Alfred L. Kroeber

Comparison of Scientologists and Manichaeans A constant through much of the known history of human civilization has been the attempt to understand and explain the unknown. This ranges from what lies underground to the vastness of the universe that lies behind the sky and even explores how the world came to be as well as what happens after a person dies. A common explanation for these questions have been rooted in different religions throughout time and different regions of the world.…

The “whys of conformity” demonstrate why the Church of Scientology has been so successful in gaining new members and keeping indoctrinated members. Specifically, they help explain why people are motivated to conform to the church’s ideals. The group locomotive hypothesis, consistency theory, and the hedonistic hypothesis provide reasoning to understand how the church gains and keeps its members. I will examine how each of these theories/hypotheses play a role in “Going Clear”. The group…

the United States, therefore if Scientology is not found as a religion it should then lose its tax exemption once again. This grey line could be eliminated if religion was taxed in the separation of church and state. Scientology was created by L. Ron Hubbard, a science fiction writer, in the 1950s. The Church of Scientology has a substantial amount of science base…

In the Novel Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow we are given much historical insight on the changes affecting the United States during the late 1800s and early 1900s. These changes are not only shown through the context of the novel, but through the three families and individual characters represented in the book. Characters react to the changing environment around them in many different ways. Some changes affecting characters in good ways and some in not so good ways. Doctorow shows many social changes…

Undoubtedly, one of the most tragic moments in history was the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion. On January 28th, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded just 73 seconds after liftoff , killing all 7 of the crew members onboard. There were many theories about what could have caused the explosion to occur. One report claimed that there was a certain pattern with the smoke trail indicating that the shuttle ran into a jetstream. However, freezing temperatures hardened rubber o-rings on one…

Charles Pierce author of Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free, graduated in 1975 from Marquette University with a degree in journalism. Pierce is currently a senior journalist and on-line political blogger at Esquire Magazine. His writing has been published with the New York Times Magazine and LA Times Magazine along with Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. While searching the provided list of books to choose for this review, I chose Idiot America: How…

Both Graham Greene’s book, The Quiet American and Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s movie adaptation of “the Quiet American” have the three same main characters, as well as the general storyline. Fowler and Phuong are happily together, but then The American, Pyle, arrives in Vietnam and pursues Phuong for her hand in marriage. While the characters and their dramatic love triangle remains the same, there are discrepancies between the actions and personalities of the characters, especially The American. By…

I would definitely say that this film broadened my understanding of the great depression in a way that a lecture never could. I have learned about the great depression many times throughout my education but I never realized how desperate these people really were. Tom and his family's trip is a great example of this. It amazed me that Tom’s entire family fit in a single car and drove across the country to look for work that wasn’t even guaranteed. Then the family found out, from a man in the…

January 28,1986, was a tragic day in history. It was the day that the STS-51-L mission was the 25th flight launch of the Space Shuttle Program. The mission ended as a tragic, the Challenger suddenly had a catastrophic disaster with only 73 seconds from lift off, the shuttle killed all seven crew members. The Space Shuttle Disaster has a rememberance memorial in Washington D.C in the Arlington National Cemetery. The national Aeronautics and Space Administration will always remember the day that…

Most of the books and films about the Space Shuttle Challenger that I could locate focused on the technical side of the explosion. I could not find anything that focused on Christa McAuliffe and Allan McDonald as the events unfolded. I want to start off my film with a quote by Gus Grissom; he is a famous astronaut who perished during a pretest launch for Apollo I. Grissom said, “If we die, we want people to accept it. We are in a risky business, and we hope that if anything happens to us it will…