Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Thomas Moores Music: Nationalism and Identity

Thomas Moores Music: Nationalism and Identity Nationalism and Identity in Irish music has become a topic of great discovery for many scholars. The aim of this essay is to illustrate how the compositions of Thomas Moore, airs taken from Edward Buntings collection, aided in creating a sense of nationalism and identity in Ireland at that given time in history. To do this we must first address the key words in the title in order to provide evidence within Moores compositions. Context on Identity and Music identity is mobile, a process not a thing, a becoming not a being;Â  our experience of music of music making and music listening is best understood as an experience of this self-in-process. Music, like identity, is both performance and story, describes the social in the individual and the individual in the social, the mind in the body and the body in the mind; identity, like music, is a matter of both ethics and aesthetics. (Frith 96, p.109) For decades now, the issues of identity and music have been a topic for debate for many scholars. The above statement by Simon Frith highlights several issues for one to address: identity, society and music. These three issues often come hand in hand when we speak of music and culture. Frith points out that identity is not a solidified, end result of a person. Identity is something that is always in process, a becoming not a being (ibid). Steph Lawler also suggests that identity is a process by which we come to know ourselves when she states that identity itself is a social and collective process and not, as Western traditions would have it, a unique and individual possession (Lawler 2014, p. 2). Both Frith and Lawler highlight the importance of society in creating identity. Frith indicates that identity showcases influential societal factors in an individual and the individual influences societal identity. This is done within ones own moral code and ethics by which they chose to liv e, and can be adapted and changed as a person moves from one society or social structure to another. Lawler suggests that identity is produced through social relations (ibid) thus confirming with Friths earlier suggestion that identity is a process which is constructed to social interaction. Mark Slobin suggested that we all grow up with something, but we can choose just about anything by way of expressive culture (Slobin 87, p. 55). One of the most expressive forms of culture and identity is music. Frith claims that music constructs our sense of identity through the direct experience it offers of the body, time and sociability, experiences which enables us to place ourselves in an imaginative cultural narrative (Frith 96, p. 124). This statement allows us to address the personal identity and the social identity. First off Frith states that music constructs our sense of identity (ibid) which is done through either self-expression of self-selection. Self-expression refers to the act of composing or creating an original piece of music that one uses to express their personality of identity. Self-selection then is the act of choosing music already in the social spectrum that one identifies. Of course, each of these selections can change over a given period of time or as a re sult of social interactions. But what makes music special what makes it special for identity is that it defines a space without boundaries (a game without frontiers). Music is thus the cultural form best able both to cross borders sounds carry across fences and walls and oceans, across classes, races and nations and to define places; in clubs, scenes, and raves, listening on headphones, radio and in the concert hall, we are only where the music takes us. (ibid) Music not only has the ability to create identity for an individual, it has the power to unite communities, societies, cultures and nations in a very unique way. Nationalism Nationalism makes more of the nation than a mere political or cultural community. Its realization becomes the supreme ethical goal of human beings on earth: It is depicted categorically as the most important thing in life; it becomes the be-all and end-all of man in his search for security (Snyder 1954 cited Ryan, 1991. p. 3). This quotation from Joseph Ryans dissertation in 1991 on nationalism in Ireland quantifies what nationalism became for Irish culture and identity during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Music during the early decades of the nineteenth century reflected social and cultural identities, Dublin musical taste reflected that of London, the mainstay of its concert programmes being drawn from the current European tradition during that period (Boydell 1986 cited Ryan, 1991. p. 77). Barra Boydell highlights how major organisations during this period were trying to create an identity of one nation. In 1792 the Harp festival was organised so that the collectors could: Revive the ancient music of the country and to preserve from oblivion the few fragments which have been permitted to remain as monuments of the refined taste and genius of their ancestors, they emphasized both this perception of Irish music, specifically that of the harpers, as a relic of antiquity, and asserted the common Irish identity of Catholic, Protestant and Dissenter (Boydell, 2014 cited Fitzgerald OFlynn 2014. p. 37). Here Boydell illustrates the original ideology of identity for the United Irishmen, one common identity for all the people of Ireland. This ideology began to change towards the end of the eighteenth century into the early nineteenth century. Once seen as a strong hold for British trade, Dublin and Ireland were now on a decline after the industrial boom during the 1800s. Ireland did not expand as well as other European cities of this era and as such lost its popularity for living and trade. Boydell conveys the direction in which culture and identity was moving: [It was] later in the century that this identity would begin consciously to express itself through Irish traditional (or folk) music and the music of the Irish harpers. When that did happen, notably with Walker, Bunting and Thomas Moore, Irish folk music would become an important signifier of Irish national identity. (Boydell, 2014 cited Fitzgerald OFlynn 2014. p. 37) The ideologies of organisations such as the United Irishmen, founded in 1791, would go on to contribute to the creation of what Irishness was or what Nationalistic views were at this given period in Irish history. Ireland in the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century, was in the depth of political and religious unrest. Still under British rule, the Irish people were now seeking equality for all Irishmen. The United Irishmen organisation was in pursuit of civil, political and religious equality from the crown of Britain. They sought to engage in a resistance to British cultural supremacy and in 1798 saw the first major failed rebellion of their fright for Irish freedom. As part of their ideology, songs and music would begin to play a major part in creating and maintaining a nationalistic view. Irish song would grasp the attention of the Irish people and make them emotionally involved in the question of nationality through songs which were inherently Irish (MacCarthy 2012 , p. 165). This period in Irish history was very unsettled for the people of Ireland, and yet it began to unite the country as a nation. Ireland was fast becoming a passionate subject matter with the majority of the country, specifically with Irish born Catholics of middle to lower classes. Thus music was seen as a suitable vehicle for nationalism within the ranks of these classes (MacCarthy 2012, p. 104). By utilising the national music of the Ireland the: Songs and ballads conveyed a sense of Irishness to readers based on traditional cultural aspects such as music or history (MacCarthy 2012, p. 103). These tactics aided in boosting the ideological drive of certain organisations. By encompassing the cultural and historical aspects of the nation through music and song, these organisations were creating a national identity through music that supported their cause. The Act of Union was passed in 1803 and this brought about a wave of nationalist expression. Ryan suggests that: literature dominated [arts in the eighteenth early nineteenth century] but music too made some contribution and in so doing helped link the first and second wave of expression (Ryan, 1991. p. 98). It was at the beginning of the nineteenth century -1807- that Thomas Moore began publishing his ten volume work of Irish Melodies; which concluded in 1834. Contained heavily within these melodies, is evidence of Moores political beliefs. Moores Melodies were expressing not only the political and cultural themes of Ireland in this period, but also nationalist themes which would later lend themselves to ideologies within new waves of revolt in the coming decades. It was towards the end of the century, however, emerging nationalism begins to imbue Irish music with a clearly political and nationalist identity, a development charted by White and by Davis, and to which Moores Irish Melodies would later make such a defining contribution (Boydell, 2014 cited Fitzgerald OFlynn 2014. p. 36).

