What Are Racial Projects

Racial projects are representations of race in language, thought, imagery, popular discourse, and interaction that assign meaning to race, and situate it within the higher social structure. This concept was developed by American sociologists  Michael Omi and Howard Winant as part of their  theory of racial formation, which describes an always unfolding, contextual process of making meaning that surrounds race. Their racial formation theory posits that, as part of the ongoing process of racial formation, racial projects compete to become the dominant, mainstream meaning of race and racial categories in society. Extended Definition Omi and Winant define racial projects: A racial project is simultaneously an interpretation, representation, or explanation of racial dynamics, and an effort to reorganize and redistribute resources along particular racial lines. Racial projects connect what race  means  in a particular discursive practice and the ways in which both social structures and everyday experiences are racially  organized, based upon that meaning. In today’s world, complimentary, competing, and contradictory racial projects battle to define what race is, and what role it plays in society. They do this on many levels, including everyday common sense, the interaction between people, and at the community and institutional levels. Racial projects take many forms, and their statements about race and racial categories vary widely. They can be expressed in anything, including legislation, political campaigns, and positions on issues, policing policies, stereotypes, media representations, music, art, and  Halloween costumes. Neoconservative and Liberal Racial Projects Politically speaking, neoconservative racial projects deny the significance of race, which produces colorblind racial politics and policies that do not account for how race and racism still structure society. American legal scholar and civil rights attorney Michelle Alexander has demonstrated that the seemingly race-neutral â€Å"war on drugs† has been waged in a racist way. She argues that racial biases in policing, legal proceedings, and sentencing have caused the vast overrepresentation of black and Latino men in U.S. prison populations. This purportedly colorblind racial project represents race as inconsequential in society and suggests that those who find themselves in prison are simply criminals who deserve to be there. It thus fosters the â€Å"common sense† notion that black and Latino men are more prone to criminality than are white men. This kind of neoconservative racial project makes sense of and justifies a racist law enforcement and judicial system, which is to say, it links race to social structural outcomes, like rates of incarceration. In contrast, liberal racial projects recognize the significance of race and foster activist-oriented state policies. Affirmative action policies operate as liberal racial projects, in this sense. For example, when the admissions policy of a college or university recognizes that race is significant in society, and that racism exists at individual, interactional, and institutional levels, the policy recognizes that applicants of color are likely to have experienced many  forms of racism throughout their time as students. Because of this, people of color may have been tracked away from honors or advanced placement classes. They may have been disproportionately disciplined or sanctioned, as compared with their white peers, in ways that impact their academic records. Affirmative Action By factoring in race, racism, and their implications, affirmative action policies represent race as meaningful and assert that racism shapes social structural outcomes like trends in educational achievement. Therefore, race should be taken into account in the evaluation of college applications. A neoconservative racial project would deny the significance of race in the context of education, and in doing so, would suggest that students of color simply do not work as hard as do their white peers, or that they are perhaps  not as intelligent, and thus race should not be a consideration in the college admissions process. The process of racial formation is constantly playing out, as these kinds of contradictory racial projects compete to be the dominant perspective on  race in society. They compete to  shape policy, impact social structure, and broker access to rights and resources. Resources and Further Reading Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. The New Press, 2010.Omi, Michael, and Howard Winant. Racial Formation in the United States: From the 1960s to the 1980s. Routledge, 1986.

Essay about Role of Women in Things Fall Apart, by Chinua...

