History
Academic libraries have had a long and varied history throughout the world. Very early libraries such as the library of Alexandria in Egypt and the libraries of Mesopotamia are shrouded in mystery but renowned for their devotion to academia. They represented the epitome of knowledge and wisdom in the ancient world. While these ancient libraries may no longer exist as they once did the essence of the library in academia traveled throughout the world and history, manifesting it’s self in the medicinal libraries of Europe and the grandiose libraries of America.
Ancient libraries
Libraries in the ancient world varied depending upon location and the availability of written language or pictographs among the culture. Many ancient libraries which have survived in records were rooted in the Mesopotamia region, often referred to as the cradle of civilization. Libraries in this area were kept for three general reasons: temple or religious records, governmental archives and business records. There is a possibility of a fourth reason, personal and family records, however the social and economic condition in the ancient world would most likely limit this reason to highly affluent and influential people.
While none of the reasons listed are blatantly academic in nature, one of the more important function for many temples and government archives was the education of scribes. It was necessary to study for many years to become proficient in written language and classification among temple and government archives, among written languages students also learned a range of skills and disciplines which were not offered outside of religious affiliations. “Students were trained not only as priests and scribes but also in other professions such ...
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Without the Mesopotamians we would not have all the luxury we have today. Could you ever imagine a world without writing? You may think, life would not be so bad without it, but without writing we would not have stories, we could not write to the bank, we could not text. Two major contributions made to society were the first forms of writing known as Cuneiform and Hammurabi’s Code.
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Civil Disobedience is a deliberate violation against the law in order to invoke change against a government policy. Civil disobedience can come in the form of running a red light or j-walking, or in more noticeable methods such as riots. Coined by American author and poet Henry David Thoreau, the term has developed to define the act of disobeying a law one sees as unfit or unjust. Usually the purpose of civil disobedience is to gain public attention to a perceived injustice and appeal to or gain support from the public in a non-violent way. The idea is to force the government to negotiate or else continue with the unwanted behavior; or in simpler terms, to “clog the machine” (“Civil Disobedience”). It is believed by many that the act of civil disobedience is justifiable in a democratic government like that of the United States. A Democracy is defined as a form of government controlled by elected representatives or by the people themselves. However, in order to have a stable government, it must be built on a stable society. Societal welfare is the general good for the public and how its members take action to provide opportunities and minimum standards. According to societal welfare, which is the sake of the emotional and physical well-being of the community, the laws must be abided and civil disobedience is morally unjust in our society. Once any member of the society questions the affairs of the state, the state may be given up for lost (“Jean Jacques Rousseau”).
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Throughout history, there have been multiple occurrences of mass peaceful and civil disobedience that gained momentum and world renown. The successful movement against imperialist Britain led by Gandhi shook the world. The Gandhi-inspired Civil Rights movement led by Martin Luther King successful in reforming an aspect of American law. These movements, caused turmoil and ended with assassinations despite successfully achieving the movement goals. Peaceful resistance consequently causes negative impacts such as violence, social splits, incarceration, riots, and the abuse of peaceful resistance, although on rare occasions, a civil disobedience movement may be completely justified and grandly successful.
Civil disobedience to laws is a method of protest that has always been prevalent in free societies and has the power to change the viewpoints of many and bring about change. Peaceful resistance to laws, and whether or not it is a positive or negative method to change, is not black and white or easily determined to be right or wrong. Instead, there are many complications and factors that go into determining the true motives of these movements. However, most of the time, civil disobedience positively impacts societies as it brings issues to the forefront of the media and thusly to the public and aids in battling inequality and fighting for justice.
Throughout the world, people consider The Code of Hammurabi one of the most important codes of law ever recorded in the history of the world based on what it tells us about the history of early Babylon. The code gives people a way to see not only how the society of Babylon developed early on but also how other civilizations were developing complex societies, which were similar to the Babylonians. However, the code also shows us how the role of written documents and writing is effectively portrayed in Hammurabi’s laws. This is effectively observed by analyzing what types of documents the code provides evidence for, what are situations and reasons in which Babylonians used writing, and if writing is the only acceptable form of proof. The Code of Hammurabi is one of the most important codes ever recorded because it shows us evidence of early principles of justice, which provide proof for early legal documentation; gives us observable, physical proof of the Babylonian beliefs for future people to witness; and shows us how written works are the only acceptable form of proof because of the historical accuracy of the work.
These riots were brought on by the strong feeling of dislike people have towards the newly elected president, Donald Trump, and their beliefs that protesting will alter the electoral college’s vote for our new president. The actions taken by protesters across the U.S. in the mostly liberal states have created the opposite reaction to what they were trying to accomplish in the first place. Instead of following in the footsteps of the peaceful demonstrators of the Civil Rights Movement, these demonstrators have caused an uproar that have ruined hard earned businesses, caused millions of dollars in damage, and injured innocent bystanders who freely voted, which was the main focus of the movements in the South. This movement can divide the nation instead of uniting, the opposite of what the Civil Rights Movements
Indeed, disobedience is extremely important in today’s society, despite the fact that it can sometimes lead to chaos. Certain acts of civil disobedience can indeed be harmful and ineffective, where they don’t serve to cause any social progress. For example, practicing civil disobedience by littering doesn’t serve to solve any social issues. Instead, it only harms the environment, where it causes pollution and damages the environment. However, other forms of civil disobedience are actually beneficial to society, where they can spread awareness about a certain issue in society and catalyse change for it. An example of this occurred with how Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white American on December 1, 1955. By practicing civil disobedience
Civil disobedience has reaped positive change on the justice being sown for citizens at a particular time in our history. From Homer Plessy in 1880, to Rosa Parks in 1955 and continuing in 2016 throughout the ‘Right to Rest’ movement of the homeless population in Sacramento, California, American citizens have utilized the act of civil disobedience as the catalyst to create a change that ultimately improved upon their current state of ‘liberty and justice for all’. Our great forefathers crafted the Constitution and supported its ideals with the judicial, legislative and executive branches of our government, securing our continued opportunity to engage in a dialogue that will enable us all to pursue freedom. Civil disobedience permits all citizens to build upon these structures that allow for the pursuit of freedom.
Without the resources of Pepperdine Libraries, I have an extremely hard time imagining my Political Science Honors Thesis existing in its current form today. From the days of searching through databases such as JSTOR, Sage Research Methods, to Academic Search Complete, I was able to gain access to entire body of Political Science literature at the whim of my fingertips. Over the course of the past semester and a half, I was able formulate the research question for my thesis, collect a wide range of academic resources, and gain the help of expert librarians to narrow down and carry out my research.
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