Monday, January 20, 2020

Which Website Should I Buy? :: Sell Websites Buy Websites

Which Website Should I Buy? Reprinted with permission of VotanWeb.com With any new website you have two challenges: developing the product or service and then seeing what if anything, people are willing to pay you for it. Your chances of success are clearly best when you buy an existing website. However, with so many websites available to you, the question will become which website or market should you pursue? Regardless of a website’s past performance, it will have a history from which you will be able to make certain decisions. Even if the website was not profitable in the past, your strengths may lend themselves perfectly to turning it into a viable website. Furthermore, you have the ability to verify what the website did in the past that resulted in the current status of the operation. Ease of Investigation In order to buy the right website you will be required to do a thorough investigation of its past activities, its operations, its current status, the competition, the industry and its future potential. You will accumulate this information and then you will have to determine how it measures up with you at the helm. Clearly, this information gathering will be substantially more accurate and easier to obtain when dealing with an existing website, as you will have the resources available from which to get the details. Infrastructure You will have the benefit of purchasing a website that has an infrastructure including customers, suppliers, server space, established domain name and traffic. This will allow you to focus on building the website as opposed to a start up website where everything begins at ground zero. Purchase Price Differences Buying an existing website does not mean that it will cost you more. In fact, many times it's less expensive than launching a start-up website. Which Website Should I Buy? :: Sell Websites Buy Websites Which Website Should I Buy? Reprinted with permission of VotanWeb.com With any new website you have two challenges: developing the product or service and then seeing what if anything, people are willing to pay you for it. Your chances of success are clearly best when you buy an existing website. However, with so many websites available to you, the question will become which website or market should you pursue? Regardless of a website’s past performance, it will have a history from which you will be able to make certain decisions. Even if the website was not profitable in the past, your strengths may lend themselves perfectly to turning it into a viable website. Furthermore, you have the ability to verify what the website did in the past that resulted in the current status of the operation. Ease of Investigation In order to buy the right website you will be required to do a thorough investigation of its past activities, its operations, its current status, the competition, the industry and its future potential. You will accumulate this information and then you will have to determine how it measures up with you at the helm. Clearly, this information gathering will be substantially more accurate and easier to obtain when dealing with an existing website, as you will have the resources available from which to get the details. Infrastructure You will have the benefit of purchasing a website that has an infrastructure including customers, suppliers, server space, established domain name and traffic. This will allow you to focus on building the website as opposed to a start up website where everything begins at ground zero. Purchase Price Differences Buying an existing website does not mean that it will cost you more. In fact, many times it's less expensive than launching a start-up website.

