Objectives – ● To consider how eastern and western cultures view the concept of nature, and consider how this affects their interaction with the natural world, and what impact it has on their scientific progression. ● I have tackled this by considering the philosophies of the conflicting cultures, as well as looking at their scientific achievements and general treatment of nature and the surrounding world. Concepts in the east – ● Their history, and how it may have led to philosophical development rather than scientific. ● Taoism – one of the prominent philosophies of China, that puts a huge emphasis on respecting nature. I looked specifically at the writings of Lao Tzu And Chuang Tzu. ● Other cultural factors that may have led to the lack of any ‘laws of nature’ being formed, such as the nature of their language. Concepts in the west – ● Scientific revolution, which included people such as Galileo, Newton and Descartes, and led to the dominance of religion being replaced by scientific logic and reasoning. ● Western philosophy, which became more logical and science based after the revolution. I have used Hobbes and Mill as two examples. Conclusions – ● I considered how much of eastern culture can be observed in the west, and how well its differing concepts, such as its preference of inaction over ambition, can find a place in the hectic western world. ● I also contemplated which culture had the right attitude towards nature, and how much the conflicting nations could or should learn from each other.
Tag: culture
Having danced for 15 years before coming to University I wanted to grasp the opportunity to study dance in a different light with both hands. In this project I got the chance to explore dance in its different forms at different points throughout history. Tribal and ritual dance, dance in ancient Greece, Folk dance, Ballet dance, Ballroom, Modern and Contemporary Dance. Each dance form has played a different social role and has contributed to individuals’ lives: ritual dance attempted to bring about results when there was nothing else a community had the power to do, Folk dance brought the community together. Dance also has a role as an art form and as a means of expression, it can also provide structure and discipline through tuition or become a means of channelling emotion or aggression or even be an escape from the world. I wanted to explore this changing role of dance throughout time and within varying cultures and societies. Why is there no fixed role for dance? I wanted to look at how dance’s role alters depending on the historical or social context. Do we take from dance what we need from it at that particular time and place in history? Did we turn to dance rituals because we had no other answers? Did we use freer more provocative dance as an outward expression of women’s liberation? Is the discipline in dance tuition useful now to focus our young generation that seems to have gone off the rails? Is it necessary now as a creative outlet in a society obsessed with standardisation? It seems that we cannot escape dance, it has existed in varying forms throughout most of history and I believe it always will do. Dance can transform to suit whatever our culture or society needs from it and it can also transform us. This is part of the beauty of dance; it is a tool for us as individuals and as a society. Philosophical Sources: Nietzsche on Art; Helen Thomas’s Sociology of Dance; Peter Brinson’s Dance as Education, Towards a National Dance Culture; Susan Leigh Foster; Francis Sparshott.
David Mancuso, born October 1944, threw the first Loft party “Love Saves the Day” on Valentine’s Day 1970. It practically established what we now know as DJ / club culture through its reinvention of dance culture. My project aims to apply elements of the conceptual machinery developed by Deleuze and Guattari, in their collaborative project of ‘Capitalism and Schizophrenia’, to the history of The Loft and to dance / club culture in general. The possibilities within Capitalism (but also the limitations) outlined by Deleuze and Guattari’s philosophy will be explored within this context. The main areas of investigation are the political status, in Deleuze and Guattari’s schemata, of The Loft (its visitors and David Mancuso included) and the actual individual experience of nightclubbing and dancing, as it might be understood in terms of the model of thought which they develop. The compatibility of David Mancuso’s intentions (“Love is the message”) with this theory will also be explored.
In August of 2006 I noticed a Headline on a copy of The Sun newspaper, the most popular newspaper in the United Kingdom. Accompanying a full page picture of the celebrated reality television star Jade Goody, the headline read: “THE FACE OF EVIL” This headline inspired me to focus my second year project on celebrity culture. Specifically I am interested in this modern phenomena present within our culture of individuals gaining celebrity seemingly for merely the fact that they are available to us to observe on a mass scale, at peak times, the ratings for the T.V. show on which Jade Goody found her fame, Big Brother reached to over seven million. Following the notorious incident of alleged racial abuse committed by Jade onto another contestant, our chancellor of the exchequer and soon to be Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a public apology in concerns to the incident. This led me to ask several questions. Is Jade Goody seen as a public representative of British culture and standards? For what reason specifically do we ‘celebrate’ people who have gained fame in this manner? On what basis could we reasonably suggest that jade is evil personified? My suspicion is that this culture is an element of a grand illusion, a mere spectacle. Exploring this subject I have drawn on the writings of the situationist Guy Debord, and various publications concerning modern mythology.
CONCEPT: We live in uncertain and chaotic times. As globalisation propels us forward, it is undoubtedly provoking a unique identity crisis, at the level of both the individual and the society. The vast displacements of persons during the twentieth century has demographically revolutionised the Western nation-state; multiculturalism and diversity have already been engrained into the social fabric. Concurrently, technology is creating the framework for a new culture, firmly rooted in aesthetic ideals, quickly dismantling traditional borders while subtly performing an institutionalisation of the individual. Marcuse’s “One-Dimensional Man” has come about. METHOD: The project aims to investigate such factors as the erosion of the nation-state, the “deterritorialization of culture” and the technologies of alienation in order to demonstrate how an extreme individualism, bred in Nietzsche’s shadow, is engulfing our society into new degrees of superficiality. MAIN TEXTS: Various works of Friedrich Nietzsche, Culture and Imperialism, by Edward Said, Civilisation and its Discontents, by Sigmund Freud, Culture, Globalisation and the World-System, edited by Anthony King, and One-Dimensional Man, by Herbert Marcuse.
