Patricia J. Williams
While most pundits of America's social and political discourse are either beating dead horses or tilting at windmills, Patricia J. Williams seeks out the racist, sexist, heterosexist, and classist forces that underlie a number of socio-political pathologies. Williams' regular Nation magazine column, "Diary of a Mad Law Professor" is curious in that it often evokes visceral negativity in casual readers. It certainly affected me that way. At first it was difficult to get beyond the name of her page; thumbing through each issue I sheepishly wondered what this crazy lady would get bent out of shape about this week. Though I generally agreed with her ideas, it struck me that Williams was too radical (as if there really is such a thing in a mainstream media culture that chooses to wear blinders). Williams vigorously uproots conventional wisdom as she strips away the "rich-white-male"-centric viewpoint; power and a voice are given to those who simply are acted upon. Like Howard Zinn who has promoted a view of history through a populist lens, Patricia Williams promotes a viewpoint that examines and judges the treatment of the marginalized.
Williams is clearly not the only contemporary essayist with a broad-minded viewpoint on social issues. Katha Pollitt, E.L. Doctorow, Gore Vidal, and Alexander Cockburn, among many others, are similarly progressive in their opinions on society, politics, and culture. Williams, however, has a modified gestalt upon which her liberal commentary about socio-political affairs is based. The way in which the mechanics of society can be explained is a relationship of dominance and submission, a pornographic association. As described in "Clarence X", pornography, on a level greater ...
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...aracterization like the Nutty Black Feminst Ultra-Liberal Professor. The key to accessing Williams is the key she teaches us for accessing a more equal society: a society in which pigeon holes are eliminated, since clearly, neither we nor Patricia Williams can be so categorized without losing our humanity.
Works Cited
Williams, Patricia J. The Alchemy of Race and Rights. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1991.
"Clarence X," Rooster's Egg. 121-136.
"Fire and Ice." Alchemy. 133-145.
"A Hearing of One's Own." Rooster's Egg. 137-149.
"Little House in the Hood." The Nation. 19 Jun 2000: 9.
"Mirrors and Windows." Alchemy. 166-178.
"The Pain of Word Bondage." Alchemy.146-165.
"Racial Ventriloquism." The Nation. 5 Jul 1999: 9.
"Radio Hoods." Rooster's Egg. 42-56.
The Rooster's Egg. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1995.
"Teleology on the Rocks." Alchemy. 55-79.
Dr. Peggy McIntosh looks at white privilege, by “Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.” She describes white privilege as almost a special check or coin that she gets to cash in on. Dr. McIntosh tells that white privilege has been a taboo and repressed subject – and that many white people are taught not to see or recognize it. However, she is granted privileges (McIntosh 30). Dr. McIntosh goes on to describe twenty-six ways in which her skin-color grants her certain privileges. In example twenty, she describes how she can buy “…posters, postcards, picture books…” and other items that “…feature people of my race” (32). Additionally, in her first example, she talks about being able to be in the “company of people of my race most of the time” (McIntosh 31). Instances in which a privilege person would not even recognize unless they were looking, show evidence for white privilege. People take these advantages for granted because they simply expect them. Due to the lack of melatonin in her skin, she was granted privileges and her skin served as an asset to her. Dr. McIntosh conveys how her privilege is not only a “favored state,” but also a power over other
Beale, Frances. "Double Jeopardy: To Be Black and Female." An Anthology of African-American Feminist Thought. New York: New, 1995. 146. Print.
Women, Race and Class is the prolific analysis of the women's rights movement in the United States as observed by celebrated author, scholar, academic and political activist. Angela Y. Davis, Ph.D. The book is written in the same spirit as Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States. Davis does not merely recount the glorious deeds of history. traditional feminist icons, but rather tells the story of women's liberation from the perspective of former black slaves and wage laborers. Essential to this approach is the salient omnipresent concept known as intersectionality.
The two articles that had a profound impact to my understanding of race, class and gender in the United States was White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh and Imagine a Country by Holly Sklar. McIntosh explains the keys aspects of unearned advantage (a privilege that one group hold over another) as well as conferred dominance (the act of voluntarily giving another group power) and the relationship that these factors hold when determine power of a social group. Additionally, the purpose of McIntosh’s article was to demonstrate the privilege that certain individuals carry and how that translates to the social structures of our society. Furthermore, conferred dominance also contributes to the power of the dominant group
Miss Harper Lee has chosen Scout as a first person narrator in this story. This narrative technique has many strengths and some weaknesses. Scout is a bright, sensitive and intelligent little girl. For all her intelligence, she is still a child and does not always fully understand the implications of the events she reports. This is sometimes amusing, as the time she thinks Miss Maudie's loud voice scares Miss Stephanie. Scout does her best to inform us of the happenings at the Tom Robinson trial. Yet, she is not certain what rape is, and is neither aware of the prejudice state surrounding her. Ultimately she represents the innocence within society.
Scout learns to accept people as they truly are instead of what she thought they were and starts to see Maycomb in a different light as a result of coming in contact with racial prejudice, seeing the world from Boo Radley’s perspective, and losing her early childhood perception of Maycomb. These experiences help her grow out of her ignorance and develop an adult-like view on the problems facing her. She takes initiative to look at how Boo Radley must have felt over the past years and ask Atticus what it really meant to be called a ‘nigger lover’. These events show Scout trying to see things for what they really are, instead of what they seem to be.
