I decided to do my final assignment in the form of the extended review. I chose the book “Revolution, Rebellion, Resistance: The Power Story” by Eric Selbin, which we covered much later in this semester. Revolution, Rebellion, Resistance: The Power of Story is very different from a lot of the other studies of revolution that came out years before it and also different from the few ones I read in some of my Sociology classes and also history classes. Selbin presents his approach to revolutions different as he use the use of stories to get his message across about revolutions and for the reader can understand them as well. He basically does it this way to answer unanswered questions. They are not necessarily unanswered questions, but they are …show more content…
Selbin touches on three topics: revolution, rebellion, and resistance. These topics are separated into four categories; four different stories that centers around revolution in the world. Three aspects of the stories that are used to relate and connect revolutions are myth, mimesis, and memory. The three words rebellions, revolution and resistance come from some ancient myths. Those myths involve Greco-Roman revolutionary leaders, some local events that are considered legendary and also recent revolutions and social movements that attributed to society. With these different stories and Selbin's focus on society and on culture, Revolution, Rebellion, Resistance offers another perspective on the connection, distinctiveness, and individual points between the several revolutionary cases to get answers and more …show more content…
By Selbin having the use of stories in his material, Selbin is able to think critically about the different components of revolution and also different revolutions from different time periods. Selbin’s focus on people-whether individual or collectively, and communities enables him to analyze the society and culture factors. but at the expense of using more measurable quantitative or qualitative factors of more structural, often state-centered approaches. He does not ignore such factors as political, economic and social structures. Nor does he completely ignore ideologies, and the context regarding internationals, or structural studies that have explanatory factors, but he wanted to bring out the importance of the role of agency. He focused on the role of agency by targeting the people and/or societies that attribute to revolutions. The idea that individuals, communities, and cultures, influence the formation and effects of revolutions, rebellions, and resistance, is in obvious contrast to Skocpol, who quotes Wendell Phillips as "quite correct when he once declared: 'Revolutions are not made; they come'"(Skocpol, p.17). If revolutions just “come”,
Gordon Wood gives an interesting insight into the Revolution. Overall, I find Wood’s argument to be persuasive and refreshing. There is little doubt that the forces that Wood proclaims as significant in his history of the Revolution are important. However, it is this same concentration on non-traditional forces that leads to my criticism of his book.
War and Peace in the Middle East by Avi Shlaim. In the novel War and Peace In the Middle East, author Avi Shlaim argues that Arab nations have been unable to escape the post-Ottoman syndrome. In particular, he describes how the various powers inside and outside the region have failed to produce peace. While some of Shlaim's arguments hinder the message, I agree with his overall thesis that the Middle East problems were caused and prolonged by the failure of both powers and superpowers to take into account the regional interests of the local states.
There were other examples of slave rebellions that are discussed in the book, Slave Rebellions. In the book, authors Robin Doak and Philip Schwarz highlight some of the biggest slave rebellions that occurred within the Caribbean and Latin America. One of the most well known revolts was on the slave ship known as Amistad. The ship had left Havana, Cuba and heading to “Puerto Principe, a part of Cuba about 300 miles (480 km) away. The ship’s cargo included 53 Africans that two men in Cuba claimed as slaves—49 adult males and four children”. One African on the ship named Sengbe Pieh is from Sierra Leone, Africa. Before he had been captured, he was a prince of a village and had a wife. When he is captured, Pieh was given a new name and sent to
Brinton posits that revolutions are born in during times of unusual economic unrest and political upheaval. Such societies which produce revolutions aren’t those where there are “no expressions of discontent with the government or with existing institutions, in which no laws are ever
The book Fires of Jubilee: Nat Turner’s Fierce Rebellion (New York, Ny: Harper Perennial, 1990) by Stephen B. Oates portrays a slave rebellion and uprising in the 1830’s. Oates has written many books on American history and his style of writing makes his books readable and popular. He has become a unique storyteller of his time, in his book he tells of a transformation that changed the city of South Hampton, Virginia forever, an unspeakable action heard throughout the whole nation and insurrection. What is an insurrection? It is a rebellion, revolution, mutiny and uprising, a concept that has never lost hope in African-American slaves.
Many revolutions have taken place throughout history, ranging from the unremarkable to the truly memorable, such as the French Revolution, the Bolshevik Revolution and the American Revolution. Through an examination of the social, cultural, economic and political causes of the American Revolution, an exploration of key arguments both for and against the American Revolution, and an analysis of the social, cultural, economic and political changes brought about by the American Revolution it can be demonstrated unequivocally that the American Revolution was indeed truly revolutionary.
By observing the recurring trends throughout history, an individual can conclude that the modern world has evolved through a series of revolutionary eras. Revolutions have occurred since the beginning of mankind and continue to progress into the future. Ranging from a sharp change in political organization or structure, to social divisions within society, all the way to forward-thinking innovations, revolutions have impacted the course of history in numerous ways. Although many revolutions are titled with a specific name to identify the precise location or particular group of people involved, such as the American Revolution or the French Revolution, there are many occurrences in which a revolution is simply identified with a categorization term. However, among all the revolutions that have occurred in known history, there is a specific revolutionary period that has aided in the progress of humanity in addition to establishing the early concepts that shape our modern world. Originating in Great Britain, the Industrial Revolution has transformed the lifestyles of people around the world. However, the progressive transformation introduced a series of outcomes contrary to the prior regime. The Industrial Revolution triggered the growth of Great Britain’s economy, reset the social class divisions, and led to the formation of political reformation.
