During our stay in Oxford we ventured into to London many times. One of the times I went to visit the Tower of London. The Tower contains the Beauchamp Tower which held many high-ranking prisoners such as Ann Boleyn, the chapel of St. John, the Bloody Tower, and my favorite part the Crown Jewels. This is the world’s best-known collection of precious objects, now displayed in an exhibit. This exhibit contains gorgeous regalia of crowns, scepters, orbs, and swords used at coronations and other state occasions. Most of them date back to 1661, when Charles II commissioned replacements for regalia destroyed by parliament after the execution of Charles I. The Jewel house also contains the world’s two largest diamonds the first star of Africa and the second star of Africa. These diamonds were excavated from Africa by Europeans, not sold to the Europeans.
This is an example of patterns of colonization. Colonization is the act or process of establishing control over a country of area by a more powerful and often distant country. The Europeans went into Africa and took what they wanted, jewels. The core nations, which are nations of high growth that engulf other nations to ensure ongoing political and economic success, such as Great Britain came in and took the jewels from the peripheral nation of Africa. A peripheral nation is a nation that is dependent on core nations for trade and income. This resulted f patterns of colonization in Africa, eventually causing parts of Africa to become a metropolis. England sipened the diamond resources from the poorer nation of Africa.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
A chat with the locals of Oxford
The first week that we were in Oxford a few of us had gone out. We met some of the locals, and mentioned that we were planning a trip to go to Amsterdam. The locals asked us why we wanted to go there. I stated that I would enjoy going to visit the house of Ann Frank, the Van Gogh museum, the Heineken brewery, and all the beautiful canals in the city. I had also seen a special on the today show where Matt Laurer had visited Amsterdam, and it looked amazing. They proceeded to give us a hard time stating that the only reason that anyone has to go to Amsterdam is for drugs, and that we could just get drugs in Oxford from “any black guy.”
This statement shows that the black stereotype is present everywhere. In the Bhattacharyya book of Race and Power there is a quote on page 25 where a young black man being spoken about by a young white child to his mother saying, “Look at the nigger. . .mama a negro.” This young black man stated that he felt imprisoned and it sealed him into crushing object hood by the words of this other child. In Durban high school the white students that became the minority began to feel the same way.
The Dolby article White Fright illustrates that blacks are seen as inferior being, and how the roles of racism can be reversed. This article focuses on a primarily white school that due to low admission rates begins to admit non white students. The non white students began to outnumber the white students. The white students were now becoming the minority, and began to feel that their academic achievements, freedom, comfort levels, and their options were beginning to become limited. “The white students began to feel resentful. That resentment expressed by the white students is under girded by fear; a fear that whiteness is no longer in control in South Africa, that the ‘other’ has seized center stage. White students sense that they are literally encircled by the dual threats of blacks and black economic prosperity.” (pg 9) It is see throughout the White Fright article that the fear of black violence is a constant theme.
The Mills article White Supremacy can also be applied to the original stereotype that all black men sell drugs. White supremacy is a racist ideology based assertion that white people superior to other racial groups. It is seen that insignificant traits such as race are related to significant theories such as selling drugs. This idea of white supremacy is so powerful that even non white people believe it. This idea of white supremacy is believed to have come from the colonization of Europeans.
This statement shows that the black stereotype is present everywhere. In the Bhattacharyya book of Race and Power there is a quote on page 25 where a young black man being spoken about by a young white child to his mother saying, “Look at the nigger. . .mama a negro.” This young black man stated that he felt imprisoned and it sealed him into crushing object hood by the words of this other child. In Durban high school the white students that became the minority began to feel the same way.
The Dolby article White Fright illustrates that blacks are seen as inferior being, and how the roles of racism can be reversed. This article focuses on a primarily white school that due to low admission rates begins to admit non white students. The non white students began to outnumber the white students. The white students were now becoming the minority, and began to feel that their academic achievements, freedom, comfort levels, and their options were beginning to become limited. “The white students began to feel resentful. That resentment expressed by the white students is under girded by fear; a fear that whiteness is no longer in control in South Africa, that the ‘other’ has seized center stage. White students sense that they are literally encircled by the dual threats of blacks and black economic prosperity.” (pg 9) It is see throughout the White Fright article that the fear of black violence is a constant theme.
The Mills article White Supremacy can also be applied to the original stereotype that all black men sell drugs. White supremacy is a racist ideology based assertion that white people superior to other racial groups. It is seen that insignificant traits such as race are related to significant theories such as selling drugs. This idea of white supremacy is so powerful that even non white people believe it. This idea of white supremacy is believed to have come from the colonization of Europeans.
Body Types and the British Museum
As I was standing taking in the British museum, I was thoroughly entertained. The grandeur of so many of the statues and artifacts is intoxicating. As I walked around I began to see a pattern of expected male body type and masculinity. Every statue of a man had a strong build. There was always a muscular stomach as well as broad shoulders. There seemed to be no evidence of being unfit as an accepted trait for males. I followed this theme in almost the entirety of the museum. This expectation of masculinity is continued today in the depiction of superheroes, male models, and in general the "accepted" male body form. Without the physique of so called perfection, with a strong back, arms, and legs and a chiseled stomach, it is as though a man loses his worth. This expectation of the strong male body has influenced sculptures and art for centuries, allowing a solid base for the current expectations of masculinity.
What is noticed in the statues and characterizations of women was that it is accepted and expected for a woman to have a full figure. No statues were of the current (Western) "ideal" of thin. The women of the past were seen as child bearing and their statued bodies exemplified this, a full stomach, wide hips, and full breasts were the womanly traits seen as desirable. Another common theme among the women, though not universal, was coverage of all or certain areas of the body. If a woman was nude she was many times covering her breasts or genitals. This to me established an idea of a woman being more modest, or at least an expectation of this. I found these characteristics of the statues fascinating because of our talk in classes aobut masculinity and the social expectations involved.
What is noticed in the statues and characterizations of women was that it is accepted and expected for a woman to have a full figure. No statues were of the current (Western) "ideal" of thin. The women of the past were seen as child bearing and their statued bodies exemplified this, a full stomach, wide hips, and full breasts were the womanly traits seen as desirable. Another common theme among the women, though not universal, was coverage of all or certain areas of the body. If a woman was nude she was many times covering her breasts or genitals. This to me established an idea of a woman being more modest, or at least an expectation of this. I found these characteristics of the statues fascinating because of our talk in classes aobut masculinity and the social expectations involved.
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