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Defining The Feminine Impact On The Progression Of Japanese Language: An Inquiry Into The Development Of Heian Period Court Diaries, Michele Gibney Nov 2004

Defining The Feminine Impact On The Progression Of Japanese Language: An Inquiry Into The Development Of Heian Period Court Diaries, Michele Gibney

Michele Gibney

From the split of the private and public lives of gender divides, men lived on the outside imbibing Chinese language styles, while women on the inside established and preserved a uniquely Japanese form of language. This paper asserts the theory that the Heian period was one of the first times in which the schism was produced through the female’s power to embody a written language which the Japanese could claim as their own independently of the effect from other cultures. In its focus this paper aspires to analyze the public/private, male/female origins by placing them within the Heian period, from …

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Homosexuality In Fushigi Yuugi And Gravitation: An Investigation Into The Cultural Background Of Homosexuality In Japanese Animation, Michele Gibney Nov 2004

Homosexuality In Fushigi Yuugi And Gravitation: An Investigation Into The Cultural Background Of Homosexuality In Japanese Animation, Michele Gibney

Michele Gibney

This paper will delve into the following issues: how the Japanese view homosexual males and how the agency of the reader and/or viewer impacts the depictions of visual displays of intimate behavior by homosexual males. The purpose of this paper will be an attempt to define some sort of answer to each question within the context of the Japanese cultural products of manga and anime. I am going to dissect shifting sexualities as they are represented in two different examples of Japanese anime aimed at slightly differing audience groups. The two shows that I will focus on are: Fushigi Yuugi …

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Japan’S War With China: Context And Stakes, Michele Gibney Nov 2004

Japan’S War With China: Context And Stakes, Michele Gibney

Michele Gibney

The context in which Japan was drawn into war with China, and what they had at stake going in, are flip sides of the same coin. The contexts and stakes are: democratic government, will of the people, international status, foreign trade, the Emperor, and racial superiority. In the 1920’s and 30’s, Japan was losing the ideal of democracy, the desire to have democracy, and the will of the people. They were drawn into the war with China in order to reunite the citizenry and because of a failed democratic leadership being supplanted by right wing militarists. International status and foreign …

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Enjo Kosai: Brand Name Marketing, Michele Gibney Nov 2004

Enjo Kosai: Brand Name Marketing, Michele Gibney

Michele Gibney

Media is a contributing factor in creating a market for the prostitution of minors in Japan today. Media creates an image to which the girls aspire by placing the trendiest items in the hands of music and movie idols who the girls look up to . The drive to then own these trendy, and expensive, products forces the girls into marketing their bodies to strangers. Though in many ways media can be seen as the root of all evil through print and film advertisements, there are some forms of media which work as a caution instead of an encouragement to …

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Ono No Komachi: Love And Desire, Michele Gibney Nov 2004

Ono No Komachi: Love And Desire, Michele Gibney

Michele Gibney

The poetry of Ono no Komachi can be read in many lights. The two ways in which I feel its message and context can be best appreciated are through feminine independence and masculine subjection. Ono no Komachi wrote poetry that was evocative of the feminine ideal of longing for a male, but she also wrote poetry which denigrated the need for a woman to rely on a male. Through a self-critical reader analysis of some of her poems, I will show that Komachi’s poetry can be read as comprising a longing for the world of men, and men in particular, …

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Rule By Right Vs. Rule By Force, Michele Gibney Oct 2004

Rule By Right Vs. Rule By Force, Michele Gibney

Michele Gibney

There are at least two ways to legitimize a power base. One is to prove you have the right to rule, the other is to rule by force. In Japan’s feudal period, three leaders came to power and each ruler utilized some of the preceding ones principles of government, while at the same time adapting his mode of dominion on the prevailing factors of the day. Only one of these rulers had the right to rule by virtue of his lineage; perhaps this is why his reign lasted so much longer than the other two, or perhaps it is simply …

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The Inter-Relations Of Geography And Human Advancement, Michele Gibney Aug 2004

The Inter-Relations Of Geography And Human Advancement, Michele Gibney

Michele Gibney

When I think about what factors into creating a culture, I seldom think of geography. But when one gets right down to it, geography plays an incredibly pivotal role in two of the most important categories of human interaction with the earth: agriculture and war. Both occupations go towards feeding a need in society and both produce innumerable advances in technology and human relations. According to texts currently under study in this class, the importance of geography (in the senses of features and border lines) is of paramount importance. But what makes them so important? How have the major geographical …

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Zombie Slayers In A "Hidden Valley" (Sbas-Yul): Sacred Geography And Political Organisation In The Nepal-Tibet Borderland, Francis Khek Gee Lim Jan 2004