Power is earned, not given. There are many different types of power that people can earn. Power becomes a problem when it is not questioned or tested. Therefore, the one with the power would have total control over anything or anyone they wanted, or they would feel that way. People with power feel invincible when it is not questioned. Throughout history it has been proven that this creates a problem. For example, Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal is similar to the scandal with Father Flynn in Doubt. Doubt, by John Patrick Shanley, exemplifies an underlying message that unquestioned faith leads to abuse of power. Specifically, shown in Father Flynn’s reputation, cover up, and resignation, which all correlate to Richard Nixon’s Watergate Scandal.
Language always conveys a message. Language can convey a message that is full of manipulation. In Robin Lakoff’s essay, “Everybody’s a Politician”, she discusses how manipulation is used in day to day conversations, even if one is not intentionally trying to manipulate. Language can be used to dominate others. In the essay, “the Language of Oppression” by Haig A. Bosmajian, he explains the power of using names to define others. Language can change the way a person thinks. In the same essay, “the Language of Oppression” by Haig A. Bosmajian, he also discusses the way someone thinks can be changed by language. Lastly, language has the power to degrade an individual. In another essay, by Robin Lakoff, “You Are What You Say”, she explains how
Once Enlightenment philosophies created new views on individual’s natural rights and their place in society, resistance to oppressive government was inevitable. The core beliefs of freedom and equality above all served as a catalyst for the revolutions in America, France, and Haiti. Because of these shared ideals each revolution is interconnected with the revolution before it. However, the waves of this revolutionary movement that swept through the Atlantic World became increasingly radical with each new country it entered. By looking at the citizen involvement and causes of the American, French, and Haitian revolutions, the growing radicality of these insurrections can be better understood.
Central Argument(s): Those who have the intellect and access to resources are able to rule over those that does not possess the same benefits. An individual’s definitive class in society is based on socioeconomic status or what family they are born in to. This is something that cannot be controlled, but does predetermined how each person or group will live their lives. However a person or group do not have to remain in that class, and revolution occurs when
Throughout history most of the world’s documented accounts have been interoperated by the powerful elites. History is the story of mankind; therefore like most stories, history has two perspectives. After the end of the Second World War, historians began looking to other ways of analyzing history. With the rise of the hippie movement, Vietnam War, women’s rights movement, civil rights movement, and the cold war historians started questioning how, why, and what caused society to get like this. The consensus movement was started as historians first observed the primary sources of the outsiders of society. This ultimately led to authors like Dan Richter, Woody Holton, and Walter Johnson who all look to the opposite point of view through historical events. In order to teach history correctly, we as future historians must teach a two sided interpretation of both the powerful and the powerless. Ultimately by understanding the loser’s suffrage in society that is proposed in Dan Richter’s Facing East from Indian Country,” and Walter Johnson’s Soul By Soul; as well as the outsider point of view as described in Woody Holton’s Unruly Americans and the Origins of the Constitution; and Tyler Anbinder’s and Vincent DiGirolamo’s articles contributed to the film “Gangs of New York, we can understand how their beliefs, culture, and lives were affected by the powerful. This essay is not a novel of the history of the outsiders themselves, but a critique on how history should be studied by looking at the author’s way of using primary sources and the outsiders’ perspective on society. IN THE ESSAY I WILL BE LOOKING AT THE COMPLETE POWERLESS TO THE POWERLESS
The Age of Revolutions was a period of time in which many global revolutions took place, especially within America and Europe. A revolution is an overthrow of government or social order in favour of political change. There were many revolutions that took place between 1760 and 1840, most notable being the American Revolution from 1775 to 1783, and the French Revolution beginning in 1789 and ending in 1799. These, along with the Napoleonic Empire, which carried on from the French Revolution and lasted until 1815; all greatly transformed the Atlantic world. This occurred through these global revolutions, which inspired another revolution within the slave island of Haiti. The focus of this essay will be on the aforementioned revolutions,
When one explains his or her ingenious yet, enterprising interpretation, one views the nature of history from a single standpoint: motivation. In The American Revolution: A History, Gordon Wood, the author, explains the complexities and motivations of the people who partook in the American Revolution, and he shows the significance of numerous themes, that emerge during the American Revolution, such as democracy, discontent, tyranny, and independence. Wood’s interpretation, throughout his literary work, shows that the true nature of the American Revolution leads to the development of United State’s current government: a federal republic. Wood, the author, views the treatment of the American Revolution in the early twentieth century as scholastic yet, innovative and views the American Revolution’s true nature as
... constant struggle of oppression that human beings have faced throughout history and continue to face. These books are a testimony to the strength of those caught in the struggle and how good change and growth can evolve out of the bad. Struggle is a part of life and through it people can become stronger and learn more about themselves and the world. Power struggles offer opportunity for the oppressors to escape societies hold on them and to become truly aware of the suffering of those who they oppress, it offers the oppressed the opportunity to rise up and it offers society a chance to reform itself and its people. Events of oppression and the inevitable uprising of the underdog offer the perfect opportunity for important change to occur for the greater good of all.