Re-Vision, Tradition, and Public Life

Carrie Preston, Rutgers University, Spring 2003

Assignment #3: Three Approaches to Revising the World

In "Beyond Militarism, Arms Races, and Arms Control," Mary Kaldor describes the different types of armed forces that have developed in the world following the Cold War. She offers the "humanitarian approach" and the institution of "laws of war" as strategies that will prevent both a "war of global annihilation" and the present "series of real wars that cannot be won" (394). Just as Guinier rethinks the ideals of democracy and de Waal rethinks the role of kindness in evolutionary theory, Mary Kaldor suggests ways for changing the position of national armed forces in contemporary society.

How does Kaldor's humanitarian approach ask you to reevaluate Guinier's "system of proportionality" and de Waal's "survival of the kindest"? Did reading Kaldor help you recognize strengths and weaknesses in Guinier and de Waal?

This paper asks you to compare and evaluate these three approaches to revising the world. To answer this question, you might want to consider if proportional voting or majority rule would fit into Kaldor's "humanitarian approach." Does Kaldor's essay question assumptions regarding kindness, altruism, or human goodness? Is altruism a prerequisite to peacekeeping and "humanitarian law enforcement?" You can develop a project based on your own ideas and questions, but be sure to evaluate the action horizons of each author.

Back to top

Assignment #4: Tradition and Exclusion

In "The Naked Citadel," Faludi explores the distinctive culture of the Citadel, a state-funded military institution in South Carolina, which, until the controversial case of Shannon Faulkner, was exclusively male. The faculty, administration, alumni, and cadets who opposed admitting women were deeply invested in, and committed to, the traditions and rituals that have developed since the institution was founded in 1882. The reason most frequently cited for excluding Faulkner and other women was, "She would be destroying a long and proud tradition" (256). Both Guinier and Kaldor also discuss cultures and traditions that are exclusive. In "Second Proms and Second Primaries: The Limits of Majority Rule," Guinier offers two examples of majority rule that exclude a specific minority group: racialized voting in Phillips County and the prom at Brother Rice High School. According to the judge in the case of Whitfield, et al. vs. State Democratic Party, "Americans have traditionally been schooled in the notion of majority rule…" (qtd. in Guinier 342). Similarly, in "Beyond Militarism, Arms Races, and Arms Control," Mary Kaldor discusses the "new wars" involving informal or private military networks ("netforce"), which cohere around "an extreme political ideology based on the exclusive claim to state power on the basis of identity - ethnic chauvinism or religious communalism" (386).

Using Faludi and either Guinier or Kaldor, consider why these traditions exclude certain groups, genders, and/or races. There are thousands of traditions ranging from the familiar and formal ritual of Christian Communion or Jewish Shabbat to the private rituals of a family surrounding various holidays.

Are all traditions inherently exclusive, or can traditions and cultures be fully inclusive? Are traditions a positive or negative force in human society, and what right, if any, should they have to exist?

To help you write this essay, you might want to consider the relationship between traditions and family groups, violence or war, citizenship, gender roles (masculinity, femininity), political power, and/or religion.

Back to top

Assignment #5: The Transcript Test

In your last paper, I asked you to take a position on the inclusiveness or exclusiveness of traditions and to determine if traditions have an inherent right to exist. In class discussion, we discovered that there could be a contradiction between the publicly stated claims of a tradition and the behaviors or actions that the tradition actually produces. We also realized that certain groups might have the power to enforce traditions and that others might participate in traditions with varying degrees of willingness and compulsion. James C. Scott's "Behind the Official Story" offers an approach for understanding and explaining the interactions between dominant and subordinate groups. He suggests that "public transcripts," the open interaction between those involved in unequal power relations often conceal the real distribution of power and the "hidden transcripts" that take place "offstage," outside of the "power-laden context," and between members of the same group (555).

For this paper, you must apply Scott's explanatory model to the unequal power relations that Kaldor and/or Faludi discuss.

You must first determine where structures of dominance appear in their essays and then decide how to distinguish between the dominant and subordinate groups. Who holds the power, and how do you know (or why is it impossible to come to a decision)? Do the authors (Kaldor or Faludi) give you the public transcripts or the hidden transcripts in their essays? Scott insists that "by assessing the discrepancy between the hidden transcript and the public transcript we may begin to judge the impact of domination on public discourse" (555). Can you, using Scott's framework, evaluate how power relations influence discourse in the examples you have chosen? That is, does Scott's approach work?

Back to top

Assignment #6: Behavioral Determinants

In "The Power of Context," Gladwell suggests that "behavior is a function of social context." He explains crime as a product of environmental factors, especially "little things" like broken windows, graffiti, and trash (294). Unlike psychological models, which insist that fundamental character traits and genetics work together to produce behavior, Gladwell emphasizes the significance of "situation" (296). Scott and Faludi also examine several influences on human behavior. Scott discusses the impact of unequal power relations on the behavior of both dominant and subordinate groups, and Faludi suggests that the hazing practiced by upperclassmen on cadets is a product of the tradition of a fourth-class system.

Do these writers have similar or irreconcilable understandings of human behavior? For this paper, you must use Gladwell, Scott, and Faludi to come to a conclusion about the most significant determinants of behavior. What are the practical implications of your understanding of behavior in terms of crime, violence, war, or any other focus of your choosing?

Back to top

Back to Sample Sequences