The role of women in society has grown and changed tremendously with the development of the world. Within the American culture, women’s rights have expanded to the extent of being able to vote for who runs our country or even possibly being the person that does run our country. Although the American culture has somewhat promoted the growth of a woman’s role in society, does not mean women receive the same respect in other cultures around world. For example, in Africa women are viewed lower on the totem pole of importance even though without them the village would fall apart. Chinua Achebe is an author that was born and raised in a village of Nigeria. From growing up there, Achebe understands the culture of Africa better than†¦show more content†¦The way in which the women of the Igbo village are presented, by Achebe, make it seem as if they serve very little purpose to the society. The main character, Okonkwo, is infatuated with making sure he does not turn out to be like his father. By living in a village where manliness was crucial and weakness was not, Okonkwo viewed his father as being a weak and cowardly mean because he could barely support his family. To make sure he did not become an adult that resembled his father, he developed the characteristics of being brave, wealthy and even violent. Since he acquired these traits, it gave him a sense of superiority over his wives and the other women of the village. Perhaps because of Okonkwo’s behavior, the women of the village are treated with less respect. It is portrayed by Achebe that the women of the Igbo village only purpose is looking after the children and helping their husbands when or if it is needed. Although the women of the Igbo village are described as being insignificant, the women are the people that fill in the gaps in the society. For example, the women are the ones that cook, clean, take care of everyone, help harvest and grow food, as well as all the other everyday tasks that are easily overlooked. Achebe mentions specific characters for a reason or in this case he leaves out a specific character. Okonkwo’s mother is mentioned merely once in Achebe’s novel, Things FallShow MoreRelated Conflict and Tradition in Things Fall Apart Essay example748 Words   |  3 PagesTradition in Things Fall Apart nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; The book Things Fall Apart successfully expressed how Chinua Achebe had succeeded in writing a different story. It pointed out the conflict of oneself, the traditional beliefs, and the religious matters of the Africans. Throughout the novel, Chinua Achebe used simple but dignified words and unlike other books, he also included some flashbacks and folktales to make the novel more interesting and comprehensible. Things FallRead MoreChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart1325 Words   |  6 Pages Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Thing Fall Apart, first published in 1958, is Chinua Achebe’s first and most acclaimed novel. Achebe illustrates an approving rendering of Nigerian and African tribal life prior to and subsequent to colonialism. Achebe presents various aspects of a native African community, including war, women mistreatment, violence and conflict, while maintaining a balance in social coherence, customs and tradition. Achebe portrays a clash of culturesRead MoreThings Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe Essay1203 Words   |  5 Pages who took their land for monetary gain. This was a dark period of time for Africans that live there. The U.S. Civil War and The Great Depression both can be related, in this instance, to how down their people were because of what happened. Chinua Achebe said it best, â€Å"I would be quite satisfied if my novels...did no more than teach my readers of their past...was not a long night of savagery from which the first European acting on God’s behalf delivered them†(qtd. in â€Å"Morning Yet† 45). In theRead MoreChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart Essay1682 Words   |  7 Pagescertain degree of the priest class, libation, holidays, creation stories, divine systems of punishments and rewards. In the novel, Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe, is a story of tragic fall of a protagonist and the Igbo culture. Achebe demonstrates different examples and situations of where an African culture, in the instances of tribal religions, did certain things because of their tradition is and the way they developed into. African cultures pondered life mysteries and articulated theirRead MoreThings Fall Apart Character Analysis1130 Words   |  5 Pageswas unable to rule his women and children (and especially his women) he was not really a man† (Chinua Achebe 53). This quote from Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart demonstrates the power of men as it is presented throughout the novel. Things Fall Apart is the story of Okonkwo’s struggles in society, and his search for power throughout his life. During his exile, cultures clash and chaos erupts in the Igbo village. Okonkwo’s father, his exile in Mbanta, and the roles of men in society urgedRead MoreThings Falll Apart by Chinua Achebe1082 Words   |  4 PagesThings Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a story that portrays the tensions between the white Colonial Government and native-born people of Umuofia. Okonkwo, the main character, and a great village man is highly respected in the Igbo tribe of Umuofia. Although, Okonkwo is highly respected by the Igbo people, they are fearful of him because of his violent anger. When the Europeans arrived in Umuofia, they brought with them a new religion: Christianity. The Westerners changed Umuofia, destroyed traditionRead More Comparing and Contrasting the Role of Women in Things Fall Apart and Heart of Darkness1129 Words   |  5 PagesRole of Women in Things Fall Apart and Heart of Darkness       Women were once little more than slaves to their male betters. Some women might have been respected, but their places were limited to roles as wives and mothers. They might rule a home, but were not believed intelligent enough for any other role. This chauvinistic attitude is well reflected in the novels Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, and Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad.    In Things Fall Apart, women are praisedRead MoreChinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart: Exploring the Ibo Culture1743 Words   |  7 Pagesmarginalization of women. This paper is an attempt to explore the Ibo culture and to discuss women as a marginalized group in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Things Fall Apart is a 1958 English novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. Achebe is indebted to Yeats for the title as it has been taken from Yeats’ poem The Second Coming. Achebe is a fastidious, skillful artist and garnered more critical attention than any other African writer. His reputation was soon established after his novel Things Fall ApartRead MoreWhy Things Fell Apart Essay1186 Words   |  5 PagesIn the book, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the setting of the story is the Igbo tribe in Niger, which is located in southeastern Africa. There is a strong social and economical structure with the Igbo people. The villages have a solid set of traditional beliefs that they live their lives by, without stray of that tradition. The introduction of Christianity to the tribes brought changes to the social and religious lives of the villages. The novel provides a glimpse into the changes of howRead MoreMisogyny in Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and Things Fall A part by Chinua Achebe1129 Words   |  5 Pagesrecurrent theme in World Literature. Women’s suffrage was at its prime between 1840 and 1920. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, two stories based in Africa, show different points of misogyny, the first being from the time of women’s suffrage, and the latter being after the women’s suffrage movement. The value, view, and role of women was undermined greatly in these two novels. Heart of Darkness was published in 1902, deep in with time of the women’s suffrage movement

