Chapter Twenty-Three: Capitalism and Culture

"Ways of the World"

Chapter Twenty-Three: Capitalism and Culture 

A New Phase of Global Interaction

Since 1945

For today's reading I dabbled on the section "The Globalization of Liberation: Focus on Feminism". According to Strayer, "feminism took hold in many cultural and political settings, where women confronted different issue, adopted different strategies, and experienced a range of outcomes" (1151). The second wave of feminism during the 1960's dubbed "women's liberation" was, from what I read different from the first movement in the 20's. In the twenties women were more concerned with controlling their own bodies while the movement in the 60's was more so focused on an equal rights  agenda, "thus liberation for women meant becoming aware of their own oppression" (1151). Interesting enough I read that even in a movement for the better there was a separation of races. Not surprising when taken into consideration that white women and black women were going through two very different kinds of oppression.

Chapter Twenty-Two Documents

"Ways of the World"

Chapter Twenty-Two: The End of Empire

Documents

1914-Present

This images comes from Chapter Twenty Two and it is included in Strayers Visual Documents. This photo is Visual Source 22.1 on page 1130 for those who own the textbook. This photo to me represents the newfound freedom and independence in various ways that the ANC, at one point in time, could only dream of. As the description states this photo illustrates the ANC overcoming great odds and the chance to finally come together to form their own society without regulation and pressure from eurocentrism. Photos such as this one have also been used throughout history as propaganda. The images themselves strike emotion into the viwer and can go as far a mobilizing people in the right direction of change or reform.

Chapter Twenty-Two: The End of Empire

"Ways of the World"

Chapter Twenty-Two: The End of Empire

The Global South on the Global Stage

1914-Present

In this chapter of the book one thing I wanted to comment on, but not go into detail about  was actually one of the section titles. The section on page 1090 is title "Explaining African and Asian Independence" the first thing I said to verbalized to myself  and my friend Lucianna was, "Did Africans really gain independence? Or is that just what we're all going along with to make other people feel better about how poorly African Americans were treated. Food for thought.

This chapter I decided to focus on no other than Mahatma Gandhi, "the most widely recognized and admired figure in the global struggle against colonial rule was" (1094). I will not go in depth about him either considering the book essentially covered all the basic need to knows. However, I did not know he was married off at 13! Interesting stuff, never before have I heard anything mentioned about him having a wife, girlfriend, or lover of any kind.

Chapter Twenty-One: Visual Sources

"Ways of the World"

Chapter Twenty-One: Revolution, Socialism, and Global Conflict 

Visual Sources 
1914-Present

Building the New Society: The Peoples Commune (Shanghai Educational Publishing Hose/Coll. SL (Stefan Landsberger)/IISH)

If you read my previous blog this is the photo that jogged my memory of this chapter because my class actually spent a lot of time discussing this photo. Even today I am still not sure why but I find this picture visually stimulating and pleasing. The photo has a lot going on from the issue of gender equality, to agriculture, to a little of industrialization, the differentiation between generations (the elders, the average adults, and the children), and as well as communism obviously. One thing I did take away from some of the visual documents in this chapter was how women are portrayed. Women are under sexualized and usually not given any womanly features. So it really illustrated how sexuality was not encouraged or in a sense not endorsed.

Chapter Twenty-One: Revolution, Socialism, and Global Conflict

"Ways of the World"

Chapter Twenty-One: Revolution, Socialism, and Global Conflict 

The Rise and Fall of World Communism

1914-Present

Interesting enough I distinctively remember this chapter from high school. And I knew this for certain when I saw one of the documents in the back, which will be on the next blog. So be on the look out! Kidding it will most likely be posted once I post this. 

So the only thing I found intriguing this chapter, aside from the documents, was the section named "Nuclear Standoff and Third World Rivalry" on page 1056. Mostly because I'm more so into the sciences, excluding math, so physics, astronomy, ext. 

This section has this photo of 'The Hydrogen Bomb' captioned: "During the 1950's and early 1960's, test in the atmosphere of ever larger and more sophisticated hydrogen bombs made images of enormous fireballs and mushroomed clods the universal symbol of these weapons, which were immensely more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Japan. the American test pictured  here took place in 1957."

I found it amazing how after the bombs dropped in World War Two the race it created for nuclear weaponry. Within the next forty years nuclear weapons moved from a mere handful to a global arsenal close to 60,000 warheads! With all that the entire population of the Earth could be destroyed in the event of a nuclear war. I believe they phrased it as "extinction of the human species under such conditions..." (1057)

"Ways of the World"

Chapter Twenty: Collapse at the Center

World War, Depression, and the Re-balancing of Global Power

1914-1970's

Now, finally, we have made it to the more recent century which as a whole will cover from 1914-2012. From what the textbook is saying this time period as well was the beginning in a new chapter in world history sometime before or after the first World War. Strayer waste no time and jumps right into discussion of World War l "European Civilization in Crisis..." and I think I'm going to go about this blog by stating two things what I fond interesting and elaborating on why to keep it from getting to length.

 The first sentence that struck me appeared as follows: "Many men rushed to recruiting offices, fearing that the war might end before they could enlist" (984).

The reason this struck out to me was because I unconsciously started comparing that statement but in today's perspective and the way I know it to be in America. And my realization was that (at least as I know it to be true and where I am from) that spirit has died down. While I can not speak on it from a European perspective from what I have been educated on the United States of America was the same way during war. War was seen as a great thing the men willingly wanted to go and defend their homeland and the women and children supported every step of the way. But today there has been more and more discussions on how "bad" war is for everyone retrospectively, and that more young men do not want to enlist because of the uprising of protesting that the country is sending off the peoples sons and daughters to die.

The next thing I thought interesting was the photo below that can be found on page 991 captioned:

1937 Life magazine image by famed photographer Margaret Bourke-White shows black victims of a flood in Louisville, Kentucky, standing in a breadline during the Depression while behind them rises a billboard of a happy and prosperous white family...

I thought of this more as ironic because obviously there's a giant billboard of a white family living portrayed as living the life "the American Way" yet behind a continuous line of colored people with belongings waiting to get fed. And if that is not ironic enough the streamlined words across the top of the billboard reads "WORLD'S HIGHEST STANDARD OF LIVING" in front of a breadline. Doesn't get more ironic than that.

Chapter Nineteen Visual Sources

"Ways of the World"

Chapter Nineteen Visual Sources

1750-1950

In this section of visual documents I decided to focus on Visual Source 19.2 "Women and Westernization (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Gift of Aaron Lebowich...)" Displayed below.

I chose this image because I believe it accurately portrays how westernization took its toll in Asia. As the book mentions the photo in the middle more precisely "reflect[s] earlier Japanese court traditions that encouraged women to wear many layers of kimonos" (Strayer 968). The other photos however illustrate more of  the westernization taking place in particular the style of dresses and the structure of the building on the left. Yet the Japanese culture still remains prominent which can be picked p from the overall scenery, trees, flowers, and patterns.