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AMERICAN CULTURE Visual and performing arts 3. Arts and letters The arts, more than other features of culture, provide avenues for the expression of imagination and personal vision. They offer a range of emotional and intellectual pleasures to consumers of art and are an important way in which a culture represents itself. There has long been a Western tradition distinguishing those arts that appeal to the multitude, such as popular music, from those—such as classical orchestral music—normally available to the elite of learning and taste.Popular art forms are usually seen as more representative American products. In the United States in the recent past, there has been a blending of popular and elite art forms, as all the arts experienced a period of remarkable cross-fertilization. Because popular art forms are so widely distributed, arts of all kinds have prospered. The arts in the United States express the many faces and the enormous creative range of the American peopl e. Especially since World War II, American innovations and the immense energy displayed in literature, dance, and music have made American cultural works world famous.Arts in the United States have become internationally prominent in ways that are unparalleled in history. American art forms during the second half of the 20th century often defined the styles and qualities that the rest of the world emulated. At the end of the 20th century, American art was considered equal in quality and vitality to art produced in the rest of the world. Throughout the 20th century, American arts have grown to incorporate new visions and voices. Much of this new artistic energy came in the wake of America’s emergence as a superpower after World War II.But it was also due to the growth of New York City as an important center for publishing and the arts, and the immigration of artists and intellectuals fleeing fascism in Europe before and during the war. An outpouring of talent also followed the civil rights and protest movements of the 1960s, as cultural discrimination against blacks, women, and other groups diminished. American arts flourish in many places and receive support from private foundations, large corporations, local governments, federal agencies, museums, galleries, and individuals.What is considered worthy of support often depends on definitions of quality and of what constitutes art. This is a tricky subject when the popular arts are increasingly incorporated into the domain of the fine arts and new forms such as performance art and conceptual art appear. As a result, defining what is art affects what students are taught about past traditions (for example, Native American tent paintings, oral traditions, and slave narratives) and what is produced in the future.While some practitioners, such as studio artists, are more vulnerable to these definitions because they depend on financial support to exercise their talents, others, such as poets and photographers, a re less immediately constrained. Artists operate in a world where those who theorize and critique their work have taken on an increasingly important role. Audiences are influenced by a variety of intermediaries—critics, the schools, foundations that offer grants, the National Endowment for the Arts, gallery owners, publishers, and theater producers.In some areas, such as the performing arts, popular audiences may ultimately define success. In other arts, such as painting and sculpture, success is far more dependent on critics and a few, often wealthy, art collectors. Writers depend on publishers and on the public for their success. Unlike their predecessors, who relied on formal criteria and appealed to aesthetic judgments, critics at the end of the 20th century leaned more toward popular tastes, taking into account groups previously ignored and valuing the merger of popular and elite forms.These critics often relied less on aesthetic judgments than on social measures and wer e eager to place artistic productions in the context of the time and social conditions in which they were created. Whereas earlier critics attempted to create an American tradition of high art, later critics used art as a means to give power and approval to nonelite groups who were previously not considered worthy of including in the nation’s artistic heritage. Not so long ago, culture and the arts were assumed to be an unalterable inheritance—the accumulated wisdom and highest forms of achievement that were established in the past.In the 20th century generally, and certainly since World War II, artists have been boldly destroying older traditions in sculpture, painting, dance, music, and literature. The arts have changed rapidly, with one movement replacing another in quick succession. a) Visual arts. The visual arts have traditionally included forms of expression that appeal to the eyes through painted surfaces, and to the sense of space through carved or molded mate rials. In the 19th century, photographs were added to the paintings, drawings, and sculpture that make up the visual arts.The visual arts were further augmented in the 20th century by the addition of other materials, such as found objects. These changes were accompanied by a profound alteration in tastes, as earlier emphasis on realistic representation of people, objects, and landscapes made way for a greater range of imaginative forms. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, American art was considered inferior to European art. Despite noted American painters such as Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, Mary Cassatt, and John Marin, American visual arts barely had an international presence.American art began to flourish during the Great Depression of the 1930s as New Deal government programs provided support to artists along with other sectors of the population. Artists connected with each other and developed a sense of common purpose through programs of the Public Works Administra tion, such as the Federal Art Project, as well as programs sponsored by the Treasury Department. Most of the art of the period, including painting, photography, and mural work, focused on the plight of the American people during the depression, and most artists painted real people in difficult circumstances.Artists such as Thomas Hart Benton and Ben Shahn expressed the suffering of ordinary people through their representations of struggling farmers and workers. While artists such as Benton and Grant Wood focused on rural life, many painters of the 1930s and 1940s depicted the multicultural life of the American city. Jacob Lawrence, for example, re-created the history and lives of African Americans. Other artists, such as Andrew Wyeth and Edward Hopper, tried to use human figures to describe emotional states such as loneliness and despair. Abstract Expressionism.Shortly after World War II, American art began to garner worldwide attention and admiration. This change was due to the inn ovative fervor of abstract expressionism in the 1950s and to subsequent modern art movements and artists. The abstract expressionists of the mid-20th century broke from the realist and figurative tradition set in the 1930s. They emphasized their connection to international artistic visions rather than the particularities of people and place, and most abstract expressionists did not paint human figures (although artist Willem de Kooning did portrayals of women).Color, shape, and movement dominated the canvases of abstract expressionists. Some artists broke with the Western art tradition by adopting innovative painting styles—during the 1950s Jackson Pollock â€Å"painted† by dripping paint on canvases without the use of brushes, while the paintings of Mark Rothko often consisted of large patches of color that seem to vibrate. Abstract expressionists felt alienated from their surrounding culture and used art to challenge society’s conventions. The work of each art ist was quite individual and distinctive, but all the artists identified with the radicalism of artistic creativity.The artists were eager to challenge conventions and limits on expression in order to redefine the nature of art. Their radicalism came from liberating themselves from the confining artistic traditions of the past. The most notable activity took place in New York City, which became one of the world’s most important art centers during the second half of the 20th century. The radical fervor and inventiveness of the abstract expressionists, their frequent association with each other in New York City’s Greenwich Village, and the support of a group of gallery owners and dealers turned them into an artistic movement.Also known as the New York School, the participants included Barnett Newman, Robert Motherwell, Franz Kline, and Arshile Gorky, in addition to Rothko and Pollock. The members of the New York School came from diverse backgrounds such as the American M idwest and Northwest, Armenia, and Russia, bringing an international flavor to the group and its artistic visions. They hoped to appeal to art audiences everywhere, regardless of culture, and they felt connected to the radical innovations introduced earlier in the 20th century by European artists such as Pablo Picasso and Marcel Duchamp.Some of the artists—Hans Hofmann, Gorky, Rothko, and de Kooning—were not born in the United States, but all the artists saw themselves as part of an international creative movement and an aesthetic rebellion. As artists felt released from the boundaries and conventions of the past and free to emphasize expressiveness and innovation, the abstract expressionists gave way to other innovative styles in American art. Beginning in the 1930s Joseph Cornell created hundreds of boxed assemblages, usually from found objects, with each based on a single theme to create a mood of contemplation and sometimes of reverence.Cornell's boxes exemplify th e modern fascination with individual vision, art that breaks down boundaries between forms such as painting and sculpture, and the use of everyday objects toward a new end. Other artists, such as Robert Rauschenberg, combined disparate objects to create large, collage-like sculptures known as combines in the 1950s. Jasper Johns, a painter, sculptor, and printmaker, recreated countless familiar objects, most memorably the American flag. The most prominent American artistic style to follow abstract expressionism was the pop art movement that began in the 1950s.Pop art attempted to connect traditional art and popular culture by using images from mass culture. To shake viewers out of their preconceived notions about art, sculptor Claes Oldenburg used everyday objects such as pillows and beds to create witty, soft sculptures. Roy Lichtenstein took this a step further by elevating the techniques of commercial art, notably cartooning, into fine art worthy of galleries and museums. Lichtens tein's large, blown-up cartoons fill the surface of his canvases with grainy black dots and question the existence of a distinct realm of high art.These artists tried to make their audiences see ordinary objects in a refreshing new way, thereby breaking down the conventions that formerly defined what was worthy of artistic representation. Probably the best-known pop artist, and a leader in the movement, was Andy Warhol, whose images of a Campbell’s soup can and of the actress Marilyn Monroe explicitly eroded the boundaries between the art world and mass culture. Warhol also cultivated his status as a celebrity. He worked in film as a director and producer to break down the boundaries between traditional and popular art.Unlike the abstract expressionists, whose conceptual works were often difficult to understand, Andy Warhol's pictures, and his own face, were instantly recognizable. Conceptual art, as it came to be known in the 1960s, like its predecessors, sought to break fre e of traditional artistic associations. In conceptual art, as practiced by Sol LeWitt and Joseph Kosuth, concept takes precedent over actual object, by stimulating thought rather than following an art tradition based on conventional standards of beauty and artisanship.Modern artists changed the meaning of traditional visual arts and brought a new imaginative dimension to ordinary experience. Art was no longer viewed as separate and distinct, housed in museums as part of a historical inheritance, but as a continuous creative process. This emphasis on constant change, as well as on the ordinary and mundane, reflected a distinctly American democratizing perspective. Viewing art in this way removed the emphasis from technique and polished performance, and many modern artworks and experiences became more about expressing ideas than about perfecting finished products. Photography.Photography is probably the most democratic modern art form because it can be, and is, practiced by most Ameri cans. Since 1888, when George Eastman developed the Kodak camera that allowed anyone to take pictures, photography has struggled to be recognized as a fine art form. In the early part of the 20th century, photographer, editor, and artistic impresario Alfred Stieglitz established 291, a gallery in New York City, with fellow photographer Edward Steichen, to showcase the works of photographers and painters. They also published a magazine called Camera Work to increase awareness about photographic art.In the United States, photographic art had to compete with the widely available commercial photography in news and fashion magazines. By the 1950s the tradition of photojournalism, which presented news stories primarily with photographs, had produced many outstanding works. In 1955 Steichen, who was director of photography at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, called attention to this work in an exhibition called The Family of Man. Throughout the 20th century, most professional photogra phers earned their living as portraitists or photojournalists, not as artists.One of the most important exceptions was Ansel Adams, who took majestic photographs of the Western American landscape. Adams used his art to stimulate social awareness and to support the conservation cause of the Sierra Club. He helped found the photography department at the Museum of Modern Art in 1940, and six years later helped establish the photography department at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco (now the San Francisco Art Institute). He also held annual photography workshops at Yosemite National Park from 1955 to 1981 and wrote a series of influential books on photographic technique.Adams's elegant landscape photography was only one small stream in a growing current of interest in photography as an art form. Early in the 20th century, teacher-turned-photographer Lewis Hine established a documentary tradition in photography by capturing actual people, places, and events. Hine photo graphed urban conditions and workers, including child laborers. Along with their artistic value, the photographs often implicitly called for social reform. In the 1930s and 1940s, photographers joined with other depression-era artists supported by the federal government to create a hotographic record of rural America. Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, and Arthur Rothstein, among others, produced memorable and widely reproduced portraits of rural poverty and American distress during the Great Depression and during the dust storms of the period. In 1959, after touring the United States for two years, Swiss-born photographer Robert Frank published The Americans, one of the landmarks of documentary photography. His photographs of everyday life in America introduced viewers to a depressing, and often depressed, America that existed in the midst of prosperity and world power.Photographers continued to search for new photographic viewpoints. This search was perhaps most disturbingly embodied i n the work of Diane Arbus. Her photos of mental patients and her surreal depictions of Americans altered the viewer’s relationship to the photograph. Arbus emphasized artistic alienation and forced viewers to stare at images that often made them uncomfortable, thus changing the meaning of the ordinary reality that photographs are meant to capture. American photography continues to flourish.The many variants of art photography and socially conscious documentary photography are widely available in galleries, books, and magazines. A host of other visual arts thrive, although they are far less connected to traditional fine arts than photography. Decorative arts include, but are not limited to, art glass, furniture, jewelry, pottery, metalwork, and quilts. Often exhibited in craft galleries and studios, these decorative arts rely on ideals of beauty in shape and color as well as an appreciation of well-executed crafts. Some of these forms are also developed commercially.The decora tive arts provide a wide range of opportunity for creative expression and have become a means for Americans to actively participate in art and to purchase art for their homes that is more affordable than works produced by many contemporary fine artists. 4. Performing arts As in other cultural spheres, the performing arts in the United States in the 20th century increasingly blended traditional and popular art forms. The classical performing arts—music, opera, dance, and theater—were not a widespread feature of American culture in the first half of the 20th century.These arts were generally imported from or strongly influenced by Europe and were mainly appreciated by the wealthy and well educated. Traditional art usually referred to classical forms in ballet and opera, orchestral or chamber music, and serious drama. The distinctions between traditional music and popular music were firmly drawn in most areas. During the 20th century, the American performing arts began to incorporate wider groups of people. The African American community produced great musicians who became widely known around the country.Jazz and blues singers such as Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Billie Holiday spread their sounds to black and white audiences. In the 1930s and 1940s, the swing music of Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, and Glenn Miller adapted jazz to make a unique American music that was popular around the country. The American performing arts also blended Latin American influences beginning in the 20th century. Between 1900 and 1940, Latin American dances, such as the tango from Argentina and the rumba from Cuba, were introduced into the United States.In the 1940s a fusion of Latin and jazz elements was stimulated first by the Afro-Cuban mambo and later on by the Brazilian bossa nova. Throughout the 20th century, dynamic classical institutions in the United States attracted international talent. Noted Russian-born choreographer George Balanchine e stablished the short-lived American Ballet Company in the 1930s; later he founded the company that in the 1940s would become the New York City Ballet. The American Ballet Theatre, also established during the 1940s, brought in non-American dancers as well.By the 1970s this company had attracted Soviet defector Mikhail Baryshnikov, an internationally acclaimed dancer who served as the company’s artistic director during the 1980s. In classical music, influential Russian composer Igor Stravinsky, who composed symphonies using innovative musical styles, moved to the United States in 1939. German-born pianist, composer, and conductor Andre Previn, who started out as a jazz pianist in the 1940s, went on to conduct a number of distinguished American symphony orchestras.Another Soviet, cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, became conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D. C. , in 1977. Some of the most innovative artists in the first half of the 20th century successfully incorporated new forms into classical traditions. Composers George Gershwin and Aaron Copland, and dancer Isadora Duncan were notable examples. Gershwin combined jazz and spiritual music with classical in popular works such as Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and the opera Porgy and Bess (1935).Copland developed a unique style that was influenced by jazz and American folk music. Early in the century, Duncan redefined dance along more expressive and free-form lines. Some artists in music and dance, such as composer John Cage and dancer and choreographer Merce Cunningham, were even more experimental. During the 1930s Cage worked with electronically produced sounds and sounds made with everyday objects such as pots and pans. He even invented a new kind of piano.During the late 1930s, avant-garde choreographer Cunningham began to collaborate with Cage on a number of projects. Perhaps the greatest, and certainly the most popular, American innovation was the Broadway musical, which also became a m ovie staple. Beginning in the 1920s, the Broadway musical combined music, dance, and dramatic performance in ways that surpassed the older vaudeville shows and musical revues but without being as complex as European grand opera.By the 1960s, this American musical tradition was well established and had produced extraordinary works by important musicians and lyricists such as George and Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, Jerome Kern, and Oscar Hammerstein II. These productions required an immense effort to coordinate music, drama, and dance. Because of this, the musical became the incubator of an American modern dance tradition that produced some of America's greatest choreographers, among them Jerome Robbins, Gene Kelly, and Bob Fosse.In the 1940s and 1950s the American musical tradition was so dynamic that it attracted outstanding classically trained musicians such as Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein composed the music for West Side Story, an updated version of Romeo and Juliet set in New York that became an instant classic in 1957. The following year, Bernstein became the first American-born conductor to lead a major American orchestra, the New York Philharmonic. He was an international sensation who traveled the world as an ambassador of the American style of conducting.He brought the art of classical music to the public, especially through his â€Å"Young People's Concerts,† television shows that were seen around the world. Bernstein used the many facets of the musical tradition as a force for change in the music world and as a way of bringing attention to American innovation. In many ways, Bernstein embodied a transformation of American music that began in the 1960s. The changes that took place during the 1960s and 1970s resulted from a significant increase in funding for the arts and their increased availability to larger audiences.New York City, the American center for art performances, experienced an artistic expl osion in the 1960s and 1970s. Experimental off-Broadway theaters opened, new ballet companies were established that often emphasized modern forms or blended modern with classical (Martha Graham was an especially important influence), and an experimental music scene developed that included composers such as Philip Glass and performance groups such as the Guarneri String Quartet. Dramatic innovation also continued to expand with the works of playwrights such as Edward Albee, Tony Kushner, and David Mamet.As the variety of performances expanded, so did the serious crossover between traditional and popular music forms. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, an expanded repertoire of traditional arts was being conveyed to new audiences. Popular music and jazz could be heard in formal settings such as Carnegie Hall, which had once been restricted to classical music, while the Brooklyn Academy of Music became a venue for experimental music, exotic and ethnic dance presentations, and traditional p roductions of grand opera. Innovative producer Joseph Papp had been staging Shakespeare in Central Park since the 1950s.Boston conductor Arthur Fiedler was playing a mixed repertoire of classical and popular favorites to large audiences, often outdoors, with the Boston Pops Orchestra. By the mid-1970s the United States had several world-class symphony orchestras, including those in Chicago; New York; Cleveland, Ohio; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Even grand opera was affected. Once a specialized taste that often required extensive knowledge, opera in the United States increased in popularity as the roster of respected institutions grew to include companies in Seattle, Washington; Houston, Texas; and Santa Fe, New Mexico.American composers such as John Adams and Philip Glass began composing modern operas in a new minimalist style during the 1970s and 1980s. The crossover in tastes also influenced the Broadway musical, probably America's most durable music form. Starting in the 1960 s, rock music became an ingredient in musical productions such as Hair (1967). By the 1990s, it had become an even stronger presence in musicals such as Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk (1996), which used African American music and dance traditions, and Rent (1996) a modern, rock version of the classic opera La Boheme.This updating of the musical opened the theater to new ethnic audiences who had not previously attended Broadway shows, as well as to young audiences who had been raised on rock music. Performances of all kinds have become more available across the country. This is due to both the sheer increase in the number of performance groups as well as to advances in transportation. In the last quarter of the 20th century, the number of major American symphonies doubled, the number of resident theaters increased fourfold, and the number of dance companies increased tenfold.At the same time, planes made it easier for artists to travel. Artists and companies regularly tour, and they expand the audiences for individual artists such as performance artist Laurie Anderson and opera singer Jessye Norman, for musical groups such as the Juilliard Quartet, and for dance troupes such as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Full-scale theater productions and musicals first presented on Broadway now reach cities across the country. The United States, once a provincial outpost with a limited European tradition in performance, has become a flourishing center for the performing arts. . Arts and letters The arts, more than other features of culture, provide avenues for the expression of imagination and personal vision. They offer a range of emotional and intellectual pleasures to consumers of art and are an important way in which a culture represents itself. There has long been a Western tradition distinguishing those arts that appeal to the multitude, such as popular music, from those—such as classical orchestral music—normally available to the elite of learning and taste. Popular art forms are usually seen as more representative American products.In the United States in the recent past, there has been a blending of popular and elite art forms, as all the arts experienced a period of remarkable cross-fertilization. Because popular art forms are so widely distributed, arts of all kinds have prospered. The arts in the United States express the many faces and the enormous creative range of the American people. Especially since World War II, American innovations and the immense energy displayed in literature, dance, and music have made American cultural works world famous.Arts in the United States have become internationally prominent in ways that are unparalleled in history. American art forms during the second half of the 20th century often defined the styles and qualities that the rest of the world emulated. At the end of the 20th century, American art was considered equal in quality and vitality to art produced in the rest of the world. Throughout the 20th century, American arts have grown to incorporate new visions and voices. Much of this new artistic energy came in the wake of America’s emergence as a superpower after World War