Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Garden Path Model And The Constraint Based Model

Garden Path Model And The Constraint Based Model Theories into sentence processing can be viewed from two main accounts; a modular account or an interactive account. Garden path model proposed by Fraizer and Rayner (1982) supports the modular account, arguing sentence processing involves the analysis of each individual unit or module of a sentence, with little or no feedback, thus inhibiting correction. Whereas an interactive account supported by the constraint based theory, (McDonald, 1994) argues sentence processing involves immediate incorporation of all available information in creation of the final output. This essay will explore principles of both Garden Path Model and Constraint Based Theory of sentence processing, highlighting their similarities and differences as well as major strengths and weaknesses associated with both models. This essay will continuously compare and contrast both models on issues such as; minimal attachment and late closure, reanalysis, sentence length, contextual properties, working memory capacities and evidence from event related potentials in an attempt to answer the question in focus. The Garden path model proposed by Frazier and Rayner (1982), argues readers only consider initially one syntactic structure for any given sentence and meaning is not involved in the selection of preliminary syntactical meaning. Thus, readers and listeners can be misled by ambiguous sentences (i.e. garden path sentences). Whereas Constraint based theory proposed by MacDonald (1994), argues all relevant information is available immediately to the parser during reading and listening. The incoming information is analysed and all possible constraints or outputs are activated and ranked according to the strength of the subsequent activation. The syntactic structure receiving the most support from the constraints will be highly activated and thus chosen. In essence, activated constraints are in competition with one another and when two constraints are equally activated ambiguity arise. These two theories propose conflicting, basic ideologies; Garden Path model argues only one syntactic stru cture is initially considered and meaning is not involved in selection of syntactic meaning, whereas, constraint based theory argues all relevant information is used and several syntactical meanings are initially considered before the most appropriate is selected. Frazier and Rayners Garden Path Model proposes that listeners and readers chose the simplest syntactical structure by implementing two general principles; minimal attachment and late closure. The principle of minimal attachment states the grammatical structure producing the fewest nodes is preferred. Rayner and Pollatsek (1989) provided partial experimental support for minimal attachment. They used the sentences; The girl knew the answer by heart and The girl knew the answer was wrong. Rayner and Pollatsek observed the principle of minimal attachment led to a grammatical structure in which the answer is regarded as the direct object of the verb knew, this is appropriate for the first sentence but leads to ambiguity in the second sentence. Therefore it can be argued the principle of minimal attachment may not work for all sentences, highlighting a weakness. Altmann et al (1998), argue all possible meanings of a sentence are considered during, and at the end of a sentence and principle s of minimal attachment are inadequate in sentence processing, thus supporting the constraint based theory. Frazier and Rayner (1982) argue minimal attachment and late closer attempt to reduce pressure on working memory during sentence processing, making it less economically taxing, a strength of this theory. They recorded participants eye movements whist they read sentences like; since Jay always jogs a mile seems like a short distance. If readers construct both or all possible syntactic structures, there should be additional processing time at the point of disambiguation. Eye movement data provided support for the predictions of the garden path model. These finding are in opposition with the Constraint based theory that argues several constraints are activated before the output is chosen, thus making this method of sentence processing more taxing than the Garden Path model in which no interpretation is considered until the end of sentences (Clifton, 1993). Fodor and Inoue (2000) a rgue the parser works on the method of minimal processing and will do the minimum amount of analysis possible, supporting the Garden Path Model. Minimal attachment