Notes From Exam Brief Session!

1. Poland invaded Germany. Discuss with reference to Hannah Arendt’s concepts of totalitarianism and John Carey.

- Social aspects (horror), media concepts, pluralism (absent of it), society has a purpose
- Nazi Germany: Mission of people
- John Carey: what does he mean by masses? The mob! Masses once they are literate they can be made into a political force.
- Karl Marx and the masses (link) intellectuals feel the masses.
- Nietzsche thinks that the masses will breed and over populate, some intellectuals want to exterminate the masses ‘thought of as dangerous’.
- Fascism- brings to poor people, people that are good at over powering and continuing the masses.
- Need to show a tight definition of totalitarianism from Arendt.

2. How does the modern state differ from the classical or medieval state according to Hannah Arendt. Discuss with reference to philosophical writing about the modern state. (Reference Hobbes, Rousseau, J.S Mills)

- Nationalism
- Hobbes- all power state
- Rousseau- state is where all problems are, have contract state. Should not be a permanent state.
- Liberalism
- Mill- contract theorist
- Hegel- more in tradition with Hobbes, Germany ‘God on earth’.
- Marx- Hegelian, state plays (the role of) historical place, stands Hegel on his feet. Ruling class.
- How does the modern state differ? Theory it’s a contract theory (red light means stop for most people)
- Physical embodiment, for Hegel its god. Idealist verses liberal. The state has the purpose. Liberal- the state is convenient agreement. Mass comes to dominate.

3. Attempt an analysis of the impact of Nietzsche and the modernist literacy movement on journalism, popular culture and the mass media.
- Fractured, shocking, difficult to understand. Physical sensations. Subjectivism.
- Each reader has different view on what they read. Contemporary modern art ‘the global village’
- A morality says how we should live ‘God is dead’. War on metaphysics, there are no souls, ghosts etc
- Body centred
- Mass media- advertising and slogans.

4. Explain the enduring fascination for many intellectuals and some journalist of the film Citizen Kane.

- Randolph Hurst, who was he? (invented journalist purpose)
- Carey- citizen Kane his Carey theory, what Carey worries about. Kane wants power and the more he gets the more he wants through having belongings. Why?
- Freud link- driven by hidden needs, before modernism would say that he is powered by the devil.
- Freudian conflicts
- Idea of a divided self- real you (inner you), fake you which you show to the world. Pain of wearing a mask which causes you to be unhappy
- Dreams


5. Assess the impact of Sigmund Freud on the media. From the page three of the sun to BBC public service broadcasting and from cosmopolitan magazine to Jerry Springer.

- Freud- problems with children, issues around his theories etc. can be seen through television shows and magazine articles.
- Feminism- Nietzsche talked about you would take a whip to talk to a woman (referring to Victorian woman very contrasted from today) he struggled with the idea that woman did not stand up for themselves in these times.
- He became an icon for the feminist movement
- Centralist talks today about genders/ children more today
- These things can be overcome, great icon for the time.
- Freud trying to understand why people do things, it’s a mystery and can he really ask/discover this?

Hannah Arendt- Seminar Paper

Hannah Arendt’s ‘The origins of totalitarianism’ were published in 1951, following the ending of World War II and Hitler was pronounced dead. Arendt wanted to give her readers a sense of phenomenal reality of totalitarianism, its appearance in the world as a terrifying and completely new form of the government. If we remind ourselves of what totalitarianism is; it is a form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator and not restricted by a constitutions, laws or oppositions. The idea of what totalitarianism is closely linking with the discussions in the book on Hitler and Stalin and their forms of power within a country.

This seminar paper will focus on the first part of the book; Arendt shares hidden elements in modern ant-Semitism and European imperialism that coalesced in totalitarianism movement. Arendt then moves on to look at the organization of those movements, looking at the power of Nazism and Stalinist Bolshevism. This paper will also focus on the final part of Arendt book titled ‘totalitarianism’ focusing on the movement and the key aspect of the entire book.

