A Look at Early American Indian History Essay Example for Free

A Look at Early American Indian History Essay In analyzing early American history before the 1870s, it’s vital to have a picture of the lives and lifestyles of the native American Indian people, who have witnessed the immigration of Europeans and other foreign people from a completely different perspective as many of the people who consider themselves to be mainstream Americans today. The American Indian population and tribes have dwindled and suffered at the expense of the influx of migrating peoples into what was once their own land, and First Peoples, a book by Colin Calloway, takes a closer look at the history of Americans who were truly native, who freshly walked the shores and farmed the countryside of the great American continent. First Peoples is a documentary survey of the history of the first Americans, the Indian tribes who first roamed the American lands. The introduction and chapters of the book are broken down into several intriguing parts, including American Indians in American history, American History before Columbus, The Invasions of America, Indians in Colonial and Revolutionary America, American Indians and the New Nation, Defending the West, Kill the Indian and Save Man (which begins the area of the book which analyses the Native American experience after 1870), From the Great Depression to Self Determination, and Nations within a Nation. In introduction and first chapters of First Peoples, a total of six large sections of Calloway’s book, go into much detail about the experience of the Native American people in early America before the 1870s, from the roots of Native American life dating back as far as possibly 11,500 BC with the finding of the oldest Clovis spear points to the exploration of the varied tribal journeys until the mid 1800s AD. The introduction of the book gives a general overview of the theme of the book, the topics related to Native American history in the Americas and the documentation and sources used to feed knowledge into the introduction. References noted in the introduction as well as references noted throughout Calloway’s documentary include the several noted here as well as many more: Abler, T. Einhorn, A. â€Å"Bonnets, Plumes, and Headbands in West’s Painting of Penn’s Treaty. † American Indian Art Magazine 21, 1996: 46. Banner, S. How the Indians Lost Their Land: Law and Power on the Frontier. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2005. Brown, J. Vibert, E. Reading Beyond Words: Contexts for Native History. Peterboro, Ontario: Broadview Press, 1996. DuBois, M. McKiernan, K. â€Å"In the Spirit of Crazy Horse. † PBS series Frontline, 1990. Kipp, D. Fisher, J. â€Å"Transitions: Destruction of A Mother Tongue. † Native Voices Public Television Workshop, 1991. Lesiak, C. â€Å"In the White Man’s Image. † PBS series American Experience, 1992. Steckler, P. Welch, J. Killing Custer: The Battle of Little Big Horn and the Fate of the Plains Indians. New York: W. W. Norton, 1994. Usner, D. (1985). â€Å"American Indians on the Cotton Frontier: Changing Economic Relations with Citizens and Slave in the Mississippi Territory. † Journal of American History 72, 1985: 297-317. In First Peoples, Calloway has utilized a large number and variety of sources, from scholarly books to journals, magazines to films, and the references are noted at the end of every chapter and at the end of the book. On can see that it is through the use of varied and substantial amounts of references and study that Calloway has been able to craft such a detailed and powerful documentary of American Indian life and history. The first chapter of First Peoples focuses on the very early migration and creation theories related to American Indian tribes and the settlement of the first people who migrated across the bearing straight many thousands of years ago, the findings and studies of early fossils and civilizations, and the emergence over time of the Apalachee, Caddos, Chickasaws, Chocktaws, Cheyennes, Cherokee, Creeks, Hurons, Natchez, Iroquois, Mohawks, Neutrals, Petuns, Senecas, Shawnees, Timucua and other tribes. Calloway discusses the hunting and farming ways of life of the native tribes, including the first buffalo hunters of the plains, the farmers of the southwest, the mound builders and farmers of the eastern woodlands, and the affluence of the West Coast. Finally, the chapter ends with a look at the arrival of the European colonists into a world which was already burgeoning with the cultures, battles, celebrations and struggles of the native peoples. In summarizing the second chapter of First Peoples, one notes that Calloway analyses the confrontations of the American Indians with the early European settlers from 1492 to 1680. Through the influx of new people into America, the cultural landscape of America begins to shift and change around the new immigrants even more than it had between the