is argued to be universal to all languages (Frazier and Rayner (1982). However several studies contradict this argument. Cueto and Mitchell (1988), Carreiras and Clifton (1993, 1999) and Traxler et al (1998) found a low attachment preference within the English language but found a high attachment preference within the Spanish language. Thus meaning minimal attachment would not be applicable in the Spanish language. Thus conflicting the assumptions of the Garden Path Model. Mitchell et al (1995) argued attachment preferences may be different between languages due to the fact that in some languages, high relative clause attachment is most frequent, whereas in other languages such as English, low clause attachment is most frequent. As a result of these findings, cross-linguistic differences in clause attachments present a pr oblem for the Garden Path Model as the principles of minimal attachment and late closure assume a universal preference for low attachment. Highlighting a weakness The principle of late closer proposes new words encountered in sentences are attached to the current phrase or clause if grammatically permissible. This principle conflicts assumptions of the constraint based theory as meaning is assigned as new words are attached rather than when all information is available. Alternatively supporting the Constraint based theory Carreiras and Clifton (1993) provided evidence that readers do not follow the principle of late closure. They presented participants with sentences such as The spy that shot the daughter of the colonel who was standing on the balcony. According to late closure, readers or listeners should perceive this sentence as meaning the colonel, rather than the daughter, was standing on the balcony, however this was not observed. Principles of minimal attachment and late closure within the garden path model determine peoples initial analysis of sentences, however if initial analysis is inconsistent due to ambiguous sentences, a process of reanalysis must occur (Frazier and Rayner 1982). Reanalysis occurs when initial analysis is inconsistent with later information encountered. According to VanGompel and Pickering (1999) within the constraint based theory all possible analyses are activated with most appropriate being selected, thus meaning reanalysis does not take place. According to MacDonalds (1994) constraint based theory, processing difficulty only arises when two or more constraints have approximately equal activation resulting in competition. Constraints at the beginning of the sentence strongly activate one analysis but, disambiguating information encountered later on activates an alternative analysis, both possible analyses having equal activation competition results. This disambiguating information i ncreases time taken for the incorrect analysis to be inhibited and results in processing difficulties, a weakness of this theory. Ferreira and Henderson (1991) argued the further the head noun is from the point of disambiguation, the stronger readers or listeners will commit to a thematic analysis, thus making reanalysis more difficult. Another conflicting argument to Frazier and Rayners reanalysis principle was put forward by Sturt et al (2002) who showed that during reanalysis, attachment to a recent phrase is preferred to attachment to a more distant phrase, arguing reanalysis and reattachment of more distant phrases are more costly. However reanalysis does not always occur when disambiguation is encountered, highlighting a weakness of this theory. Christianson et al (2001) argued people do not always successfully discard their initial analysis after syntactic disambiguation is experienced, which is in contrast to most models of reanalysis and the garden path model. Participants read the sentence; while Anna dressed the baby that was small and cute spit up on the bed. Participants correctly identified who spat up on the bed, suggesting they had correctly analysed the baby as the subject of spit up. When asked if Anna dressed the baby, most participants answered yes. This finding led Christianson et al to conclude that readers adopted the baby as the subject, whilst maintaining the incorrect analysis where the baby was the object of the preceding verb dressed. Findings from this study provide arguments in contray to principles of successful reanalysis. Sentence length can have an influence in the process of reanalysis, but it has also been argued that sentence length can have an effect on overall initial processing of sentences prior to any reanalysis. Ferreira, Christianson and Hollingworth (2001) argued longer phrases are harder to process and using