SoRo class

 Yes !!  The religion of love and peace, is not a religion, and sure that  not a pacific love,  just a bunch of hatred and criminals wich endanger  the  world, in the name  of a pedophile crazy, Muhamad, and  and  inexisting  allah, a  Devil, not a  God !!  The  Obama`s   "Holly  Curan ", a  dirty   instruction book  for killing !! 

Religion and politics are often effect each other in ways people can never imagine. Even in Western nations, were religion is separated from the state, religion still plays a major role in many political debates. This law banning the use of the word Allah by non- Muslim people in Malaysia is an extension of the political movement within Islam. Politics has been the major reason for the rise of the radical sect of Islam. It developed as reaction to the perceived westernizing of Muslim nations that was occurring in the 20th century. The Iranian revolution was a response to the westernizing polices of the Shah. It replaced a secular government with a theocratic one. ISIS main goal is to establish a caliphate i.e. a ruling empire. Throughout history, religion has been used as an excuse to build dynasties and gain more power. Politics in the true motivation behind much of this radicalization.

Definitely a case of oppression versus admiration - what a wonderful story.

This video is about a tea farming couple whose arranged marriage has been very successful. The cultural tradition of arranged marriage may seem oppressive to us, but there are a great number of them where the couple stays happy. In these cultures with arranged marriage, divorce is usually not a realistic option, so these couples are possibly more willing to cooperate to make their marriage work than in the United States, but undoubtedly many remain unhappily married.

Commercials don't always try to sell you stuff, they try to appeal to you.  Heroism appeals to people, but people are trying to sell you shirts that advertise comicbooks in a trinity of marketing efforts.  Social appeal, by referring to heros, sales by selling the shirt, and advertising comics.  I like comics, but I would rather spend money on comic books, or go into the world and make a difference and BE a hero (or eat a hero at a hoagie hut) than buy one of those shirts.  My spiritual beliefs are open to allowing the sales of these shirts, but my preference does not incline me to actually purchase one.  I am 'free' in this country to buy or not to buy a shirt.  I'm a long-time supporter of art, and I like the idea the shirt puts forward- supporting heroism and comic books, belief in scifi/fantasy art and concepts, and I agree that someone should buy that shirt... but I feel that I could do more by actually being a hero than telling people to be heros.  By using comic book heros, the advertisers say that nobody on this world is a hero, because they 'aren't real,' but also that anybody can be a hero by striving towards virtue of the pure ideal idols in the comics.

Companies before they put any product in the market they do research first for example; what people are buying, they take in consideration gender and culture. And why is that? Because they are not going to create a product that no one is going to buy. The impact that this type of messages like this have on a society’s culture. No matter how many laws are make in favor woman equality are created we are being  perceived as the weak sex, that we need the help of a man to do anything. Sadly but true this type of campaign it was sales

This is a really depressing trend, and one that, as the parent of a daughter, I am all too aware of. It's way past time we start rethinking the way we dictate gender roles in children.

This can be viewed in the perspective of a citizen of an LDC. In LDCs, there are religions that cause the woman to be subservient to men. A higher birth rate could be the cause. If these  small religions were to distribute and be adhered to, there could possibly be a spike in the birth rate.

Unit 2

Hans raps about religion and babies

How about "cross-polination" and "cross-fertilization" in cultures?

unit 3

Unit 3

unit 3

Lots of fun to visualise linguistic similarities and variability across a region.

Amazing how many use hamburger as hamburger.

Learning and teaching about the Hijab and its culture.

 understanding difference

I was happy to see an article like this. It's about time that these women are being given equal opportunities. Although they have a long way to go this is a step in the right direction. Saudi Arabian girls are being allowed to have sport related activities within their private schools. This did surprise me a little just because Saudi women's rights are very limited but this is a simple improvement just to the general health and well being of these girls. Two females competed in the last years summer Olympics representing Saudi Arabia and their efforts were not shown on Saudi TV. These women competing has opened a few doors to allowing more than just men to engage in these activities. Usually sports were only for the elite women who could afford gym memberships or attend well known colleges. Even though women cannot compete internationally or sign up for clubs or leagues this is a step in the right direction.