tribal peoples. The Indians face off with the Spanish, French, and English colonists, aiming to balance survival with the struggle for power known as gold, god, commerce, priests, empires, and pelts. The economic and religious impact on the American Indians after the arrival of the Europeans was profound, and both cultures, Indian and European, learned new ways of being and living, were educated by one another in their vastly differing stock holds of cultural history and backgrounds, and clashed together when the trade of goods and ideas seemed tipped too far in favor of one over the other. The balance of power was not easy to manage, and more often than not, American Indians suffered more at the hands of the Europeans than vice versa. The chapter three, Indians in Colonial and Revolutionary America, Calloway takes a look at both Indians in colonial society and colonists in Indian society as they both draw together more closely and clash more violently. The impact of the fur trade and other economic industries brought a reduced capacity to hunt and live off the land, bringing peoples together in tighter communities, resulting in the loss of European and tribal languages for the minority people pressing into the mainstream, the stealing and returning of captives, division within tribal communities, peace treaties, the removal of Indian tribes, and the banding together of tribes and colonists to fight against the most recent invading immigrating force. In reading this chapter, one is able to more clearly understand the attempts at peace and unity merging and contrasting vividly with harsh battles and banishment of peoples. This era of American history is strewn with the movement of individuals, with change and newfound placement, with horrifying prejudice and necessary cooperation. In reading the American Indians and the New Nation, the fourth chapter of First Peoples, one is able to better understand the nation as it gained independence and began working together and a more unified system. Although the emergence of a truly independent America involved new statehood and politics which banded together people from across the vast country, it also brought with it new laws aimed at cleansing Indian people from European and mainstream America. With the populations of American Indians ever dwindling and racism and prejudice haunting the beginnings of American history as an independent nation, the American Indians suffered the loss of political battles as well as the loss of tribal people to death and disease, alcoholism and suicide. Chapter five, the last chapter focusing on American history before 1870, sees only further aggression against the American Indian people and tribes. Policies of detribalization find their ways onto the desks of politicians even as American Indian statehood is granted to Oklahoma. Indian children are removed from their tribes and forced in to state schools across the nation, even to the point of stripping Indian children from their families to live in permanent boarding schools for the effective Americanization or Europeanization of the Indian children. The divisions and suffering within the American Indian families, cultures, and lifestyles during this time are still felt to this day. Although this chapter ends with a look at new American Indian leaders and furthering active attempts to overcome the racism and unfair practices of the European people against the American Indians, it’s important to note the devastation suffered by the American Indians at the hands of the European Americans and the troubling ripple effects of hate crimes against Indians which are still felt within American society today. Overall, First Peoples is a wonderful book for the in depth study of historical life for the American Indian people and tribes, lending insight to the wellness and status of American Indians today in modern America. The creation of America as an independent nation is rife with struggles and diversity, with clashes and vibrancy. The coming together of various peoples has often dealt the people with the most differences a worse deck, however, it is important to view the coming together of our patchwork of American cultures and to know what has happened before, so that people can make informed judgments about the history of yesterday and the future of tomorrow. Luckily, the harsh barbarianism of the past is less and less a part of present society, and prejudice and racism less and less a prominent fixture of modern society worldwide. Although there are still differences to accept and divisions to heal, the world grows more peaceful with every passing decade. First Peoples lend true insight into the well researched history of the American Indians and shines light on what has gone before and what still goes onward in this changing and evolving American culture. Works Cited Calloway, C. First Peoples: A Documentary Survey of American Indian History. Macmillan, 2007.