II.But it was also due to the growth of New York City as an important center for publishing and the arts, and the immigration of artists and intellectuals fleeing fascism in Europe before and during the war. An outpouring of talent also followed the civil rights and protest movements of the 1960s, as cultural discrimination against blacks, women, and other groups diminished. American arts flourish in many places and receive support from private foundations, large corporations, local governments, federal agencies, museums, galleries, and individuals.What is considered worthy of support often depends on definitions of quality and of what constitutes art. This is a tricky subject when the popular arts are increasingly incorporated into the domain of the fine arts and new forms such as performance art and conceptual art appear. As a result, defining what is art affects what students are taught about past traditions (for example, Native American tent paintings, oral traditions, and slave narratives) and what is produced in the future.While some practitioners, such as studio artists, are more vulnerable to these definitions because they depend on financial support to exercise their talents, others, such as poets and photographers, are less immediately constrained. Artists operate in a world where those who theorize and critique their work have taken on an increasingly important role. Audiences are influenced by a variety of intermediaries—critics, the schools, foundations that offer grants, the National Endowment for the Arts, gallery owners, publishers, and theater producers.In some areas, such as the performing arts, popular audiences may ultimately define success. In other arts, such as painting and sculpture, success is far more dependent on criti cs and a few, often wealthy, art collectors. Writers depend on publishers and on the public for their success. Unlike their predecessors, who relied on formal criteria and appealed to aesthetic judgments, critics at the end of the 20th century leaned more toward popular tastes, taking into account groups previously ignored and valuing the merger of popular and elite forms. These critics ften relied less on aesthetic judgments than on social measures and were eager to place artistic productions in the context of the time and social conditions in which they were created. Whereas earlier critics attempted to create an American tradition of high art, later critics used art as a means to give power and approval to nonelite groups who were previously not considered worthy of including in the nation’s artistic heritage. Not so long ago, culture and the arts were assumed to be an unalterable inheritance—the accumulated wisdom and highest forms of achievement that were establis hed in the past.In the 20th century generally, and certainly since World War II, artists have been boldly destroying older traditions in sculpture, painting, dance, music, and literature. The arts have changed rapidly, with one movement replacing another in quick succession. a) Visual arts. The visual arts have traditionally included forms of expression that appeal to the eyes through painted surfaces, and to the sense of space through carved or molded materials. In the 19th century, photographs were added to the paintings, drawings, and sculpture that make up the visual arts.The visual arts were further augmented in the 20th century by the addition of other materials, such as found objects. These changes were accompanied by a profound alteration in tastes, as earlier emphasis on realistic representation of people, objects, and landscapes made way for a greater range of imaginative forms. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, American art was considered inferior to European art. Despite noted American painters such as Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, Mary Cassatt, and John Marin, American visual arts barely had an international presence.American art began to flourish during the Great Depression of the 1930s as New Deal government programs provided support to artists along with other sectors of the population. Artists connected with each other and developed a sense of common purpose through programs of the Public Works Administration, such as the Federal Art Project, as well as programs sponsored by the Treasury Department. Most of the art of the period, including painting, photography, and mural work, focused on the plight of the American people during the depression, and most artists painted real people in difficult circumstances.Artists such as Thomas Hart Benton and Ben Shahn expressed the suffering of ordinary people through their representations of struggling farmers and workers. While artists such as Benton and Grant Wood focused on rural life, man y painters of the 1930s and 1940s depicted the multicultural life of the American city. Jacob Lawrence, for example, re-created the history and lives of African Americans. Other artists, such as Andrew Wyeth and Edward Hopper, tried to use human figures to describe emotional states such as loneliness and despair. Abstract Expressionism.Shortly after World War II, American art began to garner worldwide attention and admiration. This change was due to the innovative fervor of abstract expressionism in the 1950s and to subsequent modern art movements and artists. The abstract expressionists of the mid-20th century broke from the realist and figurative tradition set in the 1930s. They emphasized their connection to international artistic visions rather than the particularities of people and place, and most abstract expressionists did not paint human figures (although artist Willem de Kooning did portrayals of women).Color, shape, and movement dominated the canvases of abstract expressio nists. Some artists broke with the Western art tradition by adopting innovative painting styles—during the 1950s Jackson Pollock â€Å"painted† by dripping paint on canvases without the use of brushes, while the paintings of Mark Rothko often consisted of large patches of color that seem to vibrate. Abstract expressionists felt alienated from their surrounding culture and used art to challenge society’s conventions. The work of each artist was quite individual and distinctive, but all the artists identified with the radicalism of artistic creativity.The artists were eager to challenge conventions and limits on expression in order to redefine the nature of art. Their radicalism came from liberating themselves from the confining artistic traditions of the past. The most notable activity took place in New York City, which became one of the world’s most important art centers during the second half of the 20th century. The radical fervor and inventiveness of t he abstract expressionists, their frequent association with each other in New York City’s Greenwich Village, and the support of a group of gallery owners and dealers turned them into an artistic movement.Also known as the New York School, the participants included Barnett Newman, Robert Motherwell, Franz Kline, and Arshile Gorky, in addition to Rothko and Pollock. The members of the New York School came from diverse backgrounds such as the American Midwest and Northwest, Armenia, and Russia, bringing an international flavor to the group and its artistic visions. They hoped to appeal to art audiences everywhere, regardless of culture, and they felt connected to the radical innovations introduced earlier in the 20th century by European artists such as Pablo Picasso and Marcel Duchamp.Some of the artists—Hans Hofmann, Gorky, Rothko, and de Kooning—were not born in the United States, but all the artists saw themselves as part of an international creative movement an d an aesthetic rebellion. As artists felt released from the boundaries and conventions of the past and free to emphasize expressiveness and innovation, the abstract expressionists gave way to other innovative styles in American art. Beginning in the 1930s Joseph Cornell created hundreds of boxed assemblages, usually from found objects, with each based on a single theme to create a mood of contemplation and sometimes of reverence.Cornell's boxes exemplify the modern fascination with individual vision, art that breaks down boundaries between forms such as painting and sculpture, and the use of everyday objects toward a new end. Other artists, such as Robert Rauschenberg, combined disparate objects to create large, collage-like sculptures known as combines in the 1950s. Jasper Johns, a painter, sculptor, and printmaker, recreated countless familiar objects, most memorably the American flag. The most prominent American artistic style to follow abstract expressionism was the pop art move ment that began in the 1950s.Pop art attempted to connect traditional art and popular culture by using images from mass culture. To shake viewers out of their preconceived notions about art, sculptor Claes Oldenburg used everyday objects such as pillows and beds to create witty, soft sculptures. Roy Lichtenstein took this a step further by elevating the techniques of commercial art, notably cartooning, into fine art worthy of galleries and museums. Lichtenstein's large, blown-up cartoons fill the surface of his canvases with grainy black dots and question the existence of a distinct realm of high art.These artists tried to make their audiences see ordinary objects in a refreshing new way, thereby breaking down the conventions that formerly defined what was worthy of artistic representation. Probably the best-known pop artist, and a leader in the movement, was Andy Warhol, whose images of a Campbell’s soup can and of the actress Marilyn Monroe explicitly eroded the boundaries between the art world and mass culture. Warhol also cultivated his status as a celebrity. He worked in film as a director and producer to break down the boundaries between traditional and opular art. Unlike the abstract expressionists, whose conceptual works were often difficult to understand, Andy Warhol's pictures, and his own face, were instantly recognizable. Conceptual art, as it came to be known in the 1960s, like its predecessors, sought to break free of traditional artistic associations. In conceptual art, as practiced by Sol LeWitt and Joseph Kosuth, concept takes precedent over actual object, by stimulating thought rather than following an art tradition based on conventional standards of beauty and artisanship.Modern artists changed the meaning of traditional visual arts and brought a new imaginative dimension to ordinary experience. Art was no longer viewed as separate and distinct, housed in museums as part of a historical inheritance, but as a continuous creative proces s. This emphasis on constant change, as well as on the ordinary and mundane, reflected a distinctly American democratizing perspective. Viewing art in this way removed the emphasis from technique and polished performance, and many modern artworks and experiences became more about expressing ideas than about perfecting finished products.Photography. Photography is probably the most democratic modern art form because it can be, and is, practiced by most Americans. Since 1888, when George Eastman developed the Kodak camera that allowed anyone to take pictures, photography has struggled to be recognized as a fine art form. In the early part of the 20th century, photographer, editor, and artistic impresario Alfred Stieglitz established 291, a gallery in New York City, with fellow photographer Edward Steichen, to showcase the works of photographers and painters.They also published a magazine called Camera Work to increase awareness about photographic art. In the United States, photographi c art had to compete with the widely available commercial photography in news and fashion magazines. By the 1950s the tradition of photojournalism, which presented news stories primarily with photographs, had produced many outstanding works. In 1955 Steichen, who was director of photography at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, called attention to this work in an exhibition called The Family of Man.Throughout the 20th century, most professional photographers earned their living as portraitists or photojournalists, not as artists. One of the most important exceptions was Ansel Adams, who took majestic photographs of the Western American landscape. Adams used his art to stimulate social awareness and to support the conservation cause of the Sierra Club. He helped found the photography department at the Museum of Modern Art in 1940, and six years later helped establish the photography department at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco (now the San Francisco Art Instit ute).He also held annual photography workshops at Yosemite National Park from 1955 to 1981 and wrote a series of influential books on photographic technique. Adams's elegant landscape photography was only one small stream in a growing current of interest in photography as an art form. Early in the 20th century, teacher-turned-photographer Lewis Hine established a documentary tradition in photography by capturing actual people, places, and events. Hine photographed urban conditions and workers, including child laborers.Along with their artistic value, the photographs often implicitly called for social reform. In the 1930s and 1940s, photographers joined with other depression-era artists supported by the federal government to create a photographic record of rural America. Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, and Arthur Rothstein, among others, produced memorable and widely reproduced portraits of rural poverty and American distress during the Great Depression and during the dust storms of th e period.In 1959, after touring the United States for two years, Swiss-born photographer Robert Frank published The Americans, one of the landmarks of documentary photography. His photographs of everyday life in America introduced viewers to a depressing, and often depressed, America that existed in the midst of prosperity and world power. Photographers continued to search for new photographic viewpoints. This search was perhaps most disturbingly embodied in the work of Diane Arbus. Her photos of mental patients and her surreal depictions of Americans altered the viewer’s relationship to the photograph.Arbus emphasized artistic alienation and forced viewers to stare at images that often made them uncomfortable, thus changing the meaning of the ordinary reality that photographs are meant to capture. American photography continues to flourish. The many variants of art photography and socially conscious documentary photography are widely available in galleries, books, and magazi nes. A host of other visual arts thrive, although they are far less connected to traditional fine arts than photography.Decorative arts include, but are not limited to, art glass, furniture, jewelry, pottery, metalwork, and quilts. Often exhibited in craft galleries and studios, these decorative arts rely on ideals of beauty in shape and color as well as an appreciation of well-executed crafts. Some of these forms are also developed commercially. The decorative arts provide a wide range of opportunity for creative expression and have become a means for Americans to actively participate in art and to purchase art for their homes that is more affordable than works produced by many contemporary fine artists. . Performing arts As in other cultural spheres, the performing arts in the United States in the 20th century increasingly blended traditional and popular art forms. The classical performing arts—music, opera, dance, and theater—were not a widespread feature of America n culture in the first half of the 20th century. These arts were generally imported from or strongly influenced by Europe and were mainly appreciated by the wealthy and well educated. Traditional art usually referred to classical forms in ballet and opera, orchestral or chamber music, and serious drama.The distinctions between traditional music and popular music were firmly drawn in most areas. During the 20th century, the American performing arts began to incorporate wider groups of people. The African American community produced great musicians who became widely known around the country. Jazz and blues singers such as Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Billie Holiday spread their sounds to black and white audiences. In the 1930s and 1940s, the swing music of Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, and Glenn Miller adapted jazz to make a unique American music that was popular around the country.The American performing arts also blended Latin American influences beginning in th e 20th century. Between 1900 and 1940, Latin American dances, such as the tango from Argentina and the rumba from Cuba, were introduced into the United States. In the 1940s a fusion of Latin and jazz elements was stimulated first by the Afro-Cuban mambo and later on by the Brazilian bossa nova. Throughout the 20th century, dynamic classical institutions in the United States attracted international talent.Noted Russian-born choreographer George Balanchine established the short-lived American Ballet Company in the 1930s; later he founded the company that in the 1940s would become the New York City Ballet. The American Ballet Theatre, also established during the 1940s, brought in non-American dancers as well. By the 1970s this company had attracted Soviet defector Mikhail Baryshnikov, an internationally acclaimed dancer who served as the company’s artistic director during the 1980s. In classical music, influential Russian composer Igor Stravinsky, who composed symphonies using i nnovative musical styles, moved to the United States in 1939.German-born pianist, composer, and conductor Andre Previn, who started out as a jazz pianist in the 1940s, went on to conduct a number of distinguished American symphony orchestras. Another Soviet, cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, became conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D. C. , in 1977. Some of the most innovative artists in the first half of the 20th century successfully incorporated new forms into classical traditions. Composers George Gershwin and Aaron Copland, and dancer Isadora Duncan were notable examples.Gershwin combined jazz and spiritual music with classical in popular works such as Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and the opera Porgy and Bess (1935). Copland developed a unique style that was influenced by jazz and American folk music. Early in the century, Duncan redefined dance along more expressive and free-form lines. Some artists in music and dance, such as composer John Cage and dancer and choreographer Merce Cunningham, were even more experimental. During the 1930s Cage worked with electronically produced sounds and sounds made with everyday objects such as pots and pans.He even invented a new kind of piano. During the late 1930s, avant-garde choreographer Cunningham began to collaborate with Cage on a number of projects. Perhaps the greatest, and certainly the most popular, American innovation was the Broadway musical, which also became a movie staple. Beginning in the 1920s, the Broadway musical combined music, dance, and dramatic performance in ways that surpassed the older vaudeville shows and musical revues but without being as complex as European grand opera.By the 1960s, this American musical tradition was well established and had produced extraordinary works by important musicians and lyricists such as George and Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, Jerome Kern, and Oscar Hammerstein II. These productions required an immense effort to coordinate music, drama, and dance. Because of this, the musical became the incubator of an American modern dance tradition that produced some of America's greatest choreographers, among them Jerome Robbins, Gene Kelly, and Bob Fosse.In the 1940s and 1950s the American musical tradition was so dynamic that it attracted outstanding classically trained musicians such as Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein composed the music for West Side Story, an updated version of Romeo and Juliet set in New York that became an instant classic in 1957. The following year, Bernstein became the first American-born conductor to lead a major American orchestra, the New York Philharmonic. He was an international sensation who traveled the world as an ambassador of the American style of conducting.He brought the art of classical music to the public, especially through his â€Å"Young People's Concerts,† television shows that were seen around the world. Bernstein used the many facets of the musi cal tradition as a force for change in the music world and as a way of bringing attention to American innovation. In many ways, Bernstein embodied a transformation of American music that began in the 1960s. The changes that took place during the 1960s and 1970s resulted from a significant increase in funding for the arts and their increased availability to larger audiences.New York City, the American center for art performances, experienced an artistic explosion in the 1960s and 1970s. Experimental off-Broadway theaters opened, new ballet companies were established that often emphasized modern forms or blended modern with classical (Martha Graham was an especially important influence), and an experimental music scene developed that included composers such as Philip Glass and performance groups such as the Guarneri String Quartet. Dramatic innovation also continued to expand with the works of playwrights such as Edward Albee, Tony Kushner, and David Mamet.As the variety of performanc es expanded, so did the serious crossover between traditional and popular music forms. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, an expanded repertoire of traditional arts was being conveyed to new audiences. Popular music and jazz could be heard in formal settings such as Carnegie Hall, which had once been restricted to classical music, while the Brooklyn Academy of Music became a venue for experimental music, exotic and ethnic dance presentations, and traditional productions of grand opera. Innovative producer Joseph Papp had been staging Shakespeare in Central Park since the 1950s.Boston conductor Arthur Fiedler was playing a mixed repertoire of classical and popular favorites to large audiences, often outdoors, with the Boston Pops Orchestra. By the mid-1970s the United States had several world-class symphony orchestras, including those in Chicago; New York; Cleveland, Ohio; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Even grand opera was affected. Once a specialized taste that often required extensi ve knowledge, opera in the United States increased in popularity as the roster of respected institutions grew to include companies in Seattle, Washington; Houston, Texas; and Santa Fe, New Mexico.American composers such as John Adams and Philip Glass began composing modern operas in a new minimalist style during the 1970s and 1980s. The crossover in tastes also influenced the Broadway musical, probably America's most durable music form. Starting in the 1960s, rock music became an ingredient in musical productions such as Hair (1967). By the 1990s, it had become an even stronger presence in musicals such as Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk (1996), which used African American music and dance traditions, and Rent (1996) a modern, rock version of the classic opera La Boheme.This updating of the musical opened the theater to new ethnic audiences who had not previously attended Broadway shows, as well as to young audiences who had been raised on rock music. Performances of all kinds ha ve become more available across the country. This is due to both the sheer increase in the number of performance groups as well as to advances in transportation. In the last quarter of the 20th century, the number of major American symphonies doubled, the number of resident theaters increased fourfold, and the number of dance companies increased tenfold.At the same time, planes made it easier for artists to travel. Artists and companies regularly tour, and they expand the audiences for individual artists such as performance artist Laurie Anderson and opera singer Jessye Norman, for musical groups such as the Juilliard Quartet, and for dance troupes such as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Full-scale theater productions and musicals first presented on Broadway now reach cities across the country. The United States, once a provincial outpost with a limited European tradition in performance, has become a flourishing center for the performing arts.

Increasing Movie Ticket Prices Essay

  Increasing Movie Ticket Prices To conduct an experiment, AMC increased movie ticket prices from $9.00 to $10.00 and measured the change in ticket sales. Using the data over the following month, they have concluded that the increase was profitable. However, over the subsequent months, they changed their minds and discontinued the experiment. How did the timing affect their conclusion about the profitability of increasing prices? The timing affected the conclusion because the demand curve at the time was showing AMC that the consumer demand was allowing consumers to be willing to pay $10 per movie ticket at the time of the increase. Now over time the demand of going to the movie has decreased. Consumers will buy more if the price is less compared to buying less if the price is higher. So in the instance with AMC they profited from the increase for the first month but consumers stopped attending the theaters based on the higher costs. Learning Curve Suppose you have a production technology that can be characterized by a learning curve. Every time you increase production by one unit, your cost decreases by $6. The first unit costs you $64 to produce. If you receive a request for proposal (RFP) on a project four units, what is your breakeven price? Suppose that if you get the contract, you estimate that you can win another project for two more units. Now what is you break even price for those two units? Basically to find the breakeven price for the units we would have to take the initial cost of $64 it takes to produce one unit and subtract $6 from each unit that is produced after the first unit in order to find the breakeven cost. Unit 1: $64, Unit 2: $58, Unit 3: 52, Unit 4: $46 = $220 (total price cost); divide the total cost by 4 units which will equal a breakeven price of $55. We would have to sell each unit for the $55 to breakeven. If we added two more units the cost for unit 5: $40 and unit 6: 34. This would give a total cost of $74. Divide $74/2 = $37 which would be  the breakeven price for the additional 2 units.   Multiconcept Restaurants are a growing Trend A multiconcept restaurant incorporates two or more restaurants, typically chains, under one roof. Sharing facilities reduces costs of both real estate and labor. The multiconcept restaurants typically offer a limited menu, compared with full sized, stand alone restaurants. For example, KMAC operates a combination Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)/Taco Bell. The food preparation areas are separate, but orders are taken at shared point of sale (POS) stations. If Taco Bell and KFC share facilities, they reduce fixed cost by 30%; however, sales in joint facilities are 20% lower than sales in two separate facilities. What do numbers imply for the decision of when to open a shared facility vs. two separate facilities? The numbers will imply to sharing facilities when it allows the businesses to be able to reduce overhead costs in regards to economic cost or the economies of scope in regards to costs. A business will also use the marginal analysis theory into consideration of when they should ta ke any action that would help in the businesses increasing its profits. So in sharing facilities if both businesses are able to keep costs decreased or continue decreasing over time and sales stay the same or increase, both businesses would profit on switching to a shared facility concept.

