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Civic engagement is often defined as political activism; to be a part of governmental decision making, the practices thereof, and various efforts of participation in voting. However, civic engagement is also known for its role within non-political work, such as community building and development. Because of the former definition many members of our society have a tendency to not embrace the full potential of their community roles. It is always about who is a Republican, who is a Democrat, who looks better, or who has a better name. Now it must be noted that this is not in absolute, not all members of our society work in this thought process, but many still do. If that doesn't come as a surprise to you, then the simplicity of how you can be an engaged member will. As a student attending Arizona State University at the West campus in Phoenix, Arizona, I have chosen to challenge the traditional view of civic engagement and prepare this development plan for the campus community. Having done so, I not only discovered the paths that one can take to be engaged in such matters, but also continued my role as a civil servant.
ContributorsWaldie, Howard William (Author) / Ackroyd, William (Thesis director) / Smith, Sharon (Committee member) / Alvarez Manninen, Bertha (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / School of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The death of Pericles and the Peloponnesian War saw the clash of two very different political cultures as the conservative aristocracy came into contact with the demagogues. The conflict between them would have profound effects on Athenian politics as well as the outcome of the war itself as both tried to assert dominance in a chaotic period of change. War gave the demagogues the opportunity to achieve power at the expense of the aristocracy, as had happened during the Affair at Pylos, the Mysteries and the Herms, and the Trial of the Generals. However, war also gave aristocrats with oligarchic sympathies the opportunity to lash out against the demagogues and their assault on traditional modes of politics through events such as the Mutilation of the Herms and the Coup of the Four Hundred. The more the demagogues pushed, the more the aristocracy resisted with opportunists such as Alcibiades and Callixeinus manipulating the resulting chaos for personal gain. This vicious battle for control of Athens served to destabilize its society and pave the way for their eventual defeat at the hands of the Spartans. This thesis explores the role the Athenian demagogue played in the Peloponnesian war as well as their relationship to the traditional ruling class within democratic Athens.
ContributorsLanders, Andrew Dale (Author) / Simonton, Matt (Thesis director) / Stantchev, Stefan (Committee member) / School of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
This essay explores the role of religion, science, and the secular in contemporary society by showing their connection to social and political legitimacy as a result of historical processes. In Chapter One, the essay presents historical arguments, particularly linguistic, which confirm science and religion as historically created categories without timeless or essential differences. Additionally, the current institutional separation of science and religion was politically motivated by the changing power structures following the Protestant Reformation. In Chapter Two, the essay employs the concept of the modern social imaginary to show how our modern concept of the political and the secular subtly reproduce the objectified territories of science and religion and thus the boundary maintenance dialectic which dominates science-religion discourse. Chapter Three argues that ‘religious’ worldviews contain genuine metaphysical claims which do not recognizably fit into these modern social categories. Given the destabilizing forces of globalization and information technology upon the political authority of the nation-state, the way many conceptualize of these objects religion, science, and the secular will change as well.
ContributorsBianchi, Joseph Anthony (Author) / Bennett, Gaymon (Thesis director) / Wetmore, Jameson (Committee member) / School of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies (Contributor) / College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Through a combination of understanding dehumanization and the killing that results from it, one should be able to understand the reason why dehumanization comes about. Mental, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds must be understood to see how dehumanization is a complex process that requires all three factors to be effective. This requires understanding how the human mind works and the social systems that form once communities are formed. Ideas such as pseudospecies and essences are created to add legitimacy to this social distancing as language is also implemented to further separate one’s group from others. With this understood, one can find examples throughout history as one group battles another. The best examples come from soldier’s as they talk about their experiences in war. This involves understanding that war is not how it is portrayed in media. Killing is something that goes against human nature and it requires great strength to accept taking another’s life. Along with this, it is a much more complex process where killing is not always the ultimate goal. It is a more communal effort of acting as a group so that the opposing army flees or surrenders. This does not always work and sometimes killing is an inevitability. Now, not all killing is the same as there are “distances” that make some forms of killing more acceptable than others. This is combined with a soldier’s conditioning and drills so that they can overcome this initial fear of killing. It is a slippery slope however, as dehumanization and killing can lead to greater atrocities as people abuse the power they are trusted with.
ContributorsJohns, Noah Peter (Author) / Manninen, Bertha (Thesis director) / Toth, Stephen (Committee member) / School of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05