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Brief Analsysis of Obama’s Change Campaign

After the nation endured an unsettling two terms with President George W. Bush, it’s people were left with a bitter taste, so to speak. As a nation, we yearned for new discourse and needed â€Å"change†. Change was to be the underlying foundation for the 2008 Presidential Election campaigns, which created quite a nation-wide stir as a record number of voters made it to the polls. This was the very beginning of a nation-wide political change, which is evidently more than just empty propaganda, but is evident now through current new reforms. In 2008, Barack Obama pledged to redefine our nation’s political character through an effective campaign based on the philosophy of â€Å"change we can believe in† using the slogan â€Å"yes we can†. Obama hoped for a new attitude in politics, education, health care, and foreign policy among numerous other issues. A promise to cut taxes for 95% of working American families with an annual income less than $250,000 along with significant tax breaks to companies that invest in the United States were some of the aspects of his campaign. In addition, this rally for change promised to create 2 million new jobs to renovate the country’s infrastructure and 5 million new energy jobs. Obama’s campaign emphasized withdrawing troops from Iraq to end the war, increasing energy independence (New Energy Plan for America) and decreasing the influence of lobbyists and how business is conducted on Capital Hill. This new â€Å"national political character† would work to ensure that business conducted on Capital Hill between Congress was to have the best interest of the American people in mind as opposed to personal political agendas. These plans for change created a buzz among the American people. The newly configured 112th Congress, the current meeting of our nation’s legislative branch concedes that all these issues are top national priorities as well and have been quite responsive in effective ways to address the issues with the President. Though this is the first Congress in which the House and Senate have opposing majorities since the 107th Congress (2001-2003), implementing change through these agendas seems quite viable. This is evident through the new Health Care Reform that was recently implemented and depicts and shows this political hype of â€Å"change† to be an obvious buzzword, but to also have substance and depth with Obama’s current term. With the composition of the House of Representatives favoring Republicans (242 Republicans to 193 Democrats) and the new Senate Democratic leadership (51 Democrats, 47 Republicans, and 2 Independents) one may worry that legislative actions on Capital Hill could face potential â€Å"deadlock†, especially since the House has the largest number of Republican members since the 80th Congress of 1947-1949. But having a Democratic President and a primarily Republican Congress means that compromises most likely will have to be met in order to pass bills and legislations, and effectively and efficiently implement this â€Å"change we can believe in† and show the nation, â€Å"yes we can. †