A Study into the decline of the Christian Religion in Northern Europe transposed against the rise of religion in North America. Objectives To investigate the cultural differences between the new and old world, to see the appeal of religion between the two worlds and investigate the reasons for a decline in Europe Concepts The shifting role of religion in western society Territory Religious belief in the U.K. and U.S.A. throughout the 19th and 20th centuries The way we see the world around us defines us as spiritual beings, our whole religious outlook is affected by the way in which our national identity is formed. The U.K. lacks the drive and ambition to discover more about ourselves and so we are left behind
Using the philosophy of Deleuze and Guattari I will discuss the revolutionary potential of music. I will so do with reference to the Black movement in America. My main aim is to show how, through the music of blues and jazz, Blacks constructed a culture of resistance; giving rise to their freedom and subsequent status as citizen in America. I will look at … the deterritorialising power of music: how traditional blues and jazz improvisation deviate from formal musical structures to produce new forms of expression, and how the oppressive routine, and identity of the slave may have been ruptured by the singular effects of such music. … how blues and jazz incorporates both African and Western references to form an intensification of multiple heterogeneous and non-heterogeneous relations that are productive of different modes of thought and experience. … how Blacks found a distinct voice through their music, and how this led to their becoming other than slave, and to their emancipation.
The Invention, Solidification and Reproduction of “Cultural Identity”. – The accumulation of my cultural experiences versus the fresher cultural politic – WHo put the “Rose” in Singleton? Paradigm imitating geographies. For whom the Bell Tolls – Cage Fight: Nostalgia versus Memory versus Myth versus Empiricism. “Cockney” or “Mockney”? – Shared cultural knowledge: THe amalgamation of Nostalgia, Memory, Myth and Empiricism – Normalisation and Determinism – The cultural “other” and oppositional relations. The Capital of Culture – The “Culture Industry” – Fetish Parties – Following the white rabbit: How deep is the hole?
Part One: Exploring the Tibetan Book of the Dead: The Tibetan Buddhist way of Life and Death. The first part of this project will focus mainly on the Buddhist conception of Death, as promulgated in, what is known in the West, as the Tibetan Book of the Dead. For the Tibetans, one must become accustomed to the reality and possible immediacy of death, for this they say, can give greater vitality to life, as well as liberate us from the petty confusion we find ourselves in in our daily lives. What is more, the Tibetans have great sensitivity towards the dying to ensure that they come to terms with death, and are guided through the whole process with as little suffering as possible. The main points I will cover in this first section are:- A summary of the TIbetan Book of the Dead – Rebirth and the stages of death – Illusion of the self – Impermanence – Liberation from suffering – Caring for the dying. Part Two: Exploring Western attitudes towards death: The struggle for self preservation and the denial of death. The second part of this project will address the problem of death, as that is what it is for Westerners. I will look at how our whole culture revolves around avoiding death and decay, and the mechanisms we have in place that give us the illusion that we can escape this natural process. In the west, we find it difficult to come to terms with death, in fact, we do not have to, for there is much to distract our attention. The material world, for instance, creates the illusion that the world is fixed, and many of us identify ourselves with that fixity until the end of our life, when, in fact, the world is in a constant state of flux, death and rebirth. The main points I will cover in this first section are: – Fear of death and what this leads us to do in our lives – Death as an evil, a catastrophe, as morbid, or even unnatural – Can we learn anything about our attitude towards death from Buddhism? – Instinct for self preservation and immortality – Fascination with death: murder in the media – How we care for the dying – Would it be beneficial for us to have a greater awareness of death?
CONCEPTS o Original Florentine thought. o Literature, philosophies, culture, art through the ages in Florence. o The above point in comparison to non Florentine, modern day Philosophers. o Evidence of the influence of philosophy in the city/ and its architecture. o Relevance of the modern day writings/ coverage on Florence OBJECTIVES o To portray the many aspects and influences that such a diverse city such as Florence has. Noting that it is thought to been host to the movement of the Renaissance, in turn creating the artistic reawakening of the Fifteenth century, right up to the modern Twenty First Century. o Study the literature, philosophy, art and culture in general that is to have stemmed from Florence. Study of the significant the Florentines themselves and Florence how it was in comparison to the modern day coverage and focus upon Florence of the media today. o By using contemporary use of the media and the works of modern philosophers to compare the issues and fundamental thought of the Florentines years ago in light of the world today to see if there is any comparison and if it is evident in Florence today. The evidence of this will be looked at in the culture, buildings architecture and art and so on. o To look at how the original philosophy of Florence and the fact of it being written in Florence has created modern day contemporary interest and influence. SOURCES o The Florentine thought will be looked at using the writings of -Dante -Machiavelli o On the same issues the contrasting modern philosophers used will be -Martin Heidegger -Friedrich Nietzsche -Emmanuel Levinas o Contemporary newspaper articles, films, tourism information and the visual aspect of photographs will also be used, including articles about aesthetics by likes and contemporaries -Foucault -Bartes -Barns. PROJECT TERRITORY o Bridging a gap between the history and stance of thought and thinkers over time within Florence and how as a reaction it has an impact worldwide stirring people on to writing about a visiting this Tuscan area. o Show how as a city Florence can provide a visual type of inspiration, freedom, morality and written about by Florentine thinkers. Show the change of thought on these issues has altered over time, whether it be artistic, culturally or involved in the tourism trade. o The change in philosophical thought in Florence is respect to the modern day, contemporary way that we now know Florence through articles, photographs and the like today.