Introduction to European Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Introduction to European Studies - Essay Example (Mukherjee, 22) But it should be remembered that the idea of Europe, as we know it today, was still in its infancy dealing in ideologies and fundamentals that are not much different from the rest of the known and civilized world. As late as the beginning of the 1700 AD there were still the practice of feudalism in one form or another, there were states that used bonded labours and encouraged slavery, woman rights were not known and structural academic movements were still at bay. This society needed a thrust to start off. And that thrust was inspired from a political movement in England. The Act of Union was passed in British Council whereby four states, England, Ireland, Scotland and Welsh came together to form a political union know as United Kingdom of Great Britain. Subsequent Act of Union was passed in 1707 and 1800 and this was the point of a growing concept which ultimately is on its way towards a unified European Union in the 21st Century. The perception of a common fiscal policy has been granted by most of the states of Europe and Union of European could be within striking distance. However, this modern concept of unification of states is a step towards a better and mutually prosperous situation but at the same time it should be kept in mind the development of Europe as a concept or idea started with other variables too. (Mukherjee, 81) The concept of Europe as a unified cultural sect started along the path of the 1700s and the basic idea of Europe is that unified perception of thought process bounded by cultural, social, religious and political homogeneousness. There are other variables to develop this homogeneousness of states in Europe whereby the idea could be put forward. Religion One such variable is the growth of Christianity as a binding force. It is obvious that religion played an enormous part as the determining factor of conceptualising the unified idea of Europe. The Eight Crusades were just a beginning of this bonding. Though Christianity has changed face along with time and space and at present there are three major distributaries of the religion viz. Roman Catholic, Protestant and Greek Orthodox it cannot be denied that Christ as a Prophet, despite being Semitic by anthropological diversity, it should be noted and the fact that should indulged in this conception, influenced all the tribes of Europe be it Nordic, Alpine or Caucasian. Although, no one can ignore that during the inquisition period this religion did enough to set back the clock for Europe, at least scientifically. But this same inquisition period can be put forward to ensure the bondage that that spread across Europe with the substantial feel of brotherhood. Political Apart from the Act of Union in Great Britain there came another exemplary act that forced all Europe to reconsider their usual concept of life and perception of politics all at the same time all over Europe. This was the French revolution of the late 18th Century. On 20 September 1792 the National Convention abolished the monarchy and declared France a republic. Due to the emergency of war the National Convention created the Committee of Public Safety, controlled by the Jacobin Robespierre, to act as the country's executive. Under

Summary & Close Reading of Paulo Freires Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Summary & Close Reading of Paulo Freires - Essay Example In Pedagogy of the oppressed, Paulo Freire uses a combination of political, educational and philosophical theories in order to address the real source of oppression as well as liberation for the oppressed. He advocates for the awakening of critical and creative thinking as the only medium of liberation which takes place through a new and a more dynamic approach to education. This new approach to education focuses on a close partnership between the teacher and the student by seeking to empower the student to be involved in a dialogue process and adoption of human qualities evident in the thought process and its correlative action. The book begins by introducing the idea of developing critical awareness among the oppressed people in the society. The oppressed normally have the fear of freedom which increases the chances of then being oppressed. According to Paulo Freire, those who are under oppression must strive to see the bigger picture outside them so that they develop an understanding of their situation in order to begin thinking about their own world. Such a process can only be attained through dialogue in education in which one has to adopt change as the only tool for transformation. The only way towards reclaiming humanity is by critical consciousness which leads to synthesis of thought and actions. As a result only those who are being oppressed have got the power to save themselves from such kind of oppression and the only approach is through critical analysis as well as understanding of reality that guides them to action. The term, â€Å"banking education† has been adopted by Freire to refer to the traditional relationship between the teacher and the student owing to its oppressive nature. In such a case, the teacher possesses control thus playing the role of the oppressor while the student who is always passive in the learning process assumes the position of the oppressed. The role of the teacher is to deposit information into the student who