Creating a story Essay Example for Free

Creating a story Essay This is a story about William, a seventeen year old son of sir James – once a powerful feudal aristocrat in England. Sir James used to own a large portion of land in the Wales, but times have changed. As money started to be used, sir James lost parts of his land because he could not afford to keep it. On top of that, some of his peasants have left and became mercenaries who were hired by sir James’s neighbor. These days, around year 1200, sir James is still among the few noble English families left, noble but yet not belonging to magnates. It is William that sir James counts on to move up the social ladder. William is not a true son of sir James, the boy was born to sir James’s brother, sir Henry. 10 years ago sir Henry died and his brother, sir James, exercised the right of wardship – he started taking care of William and of those lands that used to belong to his father. William started living with his uncle when he was seven years old. As soon as he moved in to sir James’s castle, William became a student of many studies – he was being prepared for a court life. William is trained to become a good hunter, but also to be able to charm a court lady – he has teachers who teach him to sing songs, tell stories, flirt, dance, he has a special teacher who teaches him the rules of different ceremonies in court, the terminology to use, how to behave, how to dress. All of these activities are taking place in the castle of sir James, which is neither small nor large. A stone castle is surrounded by several wooden homes of sir James’s peasants who are busy with manufacturing of flax, wool, growing of geese and pigs for the inhabitants of the castle. The whole territory is surrounded by a stone wall. William’s day begins early in the morning. A servant brings him a basin with water to wash. When he is ready, William goes on to morning hunting exercise, which takes place until breakfast. At breakfast William usually meets sir James, they discuss William’s morning practice and talk about the upcoming tournament. After that, William has music and dancing lessons followed by yet another practice. During his free hours William either sleeps or goes for a walk into the country where he spends hours dreaming about his romantic love for lady Mary, whom he met at the last tournament. After dinner, William spends hours with his teacher of court manners and another one with whom William reads and writes poems. In other words, William spends his days doing and learning everything that chivalry behavior requires. Once done will all classes, William puts on his armor and goes horse riding into the woods. Supper is usually late in the evening with lots of meat and wine. These days William is busy more than usual with horse-riding and weapon usage practices due to the coming tournament. Being of a noble family William is allowed to participate in knight tournaments where he hopes to attract attention of lovely lady Mary, on whose patronage is also counting sir James. Lady Mary is a heiress of a wealthy magnate and her hand would provide William and sir James a higher status and allow them to enter a narrow circle of English aristocracy. The previous tournament was a good one for William – he conquered his opponent winning his horse and armor, and on the other hand, at the banquet following the tournament, he was able to speak with lady Mary and got an impression that he has actually charmed her and now she is favoring him. Patronage of lady Mary, who’s father is not only very wealthy but also in a good relationship with the monarch himself, would definitely secure William a place among nobility. The only person who disapproves of William’s lifestyle is his step-father – a priest in the local church, father John. Father John finds that William’s attraction to lady Mary and court life in general diverts him away from God. However, William is convinced that his chivalry lifestyle is the highest expression of worldly conduct, and is the best path to choose if one has already made a choice in favor of secular and spiritual life path. Thus, William spends his life in accordance with the requirements of his time when feudal aristocracy was in the past giving a place to nobility class which claimed to have a special, highest social ranking and privileges given to them by their right of birth.

The Case For Christianity, The Worlds Last Night :: essays research papers

I. Introduction II. Brief Biographical Information III. The Case for Christianity - Right and Wrong as a Clue to the Meaning of the Universe IV. The Problem with Pain - Divine Omnipotence V. The World's Last Night - The Efficacy of Prayer VI. Conclusion A Critique of C. S. Lewis "A Relativist said, 'The world does not exist, England does not exist, Oxford does not exist and I am confident that I do not Exist!' When Lewis was asked to reply, he stood up and said, 'How am I to talk to a man who's not there?'" - C. S. Lewis: A Biography Clive Staples Lewis was born, in 1898, in Belfast. C. S. Lewis was educated at various schools in England. In 1914, Lewis began studying Latin, Greek, French, German and Italian under the private tuition of W. T. Kirkpatrick. He then moved to Oxford where his studies were interrupted by World War I (1917). Two years later he was back in Oxford resuming his studies. In 1924, Lewis was "elected" to teach Literature and Language at Magdalen College, Oxford and remained there till 1954. During this time period in his life, Lewis wrote the majority of his work. Lewis moved to Cambridge for the remainder of his life teaching Medieval and Renaissance Literature.1 C. S. Lewis was a man dedicated to the pursuit of truth who" believed in argument, in disputation, and in the dialectic of Reason. . ."2 He began his pursuit of truth as an atheist and ended up as a Christian. His works the Problem of Pain and Mere Christianity dealt with issues he struggled with. Mere Christianity consists of three separate radio broadcasts. One of the broadcasts was titled The Case For Christianity. In The Case For Christianity, Lewis discussed two crucial topics in his apologetic defense of Christianity. They were the "Right and Wrong as a Clue to the Meaning of the Universe" and "What Christians Believe". This critique will address the first chapter. "Right and Wrong as a Clue to the Meaning of the Universe", can be broken into three parts. The first deals with moral law and its existence. The second addresses the idea of a power or mind behind the universe, who, is intensely interested in right conduct. Also that this power or God is good. Good as in the area of truth, not soft and sympathetic. The third point moves to Christianity, its attributes and why it was necessary for the long" round-about" approach .

