It all started with “nursies.” Elrena was sitting at her computer, nursing her baby girl and Googling the new vocabulary of her life. If you try this, Google will ask if you really mean “nurseries,” but if you’re sure of your spelling, you’ll still find a link to the essay Elrena found that day: Amy […]
Месяц: Август 2015
The Meaning of Age
When you are asked the question “How old are you?” what crosses your mind? Is it the number of years since the day of your birth? Is it how old you feel at that time? Is it defined more in terms of where you are biologically, psychologically, or socially than in terms of calendar time? […]
Why feminism has intensified the need for studying men
Feminism suggested that God might be a she but not that the devil might also be a she. Feminism articulated the shadow side of men and the light side of women. It neglected the shadow side of women and the light side of men. And neglected to acknowledge that each sex has both sides within […]
Somalia since 1991
Siad Barre’s downfall did not bring an end to injustice and misery for the people in Somalia. The loose coalition of forces that had defeated the dictator disintegrated with the sudden collapse of government institutions. The country fragmented into areas controlled by warlords and their heavily armed clan-based militias. The USC split into two power […]
CONSENSUS AND CONFLICT. IN SECOND WAVE FEMINISM
Issues of diversity and ‘difference’ infeminist theorising INTRODUCTION This first chapter investigates feminism’s location at the intersection of modernity and postmodernity, and examines some of the debates which have been leading feminism towards a possible paradigm shift. As it confronts critiques from within and outside its own discourses, contemporary feminism is reassessing its epistemological foundations […]
Why do we need to study men — Isn’t history one big study of men?
The most common justification for studying women without studying men is that history is men s studies. women’s studies is just an attempt to give women something equivalent to what men already have. True? No. Women’s studies questions the female role; nothing questions the male role. History books sell to boys the traditional male role […]
Culture and Ethnicity
Culture and ethnicity jointly provide status, social settings, living conditions, and personal experiences for people of all ages, and they influence and are influenced by biological, psychological, and life-cycle developmental forces. Culture can be defined as shared basic value orientations, norms, beliefs, and customary habits and ways of living. Culture provides the basic worldview of […]
Interrelations among the Forces: Developmental Influences
All the forces we have discussed combine to create people’s developmental experiences. One way to consider these combinations is to consider the degree to which they are common or unique to people of specific ages. An important concept in this approach is cohort. A cohort is a group of people born at the same point […]
The Forces of Development
Gray hair, remembering, activity levels—Why do adults differ so much on these and other things? This question requires us to understand the basic forces that shape us. Developmentalists typically consider four interactive forces (shown in Figure 1.8): • Biological forces include all genetic and health — related factors that affect development. Examples of biological forces […]
Acknowledgments
I have many people to thank for their help in writing and editing this volume. I would first like to thank the contributors for permitting me to share their work with you. I am grateful for the assistance of the coeditors of the Critical America Series, Professor Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic, of the University […]