So who is Hannah Arendt? Born in 1906 in Germany, her childhood was dark and miserable, her father died from paresis when she was young. As she grew up, there were battles between Russia and Germany, and these battles took place near her home. She became a political activist in 1933, her writing appeared in Jewish Journals such as ‘Jewish social studies’ and also featured in the magazine ‘Jewish Frontier’. In these writings she argued on behalf of the Jewish army and stated that she hoped Arabs and Jews might live together in Post war Palestinian state.
From her writings such as these and her book ‘The origins of totalitarianism’ made her an intellectual celebrity in the early years of the cold war. The book is impressive in tracing the steps towards the distinctive ‘tyranny’s’ of Hitler and Stalin and what human status itself had become due to totalitarianism. The human status had showed racism was embedded in central and western society.

The feeling of ‘Radical evil’ drove through this time as there was a huge number of prisoners in death camps marked horrifying discontinuity in European history itself, the impact will always be apparent, and will be in the future to come for those that look on history within education or other means.

In chapter two titled ‘Jews, the nation and the birth of Anti-Semitism’ Arendt discusses the issues around the nation state and the rights of Jews. The idea of the nation state was the new view on what the nation could be. It initially is a community which is organized under one government according to what a whole nation wants, however there is still much control from those in the government and a nation-state is usually ran within a so called neighbourly way in other words, amongst a society that is all the same, such as in religion or beliefs. Hannah Arendt describes the nation state as being a ‘nation within a nation’ and within the discussion of Jews the nation-state granted the Jewish people equality of rights. Linking to the statement made before of a ‘nation within a nation’ therefore the Jewish restrictions had to be abolished. Although the idea of equality seems to be growing Arendt makes it very clear that the only reason for these restrictions being lifted was because the Jewish people were needed for their skills to help with those who were in the nation of equality, not necessarily involving the Jewish people in this state. This distinction of the Jews not belonging to the nation was to do with the force on which they did not have a class or status of their own within society.
In Germany at the time the class system that was put into place mean that the ‘status’ of the individual was defined in his own class and relationship to another, however the only exception this rule was the Jews as they did not form a class of their or belong to any other class, as Hannah Arendt points out ‘the fact of being born a Jew would either mean that one was privileged, under special protection from the government or under-privileged therefore lacking certain rights and opportunities which were withheld from Jews in order to prevent their assimilation’.

The word ‘emancipation’ is thrown around a lot in this section of her book, the meaning trying to obtain certain rights such as equality for a disenfranchised group such as the Jews.

It appears from this that she writes very much against the Jews, as if she is not a Jew herself and is talking about another class she is in, however she is a Jew, therefore the way she talks about it appears shocking to those who read her book, possibly many that have read it today, I know it had shocked me.
In part three of Arendt’s ‘origins of totalitarianism’ sums up the main focus of book on totalitarianism and the discussion between the powers of Hitler and Stalin. These two figures had obviously much power within their times over people. She refers to Nazism and Stalinism throughout this chapter, Nazism is the ideology practice of the Nazis party and Nazis Germany which was a unique variety of fascism that involved biological racism and by biological racism referring to scientific ways of finding differences among the human race, therefore can be used against to Jewish people according to Hitler who wanted a pure society of what his world should be. Stalinism which is also used throughout refers to the policies and governmental philosophy of Joseph Stalin who was the leader of the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1953. He was a dictator for his state and through Stalinism meant that his rule was not restricted by a constitution of laws or other opinions of his own view points.
These two figures in history had their power through totalitarianism. What allowed a successful state of totalitarianism from these two men? Stalin main key in success with power was that he could manipulate the propaganda which is a key source of media, again linking to the idea of how the media contains power. Similar with Hitler who possessed the same skills and who had fascination to which allegedly no one was immune and who after his defeat in the war and his death today is so fully forgotten that he scarcely plays any roles in our lives today. This showing how there is an early link to media, power and the masses. One quote from Arendt’s book which initially stood out was that suggested that these figures ‘Contaminating their subjects with the especially totalitarian virus’ suggesting that those under control were quickly sub come to this virus and had no other choice in which to oblige.
An appealing view point that Arendt had about the totalitarianism and one that I found rather interesting was that of its success. Taken from her books she states ‘the disturbing factor of the success of totalitarianism is rather the true selflessness of its adherents’.

According to Hannah the success of the totalitarianism movement only worked due to the masses. Its main order was to organise and control people in some ways into an acceding straight line in which everyone looks the same and says the same thing, this remind of you of anything? Hitler’s idea of a perfect world full of blonde hair and blue eyed people is very much like this line that is trying to be created. ‘The totalitarian movement aims at and succeed in organizing masses, not classes, like the old interest parties of the continental nation state; not citizens with opinions about, interest in, the handling of public affairs, like the parties of the Anglo-Saxon countries’ basically a world was wanted where everyone is the same, say the same things. ‘Yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir’.

