Category: 21st Century

Introduction

Different social theories identify different kinds of social class conceptions, and debates between different theories never stopped since the mid 19th century, beginning with the theories of Karl Marx and Max Weber (both approaches will be further discussed in the essay). Every theory has its own unique way of defining “social class”, and a method to study how the society works to form and influence these classes. This essay is going to come up with a conclusion of whether Marx’s or Weber’s theory will be more suitable for the nowadays’ society condition by looking into the foundation of their analysis of social class and discussing the difference and common ground of the two theories. However, due to the different cultural and political factors, different countries nowadays (in the 21st century) have different social class conceptions, and it’s hard to find a “global best social class analysis”, which is suitable for all the countries in the world. So, this essay will narrow down to a specific country—China, and to find out a most suitable analysis for it to build its social classes.

What is “class”?

To find out which conception of social class is most suitable for a country, the term “class” should be more comprehensively defined. While “class” can be mainly classified into 3 different approaches: the individual-attributes approach, the opportunity-hoarding approach (Max Weber), and the domination and exploitation approach (Karl Marx) (Wright E.O., 2016, p.3), it’s important to know all the three approaches in detail to seek the difference and analyze them in a specific cultural and historic background.

The individual-attributes approach

To begin with, the most commonly acknowledged approach, the individual-attributes approach mainly studies how people’s different attributes (some are “ascribed”(characteristics are born with, such as race, gender etc.) and others are “achieved” (status attain over life course, such as education, occupation, marriage)) and material conditions characterize them (Wright E.O., 2016, p.3). “Class”, to some extent, is a way of looking into the connection and interaction between these 2 factors (Wright E.O., 2016, p.3, p.4). The author also states that “When these different attributes of individuals and material conditions of life broadly cluster together, the clusters are called “class””. So, all factors such as economic conditions, education, marriage or even location of birth can cast some impact on which class a people’s class. Inequality may occur in this kind of approach when some “ascribed” factors cast greater impact that cannot be changed or counteract by “achieved” ones.

The opportunity-hoarding approach

The second approach that the essay is going to cover is the opportunity-hoarding approach, mainly based on the theories of Max Weber, and in his theories, economic factors play a strong roll. While putting “class” in a “market” background, Weber tend to identify class situation with market situation (Breen, (2009), p 32.). The concept “social closure” in this theory, a process whereby a position (job) is saved specifically for someone and is closed down toward others, may be the main reason of inequalities (Wright E.O., 2016, p.6). While in the market, many positions acquire highly skilled workers (doctor, professor, etc.), and in most circumstances, the training process will be long and costly. This will give advantages to those who are privileged and close the opportunity toward the group of people with low income, and thus, cause inequality. Meanwhile, except the economic affects, religion, cultural style, or even accent, may be mechanisms of social closure and exclusion, which will further expand inequalities through the society (Wright E.O., 2016, p.7).

Exploitation and domination approach

The third theory the essay is going to cover is the exploitation and domination approach developed my Karl Marx. While in the exploitation and domination approach, the identification of class is rather easy with only 2 main classes who compete with each other—the bourgeoise and the proletarian. Therefore, as (Marx, 2018 [1848], p.26) states that “each step of the bourgeoisie was accompanied by a corresponding political advance of that class.”, the proletarian is always the class that is subordinate in his perspective, and the bourgeoise being the dominant one. Inequality in the exploitation and domination approach occurs when the domination/exploitation group (bourgeoise) restrict access to positions and resources, and at the same time, controlling the laboring effort of the subordinate group (proletarian) (Wright E.O., 2016, p.9-10). Marx also believes that the subordinate group (proletarian) should stand up and struggle and to form of radical egalitarianism in a set of normative commitments, and thus, delete inequalities to seek for the historical destiny of capitalism— socialism (Wright, E.O. (2009), p.6).

What’s the difference between all these theories

All the 3 approaches have their own unique perspective and background of looking into the society. So, what’s the difference between them?

Firstly, the overall background of the 3 approaches are totally different. The individual-attribute approach is based on basic social factors, which can be directly observed. It’s a background of human nature and common sense. The opportunity-hoarding approach, on the other hand, developed the whole theory in a “market” background, and separate class mainly according to the rules in the market situation, the “social closure” is a good example. The exploitation and domination approach also has some economic perspective, but different from the opportunity-hoarding approach, the exploitation approach focus mainly on the class division between capitalists and workers （Wright E.O., 2016, p.12）.

Also, the scope of application is also different. While the individual-approach is applicable in all kinds of societies (every person has different attributes), the other 2 approaches have their limits. Because of the “market” background, the opportunity- hoarding approach may not be applicable in socialism countries where most of the market shares are hold in the hand of the government (e.g. North Korea). The exploitation and domination perspective, however, call for struggle of the proletariat to fight the capitalists and seek for the pace to socialism, may not be applicable in most western countries whose societies built mainly of capitalism structures.

It may be hard to separate the 3 approaches, because economic, cultural, and social factors may tangle with each other. Without knowing all these factors, it’s impossible for us to choose a suitable class classification system.

China’s structure and social background

After looking into the 3 approaches of “class” and their difference, it’s time to narrow the topic down. It will be essential to dig deeper into the social and historical background of China to find a most suitable approach for modern Chinese society.

China’s society was a mass without any order until The Chinese Revelation in the early 20th century, led by the Chinese Communist Party. It helped China out of the dilemma by giving chances to the lowest social class (mainly peasants) to move up and rebuilding the whole social structure of socialism with Chinese Characteristics (Li, 2017). After the revolution, the Chinese government tend to accelerate the process of industrialization by forming “socialist construction”, where all workers received rather low personal advantages, but instead, contributing to the socialist construction as a whole. With the goal to find equilibrium in a socialism society, the fact, however, go against the goal. Inequality occurred when Party and state officials widened their own privileges rather than sharing material sacrifices with the masses (Li, 2017). In the early and mid 20th century, China called for “continuing revolution under the dictator ship of the proletariat”, but in the 1970s and 80s, China called for “developing the material productive force” after realizing its disadvantages, and set goal of “catching up with the west” by clinging to the capitalist way of developing the society (Li, 2017). However, as a newly developed nation at that time, China was unable to compete in the world market. By finding the only “comparative advantage” as the cheap labor force, China privatized many enterprises and give more job opportunities to the migrant workers to develop the productivity of workers and is now the world’s leading platform of manufacturing exports (Li, 2017). However, it’s still improper to call China as a “capitalist” country, because many of the market share is still in the hold of government-owned companies. But with more opportunities to develop, China is now free to capitalist principles. So, the 21st century China, holds a unique way of looking into the society with both socialism and capitalism factors.

Choosing the best social class approach for the 21st century

With an overview of how Chinese society works and forms, it’s now time to choose a most suitable approach.

To begin with, China now has a mixed society with both capitalism and socialism factors, so the classification of proletarian and bourgeoisie may not be clear enough to identify. So, the exploitation and domination approach may be suitable for the Chinese society in the early 20th century, when Karl Marx’s theory and the socialism society was still in its embryonic stage, but not the society in the 21st century with many capitalism factors and less conception of exploitation and domination in it.

The “the opportunity-hoarding approach tend to fit in the modern Chinese society. China now is putting itself in the center of the world market, and the basic background of the opportunity hoarding approach of “market” tend to fit it pretty well. However, the inequality brought up by the “social closure” also exists and stays unsolved in the modern Chinese society. According to Minqi Li’s (2017) research in 2014, the urban workers (mainly consists of jobs which need long and costly training, such as engineer, professor, etc.) earns twice as much as rural workers (mainly consist of peasants). This statistic reinforces that the inequality has not been eliminated in the opportunity hoarding approach in China.

It’s the same thing for the individual-attribute approach, while many ascribed factors (e.g. someone who is born in a poor family and is not capable of education) cannot be eliminated, and thus, aggravate the inequalities in the society. However, the individual-attribute approach formed a rather clear classification system which will be easier to observe.

With the discussion above, we can find out that it will be really hard to find a most suitable approach for the specific situation of the 21st century China considering all the social, economic, and cultural factors. All these factors interact with each other and influence mutually. May be the best choice is to take beneficial points in each approach. For example, put more socialism factors in the opportunity-hoarding approach, by further developing capitalist market, the problem of “social closure” can be mitigated by having a sense of social equilibrium in mind. Also, considering more about the interaction between ascribed and achieved factors will be helpful to think of the society as a whole and will be easier to find out where the problem is. Equilibrium can never be fully eliminated, what we can do is to find a way to alleviate it.