Lady Macbeth is one of William Shakespeare’s most famous and frightening female characters. As she is Macbeth’s wife, her role is significant in his rise and fall from royalty. She is Macbeth’s other half. During Shakespearean times, women were regarded as weak insignificant beings that were there to give birth and look beautiful. They were not thought to be as intelligent or equal to men. Though in Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is the highest influence in Macbeth’s life. Her role was so large; in fact, that she uses her position to gain power, stay strong enough to support her unstable Lord, and fails miserably while their relationship falls apart. Everything about Lady Macbeth is enough to create the perfect villain because of her ability to manipulate everyone around her. It appears that even she can’t resist the perfect crime.
At 8:46 a.m., the United States witnessed the first terroristic attack of many to come when American Airlines flight 11 crashed into the World Trade Center’s North Tower in New York City. Flight 11 impacted the tower between floors 93 and 99 ...
Race, gender, class, and sexual ideologies and practices have been locked to institutional power, privilege, and oppression throughout history. More specifically so when focusing on the time period between the 1600s and 1990s. This statement has been proven true several times in various instances; from the discrimination of “fallen women,” or prostitutes to the discrimination against African Americans and other minority groups (the term minority referring to race, class, gender identity, religion; essentially any group that differentiates itself from the majority). The purpose of this paper is to provide an intersectional discussion of the ways these different identities are connected to mistreatment during the time period of the 1600s to the late 1900s.
In the play ‘Othello’ by William Shakespeare, the tragedy of the play is largely a result of Iago’s animosity towards Othello. Iago’s hatred for Othello emanates from the very core of his being and is further amplified due to Othello’s status as an outsider in the ‘white’ Venetian society. This alone causes Iago to perceive Othello as a threat to society, as he goes against the societal and contextual values of the time. Although Iago is acting and reacting based on his own character traits, he is also acting upon the societal norms and expectations which classified Othello as a threat. The accumulation of Iago's hatred
Characters in the play fail to comprehend Iago’s true nature until it is too late. Those interacting with Iago fall into the belief that Iago is loyal to his superiors, when Iago is actually focused on bringing them (Cassio and Othello) down. Iago constructs a false impression of his loyalty to Othello through ...
The problem of free will and determinism is a mystery about what human beings are able to do. The best way to describe it is to think of the alternatives taken into consideration when someone is deciding what to do, as being parts of various “alternative features” (Van-Inwagen). Robert Kane argues for a new version of libertarianism with an indeterminist element. He believes that deeper freedom is not an illusion. Derk Pereboom takes an agnostic approach about causal determinism and sees himself as a hard incompatibilist. I will argue against Kane and for Pereboom, because I believe that Kane struggles to present an argument that is compatible with the latest scientific views of the world.
We start to see Lady Macbeth’s actions have a huge impact on Macbeth’s character as he transforms from a decent being to an overly bitter creature. The cause of his alteration is due to the fact that Lady Macbeth is constantly excreting heartless information into his mind. "Art thou afeard to be the same in thine own act and valour as thou art in desire?" (I;vii;39-41) "And, to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man." (I;vii;50-51) Lady Macbeth uses these quotes to push her husband beyond limits and is therefore responsible for his dramatic change in attitude. She is constantly feeding his thoughts with negative comments and later on Macbeth realizes that he has another side to him. As he moves along to discover the concealed side of him, Macbeth falls in love with himself and begins to be drawn towards his evil desires. Because Lady Macbeth was the main cause of his new hidden discovery, she is fully responsible for opening up the door and letting the darkness in. This results in Macbeth committing both murders.
Over the course of about a dozen weeks or so I have been exploring many facets of oppression. From literary work such as Malcolm X’s autobiography to Sherman Alexie’s novel The Absolute True Story of a Part-Time Indian, oppression is an issue for the majority of people who are not white, upper class males. Race, class, gender, sex, religion, all things that the 14th amendment are supposed to protect, seems to only stand for equality rather than enforcing it and educating people of it’s often damaging effects. Gender and sex roles seem to be the most relevant topic for the times, but also one of the hardest to understand. Cholly Breedlove is a prime example of male dominance in society. We know the how, so for now we’re going to focus on the why.
Gloria Steinem, a renowned feminist activist and co-founder of the women’s rights publication Ms. Magazine, gives a commencement speech at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, on May 31, 1970. Steinem’s speech “Living The Revolution” is delivered to the graduating class of Vassar College, founded in 1865 as a liberal arts college for women and then became coeducational a year before the speech was delivered in 1969. The intent of this speech is to inform the listeners and to shed light on the fact that women are not treated equally to their white male counterparts, though society has been convinced otherwise and to argue that it is crucial for all minorities, and even white males, to be relieved of their “stereotypical” duties in order for balance to exist. Steinem executes her speech’s purpose by dividing it up into four parts to explain the four different “myths” put against women while using a few rhetorical strategies and logical, ethical, and emotional appeals.