The History, Theory, and Evolution of Magical Realism Essay -- Literat

The History, Theory, and Evolution of Magical Realism      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What comes to mind when one hears the word "magical"? He or she probably thinks of charms, spells, wizards, and disappearing doves. The term "Realism" may represent the everyday world-that with which we are already familiar. Could these two words ever be coupled together to represent one idea? Magical Realism represents the marriage of these two words. A name originally given to a new art form in the early twentieth century, Magical Realism evolved into a literary genre and now represents much more-an attitude, the window through which to view the world, a philosophy of life. By examining the history, theory, and evolution of Magical Realism, this term, seemingly an oxymoron, will make sense. The term Magical Realism is thought by most critics to have originated in the early twentieth century as a new art form. Franz Roh, to whom we attribute having coined the term, describes this "new" art form in his 1925 article "Magical Realism: Post Expressionism." Roh defines Magical Realism through a chronological examination of artistic styles preceding this "new art." The two periods on which he focuses primarily are Impressionism and Expressionism. Impressionism, which preceded Expressionism, focused on the artists' desire to portray something that existed in reality. An artist may examine the texture, light, or the shapes of an object. The portrayal was simply a caricature of reality, with no significant meaning or stimulation other than the obvious, realistic qualities with which viewers were already familiar. Expressionism, in contrast, sought to portray something with a very deep meaning, refusing to portray reality because it was too mundane and familiar. Intelle... ... Works Cited Chanady, Amaryll. "The Territorialization of the Imaginary in Latin America: Self-Affirmation and Resistance to Metropolitan Paradigms." Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community. Ed. Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durham, N.C.: Duke UP, 1995: 125-144. Flores, Angel. "Magical Realism in Spanish American Fiction." Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community. Ed. Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durham, N.C.: Duke UP, 1995: 109-117. Leal, Luis. "Magical Realism in Spanish American Literature." Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community. Ed. Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durham, N.C.: Duke UP, 1995: 119-124. Roh, Franz. "Magic Realism: Post-Expressionism." Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community. Ed. Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durham, N.C.: Duke UP,1995: 15-31.   

Focus on the learner Essay

A. Learner’s profile Virginia is a 29-year old native Spanish speaker born in Madrid. She is currently studying a professional training course and works as an animal caretaker. She is one of the A2 or Elementary proficiency level students of the Celta Teacher Training Program at International house Language School. She took part of the same program two years ago, but she didn’t continue studying English afterwards. Virginia studied English in primary and secondary school following a traditional teaching method, which used grammar as the starting point and foundation, for the development of all language skills — speaking, listening, writing, and reading, however there was relatively little focus on speaking and listening. As reported by Virginia, she was exposed to explicit information about the structure of the language and to rules that she had to internalize through repetitions and direct translation with little or no opportunity of participating in activities that encourage meaningful communication. This situation hindered the development of her speaking skills, and made her fail in her attempts to attain the necessary fluency and confidence to successfully communicate in English during her trips abroad. Knowledge of grammar without meaningful practice of the language is ineffective, as Jim Scrivener says: â€Å"There is no point knowing a lot about language if you can’t use it (which sadly, has been the experience of many language learners in the past – able to conjugate a verb, but unable to respond to a simple question)† (Scrivener, 2005; 146) As a result of the different frustrating situations she had to face when trying to make herself understand in foreign countries, and due to her love for travelling, she developed an intrinsic motivation to study English. She thinks English is a lingua franca that opens doors to other cultures, on the contrary, she doesn’t have any extrinsic motivation as she doesn’t need to speak English for any other purposes than socializing and travelling. She is a participative student who has never missed a class. Her favorite  activities are the ones that foster speaking skills, especially role-plays or discussions in groups, because they