Foundations Rhetorical Studies Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Foundations Rhetorical Studies - Assignment Example Working through the transition period where philosophers and intelligentsia had a very significant job of unveiling the truth while refuting the theological patterns. Furthermore, the art of rhetoric also has a mounting challenge to distinguish between myths and truth, i.e. to correct the history and take a leap away from romanticism and story-telling towards the search for something that could be attributed the title of scientific realities. Also, currently the rhetoric is built on the already available research material and volumes of published work. However, back in the medieval era, the little work that had been saved was sent to the territories constituting the Muslim empire and thus rhetoricists themselves were engaged in constructing literature. Therefore, a keen and a forward-thinking rhetoricist would be driven by the desire to work in an era where new literature is being constructed and trends are being set. Philosophers and writers in the medieval era were pre-dominantly engaged in preserving storied dictated by the highest order. In other words, there was plot in the stories, a transition, character and even an end, but everything was rather dictated by the spiritual order and what they knew from scripture and the holy text. In this context, those taking a leap of faith and trying to implant newer narratives had an immense challenge. However, it is in this very accumulation of newer knowledge that an ambitious rhetoricist finds escape and reason to fill in the vacuum. Another perspective which inspires me to go back in time and live in the era is that the transition period gives an edge to alter narratives even of the present times, since that was the era where the building blocks of knowledge were placed and human race was triggered to think in un-orthodox ways. Another impeccable perspective which drives me to work in the medieval era is how the philosophers and authors werenâ€℠¢t bound by

The Global Shift of Power in the 1600 And 1700s Research Paper

The Global Shift of Power in the 1600 And 1700s - Research Paper Example The aftermath of 2008 financial and economic crisis witnessed another major shift in the balance of economic, financial and political power from the advanced countries to emerging markets – from West to East (â€Å"Emerging Markets†), or from the West to the Rest. This shift is, of course, not the first time that we have seen in the history of geopolitical influences. The meteorotic rise of the West from the 15th century and in parallel, the decline of China, was itself an earlier example, if not mirror image, of such kind of shift. The industrial revolution that gave birth to what is called â€Å"The Great Divergence† (the mounting divergence in manufacturing competence and in ability to project power between the first countries to industrialize, chiefly in Europe, and the rest of the world) marked another global shift. It is no surprise that the first industrial nation, Great Britain, controlled fully a quarter of the world’s population and landmass by t he end of the 19th century. There was another transfer of power from the pioneer industrializer, Britain, to imperial Germany that attributed to the economic and geopolitical tensions setting the stage for World War I (Eichengreen). In his thesis, The World in Depression 1929-1939, author Charles Kindleberger notes that the Great Depression of the 1930s was an outcome of the global shift in power from Britain to the United States, one that left an drained Britain unable to manage global economy and an untested United States unwilling to do so. There was another power paradigm after World War II toward the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, and consequently the supremacy of the U.S. over the Western world. Since then, its economic prowness has been gradually declining due to catch-up growth by Europe, Japan and other East Asian powers. We are today witnessing a shift towards emerging markets like China and India. Declining Eastern Powers in mid 15th century Duri ng the 1400s, Ming China was, by far, the leading economic power. It boasted of construction landmarks such as the Great Wall, a standing army with a million troops and mastery of gunpower, printing, papermaking and compasses. Two critical factors led to a gradual decline of Ming Dynasty, resulting in a global shift towards the West (Bosworth). First, the Ming Dynasty turned inward. Zheng He’s fleet was dismantled. Restrictions were placed on the size of newly constructed ships. By the end of the 15th century, subjects of the Chinese empire were prohibited to build ocean-going ships or to leave China. The Silk Route was all but closed to traffic. The Chinese met early European intrusions by limiting contact to a handful of treaty ports. Isolation to foreign ideas, absence of foreign competition, and the smothering effects of tradition set China led to a long period of economic stagnation. The second factor was enhanced Western influence through better sailing, navigation and military technology. Rise of Europe – 1600 to 1700 A.D. A detailed look at the West European economic growth is key to understand the global shift of power from East to the West. The origins of this surge in economic development and the related Industrial Revolution are considered to lie in the economic, political and social developments of Western Europe over the preceding centuries, most often starting in the 16th century (Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson). Throughout the 17th and early 18th centuries, several geopolitical shifts occurred in Europe as the riches of the individual countries grew and faded. Marked political and religious