The one thing driving the totalitarian movement was the sheer might and force of numbers, the number of people willing to help, or brain washed to help.
Many thoughts on totalitarianism when put into practice what had been imagined only in medieval depictions of hell. Arendt shows similarities between Hitler and Stalin however there was much doubt as they had obvious ideological conflicts, most obvious they differed as in beliefs through state, Hitler hating communism and Stalin being for it. However together they were distinctively similar they were both dictators and at one point they joined forces until Hitler attacked Stalin. They both used their power to inflict force of people and both killed many people on their road to creating their own nations.

Arendt’s view which is discussed in the final section of her book, her view is an expression of the masses. She states that there is an expression of the masses as one, the feeling of disgust, violence, prejudice and loss of responsibility as a whole and this is how a mass could be used for power. It appears to be based on a social experience of lacking power or strength, loss or loneliness within a state. Change results in weakness of power on the individual. The other idea which is clarified is of leadership by having a ‘firm and sincere belief in human status’ but can there be a strong belief in the human status, when concerning human experience of it?’ . This point is made very clear by Arendt when she notes that while the historical conditions of mass authorisation where provided by the Nazis. Stalin had to create a society by his own initiative. Collapse of the social world and those things valued which reduce the masses of passivity. Therefore there would be no control with any mass to drive it.

Totalitarianism propaganda and some totalitarian institutions answer the needs of the new homeless masses from some analysis Arendt viewed totalitarianism as some historical accident but an event whose conclusion of possibly been promoted by the specific dynamics of bourgeois modernity, she had unveiled the political questions of this historical moment and a phenomenal of general and continuing relevance for the future of modernity. The ‘dynamics of Bourgeois’ is a thought by Marxist, meaning you conform, therefore to totalitarianism you are conformed to one, your dictator. Could this be a link to what Hitler wanted?

Arendt says that racism was the main trait of colonist imperialism this characterized by its unlimited expansion. She examines ‘continental imperialism’ and the emergence of ‘movement’ substitutions themselves to the political parties. Nazism and Stalinism were totalitarian movements that aimed to destroy state. Arendt discusses the use of front organization, fake governmental agencies, and esoteric doctrines as a means of concealing the radical nature of totalitarian aims from the non-totalitarian world.

We can briefly mention the works of John Carey and his book ‘The Intellectuals and the masses’ Carey talks of the ‘Superman’ linking to the idea on human status, talks of the masses and the rise of it as a democracy and the idea of intellectual snobbish behaviour which can link nicely to Hitler who believed in a intellectual hierarchy. There is also the discussion on social status and how those of the intellectual sort made art more difficult to understand so that there would not be the threat that in their eyes, those that are beneath them could not walk over the line and be in the same accordance as those intellectual beings. Personally, this sounds quite pathetic and Carey suggest this too. According to Carey ‘the masses are bacteria, plague or virus. The masses are not alive; they behave like savages in large crowds’. The masses as people did not exist, they were controlled. I am found of the way John Carey talks in his book about the social class and the links between Virginia Woolf, T.S Elliot which bring in good examples for the topic.

From all of this, Hannah gives the impression that the holocaust was normal? Is she naïve and How can it be conceived as normal? These are the question which I asked myself straight away. Over the process of looking into Hannah Arendt, as I have found her dictation on the ‘Jews’ and totalitarianism quite shocking to the fact that she almost goes against her own heritage in a way to say that the holocaust was a very normal things to happen? This is very confusion, especially for one today that has learnt all about the history of this period and the pain and death that was inflicted on one social class in society.

How can it be normal where people are murdered, separated from their families, their hair shaved off, their belongings taken from them; glasses, clothes, toys and even fake arms and legs if peopled had them, piled high, hidden from the rest of the world. And not so long after those people entered those camps they would be piled high dead as if thrown out like their belongings were treated as they arrived.
How it possible that someone would could get away with such an evil plan, but if looked at a bit closer, it has been identified that most people had a part to play in it. Or had Hitler magically hypnotised a nation to not notice. People that drove the trains, made phone call, were on behalf of Hitler and some citizens simply took jobs to feel involved in the ‘new Germany’ but will it ever be certain of if people really knew what they were getting involved in, this becomes a organised mass murder by the masses of a society. Very much like the media today having power over different groups in society, can we say this is a similar thing? Could the media eventually have so much power that it could convince the masses to carry out a command?