Conclusion

To summarize, the essay finds a suitable way of defining class for the 21st century China by looking into the 3 main approaches of social class developed by different theorists (the individual-attribute approach, the opportunity hoarding approach (Max Weber), and the exploitation approach (Karl Marx)). By summarizing the difference of the 3 approaches from the factor of background and the scope of applicability, it’s easy to gain the basic conceptions that is needed to focus on a specific situation. Meanwhile, the essay narrowed down to a specific situation of modern-day China. By studying the historic, economic and social factors that may influence the determination of class, however, a confusing situation came up—not a single approach is perfectly suitable for the Chinese society nowadays. On the other hand, some perspectives in each approach may be suitable and advantageous. Although inequality cannot be fully eliminated, by combining the advantages (market background, socialism, and individual attributes) together, however, can mitigate the inequalities to the maximum extent, and thus, form a unique system that can be suitable for the modern Chinese society.

References

1. Breen, R. (2009). ‘Foundations of a neo-Weberian class analysis.’ p. 31-50 in Approaches to Class Analysis, ed. Wright, E.O. Cambridge University Press.
2. Li, M. (2017). China’s Changing Class Structure and National Income Distribution, 1952–2015, Journal of Labor and society, Volume 20, issue 1, p.61-84
3. Marx, K (2018 [1848]). ‘Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels the Communist Manifesto with an introduction by Yanis Varoufakis’. p.1-34 in Bourgeois and Proletarians, ed. London.
4. Wright, E.O. (2009), ‘Foundations of a neo-Marxist class analysis’. p. 4-30 in Approaches to Class Analysis, ed. Wright, E.O. Cambridge University Press.
5. Wright, E.O. (2016). Understanding Class. Verso. Chapter 1, ‘From grand paradigm battles to pragmatist realism: Towards an integrated class analysis’ p. 1- 18. Also available as also available as ‘Understanding class: towards an integrated analytical approach.’ New Left Review 60, Nov-Dec 2009. https://newleftreview.org/II/60/erik-olin-wright-understanding-class

At what price do other living beings gain the right to their lives? As humans, our species have completely stripped our Earth and the inhabitants of purity and tranquility from the day Eve picked an apple from the tree. As humans, our species have wreaked havoc on every organism and their home for the sake of humanity. As humans now in the 21st century, our species have yet to find the answer to the dichotomy of whether human lives are more valuable than other living beings. While some animal experiments have been deemed significant towards humanity, it is unquestionably evident that animal experimentation should no longer be necessary in 2019. With the up rise of revolutionary technology and many well-established non animal methods, it seems inconceivable that animals are still being tortured barbarically without much scrutiny – especially when these outdated experiments lack reliability in the sense of predicting human diseases.

A factor that plays a significant role in impacting the results of these experiments are the extremely stressful conditions and environment the animals are put through. Without a doubt, caging any animal in from their natural habitat and placing them in a new environment is enough to drive them anxious and confused. Not to mention, they are surrounded by multiple of compounding components that are seen in most laboratories. “…artificial lighting, exposure to loud or aversive sound, arousing odors, and uncomfortable temperatures or substrates… confinement-specific stressors such as restricted movement, reduced treat space, forced proximity to humans, reduced feeding opportunities…” (Morgan KN, Sources of stress in captivity) These external circumstances immensely influence the research results. Imagine how you would feel like if you were suddenly taken from your home and placed in a laboratory, to be tested on involuntarily.

Not only do you not have a choice, but you’re then treated without remorse and brutally. Any sentient creature would be incredibly stressed and would be prone to a multitude of mental disorders, or even physical disorders. And so, when stress and anxiety is present, it can cause other conditions and diseases in the test subject itself. “…rats housed in such conditions show an inflammatory response in their intestines accompanied by leaky blood vessels.” (Baldwin A, Too stressed to work) Variables like these can ultimately impact the outcome, as underlying diseases and conditions will clash with whatever is used on the animals and create results that are not valid. Regardless or not if an animal is tested on in optimum conditions or in their natural habitat, human interference is enough to deviate the animal from being in their normal mental state. Simply put, these conditions can completely invalidate the futile practice of animal testing, as general scientific experiment rules are being violated each time.

Correspondingly, what makes animal experimentation even more flawed is the fact that we use animals to test the outcomes for humans. Most animals commonly used in experiments are mammals like us, but most fail to realize is that while we are all made up of genes – they all are coded and expressed differently for each species. For example, “The disruption of a gene in one strain of mice is lethal, whereas disruption of that gene in another strain has no effect… In other words, one strain of mice isn’t predictive of another strain of mice.” (Akhtar, Animals aren’t little humans) In other words, translation of human models and their diseases to animal models is misleading, as human genes and other organisms’ genes are expressed in completely contrasting ways.

Can a machine replace the position of an editor? In part, it does seem to be possible thanks to GPT-3 technology, which is nothing more than an artificial intelligence (AI) model whose main utility is the generation of texts from a seed text. “Although a priori it can be a threat to humans, GPT-3 is usually used more as an inspiration tool to generate a base and for the editor or content creator to improve it”, comments José Gabriel García Ortega, CEO of La Caja Company. Although many companies are reluctant to incorporate it, GPT-3 technology is one of the first systems to show the possibilities of general artificial intelligence and, therefore, it could become a great discovery of the 21st century. Thus, García Ortega has developed five keys on the GPT-3 and analyzes how it is revolutionizing the content generation ecosystem. In my essay, I want to highlight them.

Firstly, like all AI, GPT-3 has had a pre-launch training process in which a total of 500 billion words were extracted and processed from all public books ever written and available, the entire Wikipedia, and millions of web pages and scientific documents available on the Internet. Once passed, it was released in June 2020 by the artificial intelligence organization OpenAI.

Secondly, GPT-3 is truly a great revolution in the sector. In 2019, OpenAI released GPT-2, an earlier version that worked with 1.5 billion parameters. The revolution came from the hand of GPT-3 since it works with 175,000 million parameters, a very considerable increase in processing capacity, and for which it is increasingly demanded by companies. However, there are bigger tools like Google’s GShard, which has 600 billion parameters. “We will see more and more companies betting on this way of generating texts since, in addition to saving time, it is a solution that provides knowledge and training on any subject”, says García Ortega.

Moreover, GPT-3 is still an API that applied to a product gives you a solution. In this specific case, from a text request, the API returns a finished text that must then be perfected or rectified. Thanks to the number of parameters it has, it is capable of convincingly writing by connecting letters, words, and phrases. “Its composition algorithms are trained to be able to complete a text easily, in the most coherent way possible, from an initial sentence, adapting it to various jargons, such as that of a lawyer or doctor”, adds Ortega García.

Its main utility is the generation of a written language through texts for articles, social networks, etc. The question is whether GPT-3 is capable of writing like a human without the reader being able to distinguish it. Although the majority opinion is yes, it could only be so for short texts such as social media copy. However, for longer texts, it is usually used as an inspiration that generates a base so that later a human person can touch it up.

The programming ability is the latest utility that is revolutionizing the sector. Programming does not stop being a generation of texts from a seed, facilitating the planning of the company at any level. The big difference with other AIs is that they needed training focused on a single task, while GPT-3 is a generic model capable of adapting and imitating various tasks.

Summing up, we can say that the GPT-3 technology is a real discovery of modern times, and its revolutionary potential is obvious.

Ethics are the accaptable principles and virtues that are needed to conduct a process diligently. According to KD Clouser (1974), medical ethics doesn’t have its own unique methods or principles rather medical ethics is the enterprise of understanding the specialized facts and relationship of the medical world, to apply more precisely the familiar moral rules of everyday life.

Factors that promote medical ethics in the 21st century

According to M. Parker, T. Hope (2000), Social factor promotes medical ethics in the 21st century since the doctors are obliged to be more open to the patients about their condition, the kind of cure available and both the negative and positive effects of each medication. This idea follows the concept of a consumer well informed is free to choose and construct the idea of a well behaved doctor in the light of this model

According to M. Parker, T Hope (2000) The media is also a key driving force in the medical ethics. Along with the public participation in the filled of medicine, a lot of concerns have been raised about the procedures necessary to ensure high medical standards including high ethics and communication standards. This has brought a lots of awareness of the ethical issues faced by the doctors which the public might reasonably hold views such as: Should widows be allowed to use their dead husband’s sperms in order to have a baby?

Philosophy has also helped in the development of medical ethics through social ideas. According to M. Parker and T. Hopes (2000) even though the implication of the principles of patient autonomy has been a response to increasing consumerism, it has helped to determine how consumer model is adapted to the relationship between patients and health professionals.

