An analysis of the transformation of the Panopticon from Foucault to the present. The form of wood, for instance, is altered if a table is made out of it. Nevertheless the table continues to be wood, an ordinary, sensuous thing. But as soon as it emerges as a commodity, it changes into a thing which transcends sensuousness. It not only stands with its feet on the ground, but, in relation to all other commodities, it stands on its head, and evolves out of its wooden brain grotesque ideas far more wonderful than if it were to begin dancing of its own free will.1 I. Punishment In order to understand the…

A man was sent to the hospital after being attacked by two men who called him a “dirty foreigner,” police said on Saturday. The man suffered head injuries and bruising after his attackers struck him with a bottle in a street of the Lichtenberg ward in the east of the Berlin This did not occur during the height of Nazi power. Nor did it occur after World War II as a result of Neo-Nazi backlash. This occurred in 2007, over 50 years after Germany began trying to overcome its troubled past. Many argue that incidents such as this one are the result of a minority of violent extremists, that such…

Although typhoid fever was first described in 1829, by Dr. P. Ch. A. Louis, there is a surprisingly modest amount of knowledge about the disease today.1 Typhoid has remained a major public health concern since Dr. Louis identified its distinguishing lesions, with the British Medical Journal publishing articles about the disease dating back to 1897, in which it discussed an outbreak amongst “natives of India.”2 The first vaccine was produced in 1896, and there were discussions in 1897 of producing an improved vaccine.3 More practical vaccines were available by 1928, with the first trials being administered in 1937.4 However, those breakthroughs were nearly a century ago, and little progress has been…

Introduction Globalization since the 1990s has transformed the nature of international and local relations. First and foremost, it has created awareness for human insecurities around the world, through the diffusion of global norms. Globalization has spread awareness for women’s insecurity, for example. Now, global norms tout women’s rights and integration. Although women’s insecurity has always been prevalent, our awareness of the phenomenon has increased since globalization. The emergent norm of gender equality and human rights calls to attention the limits to these norms, as we continue to see overt examples of women’s insecurity. We see more clearly some inconsistencies and flaws in our system of governance, because we are aware…

Introduction While many scholars agree that globalization has intensified the volume of information, many question the evenness of the flow, claiming that information is directed from the global North to the global South. However, this paper argues that the case of Arab satellite television station Al-Jazeera directly challenges this long-held notion: It has countered the North-South news divide by becoming the first media conglomerate based in the global South to have profound consequences not only in the Middle East but all throughout the world. Reliable news, uncensored discussions and dissenting opinions on its live shows and political debates have allowed Al-Jazeera to garner numerous accolades and awards. As both a…

The picture ancient sources paint of the tyrant Peisistratus’ reign in Athens is overall a moderate one, not at all befitting of the modern connotation of the word “tyrant.” Peisistratus died in 528/7 after nearly twenty consecutive years in power, and thereafter the historical record becomes increasingly obscure.1 Herodotus and Thucydides agree that Peisistratus’ son Hippias succeeded him, though the author of the Ath. Pol. speaks of a joint rule between Hippias and his brother Hipparchus.2 Meanwhile, Plato and Hellanicus record that Hipparchus alone became tyrant.3 Most, if not all, sources attest that the tyranny became more oppressive following the murder of Hipparchus, but diverge on the issue of the…

Introduction Figure 1: A Nazi propaganda advocating eugenics.[1] First coined by Francis Galton in 1883, the term “eugenics” refers to a social movement that seeks to control the physical and mental qualities of the future generations.[2] The concept of eugenics may have had positive connotation in its beginning, but after the atrocities of the Third Reich, eugenics now represent one of the darkest chapters in human history. Figure 1 illustrates one of the propaganda posters used by the Nazis in their eugenic campaign. The German text in the poster means the following: “60,000 Reichsmarks is the cost to take care of this hereditarily flawed person for lifetime. Fellow citizen, that…