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Fractured
No full textThis work comments on social prejudice(s); HOW it moves us (or not) to interact from a humane perspective and have authentic, substantive conversation(s) as members of the human family
As One
No full textWe appear on Earth as separate beings with diverse destinies; but as each separate raindrop is a part of the seas, so are we a part of the Ocean of Awareness. -Dan Millma
Do the Highly Skilled Rich Pay Income Taxes? State Tax Incidence using Major League Baseball Data
Get PDFThis research studies the responsiveness of the rich to state income taxes. Interstate migration is worrisome to policy makers because talent may move, in effect voting for lower income taxes with their feet. Furthermore, businesses may choose to locate elsewhere if they bear the burden of the tax or if they cannot attract skilled labor. To test whether employers or highly productive employees bear the burden of the state income tax and to what extent, I use Major League Baseball Data (MLB) from 1992-2012 of all free agent transactions. MLB data is useful in this analysis because it provides both performance and salary data, which is nearly impossible to observe in other highly skilled markets. I will use team and year fixed effects to find the effect of taxes on take home pay. This will help control for other factors in a free agent’s decision-making processes such as team and city characteristics. Standard errors are too large to yield results on the effect of tax rate. This is likely due to other factors in salary negotiation
Objects of Desire: Mimetic Theory in Middle-earth
Get PDFTwentieth century author J. R. R. Tolkien permanently impacted the world of fantasy with his work in Middle-earth. Countless aspects of his legendarium have been examined by readers, scholars, and critics, who view them through widely-varying lenses of literary theory and criticism in an attempt to interpret the ideas central to Tolkien’s universe. However, few scholars have explored the relationship between Tolkien’s works and literary theorist René Girard’s concepts of mimetic desire and scapegoating, leaving this relatively untraversed field ripe for study. Girard’s mimetic theory offers insight into Tolkien’s understanding and portrayal of power by providing a method of interpreting his use of objects of power to demonstrate the corruptive nature of such items and the rivalry they incite. This research examines Girard’s theories, applying his ideas of triangular, imitative desire for an Object to the texts of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
From Satire to Struggle: An Analysis of Changing American Identity Using Our Show; a Humorous Account of the International Exposition
Get PDFIn 1876, Philadelphia hosted the Centennial Exhibition to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The Exhibition operated as a platform for the United States to showcase all of its innovations and demonstrate how far the young nation had come in 100 years. The Exhibition quickly gained international popularity and attracted 10 million visitors over the span of the six months it was open. However, not all Americans took the Exhibition so seriously. Our Show; a Humorous Account of the International Exposition, co-written by Philadelphians David Solis Cohen and Harry B. Sommer, is a satirical book that was published in 1875, prior to the opening of the Exhibition. In Our Show, Cohen and Sommer poked fun at everything from the building materials used to the members to the Centennial Board. The authors used Our Show to provide a platform for Americans to grapple with the fluctuating identity of the United States. Relying on ambiguity and wit, Cohen and Sommer discuss ways that United States’ society was changing in terms of women’s roles in society, the rise of industrialization, and the growth of an excessive culture. This project explores how historians can use humorous and satirical publications to understand the impact of social change in American society
From Slaves to Rulers: The Great Divide between Americo- Liberians and West Africans in 1830s Liberia
No full textThis paper will explain the social divide that occurred during the early establishment of Liberia in the 1830s, mainly as a result of the ideology of the Americo-Liberian settlers. I analyze the letters of an Americo-Liberian family, the Skipwiths, which reveal the establishment of a social hierarchy in Liberia in the mid-nineteenth century. Because these Americo-Liberians had known only the political and social structure of the United States, the area they settled seemed to model the antebellum South in the sense that a great cultural divide was created between the Americo-Liberians and the native West Africans, just as there was a divide between the whites and the blacks in America. The free blacks who came to Liberia from America in the early-to-mid nineteenth century did everything they could to distance themselves culturally from the native West Africans. This cultural distance was accomplished by Americo-Liberians keeping their American manners and customs in Africa and importing American and European goods for their use, while refusing to assimilate with the native West Africans. This is especially important in understanding how the Americo- Liberians thought themselves superior to the native West Africans, which ultimately created a social and cultural divide between the two groups
AUX YEUX DE…: A Study of the Perceptions of the Mali Empire
No full text“Aux Yeux De…” unearths the perceptions of the Mali Empire that dominated West Africa from 1250AD – 1650AD. The project follows the travels of Ibn Batouta, a Berber Islamic lawyer nicknamed the “Marco-Polo of the East,” as he journeys through the Empire during the 1350s. We revisit the Empire once more in the mid-1500s through the travels of André Alvarez d’Almada, the son of a Portuguese colonizer of the Cape Verde Islands. The project explores how Batouta and d’Almada simultaneously represent and form Arab and European perceptions of the Mali Empire through their travels and writings