minimal attachment more errors are likely to be made, showing a weakness of this theory. It has been found that disfluencies (including filled and silent pauses) lengthen sentences and make them harder to process. Bailey and Ferreira (2003) investigated the effects of sentence disfluencies, observing that disfluencies allowed parsers to linger on the initial parse and commit to an incorrect interpretation via minimal attachment and late closer, indicating a weakness of this theory. Christianson et al (2001) support this argument, concluding; the longer a parser lingers on an incorrect parse, the more likely they are to maintain an incorrect interpretation. Maxfield, Lyon and Silliman (2009) investigated the effects of disfluencies on garden path processing. They found disfluencies resulted in more incorrect interpretations, suggesting sentence processing is not an all or none process, therefore discrediting the constraint based theory. Effective contextual properties have been found to provide supportive evidence for the constraint based theory. Spivey et al (2002) looked at eye movements in response to auditory garden path sentences within the context of visual arrays. They asked participants to put the apple on the towel in the box. They recorded participants eye movements to assess how the sentence was interpreted. According to the garden path model on the towel should initially be understood as the place where the apple should be put because it is the simplest syntactical structure. In the absence of visual context this is what was found. When the visual context consisted of two apples, one on a towel and the other on a napkin, participants rapidly interpreted on the towel as a way of identifying which apple was to be moved. Results show that visual contexts reduce ambiguity and prevent garden path effects. Event related potentials (ERP) have provided influential evidence in sentence processing. ERPs measure brain responses as the direct result of thought or perception. Osterhout and Nicol (1999) established an ERP of N400 following perception of semantic anomalies. Osterhout and Nicol (1999) found a syntactic anomaly produced an ERP of P600, As syntactic analysis only is involved in the garden path model, observing an ERP of P600 would indicate this model of processing. Osterhout, Holcomb and Swinney (1994) suggested that P600 is the marker of a garden path effect. However Maxfield, Lyon and Silliman (2009) found that fluent garden path sentences resulted in P600 but garden path sentence containing a filled or silent pause activated an ERP of N400, this would suggest that these sentences are perceived as having a semantic anomaly which would discredit the garden path model of processing which claims semantic analysis is not involved in initial sentence analysis. P600 has been hypothesi sed to indicate memory updating and processes of reanalysis (Friederia 2001 and Frisch et al 2002), therefore being unique to the garden path model. Osterhout and Nicol (1999) have found a sentence containing both semantic and syntactic violations activate an ERP of both N400 and P600, suggesting semantic and syntactic processing work independently, supporting the garden path model rather than the constraint based theory. In conclusion the garden path model and the constraint based theory of sentence processing argue fairly conflicting ideologies, thus making these models very different. The garden path model argues the principles of minimal attachment and late closure, which is in contrast to the constraint based theory. The constraint based theory argues all possible interpretations of sentences are activated with the most appropriate being selected, arguing the absence of reanalysis; again this is in contrast to the garden path model. The garden path model only initially considers syntactical information whereas constraint based theory considers all available information but is very taxing on working memory. Both models have been shown to have many strengths and weaknesses. In relation to the title question it has been shown that both models offer reasonably contrasting arguments of sentence processing and no sole conclusive model of sentence processing has yet been established. Word Length= 2013 Bailey and Ferreira (2003) in Maxfield, Lyon and Silliman (2009). Disfluencies along the Garden Path: Brain electrophysiological evidence of disrupted sentence processing. Brain and Language, 111, 86-100. Carreiras and Clifton (1993). In Eysenck, M, W and Keane, M.,T. Cognitive Psychology. A students Handbook. (fith edition), Psychology Press. pp. 363. Christianson et al (2001) In Gaskell, G. The