Binary classification

Given Alice’s manipulative and cunning character, her comparison to a mythological hydra by Arden is particularly apt. Stemming from Greek mythology, the hydra is a venomous monster possessing nine heads and extremely difficult to kill. As Linebaugh and Rediker illuminate, “when Hercules lopped off one of the hydra’s heads, two new ones grew in its place” (2-3). Just as the hydra regrows its head when attacked, Alice exhibits increasing maliciousness when provoked. When questioned by Arden about…

Muslims in America, many of whom are natural born citizens, often feel as if they are unwelcomed secondary citizens to this “land of freedom,” that they don’t belong among fellow Americans. The lack of education and knowledge surrounding the Muslim culture Islamic religion allow Americans to make false claims regarding the inevitable "acts of terrorism" committed by these groups. The negative rhetoric (often perpetuated by biases in media) does not take into consideration the values of peace,…

Sullivan, 2003) We live in a society whereby to fully understand anything it needs to be classified this is seen in all aspects of life from science, to the arts, even socially, nothing can be without it having been classified and it is in this classification that understanding and knowledge can be gained and it is this exact fact that queers spectators in Boys Don’t Cry; ““persons” only become intelligible through becoming gendered in conformity with recognizable standards of gender…

It is a universal classification that applies to both humans and animals. Gender, on the other hand, is social representation that is “a uniquely human trait” (Holdcroft). Social, cultural, behavioral, psychological, environmental factors are all considered when observing gender…

unlike the African slaves in United States which were growing at a fast rate. “Another important difference between Latin America and the United States involved conceptions of race. In Spanish and Portuguese America, an intricate system of racial classification emerged. Compared with the British and French, the Spanish and Portuguese were much more tolerant of racial mixing—an attitude encouraged by a shortage of European women—and recognized a wide range of racial gradations, including black,…

Discovered in 1930, by the American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh, Pluto was thought to be the farthest, newest and smallest known planet in our solar system. Pluto, for 75 years would be thought of as the ninth planet in our solar system. It wasn’t until the discovery of Eris in 2005 that astronomers began to question what defines a planet. After the discovery of Eris and other celestial objects such as MakeMake, Pluto along these new discoveries have been defined as dwarf planets. They are…

The biological cell, as a metaphor for understanding disability, permits a dialect perspective of the body: as a construct socially negotiated between the natural and behavioural sciences. The "pathology" of disability is not located within the individual's body; rather, it is established as a "pathogenic" force of language characteristics of the cultural body. What can be found in the body of society is a system producing embodiments of engagement : social structures promoting the image of…

Where exactly is the line between what is normal and human and what is considered monstrous? In Jeffrey Jerome Cohen’s Monster Culture, he explores what it means to be a monster and concludes that a monstrous body is pure culture. He argues that a monster’s purpose is to be read so that the monster can reveal and warn society about something (Cohen 4). Many of his theses focus on the idea of an “us” versus “them” mentality. For instance, he writes that monsters are hybrids who don’t fit in any…

Jessica Berman (2009) makes the prescient observation that “modernism seems at the heart of the new comparative literature in a way not seen since the final chapter of Erich Auerbach’s foundational text, Mimesis? Why?” (55). While she uses the term “new comparative literature,” she could have easily been asking why modernism plays such a vital role in “new world literature.” Her answer as to why these texts employ modernism is that they do so because it is viewed as a universalizing /…

Decolonizing the RGV Background leading to the spread of existentialism Being able to derive a critical understanding from my experiences with racism, sexism, and homophobia as a Mexican immigrant living in the South Western United States is one of my proudest accomplishments. My arrival to the Unites States as a thirteen year old represented an unprecedented challenged; from learning a new language, to trying to coexist in an environment that proved both very welcoming and hostile towards my…