PHOTOSHOP LAB REPORT Essay Example For Students

PHOTOSHOP LAB REPORT Essay 1.) Objective of the lab:The objective of this lab was to make a halftone negative of a small clipart. 2.) Facilities, supplies and equipment used:We did this in the photo lab and in the dark room. To complete this lab we needed to have a working knowledge of the camera, developer, fix and a loop. 3.) Techniques employed:To make film of a clipart several steps must be taken. First is to turn the copy board to be parallel to the floor. Then the glass front must be unlocked and lifted. The art is then placed in the center of the board next to a gray scale. After shutting and locking the glass front the copy board is then turned to be upright facing the shutter of the camera. The aperture should be set at an F-stop of 22 at %100. The next step takes place in the dark room on the other side of the process camera. You must position the transparent plate to be locked in front of the shutter. You then press the test button or switch to check the alignment of the art on the copy board. When aligned you open the transparent plate and use the vacuum to hold the film in position on the solid plate. You then close the solid plate and press the button that controls the timer for the shutter. This exposes the film to the light from the clipart and the gray scale. When the shutter closes you remove the film by turning off the vacuum. Then place the film in the developer until you can see the level 4 on the gray scale. This is the desired development of the film. When there you place the film in the stop solution. After a minute or so in there you place the film in the fix. This removes all the remaining silver from the film. After 2 minutes in the fix you place the film in water to wash it off. After a minute or so in the water you can dry the film and have your final product. 4.) Results of the lab:As a result from this lab I have a developed negative of clipart. 5.) Evaluation:Although the results were a success over all, the negative is slightly underdeveloped and could have gone a few seconds longer in the developer chemicals.

Operational Excellence Companies free essay sample

The most successful companies are those that focus on delivering exceptional customer value through one of three value disciplines, while being satisfied with simply meeting industry standards in the other two areas. These disciplines are: Operational excellence, Product leadership, and Customer intimacy. 1. Operational Excellence Companies attempt to find a combination of price, quality and ease of purchase that none of their competitors are capable of matching. Business model behind this value proposition focuses on achieving cost leadership. Business model behind this value proposition focuses on achieving cost leadership. Production is standardized and automated, if possible 2. Product Leadership Organizations which aim for product leadership constantly work hard to implement innovation and renewal. They want to constantly amaze their customers with the newest and best products. The success dependent on the speed at which they are able to innovate and produce new products. And many of them are ready with the improved versions of their products even while launching the product. We will write a custom essay sample on Operational Excellence Companies or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 3. Customer Intimacy A great deal of attention is focused on the development of the desired customer base: and hence products and services are continually adapted to customers’ wishes, without asking excessively high prices for doing so. They look at the Lifetime value of the customer base and not on the one time purchase. The business model for these organizations has been designed to be able to supply products and services from a broader perspective. A thorough knowledge of the customer as a person, user and buyer is essential in such consumer markets.Telecom industry in India has a big market potentiality and is a fast growing sector. Government of India is eager to reconstitute this telecom industry by enacting effective policies for more investments from foreign companies, which results in a very competitive and deregulated market in the world. Major players in telecommunication industry in India