Oxford Handbook of Psycholinguistics. (pp 291-292). Oxford: University Press. Christianson et al (2001) in Maxfield, Lyon and Silliman (2009). Disfluencies along the Garden Path: Brain electrophysiological evidence of disrupted sentence processing. Brain and Language, 111, 86-100. Clifton et al (2003) In Gaskell, G. The Oxford Handbook of Psycholinguistics. (pp 290). Oxford: University Press. Cueto and Mitchell (1988), In Gaskell, G. The Oxford Handbook of Psycholinguistics. (pp 293-294). Oxford: University Press. Datta et al (2004) in Maxfield, Lyon and Silliman (2009). Disfluencies along the Garden Path: Brain electrophysiological evidence of disrupted sentence processing. Brain and Language, 111, 86-100. Ferreira, Christianson and Hollingworth (2001), Misinterpretations of Garden-Path Sentences: Implications for Models of Sentence Processing and Reanalysis. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, Vol 10, No.1, pp3-18. Ferreira and Clifton (1986) In Gaskell, G. The Oxford Handbook of Psycholinguistics. (pp 289). Oxford: University Press. Ferreira and Clifton (1986). InEysenck, M, W and Keane, M.,T. Cognitive Psychology. A students Handbook. (fith edition), Psychology Press. pp. 361-364. Ferreira and Henderson (1991) In Gaskell, G. The Oxford Handbook of Psycholinguistics. (pp 291). Oxford: University Press. Fodor and Inoue (2000), cited in Eysenck, M, W and Keane, M.,T. Cognitive Psychology. A students Handbook. (fith edition), Psychology Press. pp. 361. Frazier and Rayner (1982), cited in Gazzaniga, M.,S,, Ivry, R,B and Mangun, G.,R. Cognitive Neuroscience. The biology of the Mind. (first edition) Norton and Company. New York and London. Pp. 300-301. Frazier and Rayner (1982) In Gaskell, G. The Oxford Handbook of Psycholinguistics. (pp 289-307). Oxford: University Press. Frazier and Rayner (1982), cited in Eysenck, M, W and Keane, M.,T. Cognitive Psychology. Astudents Handbook. (fith edition), Psychology Press. pp. 361. Friederia (2001), in Maxfield, Lyon and Silliman (2009). Disfluencies along the Garden Path: Brain electrophysiological evidence of disrupted sentence processing. Brain and Language, 111, 86-100. Frisch et al (2002) in Maxfield, Lyon and Silliman (2009). Disfluencies along the Garden Path: Brain electrophysiological evidence of disrupted sentence processing. Brain and Language, 111, 86-100. Frisch, Schlesewsky, Saddy and Alpermann (2002). in Maxfield, Lyon and Silliman (2009). Disfluencies along the Garden Path: Brain electrophysiological evidence of disrupted sentence processing. Brain and Language, 111, 86-100. Harley, T (Second Edition). The Psychology of Language. From Data to Theory. Hove:Psychology Press. Hills and Murray (2000).Iin Eysenck, M, W and Keane, M.,T. Cognitive Psychology. A students Handbook. (fith edition), Psychology Press. pp. 361. Kolk et al (2003), in Maxfield, Lyon and Silliman (2009). Disfluencies along the Granden Path: Brain electrophysiological evidence of disrupted sentence processing. Brain and Language, 111, 86-100. Lau, E and Ferreir, F. Lingering Effects of Disfluent Material on Comprehension of Garden Path Sentences. Language and Cognitive Processes. 2005 Vol 20 (5), 633-666. MacDonald (1994), cited in Eysenck, M, W and Keane, M.,T. Cognitive Psychology. A students Handbook. (fith edition), Psychology Press. pp. 364. Maxfield, Lyon and Silliman (2009). Disfluencies along the Granden Path: Brain electrophysiological evidence of disrupted sentence processing. Brain and Language, 111, 86-100. McRae et al (1998), In Gaskell, G. The Oxford Handbook of Psycholinguistics. (pp 293). Oxford: University Press. Mitchell et al (1995), In Gaskell, G. The Oxford Handbook of Psycholinguistics. (pp 293-294). Oxford: University Press. Osterhout, Holcomb and Swinney (1994). In Maxfield, Lyon and Silliman (2009). Disfluencies along the Garden Path: Brain electrophysiological evidence of disrupted sentence processing. Brain and Language, 111, 86-100. Osterhout (1997) in Maxfield, Lyon and Silliman (2009). Disfluencies along the Granden Path: Brain electrophysiological evidence of disrupted sentence processing. Brain and Language, 111, 86-100. Osterhout and Nicol (1999), cited in Eysenck, M, W and Keane, M.,T. Cognitive Psychology. A students Handbook. (fith edition), Psychology Press. pp. 36362-363. Rayner, Garrod and Perfetti (1992), in Ferreira, Christianson and Hollingworth (2001), Misinterpretations of Garden-Path Sentences: Implications for Models of Sentence Processing and Reanalysis. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, Vol 10, No.1, pp3-18. Rayner and Pollatsek (1989) cited in Eysenck, M, W and Keane, M.,T. Cognitive Psychology. A students Handbook. (fith edition), Psychology Press. pp. 361. Spivey, Tanenhaus, Eberhard and Sedivy (2002) cited in Eysenck, M, W and Keane, M.,T. Cognitive Psychology. A students Handbook. (fith edition), Psychology Press. pp. 363. Spivey, Tanenhaus, Eberhard and Sedivy (1995), cited in Eysenck, M, W and Keane, M.,T. Cognitive Psychology. A students Handbook. (fith edition), Psychology Press. pp. 363. Sturt et al (2002) In Gaskell, G. The Oxford Handbook of Psycholinguistics. (pp 291). Oxford: University Press. Traxler et al (1998). cited in Eysenck, M, W and Keane, M.,T. Cognitive Psychology. A students Handbook. (fith edition), Psychology Press. pp. 361 .Trueswekk, Tanehaus and Garnsey (1994). In Eysenck, M, W and Keane, M.,T. Cognitive Psychology. A students Handbook. (fith edition), Psychology Press. pp. 362. VanGompel, R and Pickering, M. ( ) Syntactic Parsing. In Gaskell, G. The Oxford Handbook of Psycholinguistics. (pp 289-307). Oxford: University Press. VanGompel (2006) In Gaskell, G. The Oxford Handbook of Psycholinguistics. (pp 292). Oxford: University Press. Van Gompel, Sentenct Processing, in Brown et al (2006), Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics. (second edition) Oxford: Elsevier.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Pilgrimages to Sacred Sites as Tourism Essay -- Tourism

In discussing the viewpoint that pilgrimage to sacred site is a form of tourism there are certain terms that require definition: pilgrimage, sacred and tourism. The Oxford English Dictionary, (OED, 2012) defines pilgrimage as ‘a journey undertaken to a place of particular significance or interest’. It is usually as an act of religious devotion, homage and respect and those on a pilgrimage are referred to as Pilgrims. Waterhouse (2009, p199) defines religion as ‘a system of practices, institutions and beliefs that provide meaning to life and death’. Waterhouse’s definition not only encompasses the five main religions but also the various sub divisions and alternative religions. Tourism is defined by OED (2012) as ‘the theory and practice of touring, travelling for pleasure’ and thus a person on tour is defined as a tourist. The OED (2012) defines sacred as ‘dedicated, set apart, exclusively appropriated to some person or some special purpose’. This essay will discuss the view that pilgrimage to sacred sites is a form of tourism by outlining the debates surrounding sacred sites and between different factions. The essay will then apply these arguments and ideas to Stonehenge and Avebury. It will also look at the associations of Pilgrimage and Tourism within the ideologies surrounding leisure and their application to Glastonbury. The definition of sacred as a place separate from the secular world has different connotations and meaning for different individuals and groups. The main academic argument is between the ideas that the site is inherently sacred or is the product of human effort. Eliade (1961) argues that the ‘manifestation of something of a wholly different order, a reality that does not belong to our world in objects tha... ...ity, pp.10-34 Pike, J. (2008), ‘Leisure, Laziness and feeling good’, in Brunton, D. (ed), Place and Leisure AA100 Book 4, Milton Keynes, The Open University, pp.3-10 Reader, I. (2012), ‘Pilgrims and Pilgrimage: place and Journey in Cultures and Faiths Worldwide’, available from http://www.york.ac.uk/projects/pilgrimage/content/faiths.html accessed on the 11/5/12 ‘Sacred Space and Landscape’ (2008) (aa100DVD Video), Milton Keynes, The Open University The Open University (2008), AA100 Illustration Book (Plates for Books 3 and 4), Milton Keynes, The Open University. Waterhouse , H. (2009), ‘The Dalai Lama’, in Moohan, E (ed), Reputations AA100 Book 1, Milton Keynes, The Open University, pp.197-229 Wolffe, J. (2008), ‘Tradition and Dissent in English Christianity’ in Price, C (ed), Tradition and Dissent AA100 Book 2, Milton Keynes, The Open University, pp71-106

Saturday, January 11, 2020

In Buried Secrets: Truth and Human Rights in Guatemala Virginia Sanford

