Identity and Conflict in Bosnia and Macedonia Essay

Identity and Conflict in Bosnia and Macedonia - Essay Example The 2007 book Waiting for Macedonia: Identity in a Changing World and the documentary film We Are All Neighbours consider such matters. Thiessen writes of an â€Å"Us and Them† paradigm in Macedonia, an â€Å"Otherness† that Macedonians have adapted to meet their own perspective on the world and to gauge their place in that world (2007, p. 40). Identity in Macedonia is a fluid concept, with the country’s Slavic population reaching into the country’s ancient past in the effort to construct a national identity (Ibid). Macedonians have had only to consider the existence of a strong European identity in Germany, no stranger to fragmentation, to recognize the benefits of identification with the nation states that comprise the European Union. In Bosnia, identity was compromised in the wake of the Tito regime’s demise. Socialism in Yugoslavia, though coercive, fostered a form of national unity, which, when independence came to the former Yugoslav states, resulted in a gradual social incoherence. The ethnic violence that ensued was, perhaps, unsurprising given the conditions in the 1990s. But the suddenness with which it occurred, and its effects on a multi-ethnic Bosnian village, is the subject of We Are All Neighbours. The lingering effects of socialism and of life under a totalitarian regime have been blamed for the cataclysm of the 1990s. In Macedonia, Thiessen contends that it was not the absence of socialism but an absence of a national context that stirred up ethnic unrest (Thiessen, 2007, p. 25). Identity lay at the heart of the matter. Whereas the existence of Yugoslavia allowed Macedonians to think of themselves in terms of Europe, the post-socialist reality produced nostalgia for Yugoslavia that was tantamount to the desire for a future as part of the European community (Ibid).