Technology sciences and diseases. The question on whether or not should elderly women be assisted in becoming pregnant has been raised more often than not. According to the medical ethics this is a positive contribution towards the medical development but according to the general public it’s bizarre action

Goal of medical ethics education in the 21st century

According to a journal written by Eckles, Rachael; Meslin, Eric M PhD; Gaffney, Magret MD; Helft, Paul R. MD IN (2005) The literature suggests there are two points of view that exist the skills of analyzing and resolving ethical dilemmas commonly known as virtue or skill dichotomy and the teaching of ethics is a means of creating virtuous physicians

Creating virtuous physicians

There are three articles that argues that the goal of medical ethics education is to create virtuous physicians Freeman (1994) argues that physicians include the basic core traits of character such as honesty integrity and dedication and that medical ethics should foster virtuous physicians who possess such traits

In the second argument, Pellegrino ED and Thomasma DC (1993) the merits of both sides of the skill dichotomy even though they argue that the ultimate goal of medical ethics educations is to create virtuous physicians.

The third argument is somehow similar to the first except that Shelton (1999) argues that “A good doctor” possess virtues such as “respect, compassion, honesty and characteristics fundamental to any morality and that all medical caregivers are expected to fully embrace.

Teaching skills

According to Miles et al the following are some of reasonable goals of teaching ethics to acquire skills

• To enable physicians to examine and affirm their own personal and professional moral commitments.
• To teach physicians to recognize the humanistic and ethical aspects of medical careers.

The goals are realistic and flexible thus the objective that is to gain skills will be archived in due time.

On the other hand, Glick’s proposal differs in that an ethical proposal should do more than; “provide intellectual tools and interactive skills to deal with ethical problems”. He argues that more character in medical school is built upon the arrival in the school.

Conclusion

In conclusion, medical ethics have greatly improved through-out the past century and will continue to do so as long as there is will. As they say, where there is a will there is a way

References

1. Eckles, R., PhD, M. E., Gaffney, M. M., & Helf, P. R. (2005). Academic Medicine. Chicago: MacMillan.
2. ED, P. (1993). The metamorphosis of medicine . Rome : JAMA.
3. Freman JW, W. A. (1994). Virtue and longitudinal ethics education in medical school. New York: SDJ med.
4. M.Parker, T. (2000). Medical ethics in the 21st century. Washington: J intern.
5. Pellegrino ED, T. (1993). The virtues of medical practice. New York: Oxford university press.
6. SM., G. (1994). The teaching of medical ethics to medical students. New York: J.Med .
7. W, S. (1999). Can virtue be taught? Atlanta: Acad Mad.

The problem of 21st century

In 1/16/2019, a news editor form Seattle’s local fox affiliate Q13 was fired, after it was revealed that the editor had aired a doctored clip of president Trump’s January 8 oval office address to the nation. The video was changed to make it look as if the president was sticking his tongue. (studentnewsdaily 1) Media bias is a controversial issue on our population. The media’s goal is to brainwash and guide people toward what they think is best. Bad information leads to bad decisions. On the other hand, some people might say that media bias should occur because sometimes, saying the truth causes problems, and that people should stick to their own roots.

Listening to wrong information leads to very bad decisions. If one hears a bad thing about a person, the first idea that comes to mind is that this person is bad; the same goes for media bias. When you hear the news, now one would know its fake until you read a different article that shows a different story. big media is the reason why mainly America is filled with fake news. Journalists, besotted with their own ideology, are no longer able to recognize their own bias. 462 journalists were tested by people’s comments on social media. Of the 462 people surveyed, 17.63% called themselves very liberal, while 40% called themselves somewhat liberal, and the rest were moderate. Liberal means willing to accept other information which in this case, did not happen. In 2017, fox news posted a statistic that said that 68% of Americans think the press has been tougher on trump than Obama. This was completely fake news. Therefore; in the same month, Trump tweeted that ‘the fake news tweeted is not my enemy, it is the American citizen’s enemy’. This proved that this news was completely fake. (examples. Dictionary 1) this clearly shows that bad information leads to bad decisions and values. Therefore, the media affects the public’s interest in politics to what they want them to hear, not what they need to hear and this is completely irrelevant. In all conversations all over the world, when one receives untrue and bad information, this leads to bad decisions. The same goes for media, which receive bias information and see where they will end up due to bad decisions.

All around the world, conflicts and problems occur between different political parties. Different parties have different thinking styles. They only believe what they think is best for them and their parties. In the United States elections in 2016, two political parties were fighting, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. According to the Washington post, trumps name was mentioned in 14,942 articles, on the other hand, Clinton was mentioned in about half of that amount. A study was made that most of these articles spoke about the positives of Clinton and the negatives of trump. Only fox news talked about trump in a good way. (john sides 1) According to Vivian Martin, a journalism professor, during the bill Clinton and George bush elections, CBS, NBS, and ABC, were showing the rising percentages of Clinton but not of the bush. On the other hand, the fox showed for the bush. This proves the problems that occur on social media between political parties due to media bias. (Vivian Martin 1) Another example is Lebanon, there are more than six political parties and each political party has his own TV channel, and each channel delivers the news as it wants. And this cause people to become controversial which leads to problems between the people that support each party. They start calling each other liars and at the end, no one would know the true story. All around the world, these problems occur with only one solution which is, knowing the truth and following the party that did a positive affect and the things they did were not biased at all.

Media bias changes a lot of people’s minds. It affects one’s beliefs, values, voting values, and political position, and the information that may be gotten might be wrong. Reporter and commentator Walter Lippmann noted that information is transmitted by two steps, one person reads the news and tells this news to his or her friends. And the person that hears the news gets affected by it. And this news keeps transmitting from one person to another. (Walter Lippmann 1). In media there are many factors that make it bias. There is ethnical, racial, class, and religious bias within the media. Media is not always completely honest and objective about their depiction of important issues. Certain issues are made to look a certain way to benefit a certain group and influence public opinion. (Janita thomie 1). A lot of people read what was said about Obama and changed their minds and then completely regretted it. At the end, Obama became president and everyone knew that what the websites and news were saying was totally wrong and that Obama was the right choice according to the true news. If the beliefs are wrong, there is nothing wrong to change towards the better, even if it means changing a family belief about a specific thing or person in politics. Always go towards the true and logical news, not the biased news.

Some people might say that saying the truth will cause problems, and that saying the truth will cause many problems with different groups of people. But this is wrong, there is nothing better than saying the truth in life. And a lot of people say that there is nothing wrong with media bias, as long as you are aware of it. back in the days of the American Revolution, each town received pamphlets from multiple sources on different sides of the issues of the day. People would gather, read, and debate. In those days, they understood that whoever was writing about the issue had an opinion, had an agenda, or had a bias. They didn’t expect somebody else to put it together for them. They didn’t trust anybody to do that. So they read more than one viewpoint, or at least they had to debate it with their neighbors. (allsides 1) these people might have a point of view but still, it is not enough to prove that media bias is a good and positive aspect that occurs between us in our daily lives. Saying what truly happened is the best way to be give people the truth and making a fresh society around us.

Another group of people say that people should to stick to their own roots. Well if this is wrong, if the roots are wrong, change. Go towards the right and lean away from the worse for a good and clean life. No one wants to be brainwashed or forced in believing in a certain way. (all sides) The best thing in life is having people with different perspectives. And this is why media bias comes in handy when it comes to different perspectives. Whether it’s the media or an advertisement, a corporation or union, or even my friends or family, no one wants to be brainwashed or forced into believing one way. Whether they are doing it intentionally or by mistake, no one likes it. Therefore, people should have different perspectives and stick to what they believe is right and fits their logic. (all sides 1) for example in Lebanon, each generation follows the beliefs of the old generation, and even if the beliefs are wrong and don’t play a good role in our society, they keep following it and this is wrong. Follow your own perspective and logic to find your perfect place mentally and live in a good minded society around you, where no problems occur around you.

From all these facts and information, one can conclude that media bias is a negative aspect in our society and that the negatives overlap on the positives. It is something that occurs daily that a lot of people don’t see. People should start being aware about what is occurring around them before they take a wrong decision or speak something that is totally irrelevant to others in our society. Media bias causes problems between different political parties, makes lies, and changes in one’s beliefs, morals, and values. These are the three main reasons to prove that media bias is affecting our society in bad way. Some people might say that all these reasons don’t prove them wrong, they might have a point of view, but all the counter arguments that can be made are going to lose when faced with the reasons that prove why media bias is negative in society.