Saturday, January 4, 2020

The Literary Genre Of 2 Peter - 996 Words

The literary genre of 2 Peter is an epistle written to the main personalities, an implied group of believers in Asia Minor and other places around that region. The author is the Apostle Peter a dedicated servant and disciple of Jesus. The date that the letter was written has some controversy, however, in his correspondence Peter mentions that his life is coming to an end, and Peter was martyred for his faith in Rome about A.D. 64-67. Therefore, establishing the date of Peter s second letter within that time frame. Peter wrote out of love to defend and protect the immutable word of God. The letters main purpose was to warn fellow devotees about false teachers that would try to enter their churches and mislead them in their faith. Peter goes on to explain the false teachers can be recognized by their prideful behavior, their love of money, and disrespect to God. (Life Application Study Bible 1507,1918) Peter uses instances from the past, such as Sodom and Gomorrah and the great flood t o stress the judgment and punishment that will come to unbelievers who reject God. The apostle also warns that there will be those that will mock God and dismiss the second coming of Christ. He advises the believers to have confidence in the promises, prophecies, and principles given through God’s inspired word. (Hindson, Towns) Peter cautions God will return without warning and find individuals unwary. However, Peter reasons that God is patient and delays His return for unbelievers, â€Å"notShow MoreRelatedAuthorship, Audience And Genre Of The Gospel Of Matthew1467 Words   |  6 Pages1. Authorship, audience and genre of the Gospel of Matthew Authorship: Most scholars, but not R.T. France (2007, pp14-22), believe that Matthew’s Gospel was written by a scribe, not the Apostle Matthew and that it was written approximately between AD 80- 90. France states that if the book was written at this time- it was within Matthew’s lifetime, and thus authorship cannot be proven. A key reason pointing to the Gospel being written by a scribe is that the Gospel was written in Greek and thatRead MoreLiterature and Journalism1988 Words   |  8 PagesLITERATURE AND JOURNALISM TASK: Difference between Literature and Journalism PRESENTED BY: JULIE E. OGONYA REG. NO.: PG/MA/063/2009 PRESENTED TO: DR, KITCHE MAGAK DATE: NOVEMBER, 2009. MASENO INTRODUCTION Literature and journalism are two genres that are interrelated and intertwined because literature borrows heavily from journalism and journalism borrows heavily from literature as well. Sometimes it gets problematic distinguishing literature from journalism, more so with the emergence ofRead MoreThe Relationship Between 2 Peter And Jude Essay1905 Words   |  8 PagesRelationship between 2 Peter and Jude. Great and Precious Promises (2 Peter 1:1-4) Add to your Faith Goodness (2 Peter 1:5-11) Inspiration of Scripture (2 Peter 1:12-21) Beware of False Teachers (2 Peter 2:1-22; Jude 3-19) Not Willing that Any Should Perish (2 Peter 3:1-18) Able to Keep You From Falling (Jude 1-2, 20-25) Canonicity Both 2 Peter and Jude were eventually accepted by the Church into the canon or list of accepted books of New Testament scripture -- but for 2 Peter it took a while. TheRead MoreThe Paper Is Centered On The Discussion Of The New Testament1657 Words   |  7 Pages If so, then what impact does it have and how must it be communicated to the hearers of the Letters/Epistles today? Were they written to public letter or were they written with a scholarly intent of the writer? Essential Elements of the Epistle genre The significance of identifying the author (whether it be the original person or another writing under pseudonymity), the audience, the style, the structure (opening, body and benediction), and did the letters of the New Testament â€Å"address purely occasionalRead MoreThe Characteristics Of Edgar Allan Poe1332 Words   |  6 PagesArmy. He was influenced by the Romantic literary era at the time but much of his work is considered as the gothic genre, combining fiction, horror and romance. Many credit him as the architect of the modern short story and with his focus on the dark side of human nature, he is also known as the inventor of both the detective story and the horror genre. This work The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket was published during the 19th century when the genre of exploration literature was very popularRead MoreSynthesis of The Reading-Writing Connection and Literary Borrowing1829 Words   |  8 Pagesresearchers information on the connection between r eading, writing, and the value of quality children’s literature. Olness provides examples and ideas of how to successfully join reading with writing in the classroom. In the second article titled Literary Borrowing: The Effects of Literature on Children’s Writing, Lancia (1997) investigates the frequency and diversity of the independent ways children use ideas from literature while composing. Lancia illustrates the active relationship between readingRead MoreTeen Television Dram The Next Generation, By The Bell And Beverly Hills Of 902101805 Words   |  8 PagesEvery television show falls into one genre or another. Whether its an Action, Comedy, Drama, Adventure show, they all fall into the category of different types of television genres. The concept of a genre can be used in â€Å"rhetoric, literary theory, media theory and more recently linguistics, to refer to a distinctive type of ‘text’† (Chandler, 1). Thus, every aspect of television exh ibits a reliance on genre in which becomes a principal factor of framing texts which support comprehension. ThroughoutRead MoreLiterary Criticism : The Free Encyclopedia 7351 Words   |  30 Pages In literary criticism, a Bildungsroman (German pronunciation: [ˈbÉ ªldÊŠÅ‹s.Ê oËÅ'maË n]; German: novel of formation, education, culture),[a] novel of formation, novel of education,[2] or coming-of-age story (though it may also be known as a subset of the coming-of-age story) is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood (coming of age),[3] in which character change is extremely important.[4][5] Contents [hide] 1 Origin 2 Plot outlineRead MoreBob Dylans Impact on Pop Culture1515 Words   |  7 Pagesearly career forged him into an informal chronicler and then he later developed into an apparently reluctant figurehead of social unrest [Gray, 2006] and became a voice for a generation. His songs have been covered by many artists in a wide span of genres and he has remained a prominent and highly influential figure in the history of popular music over the past five decades. [Gates, David, 1997] In the early sixties, before Bob Dylan emerged, the concept of folk and rock fusing was ludicrous. FolkRead MoreThe Magical Elasticity of Peter Pan Essay2054 Words   |  9 PagesQuestion: Explore Peter Hollindale’s claim that Peter Pan ‘retains its magical elasticity and its ongoing modernity’ (Reader 2, p.159), with reference to different versions since its original production. Peter Pan – whether as a stage play, a book, a stage musical, a live-action film or a pantomime – has endured for more than a century as arguably the most famous, and certainly most influential, stories for children. First performed in 1904, the fairytale drama has been addressing the ever-changing