The Last Supper Painting by Leonardo da Vinci | Analysis

The Last Supper Painting by Leonardo da Vinci | Analysis Through out history there have been many great artists who have made an impression on society as we see it today. Such as Michael Angelo, Raphael, Donatello and Leonardo Davinci. (now you know where the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles got their names). These men took the chance and did what man had never done or tried, they took art to a whole new level. They did this by pushing limitations and elevated man through their paintings, drawings or sculptures. Many of men have tried to reproduce these arts, but couldnt get them as perfect as the artist themselves. The one man and his works we will be discussing in this paper is Leonardo Davinci, The Last Supper, his sketches, Humanism and how he has had an impact on society. Leonardo Davinci Life beginnings of Davinci Davincis life began when he was born out of wedlock on April 15, 1452 to the parents of  Piero Davinci who was a Notary and to a peasant woman named Caterina in a small town called  Vinci. His father raised him most of his life until later on when he married. Between his father  and biological mother they had a total of 17 children. Because Leonardo was born out of  wedlock he was not worthy of any formal education so he couldnt become a notary like his  father, or become a physician or any other noble profession of that time and period. Now Davincis father saw that he had talent at 16 years old and sent him to be an  apprentice to a Florentine artist named Andrea Verrochio. This is where Davinci began his  career as an artist. As Verrochio taught him many skills Davinci talents emerged as an artist and  a sculptor. While still a student of Verrochios Leonardo was accepted into the painters Guild of  Florence. In 1475 Verrochio and his student Leonardo Davinci together painted the Baptism of  Christ. After the painting Verrocchio realized Davinci was a better painter than him and that is  when he decided to put up his paint brushes for good and retired. Now Davinci was known to be a left handed and dyslexic as well as being a  procrastinating perfectionist who left many of his paintings unfinished and even destroyed some. The mystery will go unsolved to as why Davinci left a lot of his work unfinished. Maybe it was  because he was bored or went on to other projects. We also will never know why he destroyed a  lot of his own work, was it because it wasnt as perfect as he wanted it to be. No one will ever  know the answer, but Davinci himself. However Davinci did finish his first solo painting in  1478 of the Madonna and Child. In 1481 he started painting the Adoration of Magi but never  finished. But in this painting he did reveal what type of technique he used by painting with a  dark surface first than adding elements of light. Now in 1482 Leonardo entered the service of Duke of Milan. The seventeen years that  he spent with the Duke, The Duke always kept him busy painting, designing weapons buildings  and machinery. After the Duke was overthrown Davinci fled to Venice with his assistant and  friend the mathematician Luca Pacioli where he became employed as a military architect and  engineer, devising methods to defend the city from naval attack. In 1500 he returned to Florence  where he created the cartoon of The Virgin and Child with St. John the Baptist. 1502 he entered the service of Cesare Borgia who was the son of Pope Alexander VI as  military architect and engineer. Maps were rare and probably a new concept, but Leonardo  created a map of Borgias stronghold and the township. After seeing the designs and liking  them Borgia made Leonardo his chief military engineer and architect. He was also know for  creating a map while working on another project of constructing a dam that would lead from the  sea to Florence and this would allow a supply of water to sustain the canal during all seasons. Even though Leonardo suffered from paralysis of his right hand he still went on to draw  and paint while teaching others how to paint and draw. Now it is said when Leonardo passed  away on May 2, 1519 the king of France was there by his side cradling his head in his arms. Leonarado Davinci: The original Renaissance man When one thinks of a Renaissance man, what names would one think of? They may  think of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Michael Angelo, Christopher Columbus, William  Shakespeare. Even though these men were very smart, well educated and well rounded for their  time, the only man that is known to be the Original Renaissance man is Leonardo Davinci.,  everything you could vision, do, or invent he had already done, vision or invented. Davinci had many talents; he was a sculptor even though none of his sculptures  survived. He was also a artist, an anatomist, a biologist, a botanist, an engineer, an inventor, a  meteorologist, a musician, a physicist and a writer. He was known to become a master in every  field that he studied. Like Albert Einstein he was a genius well ahead of his time by hundreds  of years. If one were to define the meaning of Renaissance man that definition would be  Leonardo Davinci. Davincis inventions and the modern world Davinci kept his writings, and drawings that pertained to art, science and philosophy in  notebooks which contained about 13,000 pages through out the course of his lifetime. Davincis  sketches have helped science in many ways. Such as his in-depth drawings of the human  anatomy. These sketches have assisted doctors to diagnose diseases and illness in people, and  because these sketches have been in great detail they have enable surgeons to perform better  during surgery. If it wasnt for Leonardo Davinci going into the morgue at night and stealing  bodies, to do autopsies then studying the human body, who knows we might not have any  sketches that is so elaborate of the bone and muscle structure, along with the reproductive  system as we know it today. His excellent description of the human body were well drawn and  easy to understand in his notebooks. In 1505 400 years before the Wright brothers launched their plane the Kitty Hawk,  Davinci had already designed a flying machine. Even though it was just an idea and remained  that way, he gave man wings and left them with an ego. This idea was considered to be part of a  new vision of man as and as a co-creator, almost equal to God. The Famous Last Supper The Last Supper and Humanism Now while Davinci still was serving for the Duke of Milan he was commissioned to paint The Last Supper. Davinci knowing how important this was, he had to decide the location of where the painting would be painted. After great though he decided the Last Supper should be painted on the dinning room wall of the monastery were the monks sat down to eat dinner, located in Santa Maria Delle Grazi. The reasoning behind this was every time the monks would sit down to dinner it would be like sitting down with Jesus and his disciples for their last meal. Therefore Davinci knew that when the Last Supper was painted before, the painters always focused on the breaking of the bread, not on the moment Jesus told the apostles that one would betray him. So Leonardo set out to do just that. First he wanted to bring realism to the Mural, and he actually wanted to show the dramatic moment when Jesus told his closest friends (disciples) that one of them would betray him. After the announcement there is s uch uproar amongst all the disciples, which at this time Leonardo captures, showing each of their reactions? Now the first step was to duplicate everything in the dinning room from the table at which Jesus and his apostles sat at, to the dinning hall windows, and to the illuminated wall that appears to be lit by the window of the room. The Second was to start painting, Leonardo look at how other artist isolated Judas, and putting him on one side of the table as if he was being punished. Leonardo seats him with the others, who are arranged in four groups of three around Jesus. (They say three is considered to be a holy number, such as the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.) The other disciples arguing and looking at one another except the one on the right hand of Jesus who is Judas trying to find out who will betray him. But what Leonardo does he puts shadows around the guilty one. And the silence of Judas and his clutched hands had given him away. Now it is said the Leonardo used real subjects for The Last supper, and that he painted them one by one, putting them in where they belonged., and the person who he choose to pose as Jesus was not affected by sin. When he went to paint Judas he searched every where, and couldnt find anyone that would fit the description he was looking for. Until one day he stumbled upon this man in prison who was sentence to die for the life of crime and murder, that fit his description of a man who had long shaggy hair and was dark skinned, his face that had deceit it in and someone would betray his best friend no matter what the cost. It is said that after Davinci had finished his perfect painting, he told the guard to take the man a way. But the man looked at Davinci before being taken away he asked him if he remembered him, and he said no. He then Looked up into the heavens and said : Oh lord have I fallen so low, then turning his face to the painter he cried, Leonardo Davinci, look at me again, for I am the same man you painted just seven years ago as the figure of Christ (ANGELFAIRY.US, para. 6). We do know that this picture has a lot of human emotions, which would be the first of its kind. Also we do know during the Renaissance period artist did find ways of expressing themselves through their pieces of work, such as adding symbols that would convey someones thoughts and opinions. Also Artist also started adding realistic features to their painting to them look more human. This is where the concept of Humanism came into place. Philosophy of Humanism Chirtianity views on the Last Supper When The Last Supper is mentioned, what comes to mind? Is it the last meal that is offered to a death row inmate before he is put to death for the crimes he committed: Is it the last meal that we partake in before going to bed at night, it could be? But it actually is the last meal Jesus and his twelve disciples partook of the night before he was crutisfied. Now, no one knows what was exactly eaten at this meal, but we do know according to the Bible there was bread and wine at the table. Now Christians of all backgrounds of all religions believe The Last Supper was an important event, and no matter what name you may give it (sacrament, communion, eucharist) it has the same meaning each time they partake of it. They believe it is a quite time that is set aside to remember his death, and it should be always be done in a respectful manner to honor him and to thank him for giving his life for us on the cross. Christians also believe it should be a time when a person also reflects on his or her life. No matter how many times commuion is taken the bread will always symbolize his body and the wine will also symbolizes his blood. thats why he said to Take this bread and eat in remembrance of me for this is my body, then he took the wine and said drink for this my blood that I will shed for you do drink in remembrance of me. Christians believe when he partook in the last supper, he was trying to tell them that we were going to be persecuted for what we believe, and we may even reject him so no harm comes to them. How the Last Supper Influenced Contemporary Society? Davinci Code and The Last Supper Art is about suggestions, not answers. When you have an answer, if yourre not like most people, you tend to stop looking. With Great art, you never stop looking. (Art History for Dummies, 2007, p.164). Since Leonardos Davincis death there has been many theories about his paintings, some are lead to believe that there may be hidden images in them. But not until recently when Dan Browns book and the movie the The Davinci Code has there been such conterversy. He posed a lot of questions such as if what ifs such as What if Jesus was married, had a child with Mary Magdalene? Was he member of a secret society or the Priory of Sion. Mr. Brown has even gone as far as saying instead of John in the picture that the woman sitting next to Christ is Mary Magdalene. Many Catholics and Christians around the world have been intrigued in Mr Browns thoughts and thats why they go on to read the book and watch the movie. Is it truth or is it fiction. It is just what another man or men are led to believe and the mysteries that lie beyond Davincs paintings. Mr. Brown at least puts the questions out there along with other people who have gone on to do the research for themselves. It is not to question the Bible, but about what ifs. One just has to examine The Last Supper for themselves to see if these conspircys are true and it is up to them to believe or not.