In Buried Secrets: Truth and Human Rights in Guatemala Virginia Sanford goes into the heart of Guatemala to six different locations of clandestine cemeteries to interview survivors of mass suicides that occurred during the period that is now known as La Violencia. Sanford strives to give voice to the Maya, who have been silenced all these years, and chose to have them write their own history of what happened during those dark years.By uncovering the dark secrets of the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Union as well as those of the Guerilla Army of the poor, the Guatemalan people were able to begin to heal, to find justice, to become inspired to organize again for social change and to ultimately take control back over their own lives and participate in the democracy that they paid so dearly for (p. 73). Sanford constructs a â€Å"phenomenology of terror† through a forensic anthropological study of the clandestine grave sites at six different locations across Guatemala that the crimes against the Maya ultimately resulted in attempted genocide.These massacres occurred during a period known as La Violencia (1978-1982) under the regime of General Lucas Garcia (1978-1982) and General Rios Montt (March 1982-Aug 1983) (p. 14). According to Sanford, La Violencia went from selective terror into mass terror culminating in the â€Å"scorched earth† campaign and ultimately the violence did not cease until the disarming of the last civil patrols and the signing of the 1996 Peace Accords (p. 15).The Maya were the weak common people caught in the middle of a vicious war between the communist guerilla and the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Union (GNRU); where both sides took advantage of the Maya using them for food and shelter and killing them with little thought if they got in the way for any reason (p. 101). The Maya were simple farming people for the most part and their rights were easily stripped away and they were treated like slaves for years and after La Violencia, they were left maimed, poor and powerless.The phenomenology of terror that Sanford constructed from the death records, bone analysis, testimonio and other public records/media consists of seven escalating phases of violence and domination (p. 32). . Through analysis of these phases Sanford proves the depth of the GNRU’s crimes and therefore brings them out in public for the Maya people to begin their process of healing. The phemomenology of terror starts with the â€Å"pre-massacre community organizing† which amounted to the Maya’s attempt to better their own community often through the local churches to build infrastructure for clean water etc.Because this organizing sometimes included guerilla organizing (which Sanford indicates was often brought about by fear tactics on the guerilla’s part), it attracted violent repercussions from the GNRU (p. 127). The phase two, â€Å"the modus operandi of army massacres,† Sanford describes as th e beginning of genocide because the GNRU felt they could not prevent the guerilla from organizing and they used this as an excuse to kill innocent civilians who might or might not have been involved, in order to scare everyone else away from the idea of helping the guerilla (p.129). In the â€Å"post-massacre life in flight,† or phase three, the Guatemalans fled the killing fields of their own villages and took refuge in the mountains with little or no supplies or protection against the elements and many of them died of illness or exposure. The guerilla found them here too and sometimes forced them to kill their own children in order to survive (p. 132). In phase four the â€Å"army captures a community† and the Maya were basically treated like prisoners of war: they were tortured, raped, punished, and were forced to work for their food (p.135). In phase five, â€Å"model villages,† the Guatemalans experienced something similar to German concentration camps wher e they lived under constant military control and were forced to work under fear of being tortured or killed (p. 138). In phase six, â€Å"the ongoing militarization of community life,† the civil patrollers, or police, were handed over control from the army but the struggle was still the same, the Maya continued to experience torture and abuse of power(p. 141).In Sanford’s last denoted phase titled â€Å"living memory of terror,† the Maya struggle to put their lives back together while living in terror and with diminished rights. The police continued to control their lives and prevent them from bettering their communities in any way (p. 143). The uncovering of the phenomenology of terror is precisely how the healing process was instigating. The Maya people realized their need for healing when the bodies of their loved ones were being uncovered and when they heard the stories of their peers being told and realized that their own story needed to be revealed as well .Sanford chose multiple excavation sites in order to have a variety of communities but also so that she could generalize. The communities she chose included: Ixil, K’iche’, Kaqchikel, Q’eqchi’ and Achi villages from the northwest highlands to the central lowlands to the eastern mountains (p. 17). Uncovering