As mentioned in our recent lectures its like saying ‘instead of helping people we should just kill them’ an example such as like people who are gypsies in today’s society, should we just kill them and get rid of them?
It clearly opened my eyes on how something that appears to be horrific to so many, can surely be talked about as if it happens every day to everyone and it’s a normal thing. Or maybe it’s me that has missed something, possibly my view of the history of the Jews and holocaust is wrong. Maybe some things are needed to be left, and not understood.

Seminar Notes 'John Carey'

Notes from seminar discussion on 'The Intellectuals and the masses'

- Modernism, Alienate the masses.
- Virgin Woolf, T. S Elliot, Yeats, Nietzche
- He argues 'The principle around which modernist literature and culutre fashioned themeselves was the exlusion of the masses, the deafeat of their power and the removal of their literacy, the denial of their humanity.
- Appears to be rivalry between 'John' and 'Nietzche' he wrote that 'declaration of war on the masses by higher men is needed' and who encouraged intellectuals everywhere to lord/ rule
- Masses are bacteria, plague or virus. Masses are not alive, behaved like savages in large crowds
- Avant Garde techniques
- Link to James Joyce: through the character of bloom.
- Rise of mass democracy and universal education artist and intellectuals reacted wtih fear to this phenomen and both derigrated the ordinary person
- Made art more difficult to understand
- Link to Adolf Hitler, Hilter believed in intellectual hierachy, in the great art.
- Superman
- prune society
- God lived in most Germans
- The masses did not exist
- Daily mail link

Freud!

Although we may not know it but we live in a freudion world. When we look all around, his theory which he was known for is expressed. The example used in the lecture was a bannana, according to freud is phallic symbol. Freud suggested that we are not controlled or in other words are rational, and therefore according to him sex is always involved.
Born in 1850 in Vienna Freud was a known by so many. He was a cocaine addict and extremely hard working on his research. Freud stated that he saw sex as a central motivational factor for our actions, even if we dont know about it. He discovered and talked about concepts that people want to admit. 'Penis is everywhere' as a phallic symbol and penis envy by women. As women dont have one they are instantly jelous of men. Freud believed that because women did not have a penis, they would think that they have been castrated. This therefore results in them loving their father and rejecting their mothers. Freud also talked about the idea of the UNCONSCIOUS. This has become his legacy.
The mind is divided into three parts where it conflicts 'fighting with ourselves'.
1. ID- (the unconcious) from birth, animal parts and instincts operates on the pleasure principle.
2.EGO OR SELF- reality principle, how to satisfy pleasures, origins of conciousness
3.SUPER EGO- internalised rules of parents or society- the policeman in your head.

These three points were freud legacy, his main research and theories.

Also looked at the five stages of development:
1. Oral stage (mouth premature weaning and could lead to problems, eating and smoking)
2. Anal (toliet training, compulsive cleaning)
3. Phallic phase (obsessed with the penis or lack of- women need of domination, the Oedipus complex)
4. Latency
5. Genitals

From all of these theories we come to what is known as REPRESSION, known as the battle between the ID, EGO and SUPEREGO. This is a defence mechanism and also a sublimation; turning sexual energy into something else. The displacement where you have shameful thoughts and then turn them into something/ someone else. Then the projection where you send feelings onto someone else.

Looking at Reich he believed the complete opposite, he believed that the unconcious forces in the mind were good and it was their supression by SOCIETY that effected people and made them dangerous. Reich thought that the underlining energy was sexuality and if this was released then human beings would flourish.

From the first paper...to now!

Example of one of first New York examiner!



The San Fransico newspaper!



Yellow Journalism!!



Today!!

University? Why bother now..too expensive?

It looks like future students may have the burden of paying double the amount for tuition fee's if Lord Browne's suggestion of increases in university fee's. This creating massive change in the way higher education is run or approached in England.

From Lord Browne's blueprint there is a suggestion to allow universities to charge whatever they want, unlimted tuition fee's. This creating a split between those than can and can't afford university. For students this could be the line between forgetting about going to university all together as they don't want to be in even more debt than some are right now..for example many students today come out of university with debts up to £21,000 at least and if that is to double...well I know i would not even think about it, coming from not exactly a very wealthy background compared to others; whose parents can afford to let them go.

