Understanding the Societal Response to Homosexuality Essay Example for Free

Understanding the Societal Response to Homosexuality Essay â€Å"They gave me a reward when I killed two men and gave me a suspension when I loved one†. These are the words of Leonard Matlovich (1943-1988) who was a Vietnam War veteran and one of the best known gay men in America in the 1970s. A journey through the history makes it clear that Homosexuality has always been an issue which has had the highest amount of discussions, disagreements and clashes over the time in every culture and society. It always generates interest people, who are seeking a better understanding of the deferent cultural values and social behaviors in various times of the history, to know why different societies in different times of the history reacted to different sexual activities in typical ways. This study would comprehensively look into the facts that might have affected the societies in understanding and accepting the homosexual behavior within the communities. What were the social, economical, ecological and political dynamics that drove the societies to respond to homosexuality in a rather hostile way? Ancient concepts  The ancient times that had smaller kingdoms and more of the cult practices gave way to larger empires and syncretism of different monotheistic religions spreading new outlook on man having sex with man. This transformation process was in fact differed in various parts of the world. Till the advent of asceticism, which was against all forms of sexual pleasures, homosexuality was accepted broadly as rather positive human sexual activity except in the pharaonic Egypt (Greenburg 1988). This exception itself is an evidence of the changing values in a society under an organized administrative and religious concept. The vast empires meant long distance trade and imperial expansion which in turn helped the followers of different cult religions in contact with one another causing the diffusion of religious practices that involved homosexuality (Greenburg 1988). In that context there prevailed an atmosphere conducive for a monotheistic religion which uprooted the polytheism which to a great extend accepted the sexual magic of homosexuality (Greenburg 1988). The changing economical, political and national scenario had caused people to look more seriously into competitive survival accomplishments than bodily pleasures and desires. The gap between rich and the have-nots increased due to the changing business opportunities and slave trade (Greenburg 1988). Thus the poor men who had to devote their life more into physical labor and combat for the rich to maintain their life style became critical of the rich men who devote their body and life to seeking pleasure from hedonistic pleasure. Moreover, the politics in the larger kingdoms were not mainly in the hands of the public, which kept the common man aloof from the public affaires. This helplessness in fact ended up resulting in a repudiation of desires and pleasures(Greenburg 1988). The small societies were, further, shaken by the conquest happened during the expansion of empires. The troubled social and political situations due to wars have left the people without any sense of security Davis 1982). The implications of these aspects can be further discussed when looking at different communities in detail. Various Outlooks of Various Communities In many ways the connotation of homosexual behavior for Greeks is slipping between the effeminate behavior and man’s tendency to have sex with another man (Greenburg 1988). One of the Plato’s observations goes as ‘an older lover will plainly court a beloved who is effeminate. There is also a mention of an Egyptian letter dating back to 145 BC which ‘Malakos’ almost certainly refers to male homosexuality. Where as Boswell (1980) had strongly stated that â€Å"malakos is never used in Greek to designate gay people as a group or even in reference to homosexual acts generically†. Dio Crisostom who was a Greek scholar in AD 115 mentioned that someone who loved learning might be called malakoteran (Davis 1982). These uncertain commends on homosexuality in the Greek community for a great extend reveal that though, homosexuality was not accepted among Greeks, it was not abominated. It could be because the Greeks had a strong and unthreatened sense of cultural superiority. But they lacked altogether the Jewish sense of being a holy people set apart by God (Davis 1982). The Greek never believed that the divine power had reviled to man kind a code of laws for the regulation of sexual behavior. Hebrews always upheld the biblical prohibition of male prostitution as the weapon against homosexuality. A few passages in the Leviticus seem to prohibit male homosexuality precisely. They are Levi. 8:22 â€Å"Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind; it is abomination† and Levi. 0:13 â€Å"If a man lies with mankind as with woman kind both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surly be put to death; their blood shall be upon them†. At this point it looks like the homosexuality of man is the only thing to abominate, it may not be so but the lesbianism at this stage might have been more of a personal issue handled by the elder male members of the family than a public issue handled by the authorities (Davis 1982). However’ Later on lesbianism became more of a public issue when the early church took to counter it. St. Paul has clearly mentioned it and strongly condemned it when he said Rom. : 26-27 that their women have exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural relationships with women burn with lust for one another. The hostility towards homosexuality as a prohibited sexual behavior is accounted to be much ferocious in Christian community in many times of the history (Davis 1982). At this juncture, such sexual variation is found to be breaking the boundaries of natural intercourse and thus tend to become the special subject of persecution (Boswell 1980). This strong hostility of Christians towards such sexual variation is to be understood in terms of the Latin Christians who ruled the crusader kingdom of Jerusalem. They were group in exile and fighting against formidable Muslims to protect the farthest strong hold of Christendom. They lost Jerusalem finally in the 1187, and their leaders fought their heart out, to prevent the secular leaders from making a pact with the Muslims, only to maintain the Latin Christians discriminating and rigid monopoly. Under the influence of the Latin Church the Frankish Knights and warriors who controlled the kingdom of Jerusalem strangely apart from their Muslim subjects. Thus the normally open knight’s community kept themselves aloof and the sexual variation which was perceived as a transgression was severely suppressed (Davis 1982). The Modern Outlook In the heartland of Christian Europe hostility towards homosexuality became marked only toward the end of the 12th century. The emphasize n the clear definition and rigorous defense of religious and legal boundaries inevitably led to the increased intolerance of forms of sexual behavior involving a breakdown of the boundaries between natural categories(Davis 1982). owever, the leaders of religious and military organizations would consider the maintenance of their status depends heavily on strict boundaries between the insiders and outsiders. If the insiders are male alone, then, the boundaries between them. The maintenance of strict boundaries between the different levels of a military or ecclesiastical hierarchy requires that people of different levels would not have sexual relations (Ruben 198 4). In all the male organizations it would mean prohibiting homosexuality. To wrap up, now such time has come, when the humanity realized that sexuality should be treated with special respect (Ruben 1984). 1873 has seen the first federal anti obscenity law was being passed in the United States. From the late 1940s to 1960s the homosexuals were targeted and persecuted severely in America. In the late 60s, the extreme right came out accusing Sex Information and Education Council of the United States as a communist plot that destroys the family values and eventually killing the patriotism in the coming generation (Ruben 1984). The recent past have seen AIDS being considers as a homosexual disease even in the United States. It was a fact that the gay community had to deal with misfortune of being known as community in which a deadly disease spread out and became visible. One must look back into the history of epidemic and their victims in the beginning, before one begins to think about an anti-gay initiative on the basis of Aids (Ruben 1984).