Cultural Evolution :: essays research papers

Cultural evolution began to occur during the most recent Ice Age, or within the last hundred or fifty thousand years. This is when the tools that's are used for sophisticated hunting are found; for example the spear thrower, the fully barbed harpoon, and the flint master tools that were used to make all the hunting tools. Cultural evolution took shape because man had the flexibility of mind to recognize inventions and to turn them into community property. The Ice Ages forced man to depend less on plants and more on animals, also the ice changed the strategy in which man hunted. Instead of stalking single animals, the better alternative was to follow herds and not to lose them, to learn to anticipate and in the end to adopt their habits, including their wandering migrations. This adaption is known as the transhumanance mode of life on the move. It adapts the earliest forms of hunting, because it is pursuit, where the animals go and how fast they go there set the pace of life and the geography which where they lived. Also it has the later qualities of herding, because the animal is tended and stored as a mobile reservoir of food. This change from a vegetarian to an omnivorous diet, gave man more free time to spend in more direct ways. Meat is a more concentrated protein than plant, and eating meat cuts down the bulk and the time spent in eating by two thirds. Man would become totally dependent on the animal that he hunted, not only for food but products that could be made using the animals remains. Hides could be used for clothing or shelter and bones and antlers could be made into tools or utensils. Hunting could not support a growing population in one place so the hunters made the choice to either move with the herds or starve. Inventions of tools played a major role in cultural evolution, inventions may have been rare but they spread fast through a culture. Early inventions not only helped man survive but they helped him in becoming a civilized species that had order and control of his lifestyle. Once an invention was discovered, man never left it at that, instead he studied the invention or tool and learned how to make it better or easier to use. The Magdalenian hunter of southern Europe fifteen thousand years ago invented the harpoon.