References

1. Griffiths, Tom. “WHAT SCIENTIFIC IDEA IS READY FOR RETIREMENT?” Edge.org, 1 Jan. 1970, www.edge.org/response-detail/25491. Accessed 7 April 2019.
2. “Examples of Media Bias.” Student News Daily, www.studentnewsdaily.com/archive/example-of-media-bias/. Accessed 7 April 2019.
3. “Media Bias in Today’s Society.” Powered by Sites at Penn State – WordPress, 6 Nov. 2014, sites.psu.edu/amandareznyk/2014/11/06/media-bias-in-todays-society/. Accessed April 7 2019.
4. Pinker, Steven. “The Media Exaggerates Negative News. This Distortion Has Consequences | Steven Pinker.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 17 Feb. 2018, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/17/steven-pinker-media-negative-news. Accessed April 7 2019.
5. Farhi, Paul. “How Biased Are the Media, Really?” The Washington Post, WP Company, 27 Apr. 2012, www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/how-biased-is-the-media-really/2012/04/27/gIQA9jYLmT_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.8c0f8d3468a3. Accessed April 7 2019.
6. Jones, Terry. “Media Bias: Pretty Much All of Journalism Now Leans Left, Study Shows.” Investor’s Business Daily, Investor’s Business Daily, 16 Nov. 2018, www.investors.com/politics/editorials/media-bias-left-study/. Accessed April 7 2019.
7. YourDictionary. “Examples of Bias.” YourDictionary, 10 July 2017, examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-bias.html.
8. martin, vivian. “When Negative Coverage Is Not Necessarily Biased Coverage.” Ad Fontes Media, 3 Feb. 2019, www.adfontesmedia.com/when-negative-coverage-is-not-necessarily-biased-coverage/. Accessed may 8 2019
9. Scanlon, Joseph M., and Monroe Community College. “American Government.” Lumen, courses.lumenlearning.com/atd-monroecc-americangovernment/chapter/the-impact-of-the-media/ accessed may 8 2019
10. “How to Turn Media Bias into a Good Thing.” AllSides, 13 Aug. 2014, www.allsides.com/blog/how-turn-media-bias-good-thing. Accessed may 15 2019

People depend on plants and creatures as sustenance sources and have since a long time ago utilized organisms to deliver nourishments. GMO or genetically modified foods are novel organisms created in a laboratory using genetic modification/engineering techniques. Scientists and consumer and environmental groups have cited many health and environmental risks with foods containing GMOs. However, GMO are everywhere in today’s society where they effect every person through regulations on food consumption, technics and its economy. However, these methods are relatively slow and labor-intensive, are generally limited to intraspecies crosses, and involve a great deal of trial and error. These techniques were invented in the early 1980s as the first transgenic animals and plants containing genetic material from other organisms. The USA and France directed the principal field preliminaries of transgenic plants, which included tobacco designed to contain an herbicide-opposition quality.

In 1990, the US Nourishment and Drug Administration (FDA) endorsed chymosin, a chemical utilized in the generation of dairy items, for example, cheddar, as the main substance delivered by designed life forms to be utilized in the sustenance business. That equivalent year a transgenic bull was built up that had been designed to pass certain human qualities along to his posterity; those qualities would empower his female relatives to create human milk proteins for newborn child recipe. The first country to allow commercialized GMO plants was China, “which introduced a virus-resistant tobacco in 1992, continuing with U.S and France project and enforcing, it has showed how the GM science had advanced over the years” (Husic, 3).

Through just small steps in the great revolution of GMO or genetically modified foods as in today’s world take most of the food supply in stores; with US law regulations like FDA, AMA and national academy of science. The effects of the food consumption by humans, and how it has impacted its economy on this growing market of GMO foods. The FDA isn’t a newcomer to the government administrative world; however, its job has adjusted over the years 25 In its very early years, beginning from its foundation in 1848, the organization (at that point the Agricultural Division of the Patent Office) served as warning job to other government offices on logical and specialized matters. The cutting-edge time of the FDA started in 1906 with the entry of the Pure Food and Drugs Act, which gave the FDA with an extra specialist to implement nourishment and medication guidelines in interstate commerce. The FDA as of now was just a requirement organization, without power to proclaim guidelines or industry standards (Helme, 259-260). Developing disappointment with the 1906 Act’s shortcomings provoked Congress to pass the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 (FDCA). The FDCA conceded the FDA extra expert over restorative gadgets and cosmetics, and accommodated pre-advertise endorsement of drugs.

Another food guideline is too extended with the FDA accepting approval to set up enforceable benchmarks for defiled and misbranded food. Segment 341 awards expert to the FDA Secretary to proclaim and set up for most sustenance a sensible definition and standard of personality, a sensible standard of value, or reasonable standard to fill of container. Adulterated food is defined in Section 342 as that containing any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render it injurious to health, that which contains or may have been contaminated with ‘filth’, or that which has been altered to increase its bulk or value. Many of these regulations shaped the food supplies that we have today in stores GMOs do not present any different or greater safety concern than foods developed by traditional plant breeding (Thompson, 45) the FDA does not require labeling to disclose genetic modification. Such labeling would only be required if the new plant variety constituted misbranding by differing from its traditional counterpart such that the common or usual name no longer applies to the new food, or if a safety or usage issue exists to which consumers must be alerted. The US is the world’s undisputed pioneer in the improvement of hereditary designing and its application in horticulture.

US organizations have driven the advanced biotechnology insurgency in science and are leading the commercialization of hereditarily altered (GM) crops, particularly soybean, corn, canola, and cotton. Hereditary designing has been proclaimed as a mechanical leap forward that is set to change whole mechanical parts. It has likewise been attributed with pushing agribusiness higher than ever of profitability, battling lack of healthy sustenance and guaranteeing nourishment security for what’s to come. The US has used incredible endeavors, money related and political, to advance biotechnology and its appropriation in agribusiness around the world-however with blended achievement. As far back as the main GM sustenance items wound up accessible in general stores in the mid-1990s, buyer obstruction and natural challenges have welcomed the landing of the new innovation. While biotechnology has excited just restricted doubt in North America, numerous general stores and sustenance makers in Europe and somewhere else have disposed of most GM content in sustenance items, and the exploratory planting of GM harvests has kept running into nearby restriction by ranchers and campaigners in nations from India to Mexico (Hisgton, 127).

For example, a number of nations have forced severe import rules for GM seeds and harvests, with some keeping up a total prohibition on every such import, even in the type of nourishment help. What’s more, in 2003, a universal arrangement on the wellbeing of exchange hereditarily altered life forms (GMOs) went into power, in spite of US obstruction. The Cartagena Convention on Biosafety-consulted in the late 1990s under the sponsorship of the UN Convention on organic assorted variety (GBD)— has now turned into the foundation of a rising global biosafety system that legitimizes preparatory exchange limitations on GM seeds and items The points of interest and detriments of hereditarily changed nourishment as a recently grown thing can’t be resolved in a logical layer, on the grounds that there is no proof recommending hereditarily changed sustenance is totally innocuous. Hence, the mentalities to hereditarily altered sustenance around the globe are conflicting, and even WTO is unfit to offer a distinct response to the issue of hereditarily adjusted nourishment exchange the viewpoint of laws briefly. A progression of lawful issues prompted by hereditarily adjusted nourishment should be illuminated by guidelines that are defined by various nations and districts agreeing to their own conditions. “With the improvement of the extent of hereditarily adjusted nourishment in global exchange, just when we ceaselessly profound the acknowledgment and investigation on hereditarily adjusted nourishment, immaculate the law identified with hereditarily altered nourishment, build up regulating data collaboration framework, emphatically coordinate with the creating nations, and sensibly adapt to the debates created in the worldwide exchange of hereditarily altered nourishment can the global challenge of hereditarily altered sustenance be enhanced the reason of protected and requested condition” (Helme, 363). While the US tries to protect these regulations there are people like Joseph Mercola that “Ought to understand that, transgenic innovation can carry erratic commitments to person on the off chance that it creates towards a decent course under the direction of laws and guidelines” (Thompson, 27). Directed relapse examination results uncovered that the social portrayal measurements of adherence to innovation and sustenance as a need emphatically impacted the open’s eagerness to devour GM nourishments; nonetheless, the element of protection from and doubt of oddities had a negative impact.

Nourishment innovation neophobia assumed a job in foreseeing individuals’ readiness to expend GM sustenance and applied directing impacts to upgrade the negative connection between the respondents’ protection from and doubt of oddities and their eagerness to devour GM nourishments. This neophobia additionally changed the positive connection between sustenance as a need and ability to expend GM nourishments into negative. One‐way results uncovered that sustenance innovation neophobia impacts the open’s particular social portrayals of GM nourishments, individual domain‐specific inventiveness, and readiness to devour GM foods. Innovations in the nourishment business display a high market disappointment rate incompletely on account of the wonder known as sustenance innovation neophobia, which alludes to dismissal of new or new nourishments. The discoveries of this exact examination can encourage the advancement of a clearer comprehension of individuals’ acknowledgment and utilization of developing advances connected in the advancement of nourishment items in the US.