This increase in fees could decrease the amount of students going to university in the years and also this could risk the runnings of university aswell! Just think about it? University are only able to run by the amount of students which they teach, they run by the tuitions fees yes..however if the number in students that have regaully attended univeristy across the UK drops dramatically this could lead to loss in jobs for lectures and other memebers of staff across univerity and in some cases some univerity have expressed a fear of shutting completely. University could go out of buisness for the first time, now that is quite a a scary thought.

This new blue print seems like a disaster waiting to happen, we shall just see how it goes over the next year and see how much of a increase or decrease in students there are in the following years to come!!

Goodbye Summer!

Time to get the brain back in gear and begin my second year at winchester..

First Lecture back and we are back to good old Randolf Hearst, the lecture was a good revision session of this topic from last semester and woke up my brain and helped to get back into the routine 'Historical Context'. The lecture appealed to me as revision, therefore i will highlight some of the key facts which we went over in the lecture.

- The Gold Rush 1840's and 1850's.
- Failed revolution of 1847- 1848
- Irish Famine (1840)one in ten people died in the drive west across the continent
- The blank canvas: those who came from the old world moved into America, as they moved west there was nothing there so it encouraged people to do what they wanted. Therefore creating the idea of America.
- New frontier: the more west you went the more American you were. (California)
The main topic of the lecture:
-Hearts: He was one of the first men who travelled to California (1850) he became wealthy man later on in life. He brought the 'San Fransico Examiner' most were pure propaganda at the time. 1840 New York newspaper organised associated press, it needed to be objective because it supplied content for a variety of papers with different political benifits.
- Freedom of press

Preparation and Questions for unseen class test!

Here are the questions for the unseen class test. Following the questions I have identified some revision I feel is helpful for them: also including my notes taken from the lecture.

1. Mary Wollstoncraft asserts that the social subjection of women was partly due to nature and partly due to the system of education given to men and to women. Why might she have thought this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R34FwuCXq6o

http://womenshistory.about.com/library/etext/bl_vindication004.

- nature and education
- Rousseau 'emile' said that women should be educated differently to men.
- 'Vindication to the rights of women' published in 1729, she stated in her book that women should not be subjected into a role and critizes those that do. (links to society, how women are placed through society)
- Aritotle: 'Men are different species' she rejected aritotle but she was fond of Rousseau (love hate relationship)
- Nature link to romantics ideas- mary shelley who wrote 'Frankenstein' (equality)
- 'Man is born free before society' Rousseau

2. Compare the epistemological strance of Keats in the ode on a Grecian urn to that of Kant in the critique of pure reason.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nU-6EdNe5M

- Epistemological means the catagory of philosphy of knowledge. How can we know what we know? Keats 'Truth is beauty, beauty is truth' according this is all we can and need to know.
- Nominal worlds: the sublime, things within themselves, something ia known once it is percieved and becomes the phenominal. (Romantics)
- Romantic period was about discovery- asking what is life about?
- Aesthetic: the study of beauty
- Keats and Kants believed in the nominal world, an Aesthetic response is evident of Kant's theory and proves it.

3. Define and very briefly discuss the following terms as used in logic before the innovation of Frege:
(A) Axiom: Starting point of absolute truth 'all men are mortal'
(B) A prori: Knowledge without experience (innate ideas) 'I think therefore I am'
(C) A posterori: Knowledge with experience
(D) Deduction: gain conclusion from original information (byclicle)
(E) Induction: Opposite to deduction, jump to conclusion, scientist method. 'Sun set or sun rise'.

3. (b) In the essay on human understanding chapter X it might be said that David Hume asserts that every observable phenomena is a miricle. If this is true why does he assert it.

- Faith
- example of train going through tunnel


4. Contrast your understanding of philosphical 'materalism' with philisophical 'idealism' with particular reference to Hegel and Marx.

- Materalism is the theory of knowledge or sensible matter
- Idealism is everything we see is a mental thought
- Hegal and Marx

5. Discuss the economic, demographic, political, technological and sociological factors influencing the development of newspapers and periodical journalism in the period 1850 - 1915.