Interpretation and judgement in news reporting. The WritePass Journal

Interpretation and judgement in news reporting. INTRODUCTION Interpretation and judgement in news reporting. INTRODUCTION  MEDIA REPRESENTATIONINTERPRETATION AND JUDGEMENT IN NEWS REPORTINGTHE MEDIA AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITYPATTERNS OF CRISIS REPORTINGCRISIS COVERAGE AS CRISIS MANAGEMENTThe Origin and Nature of the Nigerian PressTHE NIGERIAN MEDIA AND NATIONAL SECURITYConclusionRelated INTRODUCTION In this chapter I will undertake a review of theories relevant to the theme of this work. Various scholarly positions on the theory of media representation, media and social responsibility and pattern of crisis reporting will be thoroughly examined. I will equally review scholarly works on the origin and nature of the Nigerian press.   MEDIA REPRESENTATION The media in any society serve as the window through which the wider world is viewed. They give and account of reality but not the reality in the real sense. Positions of various scholars in the field of media studies reveal that what we read, hear or watch on the media is representation of reality and as such, the media have the ability to and actually do construct the reality through their coverage and reportage of events. The knowledge and perception of people about events, issues and objects within and beyond their geographical settings are usually formed and shaped by media representation of such events, issues and objects. The idea that the media utilize language, semiotic and visual images to construct realities has been extensively written and researched in various works and among various scholars in the field of media and communication studies. While some scholars have espoused cultural views of media representation (Hall, 1997) others have adopted the notion of race (O†™Shaughnessy 1997, Ferguson 2002, Acosta-Alzure 2003) language, and identity (Rayner 2001). To Hall (1997, p. 17) â€Å"Representation is the production of the meaning of the concepts in our mind through language and it is the link between concepts that enables us to refer to either the real world of objects, people or events†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . The concept of representation according to Hall (ibid) entails â€Å"using language to say something meaningful about or to represent the world meaningfully to other people†¦it is an essential part of the process by which meaning is produced and exchanged between members of a culture†. Hall describes representation as a phenomenon that involves the use of language, signs and images to symbolise and represent objects. The use of language in cultural studies can be reflective when it reflects the existing meaning of an object, intentional when it reflects the personally intended meaning and constructionist when meaning is constructed through the use of language (Hall, 1997). Hall (1997, p.15) examines the concepts of representation in terms of the â€Å"circuit of culture† which implies that representation, as a concept in cultural studies â€Å"connects meaning and language to culture† The media utilize a great deal of images, signs and language to describe and report events or objects to their audiences and their use of such elements serve as the basis upon which the knowledge and perception of audiences about the objects and events being reported rest. Representation therefore dwells on how the media create meaning and form knowledge through the use of language and visual images. In their view, Acosta Alzuru and Roushanzamir (2003, p.47) assert that â€Å"Representation constructs meaning by connecting the world language and live experiences. By performing these connections representation does not reflect the frame of the world but that it constitutes the world†. In their view, Rayner et al (2001, p.63) describe representation as â€Å"the process by which the media present to us the real world†. They further assert that â€Å"there is a wide philosophical debate about what constitutes ‘reality’ and whether, in fact, reality ultimately exists. If however, we assume, for the convenience of looking at representation, that there is an external reality, then, one key function of the media is to represent that reality to us, the audience†. One issue central to various postulations of scholars on media representation is the inability of the media to reproduce the exact real word. News generally is an account of reality, not reality itself, thus most media organizations and journalists often fall prey of adding their interpretations and judgment to certain news stories with a view to creating meaning. INTERPRETATION AND JUDGEMENT IN NEWS REPORTING In reporting and presenting issues, media often add their own judgment and interpretations thereby defining the public knowledge of certain events. On the other hand, audiences also subject media messages to some interpretations which explain why they are of the view that media bias is possible in their reporting of events. According to Hawk (1992, p.1) â€Å"there are no such things as facts without interpretation†. This assertion is supported by Said (1981, p.154) as he succinctly observes that: â€Å"All knowledge that is about human society and not about natural world is historical knowledge and therefore rests upon judgment and interpretation. This is not to say that facts and data are non-existent but that facts get their importance from what is made upon interpretation†. In their coverage and reportage of events media therefore give their meaning and identify for readers those events that are considered important. Relating these assertions to the Nigerian press representation of Niger-Delta Crisis, it is evident that media tend to give meaning and interpretation to the activities of the Niger-Delta militants visvis government reactions and perception of the general public. Based on the argument and counter argument between African and non-African analysts on the western media coverage of Africa, especially in the area of media subjecting their reports to judgement and interpretations, scholars have emphasized the need for news analysis. In his work â€Å"Islam and the West in the Mass Media, Hafez (2000) points out that international news coverage can be analysed by focusing on the textual patterns, linguistic feature, as well as the arrangement of facts, arguments and frames in foreign reporting to understand whether or not such report is based on objectivity or sensationalism (p.27).   Empirical evidences based on existing views of various scholars reveal that in understanding the causes and effects of media coverage, it is important to examine the individual perception of the journalists and the orientation of the mass media in relation to the object being reported. As argued by Falola (2000, p.30), â€Å"most foreign media use certain stereotyp es and images to represent African states as epitome of   vampirical authoritarian governance, parasitical political elites, fierce religious and tribal animosities and endemic sickness and misery†. Having examined the theory of media representation visvis the discourse of media interpretation and judgements in news reporting, I proceed to discuss the media representation of Africa within the context of the theory media representation. THE MEDIA AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY The social responsibility theory is based on the notion that the media must perform its role bearing in mind â€Å"public interest†. McQuails (2005:164) rightly observes that the concept of public interest is simple yet fraught with many disconnected views about what it entails or should entail. In Nigeria, for instance, the issue of resources control has been a subject for many debates and cause for protracted conflict. What would constitute â€Å"public interest?† Should the press promote the position of the proponents of resource control, or should it support those who say every State should share in equal measure from the nation’s oil wealth? McQuail, however quickly clears the fog by stating that the mass media must operate by the same principles that govern other units of society; principles which are justice, fairness, democracy, and prevailing notions of desirable social and cultural values. Any practice in society that undermines these principles singly or collectively constitutes sabotage of â€Å"public interest† and may correctly suffer report from the media. Further, McQuail identifies the factor that may affect the promotion of public interest which he defines in terms of cultural, political, professional and commercial interests. On culture-induced effects, there is the institutional entrenchment of a culture of apathy and distrust for the people of other tribes or ethnic groups. The Nigerian society’s penchant for religious and ethnic conflicts is an unfortunate testimony to this fact. And since the News must carry the stories, including that of casualties, there is the tendency for reporting to cause an escalation of the crisis. Liebes and Kampf   (2004:79)   captured it this way: â€Å"†¦.whereas politicians and representatives of the elite are free to address the media of any time (crossing the threshold through the â€Å"front door†), the only chance of radical groups to invade the screen is via the â€Å"back door†, that is, by the use of violence†¦the more violence they created, the greater the chance of crossing into the screen and being viewed by the public. The chance, however, is also greater for the coverage to be more negative, and therefore acts as a boomerang†. The political inhibition to â€Å"public interest† reporting may play out in the bias of the practicing journalist who might have a stake in the issues for which the group is agitating. How does a journalist from Niger Delta maintain neutrality on the issue of resource distribution and control when it has such profound effects on his life and that of his family? Or how does a journalist from Katsina State maintain neutrality when the ceding of resource control to the generating states means that his state’s allocation may be highly reduced. Beard (2000, p18) is of the position that â€Å"to expect that a political journalist or politician can tell the truth is problematic, because such an expectation fails to take account of the fact that both the creator and the receiver of the text bring ideological values to it†. He explains further that reporting capitalizes on certain language forms such as metaphors, metonymies, analogies and transitive, to show subtle or blatant sympathy for or apathy to various ideological positions extant in society (Beard, 2000:25) However, Keeble (2005:269) advocates for journalism practice that is found on universal principles of honesty, fairness, respect for the privacy, the avoidance of discrimination and conflict of interest. But he also correctly observes that â€Å"cultures and political systems around the globe throw up very different ethical challenges for journalists.† It is difficult to maintain neutrality in the face of threats, especially when such threats reach the point of fatality (Hartley 1982, p84; Tumber, 2004, p199), but the universal ideas require a reach toward neutrality and objectivity. Another factor that affects the responsibility of the media to the society is low level of professionalism.Professionalism may be seen as a commitment to the highest standard of excellence in the practice of journalism. It is a combination of the finest skills with the highest ethical conduct. This ideal contrasts sharply with the prevailing shallow approach to coverage and analysis of issues of public interest as seen in sections of the Nigerian media. The rate of unemployment and the abysmal state of corruption and nepotism have created an opportunity for unqualified individuals to practice journalism. The result, as Gujbawu (2002, p71) rightly observes, is the press’ increasing penchant for being a mouth piece for the ruling elite, and at the expense of society; a tendency for writing media content that misinforms, misleads, confuses and destroys society. In view of this, a classic work on theories of mass media has shown what many media problems are attributable to the edu cation of reporters and editors and poor preparation before undertaking assignments. Observable errors of fact may lead to questioning the authenticity of an entire report, which further brings to question the credibility of the media as dependable custodians of public conscience (Severin Tankard, 2001, p314-5). Another factor identified by McQuail (2005, p164) as the bane of â€Å"public interest† journalism is commercialism. Scholars agree that there is an increasing tendency toward monopolizing the media into the hands of a few rich business and media moguls (Dominick 1994, p109; Aufdeheide, 2004, p333 Stevenson, 2005 p40; Harrison, 2006, p164). These investors are engaged in stiff competition for market share with attendant repercussion. As noted by Folarin (1999, p27), the commercialists press â€Å"worships at the altar of profit and consumerism which often vitiate the ideals of social responsibility.