How Identities and Conflicts Based on Race, Gender and Class Shaped Los Angeles Introduction Notably, identities and conflicts based on race, gender, and class had a significant influence on the rapid growth of Los Angeles in the first half of the 20th century. Among others, these factors played a critical role in shaping the social, economic and the cultural landscape of the region during this […]

Political and Business Leaders’ Role in Shaping the Growth of Los Angeles The Mexican-American War played a significant part in shaping the city’s future. The city transformed on all fronts, including cultural, social, and economic. One of the most immediate results of this war was the influx of Americans into the city. In turn, the city experienced an increase in its population, and these changes […]

MEDIA AND NEWS COVERAGE I got interest in comparing news coverage from Al-Jazeera (http://www.aljazeera.com ) and CNN (http://www.cnn.com ), two prominent global news networks selected for their distinct editorial focus. As a news organization that prides itself on the up-to-date presentation of today’s battlefields and humanitarian problems, I discovered that Al-Jazeera’s perspective often revolves around the effects of regional war, crime and diplomacy. [1] On […]

A Sociological Perspective–Analyzing the Rise of Hate Crimes against Asian Americans in the Wake of COVID-19 The rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic represents a deeply troubling social phenomenon. Some of these acts, as simple as verbal criticism to complex acts such as aggression towards the Mexican community, have helped to remind America that racism and xenophobia are very much […]

SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION Black Lives Matter Movement In 2012 Trayvon Martin, a seventeen-year-old African American was shot in Sanford, Florida, while his shooting did not seem to have a mass impact at the moment, in 2013. On the thirteenth of July this year, George Zimmerman was acquitted of this killing and this acquittal almost by accident started an entire movement (Clayton, 2018). The Black Lives Matter […]

Agawu, Kofi. “Representing African Music: Postcolonial Notes, Queries, Positions.” Routledge, 2003, pp. 55-259. In this scholarly book, Agawu addresses a common conception regarding African rhythm in a critical respect, particularly within the context of Western academia. To show how colonial settings influenced these perceptions, he presents the historical development of ‘African rhythm’ as a mainly encoded and exoticized concept of African music. He uncovers the […]

Diagnostic Writing: The Psychology of Persuasion: A Critical Look at Modern Advertising In today’s consumer-driven society, advertisements are everywhere, enticing us to buy products we may not need. Marketers have become experts in using psychology to manipulate our thoughts, emotions, and ultimately, our buying behavior. By combining emotional appeals, imagery, and persuasive language, these ads tap into our subconscious desires, making the products seem irresistible. […]

 What is Inquiry-Based Science? Science has often been recognized as a complex subject because most science educators ignore instructions on the nature of science which we learned last week. To succeed in teaching and understanding science, students have been encouraged to participate in scientific inquiry which involves a student-centered instructional paradigm rather than teacher-centered instructional strategies such as recitation and memorizing facts and terminologies. Inquiry-based […]

Sexism and Literature Men and women have an equal opportunity to write their poetry within a male-led and patriarchal society. In A Room of One’s Own, Woolf argues that men should not be blamed for the unfair treatment of their female counterparts. On the contrary, Woolf blames the universe together with its violence as she writes, “Life for both sexes-and I look at them, shouldering […]

Use of Cinematography and Mise-en-scène In Black Girl to Show the Dehumanizing Effects of Colonialism Ousmane Sembene’s debut film, Black Girl (1966), examines the nature and consequences of cultural dominance in a self-aware manner. The film is a bold narrative about a young Senegalese girl confronting race, class, and identity issues and being forced to learn how to make her own decisions in the colonial […]