- Economic: free trade, newspapers being printed for money
- Demographic: people moving from the country into towns- bigger audience to sell to.
- Political: Stamp duty
- Liberal: changes in sensory and no high taxes
- Technology: steam press, railways, papers can be distrubted further
- Sociology: Langauge/ gender, examples Hearst san fransico examiner (25 languages spoken in one country)

Seminar paper: Citizen Kane

Orson Welles ‘Citizen Kane’ was released in 1941 and from many critics has been described as one of the greatest films to date. In an article from the ‘News and property cinema’ published the same year 1941. One critic wrote ‘The story of a newspaper genius, an egotist who had everything the world had to offer, it compels attention and admiration through its vital camera work, scarifying dialogue, blunt realism, freedom from sentimentality, unique technical treatment and flawless portrayals’. The film has had a major impact on many people and therefore so many have discussed and written about it. The film is a success and shows true originality through the development of imaginative themes. With the use of these themes it allows to build an image of the character of ‘Kane’, the audience are shown his power and his falls due to his weaknesses which are discovered throughout the film. Welles expressed that he tried to use techniques to create the sense of ‘realism’. Although his attempt was more of an experiment it worked and it made the audience more aware of what was appearing on the screen, and therefore the audience can interoperate or identify with the film in their own way.

The main story line of ‘Citizen Kane’ is the story of Kane’s life and his experiences told through the people that knew him. A reporter aims to find out what Kane’s last word ‘rosebud’ meant before he died, which is seen in the opening moments of the film. As the reporters meets those who were important to Kane through his life he gains a better understanding of who Kane really was, although he does not discover what ‘Rosebud’ means it allows the audience to discover a meaning for themselves.

A few themes appear strong in the film. Love is the most present in the film and how Kane wants everyone to love him which can link to the theme of loss, as he may have felt that the need of love was due to the lack of childhood he had.

It had been rumoured for sometime after the film was released that Welles had based his character of ‘Kane’ on William Randolph Hearst a newspaper tycoon who was still alive at the time of the film. However Welles completely denied ever basing his character on ‘Hearst’ and stated that the character of Kane was a typical person of the first half of the twentieth century and also based on many different icons through history but not ‘Hearst’. However it would seem that there are a few similarities between the character of ‘Kane’ and William Hearst. Like Kane, Hearst became a powerful newspaper man and inherited a fortune of money. Hearst was famous for developing a new style of journalism. Both Kane and Hearst show failures in politics, Hearst tried to stand for mayor of New York however failed similarly Kane failed as an election candidate. A final similarity to the two men is that they both lived in magnificent homes. In the film Kane creates his home, his fantasy castle which he calls Xanadu. Just like Kane, Hearst lived in a huge palace.

The film can be taken to have many interpretations and it may be true or false that the character of Kane had been based on William Hearst however some critics and close friends of Welles state that the ‘Unhappy’ character of Kane shows characteristics of Orson Welles himself.

The struggle!

As it comes to the end of my first year at university, apart from the fun I have had and meeting new friends, it is clear that for a student at university it is such a struggle. I am really disgusted how students are treated, and I had my fair share in the first two weeks of my university experience. After waiting weeks and weeks for my letter telling about what room i would be in west downs, i recived a letter one week before i was due to start lectures stating that i would be staying in a hotel for two weeks. Not exactly how i imagined my first few weeks at university. We were told that they did not have enough rooms for all students and therefore 50-60 of us will be re-placed into student accomadation in two weeks time. The two weeks at the hotel were not the most enjoyable, the fact that it was no where near the univeristy was one issue and another that we had to go all the way to the uni to get food. The hotel's food was expensive and therefore many of us could not afford it.

Eventually when the two weeks were up we all got into a van and were taken to a student accomadation. It was not what we expected. We had been placed in an old people's home. No joke. As we arrived there were photographers who were hanging around and thrusting microphones in our faces. For me was quite upsetting and made me incredibly mad, as if it wasn't bad enough we had been through so much but we would not be left alone by reporters. On one occassion I and a friend were followed from our accomadation and down bereweeke road shouting at us. Once they stopped following us, we had to try and find another way back to our accomadation, unfortantly we couldnt so they were stil there waiting for us when we returned.

However as it is coming to the end of term, being at woolverston we have made the place our own. Decorating our rooms and enjoying university life as much as we can. It will be sad when we have to move out as it feels much more like our home now.