give her the opportunity to interact with her classmates and communicate in real time about real or similar to real life situations. Virginia’s learning style is visual; a technique she uses in order to spell words is seeing the words in her head and she can better understand and remember explanations by writing them down or looking at pictures and diagrams She claims that one of her strengths is her knowledge of grammar rules associated with verbs conjugation; specifically the use of simple present and present continuous and adds that writing is the easiest among the four language skills, because writing tasks provide enough time to brainstorm and choose the correct language to express her ideas. Among her weaknesses she mentioned her lack of fluency, because she has not time to think on the grammar rules when she speaks, especially when talking about a past event, as she hardly ever knows whether the verb she wants to use is regular or irregular. B. Language problems and Solutions Analyzing Victoria’s output in class I could notice that she has two evident language problems; one of them is the use of simple past of irregular verbs, and the other one is the differentiation of the vowel sounds /aÉ ª/ and /É ª/. I find these problems in the grammar and pronunciation areas very interesting to analyze, because both of them are very common in Spanish native speakers learning ESL, therefore, finding engaging and interesting activities to overcome them could be helpful in similar cases in the future. Examples and solutions for the student’s language problems in the different areas are exposed below: Grammar: Virginia struggles with using irregular verbs in the past  Ã¢â‚¬Å"I ´m learning to surf. I buyed a surfboard. I ´m loving it although I’m not very good.† â€Å"The teacher who teach me English when I was a child was not  strict† â€Å"I lose the train this morning† (neither the correct word has been chosen in this case â€Å"miss†, however, I only focus on the verb) In order to help Virginia with her problem in this grammar area, I have decided to use the activities of the lesson â€Å"Girls’ night out†; unit 5, pages 56 and 57 of the Elementary student’s book â€Å"New English File†, Oxford University Press. The subject of the lesson revolves around a group of young female journalist for a famous women’s magazine who are asked to go out for the evening with her girlfriends, and then write a report about their experiences. The topic is engaging, as it suits Virginia’s age, gender, interest (tackles some cultural matters of different countries) and is quite close to her cultural background, considering that Spaniards are very sociable and much of their life is lived in the streets. The material exposes the student to the structure through reading, listening and speaking activities. Virginia will have to deduce which are the past tense of a set of irregular verbs from the text in order to do exercise 3A. Grammar (look at the reports again and find the past tense of these irregular verbs), and then listen and practice the pronunciation of the verbs in exercise 3. B (listen and check, practice saying the verbs). She will also have the opportunity to fill in sentences with the correct form of the same irregular verbs in exercise 3C 1 and listen these verbs within a meaningful context in exercises 4 B and C (Listen to Silvia talking about their girls’ night out). In terms of speaking, the student will have to use the simple past of irregular verbs in the exercise 5C (Think about the last time you went out with friends, look at the questions and plan your answers) Virginia will have plenty of opportunities to see and use the target language as in real life communication. 1: This exercise send the student to the explanation on page 130 (5C) and to the exercise on page 131 (5C) Pronunciation Virginia struggles with discriminating the /aÉ ª/ and /É ª/ sounds. : â€Å"I filled in a registration form for a diving school†: /ˈdÉ ªvÉ ªÃ…‹/ â€Å"The school has wifi† /ˈwÉ ª fÉ ª/  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The school has a library†: /ˈlÉ ªbrÉ™ri/ To help her to differentiate the pronunciation of the vowel sounds /aÉ ª/ and /É ª/. I have chosen the lesson â€Å"Wine, win†, unit 5 of the book â€Å"English Pronunciation in use†, Cambridge University press; pages: 30 and 31. Besides providing explanatory pictures of mouth modulation for a better pronunciation (Section A and B), it offers exercises that focus exclusively on the different pronunciation of minimal pairs, which usually confuse nonnative speakers, as Spanish does not differentiate between long and short vowels. Minimal pairs effectively facilitate pronunciation acquisition. â€Å"When learners compare and contrast discrete sounds in the environment presented in minimal pairs, the importance of these sounds in denoting word meaning is transferred to their mind naturally. Experience shows that ―pronunciation classes†¦ make students more conscious of their own pronunciation and aware of ways in which their pronunciation differs