You may in like manner think it isn’t right for researchers to take qualities for integrating omega 3 unsaturated fats from marine green growth and place them into oil-delivering brassica vegetables. In the event that that is your conviction, as Dr. Gonsalves I regard that. In any case, you do need to recommend what other place we can get omega 3s from, on the off chance that we are not to strip the seas exposed due to overfishing. With the goal that s my tranquility plan. Let’s additionally keep on cooperating to fabricate a common vision for where we need nourishment and cultivating to be in the 21st century. To me, this vision would incorporate nourishing the 800 million individuals who are ravenous. Enduring this circumstance is an ethical shock that without a doubt overshadows all others in this discussion. This vision additionally incorporates handling environmental change, and moving towards an economical cultivating that shuns synthetic compounds and secures the dirt. Be that as it may, we likewise need to keep improving yields so we can bolster a developing populace while cresting and lessening farmland use. Saved the land can be ensured for its biodiversity esteem and where conceivable gave to re-wilding. So, let’s quit battling, and let’s begin joining together. So, let’s stop fighting, and let s start a uniting. To borrow words from Jo Cox, we have far more in common than that which divides us.

Together as a society, we are merging deeper into the twenty-first century, with many difficult challenges and accomplishments along the way. Being hopeful and optimistic about the future will result in a positive rest of the twenty-first century. There is plenty to be hopeful about when it comes to the future, seeing all the work and effort people are putting in to better our world, inspires others to join in and start a movement. As a society, we have to find optimism from the world around us, and look for the good in every situation. Yes, we have to deal with many worldwide problems including climate change, poverty, wars and more, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do our best to help out. Each and every day our world is evolving with new technology being created, and new research being found, all working to save the world and solve the ongoing climate change and climate emergencies we are facing. Having optimism about the future will bring the world new opportunities, improve our life conditions and allow renewable energy to take over the world, and continue to improve our world today.

Day by day, our world is continuing to develop and new opportunities are brought upon us. Not too far down the road, new ways of communication will be available, making it easier for people to communicate around the world. New and upgraded ways to travel will begin to emerge, making it more accessible for people to travel the world, meet new people, and learn new things about different cultures and lifestyles in our society, and hopefully see how serious climate change really is. The new opportunities also allow people to be educated to study new knowledge, making people more eligible to contribute to society, and the issues around us. In terms of countries, the development of people will make them stronger, creating a more balanced atmosphere and living environment for humans. Studies prove that travelling makes people smarter, because we are learning things from all over the world, and viewing all the issues through our own eyes, opening up a new perspective and drive to help out and be optimistic about the future, than those who are not educated on our world and society. Our environment is very valuable, and as a millennial, and those who are around me, will not sit by and watch climate change take over and destroy our atmosphere. Every day, sometimes multiple times a day, I see posts and advertisements on social media such as Instagram and Twitter, posting about climate change, pollution, or other climate emergencies we are facing in the world today. The images, videos and captions are always so eye opening and prompt me to share the post to spread the world. In our society today, teens mostly, but everyone is on social media, which means millions of individuals see the same posts every day, with the same effect it has on me, wanting to help make a change. Having optimism about the rest of the twenty-first century, will bring change and positivity to our society and world around us.

Modern technology is taking over our world. Medicines and machines are now available, that are saving peoples’ lives. It is wild to see the improvement in health care and treatments that have been created thus far in the twenty-first century. One can only imagine what can be improved from today. As the development of new medicines, and medical skills are being invented, it is certain that our life conditions are going to improve immensely, and life expectancy will rise. With life conditions improving, people will be around on this earth for much longer, which means we should want to have a clean and healthy world to live in. The individuals of this generation still have decades to go living in this atmosphere, so why wouldn’t we do what we can to save the world and help contribute to solving climate change. Climate change is affecting our lives as well as our loved ones’ lives, it is taking away from the quality of our world and it is progressively getting worse and worse as people continue to take poor care of our environment. For millennials, like myself self-actualization, and purpose are coming really early on in our lives, and it seems to be the earliest it’s ever happened for any generation in the world. Young people are becoming educated about the world issues at such a young age these days, and everything is so publicly talked, that people are realizing the seriousness and importance of our environment. Millennials want to grow up in a clean world, and will not give up on making a change. There are already thousands of non-profit organizations, fundraisers, movements that have been put in play to motivate and raise awareness about our future on this earth and the effects of climate change, and what we can do as a society to help. Having optimism towards wanting to make the world a cleaner place, motivates me and millions of people every day to look for the good around us and want to make a change. Everything is always evolving and becoming more advanced, I want to live into the future to see and experience life in a cleaner way.

Renewable energy is key to fighting climate change. It is one of the most efficient tools we have of fighting climate change, and there are many reasons to believe it will succeed. Renewable energy is taking over the world slowly but surely. Costa Rica has been running 100% on renewable energy for over a year now, and Germany and the UK are running 50% on renewable energy. Countries are making the change to fuel our world with renewable energy. The cost of renewable energy, such as solar and wind energy, is dropping faster than expected, which means more countries are in favor of making the switch over. Renewable energy is becoming increasingly competitive with fossil fuels, but in some places renewable energy is already cheaper than continuing to work with other, inefficient forms of energy. These cost trends are expected to continue, with careful planning, renewable energy and clean energy options, such as increased energy efficiency and storing energy for use later will help pave the way. There is continuing advancements being made each day to improve the renewable energy field, and it has made a huge progress towards pollution and climate change in our society. In addition to the climate benefits of renewable energy, renewables already provide a wide range of market and public health benefits that greatly outweigh their costs. Some nuclear plants, and other non-renewable energy companies are beginning to shut down, and re designing and opening as a 100% clean energy company. Seeing companies and plants making a change for the environment and to help the world climate change should motivate others to follow in the same footprint and go clean as well. Seeing people around the world making a change, is what gives me the optimism and hope for a brighter future. “Replacing fossil fuels as an energy source with green power is the most important action, we can take to address the impacts of climate change on health and to reduce pollutants that can lead to disease” (‘Importance of Renewable Energy in the Fight Against Climate Change’, 2015), said Rame Hemstreet, chief energy officer, who works for Kaiser Permanente, which is a healthcare company based out of the United States. This quote stood out to me and felt exceedingly true to me. It represents the importance of transforming to using renewable energy sources, as it is not only beneficial for the fight against climate change, but it is also vastly important for our health. Renewable energy could supply four-fifths of the world’s electricity by 2050, massively cutting carbon emissions and helping to mitigate climate change. this means speeding up innovation in business and technology. Above it all, it means taking action to promote renewable energy today, but we can’t do that without having optimism and a drive to want to make the change. Future predictions for the total CO2 emissions from all sectors clearly show that only 10% of our energy will be produced (‘Climate Policy Drives Shift to Renewable Energy’, 2017) from non-renewable energy sources, which is a huge improvement, and hopefully will be played out in the next couple decades. Seeing all the positive changes being made around the world, making the switch to using renewable energy sources, and other practical changes being made, is what gives me and the world optimism and hope towards the remaining years in the twenty-first century. I hope to see these changes continued to be carried out and making a positive change towards climate change.

Optimism is having hopefulness and confidence about the future, seeing the worthwhile changes that are currently being made in regards to our earth, and fight against climate change. I have optimism about our future, after reading many articles and research about the future projections, and motives being put in action, to better our world and make changes for the better, it gives me even more hope that our society is going to improve, and climate change will be conquered. Making a big impact on the earth takes years, decades even, but every positive contribution is a step in the right direction. As a society, we have to work together to make a change. Once people learn how serious climate change is, and the damage that is being done, it usually opens their eyes to the seriousness of the situation and want to make a difference. As the future is full of new technologies, ideas, challenges, there are always new opportunities that come along with every situation. With new ways of communication and ways to travel, will further educate the population as they will be able to travel and learn about the different issues around the world and what we need to do to help. New modern technologies are producing and finding research for new medicines and medical skills to improve our life conditions and expand our life expectancy. While this is a positive statement, it also means that we will be on this earth longer and we want to live in a clean and healthy atmosphere, with clean air, safe drinking water and a generally healthy living environment. As millennials, we need to make the changes the world needs and do our part to fight climate change. Lastly, one of the biggest factors benefiting the fight against climate change, is renewable energy. Renewable energy is rapidly taking over other forms of energy, and it is proven to be the best cure in the fight against climate change. Our world is so beautiful, with so many discoveries and experiences to be made, so why wouldn’t I be optimistic to see a brighter future and hope the rest of the world does too.

Introduction

Wellness refers to the act of practicing healthy habits daily to achieve better physical and mental health. Is not just waiting to get sick to do something about it, is preventing it daily to live in harmony with ourselves, society, and our surroundings. According to the World Health Organization health is defined as not only the absence of sickness but also the state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being (Pappadopulos, 2020). According to a module developed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), there are eight dimensions of wellness: emotional, environmental, financial, intellectual, occupational, physical, social, and spiritual. Its base is that if people can maintain a balance between these eight dimensions they are on the right path to be happier and healthier.