Back to the point of student struggle, being through this really mucked up my first month at uni and with making friends at university and feeling apart of any group. The treatment we got from some members of the university was not right and did not help with us fitting in. If it hadn't been for the SU supporting us we would have never gotten the help we needed. Although the university did not get us the help, we got up and went directly to the SU president and asked for help. I am so happy that we went to them, they defiently are a great SU and without them we would have struggled alot more than we did.

Wicked V Wizard of Oz

The musical production of 'Wicked' is the untold story of the witches and their adventures in OZ. 'Wicked' is one of the must see perfomances of today. I, Myself have booked my tickets to see the production in easter, after falling in love with the soundtrack. The soundtrack is magical and enchanting and will light up anyone heart. I cannot contain my excitment with the thought of going in a few weeks time.
I heard recently that Andrew Lloyd webber is looking for a dorothy and toto for a production of 'The wizard of Oz' to be put on broadway. Therefore 'Wicked' and 'The wizard of Oz' will be on high rivarly will both on broadway. (I will defiently stay loyal to 'wicked') However it is not all bad news, as there will be a push for both shows to out do each other, this may mean that there will be a push for 'Wicked' to be made into a film. YES! The enjoyment can continue for home viewing.

Lecture three!

To date this has been my most enjoyable lecture. I have found the topic most interesting and including the set reading. I have never studied Dickens before, and therefore never read any of his work. However I really enjoyed his book 'Bleak house' it takes a while to get into, but after a while I became much enloved with the piece. In the lecture Paul focussed on the Dickens and Cobbett, the poor and the enviroment in Ireland. There are two perspectives focussed on; Urban linked to Dickens and Rural which links to Cobbett. During the period of the Napolic war (England was not involved before 1800) From the military point of view England became very succesful during. During the war they started to build the empire.



The Transatlantic Triangle Trade (The slave trade)- This became enormously profitable, South african slaves where taken and traded in different countries for materials, and ended up being sold to places where they helped make clothing. The Abolitation slavery act came in 1833. At the time Machester was a main point of trade, cotton came in cheap. It was known as Gold for Machester and therefore the introduction of a new revolution.

As the war ended the Corn law was brought in, a tariff which was put on any item that came into britain. This was incredibly bad for the poor. The introduction of Corn Law made the price of bread to rise, and therefore for the poor, who relyed on bread, could not afford to buy it. This pushed people beyond the breadline, making living conditions worse. People were then driven into the city, although the cities were not built for the amount of people 'people drowning in sewage'.
1846- was the repeal of the Corn law. There was more of a concern with people in factories, workers wanted more money to afford the high priced bread. There was a repeal to get cheaper bread for workers.

Hegel

Hegel (1770-1831) Known as another creator of German idealism, the idea of the perfect world. He believed that knowledge begins with the sense of perception. Hegel view followed christian framework and he was interested in change as concept and believed that there was no objects in the world. Hegel was an idealist and therefore believed that we do not percieve the world. Hegel believed that our perception of the world is linked to social concepts.
Hegel also discusses the word 'Giest' which is translated as 'Spirit'. Hegal uses this in terms with society. The idea of spirit can also be linked to the idea of a ghost and according to hegel the Giest does not exist in objects or in our mind, but in another realm, and in this realm it contains the idea that a whole society has a common, a equality between all those belonging. Hegel also mentioned that when considering conciousnous, that human are not always aware of this- although they do have self-concious. This is only apparent through social concepts and identifying yourself or others idenitfying you.

Kant

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) is recognised as first major intelect figure. Kant discusses the idea of noumenal and phenomenal worlds: in his book 'Critique of pure reason' he addresses the problems of causalities in empiricism. The idea of noumenal and phenomenal worlds is the thought on weather objects exist when they are not looked at. Many empirist discussed this matter. Hume thought that there was no causality in nature and therefore things only happen in our minds. He also thought that objects flash in and out of reality depending on when we are looking at them or not. An example of this is that, if you have left one room to go into another, the room that you have left has completely disappeared. However you know that it is there, and will expect it to be there when you return. However Kant explained this by stating that objects exist in there own right and it does not matter if they are being looked at or not.

Found that spark notes is a usefuhttp://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/kant/themes.htmll website when trying to understand some of the terms stated by Kant and Hume.

Semester two!!

