Friday, March 30, 2007
Prompt 5
Although many academic institutions do not accept Wikipedia as a credible intellectual source for quoted evidence, the website does provide an in depth historical background as well as overall analysis on myriad issues. In regards to the topic of premarital sex, the website does more than simply provide articles which describe the issue but analyze the issue from multiple perspectives in many articles titled such as "Free Love," "Fornication," and "Sexual Norm." In the article "Fornication" the topic of premarital sex is addressed from a very historical perspective begining with the analysis of the Latin roots in the word combined with the it's basis in Roman society. Then the comparrison is drawn between sex in Roman society to the sexual views and norms in the United States which is then drawn comparrison to Islamic cultures. The article is able to go past simple analysis and view the issue from a historical and multicultural perspective. Therefore the in depth analysis places the article on the same level as most intellectual academic sources. Moreover, in the article "Free Love" the topic is addressed with many of the same analytical themes, but from different perspectives. The histoical elements focus very much on the history of premarital sex in the United States, and then are analyzed from the male and female perspectives in regards to that history. Furthermore, the article addresses the topic from many different cultural perspectives including the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, France, and Germany. The article provides insight into the views of many world cultures, including perspectives from present day culture as well as from the 1940s, 50s and 60s. These articles from Wikipedia provide innovative insight and analysis in many forms all to similar issues. The information is factual and in depth intellectual basis to the analysis of an issue and is therefore a positive influence and source for academic work.
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2 comments:
I really like the fact that you mentioned the distinct differences in thinking all over the world. The 50's and 60's in the United States clearly held the people to different standards. Though pre-marital sex did exist back then, it was much less socially acceptable. Also, we must remember that different areas of the world subscribe to different religions, and with these religions come views on sex. For example, some cultures portray the man as having a duty to "spread his seed" as much as possible in order to pass on his genes. Other religions believe that sex should stay within marriage, but the men may have multiple wives. Clearly, the issue of premarital sex differs based on location and time period.
I completely agree with when you talk about the articles being able to go past simple analysis and view all perspectives about a topic. Premarital sex is such a broad topic applying to cultures all over the world, and without learning about different cross-cultural traditions and beliefs, the issue is cheapened.
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