Body image is more than what we see in the mirror. Body image is also related to the mental picture that we have of our body and how we feel when we look at our body in the mirror. We can say that body image has influenced modern society greatly. Nowadays social media and society make us more cautious and concerned about how we look and how see ourselves. Even if the views projected by society of how we should look are wrong it impacts our self-esteem in a great manner.

Lens Connections

· History

If we look at sculptures and artworks throughout history, we can see how beauty was represented as curvaceous and thicker bodies. From prehistory to the 1900’s the woman’s body was represented as full-figured silhouettes, with round, pear-shaped bodies. It is unclear if this represented beauty or fertility. In this past century, the norms or what was considered beauty was thin, waif-like model body type (Howard, 2018). The 1920s and 1980s were the period where a woman to be considered beautiful had to be skinny (Howard, 2018). The bust-to-waist ratio promoted the idea that skinny was equal to beauty. Although today, what is considered beautiful is shapely backsides. After the 2010s, there was a shift where body diversity was celebrated. Also, even though body image was a term associated with women, nowadays days men are equally concerned about how they see themselves and how society sees them.

· Humanities

Body image is a fundamental piece in humanities. Social media, which is a fundamental part of humanities, has helped to create a more understanding and inclusive environment for all body shapes (King Univ, 2019). But also, it can hurt people’s perception of their bodies, and it can create anxiety in users comparing their bodies to the appearance of others.

· Natural and applied sciences

“People who experience high levels of body dissatisfaction feel their bodies are flawed in comparison to others, and these folks are more likely to suffer from feelings of depression, isolation, low self-esteem, and eating disorders” (NEDA, 2018). When a person develops an eating disorder it puts their lives at risk and causes severe damage to their physical and mental health. Another aspect of science that is affected by body image is medicine. Many people resort to aesthetic surgery to “correct” any part of their body they are not satisfied with. “Body image dissatisfaction is a feature of several psychiatric disorders, from eating disorders and depression to gender identity disorder and schizophrenia” (Sarwer, 2008). Body image and self-esteem are tightly connected with mental health, when you like your body, you can value yourself and this has a positive impact on the individual mental health and vice versa.

· Social Sciences

Social sciences refer to the study of society and the relationships between people. Society and special the media have a great impact on an individual perception of themselves. Being bombarded with images of how we should look can drastically affect negatively our body image. “The media is a powerful tool that reinforces our values, and while it may not be fully responsible for determining the standards of physical attractiveness, escaping those images we see is impossible” (Torrisi, 2018). Is important to have a positive network of family and friends to help build a positive body image.

Resources:

1. Howard, J. (2018). The history of the “ideal” woman and where that has left us. CNN. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/07/health/body-image-history-of-beauty-explainer-intl/index.html
2. NEDA. (2018). Body Image & Eating Disorders. NEDA. Retrieved from https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/body-image-eating-disorders
3. Pappadopulos, E. (2020). What is wellness? Pfizer.com. Retrieved from https://www.pfizer.com/health-wellness/wellness/what-is-wellness#:~:text=Wellness%20is%20the%20act%20of,how%20it’s%20linked%20to%20health.
4. Sarwer, D. (2008). Body Image: Interfacing Behavioral and Medical Science. Aesthetic Surgery Journal. Retrieved from https://watermark.silverchair.com/28-3-357.pdf?
5. Torrisi, J. (2018). Body Image-Self Esteem – Influence of Society. Medium.com. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@juliettorrisi1/body-image-self-esteem-influence-of-society-565df66ac155

The influences for my own manifesto begin with manifestos by; Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc’s “Preface to Der Blaue Reiter Almanac” (1912), Vincente Huidobro “We Must Create” (1922), Barnett Newman “the sublime is now” (1948) and Claes Oldenburg’s “I am for an art” (1961). The fundamentals of these manifesto’s wish for exploration of endless possibilities, a desire to be the movement that urges change in the art scene. I want my manifesto to express that art is no way easy, a creation is filled with artistic pain and displays the beauty of the creator. Art can be interpreted in many ways and I want my manifesto to urge people to explore everything and anything, art cannot be defined. The significance of these manifestos in art history have engaged me further to explore ideologies in more detail, sharing my contemporary attitude along with others.

Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc were part of the German expressionist movement, they believed in the advancement of modern art. Thus, wanting to breakthrough from foregoing art but in no means rejected it. The objective of their manifesto “Preface to Der Blaue Reiter Almanac” (1912), is to shed light on universal human experiences, emotions and ideas, sharing this concept with the world for societies benefit.“our [first and] most important aim is to reflect phenomena in the field of art that are directly connected with this change and essential facts that shed light on these phenomena in other fields of spiritual life.”( Kandinsky.W, F.Marc, 1912,pp 37). He sought to convey profound spirituality and the depth of human emotion through a universal visual language of abstract forms and colours that transcended cultural and physical boundaries, reflecting experience. They believed in producing works that have an inner life connected with great change, portraying human compulsion. “Works of art that are nothing, but hollow reverberations of works rooted in the inner necessity. They are hollow, loitering lies that pollute the spiritual air and lead wavering spirit astray”( W. Kandinsky.W, F.Marc, 1912,pp 37) Deems that complete abstraction offers the possibility for profound, transcendental expression and that perhaps coping from other works or even nature interfere with this process. Disregarding works of art that are imitations instead of something more substantial or richer in meaning spiritually. According to Düchting, H, Kandinsky “summarized the central idea of the new art in a pamphlet he published in 1896; “the greatest mistake one can make is to believe that art is the precise reproduction of nature” this revolutionary approach alluded primarily to the works of the sculptor Hermann Obrist”(Düchting, H. 2000. pp 13.) Whom triggered a sensation with his audacious abstract carpet designs, sculptures and drawings. Kandinsky and Marc evoked emotions through a combination of sensations through their use of colour and abstract forms, influencing the idea of speaking from your higher self and by doing so encompassing values, ideas that correlate the imaginations capabilities.

Vincente Huidobro, a Chilean poet involved in an artistic movement called creationism. Huidobro’s manifesto suggests that the imitation of previous human productions will not give complicity of the artist within that’s context is intrinsic to its meaning. “inventing is making things that are parallel in space, meet in time or vice versa, so that they present a new fact in their conjunction” (Huidobro, 1922. pp. 218) simply stating that when various facts are fixed together and create new facts, their connection is creating something unfamiliar, something new. There is clear evidence that from the beginning of art there has been a tendency of imitation, according to McKeon “a discourse on music, painting, and poetry” ‘treats poetry, painting and music as three types of imitation differing in the media and modes of imitation’(Harris. J 1744 pp.55). “poetry must not imitate the aspects of things but rather follow the constructive laws that are their essence, guaranteeing the real independence of everything.”(Huidobro, 1922. pp. 218). Essentially by avoiding imitation in the production of creative outlets and using laws as guidelines will reinforce your independence as an artist, distinctively giving the artist meaning. The push for new creations urges change in societies thoughts by connecting facts, possibly impelling people to think beyond what is known.

Barnett Newman’s manifesto “The Sublime is Now” (1948) intentionally aims to defuse the ideals of beauty from art history and endorse this idea of the sublime, he believed the sublime is best expressed through our own emotions, communicating a sense of locality, presence and possibility. Newman argued for abstract, expressionism and impressionism, “Newman’s extremely reductive style is exposed as nothing less than a subversion of the modernist norm of formalism, in an attempt to elevate art to the spiritual and philosophical questions to which he believed it was best dedicated and best suited to expressing” (McNickle, M., 1996.) Men desired to create perfectly rendered artworks and became confused with the absolute and what the absolute is. Europeans struggle morally to understand their emotions beyond beauty of plasticity art, not realising what they are creating is not reality or beauty, confusing their desire for sublimity. The impressionist inaugurates the movement to dismantle the idealism of beauty, by replacing perfectly rendered skin with harsh hard brush strokes. “However, in discarding renaissance notions of beauty, and without an adequate substitute for sublime message, the impressionist were compelled to preoccupy themselves, in their struggle, with the culture value of their plastic history, so that instead of evoking a new way of experiencing life they were able only to make transfer of values.”( Newman, B 1948,pp325). Barnett Newman’s ‘zip’ artworks has aesthetics of a two-dimensional space, differentiating him from mainstream expressionist, exploring the possibilities of one’s self and how being present in that space generates emotions. Paul Crowther states “his theory-determined repetition of minimal visual format is easily misread as an insistence of the two dimensionalities of the canvas for its own sake, and thence an attempt to reduce painting to its pure essence. (Crowther, P., 1984 pp. 57). The simplicity of the work encapsulates your presence and locality. Johnson.E.H articulates that “The Americans evoke their world of emotion and fantasy by a kind of personal writing without the props of any known shape. This is a metaphysical act. With the European abstract painters, we are led into their spiritual world through already known images. This is a transcendental act. To put it philosophically, the European is concerned with the transcendence of objects while the American is concerned with the reality of the transcendental experience.”(Johnson, E.H., 2018 pp19) Differentiating European art to American art like Newman, conveying yet again that European struggle to create something beyond their emotions. Drawing from Newman’s ideas of beauty and the effects of beauty in art history. Thus, perpetuating the idea of the absolute, disregarding the superficial aesthetics that may exist in societies minds.