† The profit motif makes the media vulnerable to the ideologies of big advertisers while consumerism lowers values since the media must give the public what it wants. Under this circumstance, commercial interests precedence over public good. Albeit, the social responsibility theory holds that the while the press must be free, it must also be adequate or responsible. The basic tenets of the socially responsible press, following the recommendations of the Robert Hutchins Commission of 1947, are thus outlined in (Severin and Tankard, 2001 p314; McQuails, 2005:171): A socially responsible press should provide a full, truthful, comprehensive and intelligent account of the day’s events in a context which gives them meaning. It should serve as a forum for the exchange of comments and criticism as a common carrier of the public expression, raising conflict to the plane of public discourse. A socially responsible press should give a representative picture of constituent groups in the society while presenting the goals and values of society, issues that have relevance to the well-being of the local community. A press with this kind of orientation is what is needed in a crisis –prone, or crisis –ridden society. Coverage of crisis in Nigeria requires that the media be truthful, comprehensive and balanced, representing the views and interests of the constituent groups in the federal state that it is. PATTERNS OF CRISIS REPORTING Pattern of reporting is a description of the differences in the reportage of news stories resulting from the different perspectives from which people view events. The patterns could be intrinsic or extrinsic, rather than being opposites, they are simply two sides of the same coin. Intrinsic patterns are the latent patterns that reflect the peculiarity of a paper, those features that differentiate one paper from others. These features are manifested in the language and the point of view that a paper expresses. It is seen in the way a paper challenges or reinforces certain stereotypes; the overt political position a paper adopts or discards (McNair, 2005:35). As Curran (2002:34) would suggest, the location of a news story within the frame of reference of a political position, by attribution, is a subtle way by which journalism advances one political opinion against another. On the other hand is the extrinsic pattern which is the obvious physical characteristics of a news report as it appears in the paper. This is marked by such features as the choice of a front-page story. The choice of a front-page story reveals the level of importance a newspaper ascribes to a story as against other stories. It is also manifest in the amount of space given to a story. A story that is considered as important will have depth of discussion, attributions, background information; a detailed description of the events and persons in the story. Also, an important story in the news is marked by extensive non-news editorial commentaries in the form of features, letters to the editor, opinion articles, and brazen editorials by the paper. This is where societal views are extracted and harnessed to set further agenda for public discourse to provide ideas for policy makers. Meanwhile, there are certain features that characterize crisis stories. One is that a crisis naturally commands prominence. In any crisis the suffering of the victim usually engages sympathy. This human interest factor makes the story popular, thus giving it prominence.   The other factor is drama. Simply put, drama is action, deed or performance that interest people presented on a stage or theater. In this case, the stage for the drama in a social crisis is the public sphere (Abcaran Klotz, 2002:19). Drama in the news describes the day to day actions that occur in human societies, actions that are considered worthy of mediation. The crisis story is typically drama-laden. Crisis reporting captures the intrigues, blackmails, betrayal, protests, etc., that happen in man’s experience. Furthermore, the crisis story has conflict – the inability of players in the social sphere to reach consensus on issues of ideology, personal or group interest, and opinion. This may degene rate into violence, often of fatal dimension (Veer, 2004:9). The interest is heightened by the impact of the conflict on human life and property. CRISIS COVERAGE AS CRISIS MANAGEMENT So far I have used the terms ‘crisis and ‘conflict’ interchangeably. The Chambers English Dictionary has defined crisis as â€Å"a crucial or decisive moment †¦.a time of difficulty and distress†, while conflict is described as â€Å"an unfortunate coincidence or opposition; violent collision†, some synonyms provided are â€Å"to fight; to contend; to be in opposition†. Conflict may be an overflow of crises. As it occurs in the Niger Delta, we may see a crisis from ethnic, political or economic dimensions, occurring hardly mutually exclusively, and manifesting in the form of protests, walkouts, strikes and often such violent expressions as killing, maiming, shooting, and kidnapping on which the study is focused. Simply put, conflict, as manifested at the community level in the Niger Delta, is the expression of disaffection and outburst of tension built up over time, due to denied or subverted expectations. Conflicts may be violent or non-violent. Reporting crisis takes different forms depending on the nature of the society in terms of its social structures and ethnic composition i.e. homogenous, plural, or multi-cultural societies. Owens-Ibie (2002, p33) citing Corbett, (1992) shows that â€Å"media in homogenous societies, characterized by an inclination toward consensus, tend to air conflict less than those in plural societies. Owen –Ibie goes on to state that Nigeria as a heterogeneous society tends to play out this trend. The media in the country is a terrain for airing conflict, and such coverage is a reflection of the socio-cultural and other diversities that the country typifies†. This statement cannot be untrue if weighed against the historical background of the Nigerian state, which comprise different ethnic nationalities fused against their wishes by the colonial explorers, a contrivance in mischief (Isoumonach and Gaskia, 2001, p55). This history has therefore been characterized by the constant strive for relevance and self-determination by each component of the amalgamation, especially the so – called minority groups. Expectedly, the media assumes a center state in these agitations, a hegemonic stance at that. Hartley (2002:99) explains that: â€Å"The crucial aspect of the notion of hegemony is not that it operates by forcing people against their will or better judgment to concede power to the already powerful, but that it works by winning consent to ways of making sense of the world that do in fact make sense†¦..the concept is used to show how everyday meanings, representations and activities are organized and made sense of in such a way as to render the interests of a dominant ‘bloc’ into an apparently natural and unarguable general interest, with a claim of everyone†. Two basic approaches for assuming hegemonic control quickly come to the fore. One is the media approach; the other is the people approach. With particular reference to the Niger Delta, what Curran (2002:150) refers to as ‘dominant discourse’ finds a fitting application in the agitations of the Niger Delta people. There has been a determined resolve to keep the media (and every occasion that promises media attention) awash with messages on resource control, fiscal federalism and equal rights to national political leadership. The expected outcome is to allow national and global attention, to the plight of Niger Delta people in the Nigerian state. The people approach is exploited when non-elite groups constitute themselves into â€Å"organizations† which are used as sources of news and comment by the media. While non-elite group, have in general restricted access to the media, this can be modified through improvements in organization (Curran, 2002 p152-153). Although this modification has come to be in the negative sense, the organization of various pressure groups and even militia forces has brought much media attention to the course of the Niger Delta in an unprecedented state. It is true that media coverage tends to favor the elite, official position. As this work shows, the news is most times written from the official stand point. By its very nature, the official is furnished with paraphernalia of office that guarantees that he makes a statement on a particular issue either in person or by proxy. The Nigerian President, for instance, has a Special Assistance for Media and Publicity, Special Adviser for Media and Pub licity and host of other officials; not counting that the services of the entire Ministry of Information and National Orientation and its quasi-organizations which include the Radio and TV networks, are at his disposal. It is therefore an onerous task for the other parties in the Niger Delta to beat this communicative advantage. Should the media then give a voice only to the elite party to the exclusion of the other? This model shows that crisis management should be in three phases. The first phase or pre-crisis phase is the time when a crisis is anticipated. Having established that in a plural, multi-cultural state like Nigeria is conflict prone, the press should always anticipate crisis by observing the signals that portend disturbance in social equation. Then the media must provide such coverage as will help to nip the crisis in the bud. The media should identify, expose, educate and enlighten citizen on those things, persons, or policies that constitute a threat to national secu rity (Odunlanmi, 1999, p132; Galadima 2002:P62). The next phase will be the in-crisis stage, when a nation is facing a condition of distress. Galadima (2002, p60-62) presents the atmosphere that may characterize conflict reporting. First is that reporting advertently or inadvertently gives publicity to the crisis. Reporting tends to win appreciation or engender resentment by the different parties involved. This is because certain interests are either being protected or subverted if reporting is seen as biased, it could precipitate very unwelcomed reactions. The Nigerian experience shows that the parties that are not favored by a report may descend into unleashing terror on the reporter or the organization he/she represents, and even unworthy members of the society. Thirdly, reported violence in a conflict, especially casualty figures could lead to more violence. Nigeria is also a typical illustration of this. Whenever killing is reported, it usually precipitates reprisal attacks elsewhere. Fourthly, it should be noted that each party in the dispute wants to have a voice through the media from where they can air their subjective opinions on the issue. The media must not become or be seen as a horn speaker for either of the parties, as that would not be without grave consequences. Then we have the Post-Crisis stage. The media must determine, suggest and promote through editorial and commentaries, what â€Å"strategies and policies can be developed [and deployed] to prevent similar or related crisis† (Ajala 2001:180). There should be a continual emphasis on those issue that guarantee peace, justice, equity and mutual coexistence, while denouncing those that cause disaffection, frustration and distress in the system. If these steps are observed, the media would be a veritable tool for, not just crisis reporting; but crisis management through reporting. The Origin and Nature of the Nigerian Press Nigerian Media historians generally agree that the Nigerian Press has a Christian missionary origin. Goaded by the motive â€Å"to excite the intelligence of the people†¦and get them to read†, Henry Townsend established the Iwe Iroyin in 1859 (Duyile 1987 cited by Mohamed 2003:19). Shortly, after the establishment of this mission –oriented press, the nationality press came on stream. The primary objective of this era was to attack, decimate and summarily expel the British imperialists. It was hostile to the British colonial administration. The press in this era championed the liberation struggle, agitating for sovereignty and self-governance. It had a nationalist (not a nationality) focus. This era technically ended on