The first lecture back this semester, and I had the instant impression that I would fully enjoy this topic. This semester we are looking over the book 'A Vindication of the rights of woman' slightly daunting when first looked at, however the read is not as bad as i thought.

Mary Wollstonecraft: Mary had a difficult early life and upbringing; she had a drunken violent father who had numerous affairs. She constantly tried to protect her mother from her father's behaviour. However Mary was critical of her mother for not being more forceful; do something about the situation. She was forced to work as a governess for a family in Ireland, here she was deeply unhappy. She was obsessed with education and with her first publication she expressed her thoughts on education of daughters.

Argued that education given to woman was superficial and was obsessed with appearance. She argued that education can give you power to do what you want, she was a believer in rationality and reasoning. After returning to London she set up her own school and became a rational dissenter. Mary had a fascination with Rousseau, finding him inspirational and aggravating. ‘Mary’ a direct response to Rousseau ‘Emile’: she stated how she liked his ideas of equality however she was critical of him. ‘Woman is made especially for man’ this statement she rejected.

In her book ‘A vindication of the rights of woman’ her central themes is of a diagnosis of the current state. She was writing for middle class woman, woman have accepted a role they have been given. Mary idea was that men and woman should just be human beings; not isolated genders and equality. She tries to limit the areas in life where men are men and woman are woman.

After she died Goodwin wrote a bibliography of her on everything about her, it was scandalous and therefore gained a bad reputation up until after the suffragettes.

The Snow is falling on my small town!!

My home town of Fleet, was reported today on the BBC news as having the most snowfall in Hampshire, victory I say for our small town. However the conditions have left many people stranded and stuck in their homes. Of course this is not minded by all the school children who have receive the day off, and are playing outside till they are too cold to move. I love watching the snow fall, from the inside of the house, but this large amount of snow fall is now becoming a nascence for myself and others. I am worried about my own travel arrangements for this weekend, when traveling to work. I have no clue if the trains will be running by Friday, therefore no train, I get no money from work. As a skint student that is not a good combination. The snow is beautiful but not without its consequences. Hundreds of drivers where left stranded on the M3 last night as the snow fell. Several airports have been closed, meaning thousands of flights cancelled. Other main worries are the supplies for the gritters, with supplies running out quickly a lot of main roads are not being gritted therefore making it harder for the public. With freezing conditions and snow fall till late tonight, it is apparent that many people may be snowed in for a few days yet.

Aristotle

Aristotle- (384- 322 BCE)
I thought it would be worth while looking into the background of Aristotle, as he has had such a major impact or influence on all other philosopher, also for myself so that I can gain a better understanding of Aristotle. Each philosopher is a challenge to get, as I have not studied philosophy before a lot of research is helpful. Aristotle is a huge known figure in greek philosophy, his work contributed to mathematics, physics, biology, ethics, politics etc. He was a student of plato, and Plato was a student of Socrates. Aristotle rejected Plato's theory of form, which according to plato things such as beauty are abstract however Aristole argued that the forms are instrinsic to an object and cannot exist seperately.
Aristole created the earliest point of formal logic. For previous philosphers and including Plato never really understood the logical implications, Aristole said that 'on the subject of reasoning' he 'had nothing else on an earlier date to speak of'.

Jonathan Swift: A modest proposal

Jonathan swift's 'Modest proposal' was published 50 yeard before the wealth of nations.
The 'Modest proposal' was a piece wrote in protest to the harsh treatment of the caltholic peasants in ireland by the English that controlled the land. At the time Ireland was in exteme poverty and poorly conditions. Swift was talented and clever at satire and brilliant at using sarcasm and irony in his work. Therefore Swift managed to gain attention for his work and allow people to see things that were happening, which many may not have known. His use of a paradox with links to the title, allows him to gain the attention of the audience he wants. It is seen that the proposal is not at all modest. Swift suggest shocking suggestions in how to deal with the poverty problem, by the breeding and eating of children. However the way in which Swift uses witty and and subtle language it creates a feeling of being able to agree with his argument. I enjoyed reading swifts 'Modest proposal' it is provabal one of the readings which I have most enjoyed and will remember, without knowing anything about Swift before and looking at the proposal. I found that when i read it i was shocked by the suggestions that he gave, though the way in which is was written gave me the sense that he was serious. However learning about the way in which he writes, and satire, I had a much better understanding. Fully enjoyed his witty work.