Claes Oldenburg manifesto “I am for an art” (1961) articulates the possibilities of using anything in one’s surroundings as art, making the ordinary extraordinary. The pop artist wanted to create a movement that was inclusive of anyone and anything, “I am for an art that is political-erotical- mystical, that does something other than sit on its ass in a museum”(Oldenburg, C 1961 pp352) expressing that anyone can be an ‘artist’ and have the social platform to do so, this day an age allows for people to share their creations and voicing their thoughts. Breaking free from the typical displays of art. Oldenburg used word play, bad puns and jokes to promote his art movement for art history and its future. According to Danchev “He became a prominent figure in the Happenings of the late 1950s: anarchic, semi-scripted group performances making use of sculptural props and sets (Danchev, A. 2011 pp351). The happenings began in 1960’s, they were intimate artist performances that explored imaginary and realistic incidents, putting emphasis on our relationships in everyday life. “Theatre is the most powerful art form there is because it is the most involving. . .. I no longer see the distinction between theatre and visual arts very clearly . . . distinctions I suppose are a civilized disease.’ (Oldenburg, 1962). Incorporating these performances gave a unique visual experience, presenting an opportunity for the audience to absorb and apply it to their way of thinking, this was a significant part of his practice. Oldenburg’s manifesto influences the ideas of endless possibilities, having minimal limits or laws within the artworld.

These artists have all been part of movements in art history that has aimed to shift societies thoughts towards art, shedding lights on new perspectives. Encouraging people and other artist to explore what’s deeper within themselves emotionally and spiritually, through their use of colour, forms, space, words and objects. It has shifted my thoughts in the sense that art is free and cannot be defined in anyway shape or form. If a creation urges the viewer to feel something about the work or the creator himself, then their work has been successful. Having such a tangible medium that can imply so much …

Childhood trauma will have an instantaneous, immediate, and probably overwhelming impact on the power of the ability of a child to learn. This issue is usually ignored by our education system because the child doesn’t know how to speak out. When I was a child, literacy was an important part of education where learning starts through the implementation of instruction through real-life experiences. 21st-century learners like myself mainly inherit memorization of facts, procedures and connect with real life experiences, which is not enough for success. Students like myself need to be able use critical thinking in order to evaluate what is being read and to be able to express clearly both verbally and in writing, and understand what is being taught. When I was in middle school, literacy was seen as a learning process, a set of skills, can be applied and as text. Earlier in historical literacy was seen as oral competencies, such as reading and writing to enhance cognitive skills. Skills were developed for a learner like myself to gain access to knowledge and information. As I learned, I become more literate. When I was a child, I began to read through a process of decoding by learning to connect words with the real-life things, describing words and sounding words out on the page of a book through pronunciation. There are methods set in place to help educators like myself enhance the knowledge of students. As a teenager I, began to develop stronger critical thinking skills and a better understanding and I saw in the classroom how history took a shift to meet the needs of 21st century learners.

Literacy is very important when it involves 21st century learners because of technology. I was able to type personal poems, songs and journals to tell stories of what I remember of my traumatic experience as a child. Literary using technology deals with programing a code or just to know how to work simple tools like cell phones, computer and laptops. That can be hard when you experience trauma because you may have things holding you back from mastering the basic literacy skills. Technology is becoming more advanced and the meaning of literacy is becoming more complexed for the 21st century. This means learners like myself are able to type and publish narratives, poems or any other form of writing about traumatic experiences. This means that society needs more skills to help children, teenagers and adults in the future who have experienced trauma. There are individuals like myself who may have been through trauma as a child or an adult that write narratives, books, journals, poems and get them published as a part of the healing journey because it becomes an outlet. My literacy was impacted by many traumatic experiences that happened and it still sits in my memory. Literacy is very powerful, especially when experiencing trauma because it affects the way you speak, interact with others, read and write. For a while, as a child and teenager I was very quiet and I did not speak much. I use my literacy on every topic to talk, to understand, to communicate facts, opinions and everything else, but I did not know how to express myself out loud inside and outside the classroom.

Writing helps me cope with the trauma and enhances my literacy skills inside and outside of the classroom. While going through or surviving trauma, you may feel the need to express emotions through writing in journal, writing poems, narratives or on social media. In today’s society, social medias have taken over the world and people are saying things that could lead to regretting it. When I was a teenager, I put all of my feeling regarding my life on social media. It was my way of getting put how I felt about my life. These things cannot be taken back because it has been written down. It becomes permanent and is now able to be traced. The world is moving at a fast pace and sometimes life gets people off track because of trauma and my life was all over the place. I felt lost; I did not know what direction to go in. When going through a traumatic experiences or traumatic events, it forces you to grow faster like it did to me. This means that individual may not have grasp the basic concepts of literacy and may have trouble learning and focusing in the classroom like I did.

Without having the basic tools of literacy, humans are brainless and just wondering around. I was brainless and I was just wondering through life trying to figure out who could save me. When going to trauma you feel lost and brainless because the memories are chasing you and running through your mind every second of your life. This may cause someone to not think before speaking or making a decision. When I was younger after experiencing trauma, I never thought before speaking. I was so angry on the inside that I wanted to hurt everyone because I was hurt. They do say, “Hurt people, hurt people.” This could lead to bad consequences. If literacy was banned, the world would be with many problems, especially if people go through and survive trauma, it would make things worse for life. Most people would react based off an emotion or feeling. I reacted off my emotions and feelings all the time after experiencing trauma. It was like the traumatic experiences controlled my mind and my life.

If looking through a lens of roles of powers and expectations history of literacy/reading instruction thus far, moral power and control takes over because people were expected to worship God. I grew up in a family where worshipping God was very important. My grandfather was a pastor, so I was raised in the church. Through the lens of power there is a magnifying glass that changes perceptions, communication and relationships. People put on acts for those in power whether it is conscious or not and it alters people’s relationship to them, and hence their perception of themselves. I acted a certain way around family and another way around friends when I was younger. People depend on the reflection of others like those in power to get a sense of themselves. I viewed myself based off what people thought about me because I did not know my worth after going through traumatic experiences. Looking through the lens of power changes this reflection and sometimes can put people at risk. How does this lens of power operate? People may see a leader as a symbol or role model for their life to be complete, not just as an individual who is of higher authority. I saw my grandfather that was a pastor and teachers as a role model in my life. I often looked to people to help me get out, turning away from family. I wanted to get out of what I was trapped in and needed people to model what life should be like for me. My mom was a good role model for my life, but I even turned away from her because I was running away from my problems and did not want my mom to help me fix it. I wanted to do everything myself. Everything you do society does and say becomes a cultural norm to obey or resist and you do it because it is what you see.

Sometimes people in society will be unfairly criticized, your actions are misinterpreted, and your failures are unexcused. It’s critical to be aware of others’ projections, stereotypes, and unrealistic expectations of the role, and ultimately those of high power set high expectations for society to follow. Roles of power and assumptions take control of the mind and it allows for people to be treated differently and relate differently, especially if there is trauma involved. Leading through this twisting lens of power and expectations it can be challenging for those who go through trauma to follow those who are in a role of responsibility, authority, and power. Assumptions are then increased because those who go through trauma feel like they are judged based off actions and behavior. When being judged and laughed at based of literacy development in the classroom or because you are too quiet, it caused me to close up and not want to speak about my traumatic experience. Writing it down to tell a story was the only way to get out of the broken felling I had inside.

I only feel free when I am writing things down inside and outside the classroom. I had so much built up inside of me and I was afraid to speak even when it came to my academics. I was very shy around people inside and outside the classroom and I was too shy and timid to meet new people when being introduced. I had my guard up; I was very defensive of who I would allow into my life and open up to. This went on from the age of twelve up until today’s adulthood. This is still the same. I have to observe a person and really get to know them before allowing them in my life. My literacy was affected by these traumatic experiences. I could never forget because it chased me every day. My everyday life was affected and continues to help my literacy skills grow inside and outside of the classroom.

