World History
Sexuality in Fifth-Century Athens. This article takes a look at the sexual practices of the ancient Greeks by comparing it to sexual norms in 19th Century Ireland. This article was written by Brian Arkins.
From the site:
There is now a very considerable body of evidence to suggest that human sexual behaviour is, to a great extent, socially constructed. That is to say that the way women and men conduct their sexual lives is determined to a marked degree by what a particular society finds acceptable. Before we come to Athens in the fifth century BC, it is instructive to consider the case of Ireland in the 19th and 20th centuries.
From 1820 on sexual behaviour in Ireland was constructed out of the economics of the small farm [2] and had little to do with the doctrines of Roman Catholicism, and still less to do with those of Jesus Christ. This highly puritanical organisation of sexuality obtained, without interruption, until 1960 and caused a great deal of suffering to many women and men. The Roman Catholic Church has never seen fit to acknowledge publicly the grave scandal which its enthusiastic endorsement of this wretched puritanism constituted.
All revolutions are betrayed, but some are betrayed more spectacularly than others. After 1922 Ireland was controlled by the emerging Catholic bourgeoisie, whose aim was independence itself rather than social reform and the provision of an adequate standard of living for the people. This bourgeoisie clearly subscribed to De Valera's dictum that 'Labour must wait'; used independence to further their own interests; and inevitably imposed their value system on the new State. As Kavanagh said, 'The Revolution created a new rich class at the expense of the general population'.[3]
- Honor Ideology In Latin America
The cultural concepts of honor and shame played an extremely important role in the history of Latin America, influencing everything from national politics to domestic divisions of labor. Most scholars agree that the roots of these cultural notions reach...
- Lincoln Or Darwin? They Are Both Important
Newsweek has a nice article online titled Who Was More Important: Lincoln or Darwin? It is by Malcolm Jones. From the article:How's this for a coincidence? Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln were born in the same year, on the same day: Feb. 12, 1809....
- The Vestal Virgins: Sexual Status
The Vestal Virgins: Sexual Status and Sacred Status. This article is by Sylvia Yuen. It appeared in the BROWN CLASSICAL JOURNAL, Volume 2, 1985. From the site: The Vestal Virgins led rigorous but privileged lives of religious service and personal purity....
- The Classic Slum
The Classic Slum. This is a book review of this work by Robert Roberts. It gives a chapter by analysis of this book which deals with English slums in the 19th and early 20th Century. From the site: In his classic book, The Classic Slum, Robert Roberts...
- From Art And Tools Came Human Origins
From Art and Tools Came Human Origins. Larry Barham reports in British Archaeology that evidence of modern human behaviour 200,000 years old may have been found in Africa. From the site: Until fairly recently, modern humans were thought to have emerged...
World History
Sexuality in Fifth-Century Athens
Sexuality in Fifth-Century Athens. This article takes a look at the sexual practices of the ancient Greeks by comparing it to sexual norms in 19th Century Ireland. This article was written by Brian Arkins.
From the site:
There is now a very considerable body of evidence to suggest that human sexual behaviour is, to a great extent, socially constructed. That is to say that the way women and men conduct their sexual lives is determined to a marked degree by what a particular society finds acceptable. Before we come to Athens in the fifth century BC, it is instructive to consider the case of Ireland in the 19th and 20th centuries.
From 1820 on sexual behaviour in Ireland was constructed out of the economics of the small farm [2] and had little to do with the doctrines of Roman Catholicism, and still less to do with those of Jesus Christ. This highly puritanical organisation of sexuality obtained, without interruption, until 1960 and caused a great deal of suffering to many women and men. The Roman Catholic Church has never seen fit to acknowledge publicly the grave scandal which its enthusiastic endorsement of this wretched puritanism constituted.
All revolutions are betrayed, but some are betrayed more spectacularly than others. After 1922 Ireland was controlled by the emerging Catholic bourgeoisie, whose aim was independence itself rather than social reform and the provision of an adequate standard of living for the people. This bourgeoisie clearly subscribed to De Valera's dictum that 'Labour must wait'; used independence to further their own interests; and inevitably imposed their value system on the new State. As Kavanagh said, 'The Revolution created a new rich class at the expense of the general population'.[3]
- Honor Ideology In Latin America
The cultural concepts of honor and shame played an extremely important role in the history of Latin America, influencing everything from national politics to domestic divisions of labor. Most scholars agree that the roots of these cultural notions reach...
- Lincoln Or Darwin? They Are Both Important
Newsweek has a nice article online titled Who Was More Important: Lincoln or Darwin? It is by Malcolm Jones. From the article:How's this for a coincidence? Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln were born in the same year, on the same day: Feb. 12, 1809....
- The Vestal Virgins: Sexual Status
The Vestal Virgins: Sexual Status and Sacred Status. This article is by Sylvia Yuen. It appeared in the BROWN CLASSICAL JOURNAL, Volume 2, 1985. From the site: The Vestal Virgins led rigorous but privileged lives of religious service and personal purity....
- The Classic Slum
The Classic Slum. This is a book review of this work by Robert Roberts. It gives a chapter by analysis of this book which deals with English slums in the 19th and early 20th Century. From the site: In his classic book, The Classic Slum, Robert Roberts...
- From Art And Tools Came Human Origins
From Art and Tools Came Human Origins. Larry Barham reports in British Archaeology that evidence of modern human behaviour 200,000 years old may have been found in Africa. From the site: Until fairly recently, modern humans were thought to have emerged...