these clandestine grave sites amounted to taking back their villages, taking back their loved ones and giving them the respectful burial that they deserved. In doing this it created a political space that was stolen from the Maya in the reign of terror (p.73). This political space allowed the people to come together and gain power in numbers; they never allowed themselves to be separated off so that no one person could be sacrificed for the cause of bringing out the truth of these massacres. Even those who still believed that the GNRU were telling the truth about the massacres, that the only people killed were communist guerillas, were brought to see t he truth about La Violencia because â€Å"the bones don’t lie† (p. 47).Even military officials came to give public recognition of the murders but gave many justifications for their ruthless actions (p. 16). After Sanford herself uncovered a woman’s corpse face down in a mass grave holding a small baby, it became clear that civilians, including women, children and the elderly were a large part of the sacrifice made at mass executions made by the GNRU (p. 43). Records indicate that most of the bodies at the Plan de Sanchez site were women, children and elderly (p. 47).The Maya went to the Ministerio Publico (prosecutor) as a group and said, â€Å"We want a Christian burial for our families because they aren’t dogs, and we don’t want them piled up in those graves like dogs† (p. 39). They were not put down by the Rabinal when they were ordered to attend a meeting that amounted to them trying to control the Maya and prevent them from colluding wi th the foreigners to uncover the truth. â€Å"Leave the dead in peace† the sub-commander told them, but the Maya already knew that the dead were not in peace and stopped at nothing to uncover the rest of the truth so that they could be (p.44). By pushing forward and sticking together the Maya was able to strip the power from the â€Å"memory of terror† to hold them down and instead used it to drive them forward for change and justice (p. 230). Sanford shows that the excavation process gave healing through several different avenues, besides giving the Maya strength in coming together and publicly revealing the truth, the excavation also brought healing through religious ritual and public consecration of the burial sites.The rituals at burial sites â€Å"implicate the enactment of deeply held beliefs about the individual and community identity and reckoning in the past as well as the present† which Sanford believed was the powerful key to opening a future for the Maya in their own broken land (p. 40). Long after the confession and re-burial, the temples built on the sites allowed the Maya to continue their grief process and to continue to heal and have a place where they could go for remembrance of their loved ones and the pain they experienced (p. 245).In addition, the exhumation inspired the local people to organize once again to try to better their communities and used the memory of terror as inspiration to work hard for change rather than allowing it to hold them down in fear (p. 211). These local initiatives included things such as support groups and groups advocating yet more exhumations. (p. 243). Sanford describes another type of healing that took place because of the exhumations and resulting testimonies that amounts to the clinical treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: testimonial therapy (p. 239).By giving survivors the chance to â€Å"understand the impossible nature of the situation to which they had been exposed† and to transfer â€Å"the burden of responsibility to the perpetrators of violence and to the repressive structures that fomented their traumas† they were able to heal the emotional wounds of those experiences (p. 241). The final step in healing is providing the people with justice through charging those guilty of leading the massacres. Ultimately the confessions and the exhumations helped to bring those guilty of these horrible crimes to light for the sake of justice.The Maya faced the obstacle of â€Å"auto-limpieza,† which was the act of killing those who were in charge of giving orders for the military on behalf of the men who were in the upper echelons of the military power structure—in other words, the men who could tell the truth about who was ultimately responsible for these massacres were killed (p. 211). In addition to this obstacle, the government attributed any challenge to their authority to equate to a national security threat. So when the Maya be gan to search for those guilty of these war crimes, they faced the old threat of terror (p.251). According to