The Effects of The Television

The television is a two edged sword that has a lot of impact on our daily lives. It has caused some negative impact on human life. Since watching television is so attractive, people read less books or even do not read them at all, wasting time, and the level of communication with other people decrease with more time spent watching television.One impact of the television that it has replaced the importance of book reading in some societies that we live in today. People now prefer to sit lazily in front of the television and take what they need wither it was news, entertainment or education from the television rather than reading a book. This is due to the ease of access to these information and not having to work hard for what they need unlike the case of a book, where people need to find and lookup as well as research the information they need. But thanks to the television they can do that with a click of a button. Another negative impact of the television is the addiction and the ti me consuming that some people suffer from.For some people the television is a part of them, where they cannot be in their normal state without spending their time in front of the television. They just sit there for hours watching whatever is being given to them by the people behind the screen. In other severe cases the television becomes a true addiction and there are certain rehabilitations to help these people get rid of this bad habit. Last but not least, with all that time being spent watching television the social life of the person becomes smaller and the level of communication between the person and other people become negligible in some cases.The person becomes so attracted to the television that it becomes his/her lifestyle with nothing else they would care about more than the television. This negative impact of the television is the beginning of the addiction where it starts taking the person away from his daily life and make him/her a slave for the remote that they hold. In conclusion, the television has changed human life in many ways, but not positively.It has shown more cons than pros, and with those dangerous cons such as replacing the importance of books, spending hours of the individual's time and limiting the social life that a normal person needs, it can turn any individual from sane to insane within weeks of the addiction. In my opinion the television is a two edged sword like any other  device it has advantages and disadvantages. With moderate amounts of time the television is no danger but if it takes the majority of our time then it becomes an issue.

Australian Aborigines †Short Essay Essay

The Australia Aborigine’s culture has always had my attention. From the places they lived to they way they where treated always amazed me. After reading about their rituals, social organization and settlement patterns for the textbook, they are a society of people who are all one. The type of kinship they practice is all is one. For example, if an outsider came to their tribe someone in the tribe would classify that outsider as their mother, and a name that is given to that tribe members real mother will be given to the outsider. According to Scheper-Hughes, N.in the 1993 article: Cephu’s choice: Is natural for human beings to want personal liberty? or is it a peculiarly western concern? some conclusions drawn from the indigenous cultures around the world. â€Å"Among Australian aborigines of the Western Desert, each new person comes into the world circumscribed by ancestral origin myths about ‘Dreamtime’ which structure the world and rigidly define the place of all aboriginal people within it. The myths determine each person’s position and the marriage strategies, kinship ties and friendship alliances that each must pursue in adherence to the sacred geography and its accompanying moral economy. ‘The Dreaming’, wrote William Stanner, ‘determines not only what life is, but also what it can be. Life, so to speak, is a one – possibility thing’. In this aboriginal society there is no sense of personal ‘agency’ fundamental to western notions of liberty and democracy. Nor is there any idea of an individual search for personal salvation which Christian missionaries have tried, but normally failed, to communicate. † The way Australia Aborigines use kinship affects the way they live, act and think. Since there system is â€Å"all is one† they live with the common understanding that they are all under one belief system. This can be compared to when someone in your family marries; the person they marry is now your family. This understanding creates a strong bond between people who are not technical blood related. The thought of people with such a bond helps in battles and growth within a society. In my own society the type of kinship seen in the aborigines can be seen with close family and friends. Our society tends to compare when we know the person or someone we trust knows the outside person. However, unlike the aborigines, our society has shown a way of turning away what is unfamiliar or unlike them. This brings a crack or weakness in our society because our bonds or circles are not as big because of it. I believe we can learn several things from foragers like the Australia Aborigines to make ourselves stronger. Reference: Scheper-Hughes, N. (1993, Cephu’s choice: Is natural for human beings to want personal liberty? or is it a peculiarly western concern? some conclusions drawn from the indigenous cultures around the world. New Internationalist, , 11-13. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/200094581? accountid=32521.