This is an interesting article about slowly allowing women in Saudi Arabia to participate in sports. While playing soccer or swimming or running may not seem so important to us in the West, it is a big deal for Saudi women. Saudi Arabia has some of the strictest laws in the Middle East regarding women's rights, and so even a very partial and gradual allowance for women to engage in sports is a big step. It shows perhaps a slight softening of adherence to Shariah law, which would hopefully eventually allow women more freedom in the realms of education and work, as well as in everyday life. 

Too often are people quick to judge and characterize other cultures or religions by the most extreme examples. While it is true that laws in Saudi Arabia are extremely restrictive to women, progress such as this, though small, may well act as a stepping stone for increased freedoms for women. People outside of Saudi Arabia and Islamic culture must realize that this kind of progress does happen and is, in fact, happening right now. To simply dismiss Saudi culture as misogynistic and oppressive is to write the whole culture off. While progress is slow and less than ideal, we should look to Saudi Arabia's Islamic neighbors and see that many of them are not so oppressive to women. Allowing Saudi women to participate in sports, therefore, may be setting up the country to increase women's rights and join its relatively more liberal neighbors. This is certainly a sign of positive change, and one that should not be ignored. 

I was quite shocked to hear of this story. There is no denying, that this is a step forward for the women of Saudi Arabia. However, women are far from free in this country. The activates still have to be in accordance with Islamic Law. The strict dress code also remains in effect for the girls. The Sports themselves, must be overseen by women teachers. I would not call this initiative the Saudi equivalent of title nine, but it is a step forward. Every little inroad, is a step towards more equality. The government of Saudi Arabia appears to be at least slightly altering its view of women. Hopefully this will be the first step in movement to gain Saudi women more rights. In generations to come, hopefully Saudi women will look back on this development as the start of a cultural revolution in Saudi Arabia.     

This political cartoon is just another great example of how different cultures are across the globe. Here in America, we are told that the appropriate swimwear to wear to the beach only covers about a third of our body. Where as in the Middle East, wearing a burka is what they are told is the right type of clothing to wear. Whether it be for religious, cultural, or fashionable reasons, women wear all types of clothing and I don't believe it is directly due to male influence. There are many things that could cause this influence such as the church, family, or the media. Yet as the cartoon says, each woman thinks the men in that country are forcing them into wearing clothes like that and their culture is dominated by men. I guess it just shows the different perspectives each culture can have. 

when I look at this the first thought that comes to mind is it is easy for other people to judge. just by there comments they have no idea what the others beliefs are,. This is a classic judging a book by it's cover. The are both assuming it has to do with a male dominating world. I think it has to do with what you are comfortable with. 

Being 27 years old and unmarried in China considers you to be an old maid? I had to do a double take when I saw this. In the United States, 27 years old is around the average age a couple decides to get married. In China, Valentine's day is a really well liked holiday. Therefore, you would think that there would be excessive amounts of marriages, especially around this time. However, we know about the one child policy put into place at China. I can imagine that this might play a role because of the gender imbalances. As horrible as this sounds, in China, they call the women who are thirty and single "leftovers". During the season of the Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day, the "leftovers" just get questioned about their relationship status or go to matchmaking parties. However, the "leftovers" are said to have three good things; good career, good education and good looks. This is interesting because if they had all these good qualities, why would they still be single at 30 years old? As the article continues, we talk about true love and believe it or not, some "leftovers" still believe in true love and that they may experience that one day.

The fact that success relatively young women are seen as leftovers in China is a completely foreign idea to me.  n the United States we are seeing that more and more women are marrying later in life after they have received an education, higher education and have been established in a career.  Emily Liang is an extremely successful women who should be proud of her accomplishments, yet has to declare herself as "divorced" in order for men to think something isn't "wrong" with her.  It is extremely obvious that the role and view of women in China is significantly distorted.