Sanford, â€Å"justice, rule of law, and truth commission are now seen as a critical step for societies experiencing the transition from military rule,† therefore it was of utmost importance to the Maya to pursue justice and bring closure on the dark La Violencia era (p. 249). With the help of other Central American countries and international organizations such as the Human Rights Watch and the United Nations, the Maya people were given the added strength to bring justice to at least a few war criminals.Without their help the Maya may never have been able to overcome the memory of terror which stood in the way of them being able to participate in the democracy that they paid so dearly for (p. 253). Ultimately the trials of the authors of this violence helped to construct, â€Å"a viable democracy by demonstration that the rule of law extends to the powerful as well as to the poor† (p. 270). In conclusion, Virginia Sanford shows through a forensic anthropological study of the massacre sites that genocide did indeed occur against the Mayan people and she lays out the timeline of violence in seven phases that she calls the phenomenology of terror.Through the process of constructing this phenomenology the Maya are brought together again and inspired to better their community and fight for justice. They experience healing through testimonio (of their PTSD) and through public recognition of their loved one’s sacrifices in religious ritual and the consecration of the burial sites. By consecrating those public spaces and bringing to justice those who were responsible, the Maya were able to break fear of the memory of terror and take their rightful place in the democracy that they paid so dearly for.

Friday, January 3, 2020

Beauty Is The Quality Of Beauty - 988 Words

What is Beauty? Greek Philosopher, Plato, once said: â€Å"Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.† Everyone has different points of view about what beauty is. Some people may perceive beauty as how someone looks on the outside. Others may see beauty as being confident in your own skin. According to dictionary.com, beauty is the quality in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure to the mind. For me, beauty comes in act of kindness, in nature, and smiling faces. Beauty comes in act of kindness. When I was in tenth grade, I got the opportunity to volunteer at a homeless shelter. So, my Saturday mornings became occupied. My job there was to hand out personal hygiene items after the homeless people have finished their†¦show more content†¦I took a moment to look at the rich blue water as I heard the sound of the waves softly crashing against the rocks. As I get in the water, I feel the power of the wave pulling me towards it pushing me further and faster away from t he sand into the deep water. I got the opportunity to see a dolphin jump out of the water. I took hours looking at the horizon. As I stayed there look out into the horizon, the sun has almost set just the tip is left to disappear into the water. The sky changed from blue to yellow and orange to pink and purpl. I got to see the sky go from day to night. As I start walking back I took one last glimpse of the sky I could see the bright and high moon. I could see the horizon with moonlight reflection in the water. It is certainly easy to understand why nature is appealing. Beauty is in nature, but it can also be in smiling faces. When I was in high school, I volunteered to make and hand out food to those who were less fortunate. We first stopped at a shelter where people were sitting either watching television, reading the newspaper, or just sitting and talking to a friend. We walked in and put a box of sandwiches on a table, and started to hand them out. The people were very grateful a nd said thank you with huge smiles on their faces. Watching those people smile, bite into sandwiches, and drink their drink warmed my heart. Their smiles made me smile. Knowing that my time was used to make someone’s day more hopeful. I beganShow MoreRelatedBeauty Is The Quality Of Beauty985 Words   |  4 PagesGreek Philosopher, Plato, once said: â€Å"Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.† Everyone has different points of view about what beauty is. Some people may perceive beauty as how someone looks on the outside. Others may see beauty as being confident in your own skin. According to dictionary.com, beauty is the quality in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure to the mind. For me, beauty comes in act of kindness, in nature, and smiling faces. Beauty comes in act of kindness. 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