September 30, 1960 (Ajuluchukwu 2000:14). Subsequently, the press had the task of engineering a new state and guiding its evolution into a viable venture. Ajuluchukwu (2000:42) speaks of the journalism of this post-independence era in this wise: â€Å"For our professional journalists, the transition experience (from colonial to civil rule) proved sickeningly tortuous, mainly because they apparently failed to be reconciled with the fact that the emergent democratic government of independent Nigeria was not an extension of the preceding imperialist despotism. In that lingering frame of mind, the press remained hostile to the government of indigenous Nigerians as they were to the expelled British Regime. It was as though the media in the First Republic regarded our independent federal administration as a government neither of the people nor by the people and not for the people. The independent print media of the period demonstrated a clear unwillingness to give a blanket support to the government† It is important to note the emphasis on independent media. Contrary to the independent editorial stance of private-owned media, the earlier established organsiations of the leading politicians of the three major regions – Eastern, Western, and Northern – were heavily partisan promoting the interest of the regions that had founded them. Mohammed (2003 p33-34) provides insight into the implications of this on the place and role of the press in this era: â€Å"In the Northern Region, such media establishments as the Hausa language publication Gaskiya Tafi Kwabo established in 1948, and remained New Nigeria in 1966; and Radio Television Kaduna, established in 1962†¦the Western Nigerian Television founded in 1959; the tribune group of newspapers, founded in 1951 by Chief Obafemi Awolowo; Sketch Newspapers established in 1964; Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe’s West African Pilot founded in 1937 and its chain of publications, in addition to the Eastern Nigerian Television established in 1960†¦The attainment of independence in 1960 and the devolution of power of the petty bourgeois politicians through the three major political parties (National People’s Congress, based in and serving the North, National Council for Nigerian and Cameroon in the east and Action Group in the west)†¦were to impact on the of the mass media in post – colonial Nigeria. Although they were once united in ‘fighting’ the colonial impostors, they became divided, serving partisan, ethnic and sectional interests. This may be regarded as the beginning of the nationality press in Nigeria. Currently, there exist in the Niger Delta streams of community-based newspapers that seek to foster the Niger Delta agenda. Most of them, based in Port Harcourt, a city which, for some strategic political and socio –economic reasons may be regarded as the defacto headquarters of the Niger Delta. Some of these papers include Argus, Hard Truth, and The Beacon, among others. Appearing in the tabloid form, most of them circulate on weekly basis. Most also have their circulation scope limited to Port Harcourt, but are no less effective in shaping the opinion of the people and presenting their position on issues plaguing the oil-rich area. It is important to state that the press in the Niger Delta will make an elaborate subject for another research. THE NIGERIAN MEDIA AND NATIONAL SECURITY There are two positions on what constitutes national security-the militarist perspective and the developmental perspective. The militarist perspective locates national security on the ability of a nation to deter attack or defeat it (Lippman cited in Odunlanmi, 1999 p.128). Here national security is seen as the protection of the territorial integrity of a nation by military might. Therefore, a nation should develop the necessary weaponry to curtail and prevent the invasion of her territory by enemy forces and ensure that her citizens enjoy physical freedom, political independence and that their minimum core values are protected (Odunlanmi, 1999:128). On the other hand, the developmental perspective sees national security beyond territorial security of a nation or physical safety of her citizens. As observed by Nweke (1988) : â€Å"There is no doubt that national security embodies the sovereignty of the state, the inviolability of its national boundaries, and the right to individual and collective self-defense against internal threat. But the state is secure only when the aggregate of people organized under it has the consciousness of belongings to a common sovereign political community; enjoy equal political freedom, human rights, economic opportunities, and when the state itself is able to ensure independence in its development and foreign policy† cited in Odunlanmi (1999 p129). Alli (2001 p201) agrees with this thought by advancing that security should be all-embracing and may include: ‘personal security and freedom from danger and crime’; ‘freedom from fear and anxiety’; ‘freedom from disease’ and ‘a general feeling of well-being’. Thus the people in a state must not just be said to have access or means of economic self-reliance, political participation, respect for basic human rights and dignity; they must be seen to enjoy these benefits. They must be seen to be sufficiently empowered to access and enjoy good food, good shelter, equal rights to political participations, right to freedom of expression and civil decent and other basic rights. Conclusion One of the basic causes of conflict in any society is the lack of free flow of communication. Each segment of society needs an outlet to vent the feelings and opinion on issues of the day. Sewant (2000 p20) speaks of civil institutions in society which are â€Å"uncommitted to any political party or ideology†. These institutions may be educational, religious, literary and cultural, sport, financial and economic, or social welfare. â€Å"These institutions†, he says, â€Å"occupy spaces in the social life not covered by the political institutions. There is a competition and even rivalry between the political and the civil institutions need a voice through the media.† Clearly, the media must provide a platform for civil discourse and dialogue in which people must air their views on matters that concern them. When opinions are suppressed, emotions repressed, and views ignored, the result may be a state of anarchy, whose perpetrators may want to excuse on the unavailability of â€Å"option[s] other than when opinions anxious to voice their own idealistic, even altruistic, goals† (Whittaker, 2004:3). Alli (2001:201) explains that â€Å"in a heterogeneous society like Nigeria, suppressed opinion is unhealthy to the foundation of state, it [breads] discontent and violent expression†. In his work on ‘the capacity of the media for social mobilizations’, Folarin (2000, p104) observes that â€Å"media’s potential to counter threats to stability, minimize panic and anxiety and maintain cultural and political consensus†. By simply giving people the opportunity to talk, a lot of problems may be avoided, curtailed or solved. The media must provide this opportunity. â€Å"When the media represents and speaks on behalf of all sections of the society, particularly the voiceless, it gives meaning to democracy as a truly representative regime† (Sewant, 2000:25). Secondly, the media have capacity to champion polices that encourage better living condition by promoting accountability, responsible leadership and good governance on the part of leaders. At the same time, should be on the vanguard of campaigns against any policies or actions that undermine national security. The media provides a platform for debates on public policies, so that both the rulers and the ruled have the opportunity to make inputs, the effect of which are far-reaching in strengthening democratic structures and guaranteeing national security. This is the correction role of the media. Further, programming in the media should also address the need for citizenship and cultural education, so that in a plural society, like Nigeria, one segment of the polity is able to understand, appreciate and respect the other cultures extant in the society. This will cause less tension. For this to happen, it is crucial to have a media that is plural, to the extent of being representative of the different interest in the state. Oyovbaire (2000, p103) advocates for pluralism of the press in terms of an operational base that is diffused and a programming philosophy that is liberal and accommodating of interest other than that of the proprietors. Unfortunately, as Oyovbaire argues, the media has not only been concentrated in the south-west of Nigeria, particularly Lagos State, it is often seen to hold and highlight sectional opinions. In promoting national security, the media must educate and enlighten the citizens on the factors that unite them, while avoiding and dislodging divisive tendencies and sentiments (Odunlanmi, 1999:132).

American Civil War in the West - 1863-1865

American Civil War in the West - 1863-1865 The Tullahoma Campaign As Grant was conducting operations against Vicksburg, the American Civil War in the West continued in Tennessee. In June, after pausing in Murfreesboro for nearly six months, Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans began moving against Gen. Braxton Braggs Army of Tennessee at Tullahoma, TN. Conducting a brilliant campaign of maneuver, Rosecrans was able to turn Bragg out of several defensive positions, forcing him to abandon Chattanooga and driving him from the state. Battle of Chickamauga Reinforced by Lt. Gen. James Longstreets corps from the Army of Northern Virginia and a division from Mississippi, Bragg laid a trap for Rosecrans in the hills of northwestern Georgia. Advancing south, the Union general encountered Braggs army at Chickamauga on September 18, 1863. Fighting began in earnest the following day when Union Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas attacked Confederate troops on his front. For most of the day, fighting surged up and down the lines with each side attacking and counterattacking. On the morning of the 20th, Bragg attempted to flank Thomas position at Kelly Field, with little success. In response to the failed attacks, he ordered a general assault on the Union lines. Around 11:00 AM, confusion led to a gap opening in the Union line as units were shifted to support Thomas. As Maj. Gen. Alexander McCook was attempting to plug the gap, Longstreets corps attacked, exploiting the hole and routing the right wing of Rosecrans army. Retreating with his men, Rosecrans departed the field leaving Thomas in command. Too heavily engaged to withdrawal, Thomas consolidated his corps around Snodgrass Hill and Horseshoe Ridge. From these positions his troops beat off numerous Confederate assaults before falling back under the cover of darkness. This heroic defense earned Thomas the moniker The Rock of Chickamauga. In the fighting, Rosecrans suffered 16,170 casualties, while Braggs army incurred 18,454. Siege of Chattanooga Stunned by the defeat at Chickamauga, Rosecrans retreated all the way back to Chattanooga. Bragg followed and occupied the high ground around the city effectively putting the Army of the Cumberland under siege. To the west, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was resting with his army near Vicksburg. On October 17, he was given command of the Military Division of the Mississippi and control of all Union armies in the West. Moving quickly, Grant replaced Rosecrans with Thomas and worked to reopen supply lines to Chattanooga. This done, he shifted 40,000 men under Maj. Gens. William T. Sherman and Joseph Hooker east to reinforce the city. As Grant was pouring troops into the area, Bragg numbers were reduced when Longstreets corps was ordered away for a campaign around Knoxville, TN. Battle of Chattanooga On November 24, 1863, Grant began operations to drive Braggs army away from Chattanooga. Attacking at dawn, Hookers men drove Confederate forces from Lookout Mountain south of the city. Fighting in this area ended around 3:00 PM when ammunition ran low and a heavy fog enveloped the mountain, earning the fight the nickname Battle Above the Clouds. At the other end of the line, Sherman advanced taking Billy Goat Hill at the north end of the Confederate position. The following day, Grant planned for Hooker and Sherman to flank Braggs line, allowing Thomas to advance up the face of Missionary Ridge in the center. As the day progressed, the flank attacks became bogged down. Feeling that Bragg was weakening his center to reinforce his flanks, Grant ordered Thomas men to move forward to assault the three lines of Confederate trenches on the ridge. After