Teaching Philosophy :: Philosophy of Education Statement Teachers Essays

Teaching Philosophy I believe that teaching is a profession in which the educator has many opportunities to apply her knowledge of content area, personal strengths and creativity, and her life skills to the tasks at hand on a day to day basis. For example, when working in cooperation with other teachers, handling difficult situations with students and even just enjoying the satisfaction of a job well done, all three of the above mentioned qualities come into play. In order to keep all of these in balance, however, it is imperative that the teacher, or teacher in training, has a clear idea of what may be defined as her philosophies of teaching. First and foremost, I have a firm conviction that the teacher and school environment must actively promote, incorporate and develop diversity in the classroom. In today’s classroom it is inevitable that many types of diversity will be present and I believe it is the teacher’s innate responsibility to recognize and support it. Diversity comes in many forms including learning styles and abilities, race, religion and sexual orientation. Any diversity encountered in the classroom should be embraced as a chance to grow and learn for the teacher, the student who is deemed as ‘different’ and the total student body. This personal philosophy has developed within me as a result of my own experiences in a diverse public school system as a student. I intend to both support my diverse classrooms and to help other educators and students to promote, incorporate and develop diversity in their own classrooms. A second dimension in my teaching philosophy is based around the term ‘enthusiasm’. Enthusiasm implies energy, vivacity, creativity and consistent effort and in relation to my philosophy, these qualities are exhibited in a three dimensional model in the classroom. Two of the dimensions depend on the teacher. First, the teacher must be enthusiastic about the most important aspect of her job, that is, the students themselves! She must demonstrate consistent effort and energy when interacting and engaging with her students both inside and out of the classroom.

Visit to Art Museum

I've never had a chance to visit any museum in real life, and it's even harder for me now since I've just arrived to the USA for 3 months. But I'm an art addicted, so I usually visit famous museums around the world on the internet. One Of my favourite museums is The Walters Art Museum. The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland is internationally renowned for its collection of art, which was amassed substantially by two men, William and Henry Walters, and eventually bequeathed to the City of Baltimore.The collection presents an overview of world art from pre-dynastic Egypt to 20th-century Europe, and counts among its many treasures Greek sculpture and Roman sarcophagi; medieval ivories and Old Master paintings; Art Deco jewelry and 19th-century European and American masterpieces. The Walters Art Museum preserves and develops in the public trust a distinguished collection of world art from antiquity to the 20th century. In 1931, the museum's founding benefactor, Henry Walters, bequ eathed the core collection to the City of Baltimore â€Å"for the benefit of the public. Since its opening, the Walters has been a national leader in scholarship, conservation, and education. The Walters Art Museum brings art and people together for enjoyment, discovery, and learning. They strive to create a place where people of every background can be touched by art. They are committed to exhibitions and programs that will strengthen and sustain our community. The Walters Art Museum preserves and develops in the public trust a distinguished collection of world art from antiquity to the 20th century.In 1931, the museum's founding benefactor, Henry Walters, bequeathed the core collection to the City of Baltimore â€Å"for the benefit of the public. † Since its opening, the Walters has been a national leader in scholarship, conservation, and education. Mission Statement The Walters Art Museum brings art and people together for enjoyment, discovery, and learning. We strive to create a place where people of every background can be touched by art. We are committed to exhibitions and programs that will strengthen and sustain our community.

Analysis Of Avital Cohen And Tsal Essay - 1384 Words

The article by Avital-Cohen and Tsal (2016) discussed the flanker task experiment, which asserted that distractor interference happens unconsciously as a result of focused attention toward the target. The results from the original flanker task indicated that participants had slower responses for incongruent trials, since the distractors are inconsistent with the target and would require a different response (Avital-Cohen Tsal, 2016). However, Avital-Cohen and Tsal (2016) questioned the findings from the flanker task experiment. They decided to challenge the idea that only the target stimuli receives top-down processing, and not the distractors (Avital-Cohen Tsal, 2016). The first experiment aimed to test whether the distractor interference is purely bottom-up processing as claimed in the flanker task. The experiment manipulated participants’ expectations of the target using the context effect - a type of top-down processing - by changing the distractors to be either letters or digits (Psych 240 lecture, 9/21/16). Then, the researchers conducted a second experiment and eliminated the ambiguity of distractors. They wanted to test whether the result from experiment 1 was caused by an overall bias or the ambiguous distractors. In experiment 2, the researchers predicted that they would obtain similar results to the first experiment only if the results were due to an overall bias effect (Avital-Cohen Tsal, 2016). This study allows us to deepen our understanding of available