamental condition affecting all patterns of social existence and technological change is the single most important source of change in society. The television was invented as a result of scientific research and development. Its power as a medium of n ews and entertainment has altered all proceeding medias, along with institutions and forms of social relationships.IIT KanpurAccording to Williams (2003) "new technologies are discovered, by essentially internal process of research and development, which sets the conditions for social change and progress" (p. 5); this implicates research and development as self-generating. Williams stated that the invention of television have been incentive and responses within a phase of social evolution. This idea states that the discovery of new technology results in society changing to adapt to a particular technology.Change in technology is equated to new forms of technology; this is known as technological progress. Progress refers to moving forward towards a goal or an endpoint. This typically involves community, leisure, health, wealth, harmony and other values. Progress is associated with two different types of goals; material and moral betterment. This is linked to key values of the...

Diversity of World Music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Diversity of World Music - Essay Example These are music from Indonesia, Jazanese Gamelan music and ethiojazz. Music has been used by many communities to communicate. Moreover, music has exhibited the obvious influences of other cultures by the mix in instruments or words in the songs. An example is the gamelan music which is an original and traditional Indonesian music. The instruments and the music flow however display heavy influence of Hinduism and Buddhism cultures (Born, 168). In addition, the gamelan uses an instrument called rebab which is an Islamic instrument. This shows the Indonesia people trying to interact with the Hindu, Buddhism and Islam culture. The history of the gamelan music can be traced to the period where hindu-budhist tradition dominated Indonesia. On fact in Indonesia culture Hindu culture has heavily influenced many art works. The gamelan is often considered Javanese by outsiders who relate it more to the java culture based on the instruments and music flow. This is so In that java music exhibits a wider diversity since it was an island that was transverse by many differentcultures. Thus, its music comprises of old, traditional, contemporary and unique styles which looks and feels different from the normal Indonesian music. This is a cross cultural interaction since Indonesians and the Hindus were living together at one point they had to interact and what better way than use of music. This is the music of the Ethiopians and it is a mix of Ethiopian music and jazz music hence the name ethiojazz which basically means Ethiopian jazz. This name has been used distinctively to show that there is other jazz music but this is specifically Ethiopian. This is a cross cultural communication to the world that Ethiopia has their own jazz music apart from the jazz they know. Ethiojazz has been made widely afamous by one Mulatu Astatke. Ethiojazz is generally a mix of traditional Ethiopian music blended together with soul music, Latin rhythms and afro-funk music (Born,

Business and Trade Relationships between the United States and China Term Paper

Business and Trade Relationships between the United States and China - Term Paper Example As the business relationship between these two nations have gone through a many high points as well as low points, it has been an interesting topic of study for many researchers throughout the world. Furthermore, it is important to understand the different details of the trade relationship in order to get a better idea on how the relationship would continue in the future. This article focuses on exploring the business relationship between the United States and China. Traversing through historical trends, current state of business and future trends, this study would try to identify any potential opportunities for the future and how they can be utilized. In addition, it will also look at the possible challenges and ways to overcome those challenges. A Historical Perspective Early 18th century to World War II Before exploring the current and the potential of future relationships, it is necessary to take a look at way in which trade relations shaped historically. The first trade interact ion between two countries began around the late 1700s through the sea route. After the American Revolution, there was an attempt at sea exploration and American trader ship known as the ‘Empress of China’ arrived in the port of Canton (Dudden, 1992). This arrival of this ship in China was a very remarkable event because of the needs of both these countries. China had a huge demand for raw materials and Americans were on the hunt for anything exotic and oriental (Ng, 1983). This paved the way for a trade relationship between the two nations, which began to be popularly known as the Old China trade. The Americans were very interested in products like tea, cotton and silk, where as the Chinese were interested... Business relationships between the United States and China is a topic of discussion in this term paper. The researcher chose it because of the complex economic relationships between two countries and the way. The United States and China economic relationship has been one that has seen tremendous high points and equally strong low points. During the 1970s, the trade interactions between the United States and China were very less. However, the establishment of good bilateral relationship between both these countries resulted in the expansion of economic ties and hence, there was a considerable surge in the way in which trade and business grew. In due course of time, that is analyzed in the paper China become one of the top five trading partners of the United States and has become the largest market for the exported goods from China. The U.S companies have also been investing in China at a steady pace, especially during the past decade in avenues such as information technology. It is ve ry interesting to note how the trade and business relationship between two nations is heavily dependent on the way in which the political relationship between these nations is at a particular point of time. In conclusion, the researcher stets that while it is clear that trade between these countries have proven to be mutually beneficial, it would require a tremendous effort from the political and economic leadership of both nations to ensure that a strong momentum is maintained in times to come.