securing the first line, they were pinned down by fire from the remaining two. Rising up, Thomas men, without orders, pressed on up the slope, chanting Chickamauga! Chickamauga! and broke the center of Braggs lines. With no choice, Bragg ordered the army to retreat back to Dalton, GA. As a result of his defeat, President Jefferson Davis relieved Bragg and replaced him with Gen. Joseph E. Johnston. Changes in Command In March 1964, President Abraham Lincoln promoted Grant to lieutenant general and placed him in supreme command of all Union armies. Departing Chattanooga, Grant turned over command to Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman. A long-time and trusted subordinate of Grants, Sherman immediately made plans for driving on Atlanta. His command consisted of three armies which were to operate in concert: the Army of the Tennessee, under Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson, the Army of the Cumberland, under Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas, and the Army of the Ohio, under Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield. The Campaign for Atlanta Moving southeast with 98,000 men, Sherman first encountered Johnstons 65,000-man army near Rocky Face Gap in northwest Georgia. Maneuvering around Johnstons position, Sherman next met the Confederates at Resaca on May 13, 1864. After failing to break Johnstons defenses outside the town, Sherman again marched around his flank and forced the Confederates to fall back. Through the remainder of May, the Sherman steadily maneuvered Johnston back towards Atlanta with battles occurring at Adairsville, New Hope Church, Dallas, and Marietta. On June 27, with the roads too muddy to steal a march on the Confederates, Sherman attempted to attack their positions near Kennesaw Mountain. Repeated assaults failed to take the Confederate entrenchments and Shermans men fell back. By July 1, the roads had improved allowing Sherman to again move around Johnstons flank, dislodging him from his entrenchments. The Battles for Atlanta On July 17, 1864, tired of Johnstons constant retreats, President Jefferson Davis gave command of the Army of Tennessee to the aggressive  Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood. The new commanders first move was to  attack Thomas army near Peachtree Creek, northeast of Atlanta. Several determined assaults struck the Union lines, but were ultimately all repulsed. Hood next withdrew his forces to the inner defenses of the city hoping Sherman would follow and open himself up to attack. On July 22, Hood  assaulted McPhersons Army of the Tennessee  on the Union left. After the attack achieved initial success, rolling up the Union line, it was stopped by massed artillery and counterattacks. McPherson was killed in the fighting and replaced with  Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard. Unable to penetrate the Atlanta defenses from the north and east, Sherman moved to the west of the city but was blocked by the Confederates at  Ezra Church  on July 28. Sherman next decided to force Hood from Atlanta by cutting the railroads and supply lines into the city. Pulling almost of his forces from around the city, Sherman marched on Jonesborough to the south. On August 31, Confederate troops  attacked the Union position  but were easily driven away. The next day Union troops counterattacked and broke through the Confederate lines. As his men fell back, Hood realized that the cause was lost and began evacuating Atlanta on the night of September 1. His army retreated west towards Alabama. In the campaign, Shermans armies suffered 31,687 casualties, while the Confederates under Johnston and Hood had 34,979. Battle of Mobile Bay As Sherman was closing in on Atlanta, the US Navy was conducting operations against Mobile, AL. Led by  Rear Admiral David G. Farragut, fourteen wooden warships and four monitors ran past Forts Morgan and Gaines at the mouth of Mobile Bay and attacked the ironclad  CSS  Tennessee  and three gunboats. In doing so, they passed near a torpedo (mine) field, which claimed the monitor USS  Tecumseh. Seeing the monitor sink, the ships in front of Farraguts flagship paused, causing him to famously exclaim Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead! Pressing on into the bay, his fleet captured CSS  Tennessee  and closed the port to Confederate shipping. The victory, coupled with the fall of Atlanta, greatly aided Lincoln in his reelection campaign that November. Franklin Nashville Campaign While Sherman rested his army at Atlanta, Hood planned a new campaign designed to cut the Union supply lines back to Chattanooga. He moved west into Alabama hoping to draw Sherman into following, before turning north towards Tennessee. To counter Hoods movements, Sherman dispatched Thomas and Schofield back north to protect Nashville. Marching separately, Thomas arrived first. Hood seeing that the Union forces were divided, moved to defeat them before they could concentrate. Battle of Franklin On November 29, Hood nearly trapped Schofields force near Spring Hill, TN, but the Union general was able to extricate his men from the trap and reach Franklin. Upon arriving they occupied fortifications on the outskirts of town. Hood arrived the following day and launched a massive frontal assault on the Union lines. Sometimes referred to as the Picketts Charge of the West, the attack was repulsed with heavy casualties and six Confederate generals dead. Battle of Nashville The victory at Franklin allowed Schofield to reach Nashville and rejoin Thomas. Hood, despite the wounded condition of his army, pursued and arrived outside the city on December 2. Safe in the citys defenses, Thomas slowly prepared for the upcoming battle. Under tremendous pressure from Washington to finish off Hood, Thomas finally attacked on December 15. Following two days of assaults, Hoods army crumbled and dissolved, effectively destroyed as a fighting force. Shermans March to the Sea With Hood occupied in Tennessee, Sherman planned his campaign to take Savannah. Believing the Confederacy would only surrender if its capacity for making war was destroyed, Sherman ordered his troops to conduct a total scorched earth campaign, destroying everything in their path. Departing Atlanta on November 15, the army advanced in two columns under  Maj. Gens. Henry Slocum  and Oliver O. Howard. After cutting a swath across Georgia, Sherman arrived outside of Savannah on December 10. Making contact with the US Navy, he demanded the citys surrender. Rather than capitulate,  Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee  evacuated the city and fled north with the garrison. After occupying the city, Sherman telegraphed Lincoln, I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the City of Savannah... The Carolinas Campaign and the Final Surrender With Savannah captured, Grant issued orders for Sherman to bring his army north to aid in the  siege of Petersburg. Rather than travel by sea, Sherman proposed marching overland, laying waste to the Carolinas along the way. Grant approved and Shermans 60,000-man army moved out in January 1865, with the goal of capturing Columbia, SC. As Union troops entered South Carolina, the first state to secede, no mercy was given. Facing Sherman was a reconstituted army under his old adversary, Joseph E. Johnston, who seldom had more than 15,000 men. On February 10, Federal troops entered Columbia and burned everything of military value. Pushing north, Shermans forces encountered Johnstons small army at  Bentonville, NC on March 19. The Confederates launched five attacks against the Union line to no avail. On the 21st, Johnston broke off contact and retreated towards Raleigh. Pursuing the Confederates, Sherman finally compelled Johnston to agree to an armistice at Bennett Place near Durham Station, NC on April 17. After negotiating surrender terms, Johnston capitulated on the 26th. Coupled with  Gen. Robert E. Lees  surrender on the 9th, the surrender effectively ended the Civil War.

The Lady with the Pet Dog Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Lady with the Pet Dog - Essay Example The meetings between Anna and Gurov had initially started without any inkling of love, but their feelings were soon transformed into infatuation and finally into passionate love which brought the two different personalities together. They way Chekov has developed the character of Dmitri is indeed commendable. At the start of the novel he is portrayed as a typical detestable male chauvinist but by the end of the story, he is greatly changed by love and the readers start to feel for him. It is the power of love which forces Gurov to be dissatisfied by his life and routine. The love compels a married woman to have an affair out of her marriage. However accompanying love is the guilt that is pinching the conscience of both the characters. Despite being in love with Gurov, Anna feels happy and relieved to return back to his husband. The separation however does not last for long. Driven madly by the desire to meet Anna, Gurov leaves his city to find her so that he could confess his love fo r her. Even though Anna knows she is married, she yearns to break away from his husband and return to the love of her life. Love strengthens her conviction to meet Gurov and at the end of the story she sets out a plan to go away from her husband to meet him. To make the theme so vivid and so interesting, setting of the story plays an important role. The most essential element of the story is its dual setting. The dual setting plays an important role in shaping up the story. Yalta has been depicted as a state which is famous for its ‘stories of immorality’. Gurov is tempted by the beauty of the city to find a partner to spend time with. Then the city itself creates an atmosphere of romance by its ‘heat’, ‘the chirrup of the grasshoppers’ and the ‘smell of the sea’. The atmosphere has a direct effect on Gurov and Anna by setting a romantic mood for them. The setting is comparable to the moods of the lovers. Both the characters are su rrounded by the beauty and serenity of the city which brings them very close to each other. After Anna departs, it starts to get ‘cold’ symbolizing the onset of autumn in the city as well as in the life of Gurov. Then we see the city of Moscow, where Gurov returned. Moscow has been shown as a busy city with everything in perfect routine. The mornings are ‘dark’ which compliments Gurov’s mood. He feels gloomy and disgruntled by his life and yearns to meet Anna again. Chekhov has indeed remarkably created the setting of the story to match the mood of its characters. The Author Antonio Chekhov has written a number of short stories, all of which have been very popular among the readers. I find this story very interesting and appealing. They way Chekhov has narrated the story and the shown the connection between the two major characters is truly remarkable. The story proceeds smoothly without any glitches with the same theme of love circulating around the characters which maintains the readers’ attention. The literary devices and symbolism used in the story further increases the curiosity of the readers. This could very well be seen by the ‘silence’ of Anna which she maintains after most of the questions asked by Gurov. Moreover the author has connected the element of uncertainty and reluctance with every major character. Gurov is uncertain about continuing his relationship with Anna, Anna’

International studiesGrowth Development of Nations Essay

International studiesGrowth Development of Nations - Essay Example It has also helped in transfer of technical know how, transfer of knowledge, export and import of goods and services, etc. But, as rightly stated by Rosenberg, globalization, which was meant to signify unity and integrity has no way proved to be successful instead resulted in cold war between countries for their share in the global market. Further, it is mentioned by Ellwood that gaps between rich and poor are widening and decision making power is concentrated in the hands of few developed and powerful nations (11). Rightly so, Rosenberg mentions in the article "Free Trade Fix" wherein the right to make decisions lie in the hands of IMF which is controlled by the United States and other European countries. The scenario of Puebla State in Mexico where the farmers cultivating corn have become the victims of globalization due to cheap corn being imported from US as part of free trade agreement between the two nations. The globalization has resulted in great opportunities like transfer of skills, employment, transfer of goods and services, etc. but it has all happened in pursuit of cheap labor in poor countries.