Student trauma is real, but connections with teachers can help heal. When I faced challenging life situations, I often seeked and leaned on others like mentors and teachers. When I was going through a traumatic experience, there was a higher risk for negative impacts on my learning, social life, health, and wellbeing. That is because both my emotional and social pain took over my brain and body. My trauma had an emotional impact on me because it changed my brain, affecting my memory, my cognition, and my learning capacity. The results of my trauma led me to acting out, exhibit big emotions, and struggling with impulsivity in school. This got me in trouble or is mistaken for a learning disorder. In order for students like myself to be receptive to learning during or after experiencing trauma, there needs to be a supportive ecosystem around social and emotional development inside and outside the classroom.

After experiencing trauma, I felt like I needed the extra attention and guidance in my life. I would act out in the classroom or sit alone in the classroom because I did not trust anyone. By my teachers forming strong connections with me in the classroom and my classroom environment, it yielded my relational literacy and allowed adults to develop understanding and empathy for me and other students who have experienced or experiencing trauma.

Autoethnography

Autoethnography is an emerging form of qualitative research that uses personal experiences to tell a story with voice to describe and interpret beliefs and practices to understand cultural experiences in society. Wall (2008) offers a foundation definition of autoethnography when she describes it as an

“intriguing and promising qualitative method, emerging from postmodern philosophy, in which the dominance of traditional science and research is questioned and many ways of knowing and inquiring are legitimated, autoethnography offers a way of giving voice to personal experience to advance sociological understanding” (p. 39).

This definition is the introduction to pursuing the understanding of autoethnography because it demonstrates to the researcher as an autoethnographer using real life personal experiences that through to telling a story through voice, being heard and shedding a light to the society. Autoethnographers are a part of the society they study and the relationship between society and the researcher connect in response to postmodern critiques of representation and legitimation. Denzin (1996) enlightens research by offering texts to audiences that invite participation, collaboration and praxis; in this way that can be said that autoethnographers are attempting to inscribe themselves into their research while writing their works into others’ lives (Arlington 2004). Adams, Bochner and Ellis (2011), through circulating and active literacy, autoethnographers expands and opens up a wider lens on the world, eschewing rigid definitions of what constitutes meaningful and useful research; this approach conjointly helps America perceive however the types of folks we tend to claim, or are perceived, to be influence interpretations of what we study, how we study it and what we are saying regarding our topic (Adams, 2005; Wood, 2009). This self-reflective approach of my life may signal a shift away from social science based on positivism, since as the term itself suggest, autoethnography as a methodology does indeed function in relationship to the narrative of traditional ethnography while being both dependent and critical of its use (Denzin 2008).

Ethnography

Ethnography is writing about cultures unlike your own by using methods like observing, interviewing, surveys, etc to gain a better understanding of what the researcher may see, hear, taste, smell, and touch. A well-known definition of ethnography is found in McGranahan (2014) The writing of the people, the writing of society, the writing of culture. By ethnographic research, anthropologists mean the ever-evolving Malinowskian program of an ethnographer in the field conducting participant-observation paired with a range of other methods, living within a community, and getting deeply into the rhythms, logics, and complications of life as lived by a people in a place, or perhaps by peoples in places (p. 24). Ethnography helps researchers understand how life operates outside of their everyday life. With the ethnography, authors feel that they have control and understanding over the individuals that they are writing about even if a person is writing about themselves. There are different levels in which they operate and interact and why human behave the way they do. Morgan-Trimmer and Wood (2016) explains that through living and working with communities through extended periods of time, often months or years, ethnographers aim to see and describe the world through the eyes of members of that community. They pay specific attention to the standard of living, narratives of events, social interactions, and the cultural meanings and practices of a community.

During the process of ethnography, it helps the researcher reveal common cultural understandings related to the phenomena under the subject in which is being studied. There is a danger that the man of science could introduce bias toward views of his or her own culture. Ethnographers could validate findings through typical repository analysis, observations, consultation with consultants, use of surveys, interviews and different techniques not distinctive to descriptive anthropology to assist them become am knowledgeable at what is being researched.

Background of the Problem

Trauma occurs when external events overwhelm a person’s coping responses and takes over the mind. Trauma can result from adverse childhood experiences, natural disasters, accidents, interpersonal violence or war. Children from all races and socioeconomic backgrounds are influenced by traumatic experiences and it affect their development of literacy inside and outside of the classroom. Children and teenagers’ reaction to trauma can interfere with brain development, learning, and behavior and all of these have a tremendous impact on academic success and the overall school environment. Children and adolescents are developing and growing daily and sometimes life experiences influence humans’ development in both negative and positive ways. Physiological changes to children and teenagers’ brains as well as emotional and behavioral responses to trauma have and an impact on the way they lean, school engagement, and academic success. Trauma experiences during the most sensitive times in children and teenagers’ lives can be harmful to brain development. Traumatic experiences will change the structure and functioning of children and teenagers’ brains through the activation of stress response systems because of the memories they have kept in the back of their heads. The brain is imaging those memories of trauma and children and teenagers may want to write or tell a story about those traumatic experiences.

In addition to changes to the brain, trauma might impact students’ learning and behavior in class. Children and teenagers who have dealt with trauma might notice it more difficult than their peers to concentrate on class material or process new information given; they may even have trouble reading or writing. To make sure children and teenagers literacy skills are developing in the classroom teachers must be willing to treat students’ behavior like reading and math. Teachers can not punish kids for struggling to read or write. Teachers needs to be sure to help students that are experiencing trauma or have been through a traumatic experience by giving the, the proper reading and writing support they need. Children and teenagers should not be punished in the classroom for struggling with social, emotional, or behavioral skills when it comes to literacy. Looking from the lens of a trauma-informed perspective, teachers need to realize children and teenagers need interventions, coaching, and support to develop their social-emotional skills, not punitive measures when they are not able to perform at the expected level. Teachers have a special role and have a big impact on children and teenagers social-emotional skill development through relationships inside and outside of the classroom.

Children and teenagers who are going through trauma or have experienced a traumatic experiences need the proper connections in the classroom in order to build and develop literacy skills. This will help children and teenagers learn from each other in a social context in the classroom. Teachers need to make sure there are a lot of opportunities for student-to-student discussion, collaboration, and feedback in the classroom within students’ zones of proximal development, so that literacy skills can become stronger. Better communication will help children and teenagers open up more in the classroom and help them cope with the harmful effects of trauma.

Statement of the Problem

There is so much pain in the classroom, educators should be mindful that going through traumatic life experiences or surviving traumatic life experiences can sometimes emerge as behaviors that educators may label as challenging. Trauma can cause students to behave in many ways inside and outside of the classroom that may not be seen as normal. It is critical for teachers and educators recognize that frustrated students are often those that have experienced the highest levels of trauma and need the most loving attention and support in the classroom. Children and teenagers who have difficulty connecting and relating to their peers tend to experience ongoing social difficulties throughout their schooling and adult life. The behavioral symptoms of children surviving trauma are can be misviewed or misunderstood and seen as being an intentional and controlled acts or diagnosed as a particular disorder not specifically related to trauma, such as oppositional defiant disorder or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, rather than as symptoms of trauma (Van der Kolk 2005). In order to understand children’s puzzling behaviors, it is very important that teachers and educators take time out to communicate with children’s families on the regularly basis to be able to understand certain behaviors seen in the classroom might be connected to some traumatic experiences (Wright 2014).

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to observe my use and practices of literacy when going through a traumatic experience and coping with the memories of trauma. In the research, I specifically seek to explore through autoethnographic observations of my personal journals, personal narratives, personal poems and personal song lyrics to see how the influence of trauma affects my social literacy practices in the classroom through storytelling. This autoethnography is about writing personal narratives, personal poems, journaling, and personal song lyrics and observing my daily life through the sometimes difficult or traumatic memories that show up in my life from time to time that affected my childhood and adulthood. It is about narrative healing, storytelling and transformation through the practice of autoethnographic writing. Data from my observing my daily life inside and outside the classroom, narratives and journals will be used from 2004-2021.

Educators and policy makers need to consider that traumatized children or teenagers often have trouble managing strong emotions. In addition to connecting and bonding with students inside and outside of the classroom who’ve been traumatized and helping them build missing skills; it is important educators give as much positive attention as possible. It is already a problem that many teachers are never really taught how to help students who have experienced trauma. This can put a stress and strain on their own health and personal lives. Educators and policy makers need to be able to identify when a child is experiencing trauma and develop coping strategies for their schools and classrooms. Policy makers and educators need to support each other in creating and sustaining a positive mindset and environment, a place and belief that all students can achieve success, regardless of what they’re experiencing inside and outside of the classroom. When teachers or educators feel tired and discouraged when it comes to their students, it is important to step back from any stressful situation and remember the bigger picture of what needs to be accomplished. Schools should connect school staff and teachers who might be experiencing difficult situations with students who have experienced trauma by providing the proper training classes and skills. School leaders should take a school-wide approach and create trauma-informed schools that recognize and are prepared work with community members can help students that have been impacted by trauma and traumatic stress.