from the model offered† (Rajadurai, 2001: 14) Virginia will have to spot the /aÉ ª/ sound among minimal pairs in exercise A and the /É ª/ sound in exercise B. The student will also have to discriminate and identify the words that have the/aÉ ª/ or the /É ª/ vowel sounds in exercise 11.1. (Make words with these beginnings and endings and write them in the correct part of the table) and in the exercise 11.2 (Read the dialogue. Circle the sound /aÉ ª/ and underline the/É ª/). Despite the fact that this material doesn’t approach pronunciation within a context similar to real life, it offers a lot of practice opportunity, which in my opinion as a nonnative speaker of English is essential for the reason that Spanish phonological system is significantly different from that of English, particularly in the aspects of vowel sounds. Conclusion Virginia’s English lesson at school were focused on talking about the language rather than on talking in the language; as a result, we can deduce that she was not exposed to proper and useful input since these type of classes do not require that teachers be experts or even fluent in the  language. However, her motivation, along with the use of relevant and meaningful materials as the ones presented in this essay can help her to improve her language skills and attain proficiency in English as a result. References Hancock, M (2003) English Pronunciation in Use. Cambridge University Press. Oxenden, C, Latham-Koening, C and Seligson, P. New English File, Elementary Student (2007). Oxford University Press. Scrivener, J (2005) Learning Teaching, A guidebook for English Language Teachers. Second Edition. Macmillan Books for Teachers. Rajadurai, J. (2001). An investigation of the effectiveness of teaching pronunciation to Malaysian TESL students MacMillan Dictionary : http://www.macmillandictionary.com/

A Deeper Experience Of God s Grace Written By Dr. Piper

The conversation started in the gospel of John, has been picked up by another theologian named John. John Piper. Dr. Piper is not only a best-selling author, but is also one of the most well-known theologians of the twenty-first century. Dr. Piper grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and after high school he attended Wheaton College. He earned his Master of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary, and his Doctor of Divinity from the University of Munich. Dr. Piper served as the pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis Minnesota for 33 years. Today, he serves as the Chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary. Dr. Piper’s long tenure as a pastor and author has honed his ability to explain theological topics in clear and†¦show more content†¦Dr. Piper demonstrates that those who are truly elect cannot fall away from grace. The doctrine of preservation, based not on human fallibility, but the Trinity’s holiness, can never fail. God â€Å"has not lef t us [Christians] to ourselves to confirm our calling and election†. Preservation of the saints is not just espoused by Dr. Piper, but he sites numerous Biblical texts to support his argument. One of the pillars of preservation, as described by Dr. Piper, is that the maintenance of everlasting faith rests on the holiness of God. However, God cannot preserve someone in salvation, if their faith is not active. This is demonstrated in 2 Peter 1:10 which says, â€Å"Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.† Dr. Piper uses this verse to demonstrate his understanding of election as a relationship, a two-way street. Our actions do not save us, but true faith cannot help but be active, growing and changing. True faith demands that the believer be â€Å"diligent to confirm†. Some charge that the concept of preservation can cause true believers to despair. Dr. Piper points o ut verses such as 1 John 1:8-9 â€Å"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.† ThoseShow MoreRelatedThe, Death And Blind Sheep3005 Words   |  13 PagesIntroduction Ever since the Fall we have been unable to physically restore our Eden experience on our own. Nor could we fix the mistake that Adam started with either good living or hard work. No council could be gathered, no theologian could negotiate their way out of our deserving judgment. We were indebted with total sin, unable to choose good from bad running around since birth with no clue as to who are or what was in us. It could be described as lost, death and blind sheep aimlessly movingRead MoreThe Technological Advances Of The Great Gatsby3475 Words   |  14 Pages1. Introduction Ever since the fall we have not been unable to physically restore our glorious Eden experience, nor could we fix the mistake that Adam started with either good living or hard work. No council could be gathered; no theologian could negotiate his or her way out of our deserving judgment. We were indebted with sin, unable to choose right from wrong. God’s creation was just running around since birth with no clue as to who are or what was if any power was in us. We are like blind sheep