Bmw Culture

With over 90 years in the industry the culture at BMW is an anomaly in the car manufacturing business. BMW teaches their employees the history of the company and their mission from day one. Problem times from years past are also told to the new employees. For example when the company was on the verge of bankruptcy in 1959 and was saved by a local business man, these mishaps are used as learning tools to stop history from repeating itself. Regardless of your job title all levels work together to create ideas to better the brand and product. The regular hierarchy that you see within a company is not an obstacle when voicing your thoughts and ideas. Team brainstorming is done on a regular basis and everyone’s input is valued. BMW was one of the first companies to offer profit sharing in Germany to its employees. The leadership at BMW is one the values the employees and listens to their ideas. The type of open door leadership BMW allows for employees to feel as if they have value to the company and its achievements. Informal powwows are used to brainstorm for ideas with all levels of employees. It is sometimes referred to as a freewheeling idea factory. Employees from all different departments are known to get together and work on a single project. This culture allows for employees to feel as if they are valued and that their ideas are appreciated. No one is looked down upon when they present an idea even if they are not as â€Å"high up† as the other people in the room. This allows for great ideas to be given and fostered. The work environment at BMW is so highly sought after that over 200,000 applications are received annually. The job characteristics model involves increasing the amount of skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback in a job. Three critical psychological states: (1) experienced meaningfulness of the tasks performed, (2) experience personal responsibility for tasks outcomes, and (3) knowledge of the tasks performed. Managers at BMW seldom have formalized training to learn their jobs. This forces them to work closely with other managers and their teams to figure out ways to improve the business. This is another example of how employees are tightly knight and feel as if their opinions matter. The line between management and subordinates is very thin. They work so closely together that the hierarchy is not as pronounced as in most companies. The heavy involvement of all employees increases productivity and job satisfaction. Organizational creativity is fostered at BMW in many ways. BMW looks to its workers to come up with ways to save the company money. Individuals whose ideas save the plant money receive bonuses. The more ideas you present the more money you earn. This pushes employees to come up with solid ideas that will benefit the company. This is a win win situation for both BMW and the employees. Satisfied and motivated employees are a vital part of BMW. Interdepartmental brainstorming is very common and they work closely to come up with ideas. People aren’t criticized for their ideas no matter how off the wall they might be. They are encouraged to think outside the box. The culture and work environment at BMW greatly influences the performance and production of its workers. Workers are so happy with their employment they are willing to work extra hours on heavy productions days and not get paid overtime. This practice is unheard of in most companies. Very rarely are employees willing to work extra hour and not be compensated with hour time pay. This is offset by the accrual of days off instead. Workers are also willing to move away from home for extended periods of time and work long hours. All of these things create job stability for the employees and help reduce layoffs. BMW is the leader in car customization. They are able to complete over 170,000 changes a month in their orders. This is unheard of in the car manufacturing industry. Such changes would set other manufacture back months but BMW is able to make the changes and stay on schedule due to the dedication of its employees. Other manufactures are looking to BMW to try to duplicate this process but have yet to reach this level. BMW is the leader of the pact when it comes to innovation and employees moral. More companies regardless of their industry need to follow this awesome example of teamwork. They would be able to produce more and spend less which is always the goal when running a business. After reading this case I see why over 200,000 people apply for a position there yearly. It seems like a great place to work and grow.

Leadership Styles And Leadership Skills - 887 Words

Leadership is a concept that people cannot grab. People assume that when you become a manager or a supervisor you are anointed with leadership skills. John Maxwell, who has worked with numerous Fortune 500 companies and has sold more than 25 million books thinks this about leadership â€Å"Leadership is not about titles, positions or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another.† (Maxwell, 1998) This leadership paper will cover examples from my personal experience while evaluating the examples and if they were effective or appropriate. It will also cover the leadership style that I most identify with and use an example to illustrate. The majority of my life I have been employed by horrible people with worse leadership skills. The owner/manager of the company had a regressive way of leadership now that I can reflect on the behavior not being in such a toxic environment. Rue describes their directive leadership skills with the autocratic style correctly â€Å"focus primarily on successfully performing the work.† (Rue, 2014, p. 282) The autocratic style was exactly their approach. I was not aware there were even words already out there to describe this behavior besides the derogatory ones that my coworkers and I would call them. A brief example of such wrong leadership ability was one employee forgot to put some plaques on the truck. At this point in the season, which was over halfway finished, has not happened yet. This problem happened before in seasons past, and we haveShow MoreRelatedLeadership Styles And Leadership Skills1256 Words   |  6 PagesAccording to our textbook, â€Å"leadership is an influence relationship among leaders and followers who intend real changes and outcomes that reflect their shared purposes† (Daft, 2014, pg. 5). In another word, leadership is not defined by what one individual does, but as the ability to form an alliance, motivate, empowered, coach, and to build relationship with others. Leadership is a set of skills that leaders can practice over time. In addition, ther e are different leadership perspectives one can developRead MoreLeadership Styles Of Leadership Skills Essay1052 Words   |  5 PagesDuring the course of Tiger Leadership we learned about different leadership styles. We also learned what it take to be a leader within our communities, work force, and organizations. It takes a lot to be a leader. The one thing that we learned is that leadership is learned and not born into it. Every leader has the potential to improve their leadership style to benefit everyone else. When someone goes out of their way to make sure the job gets done and has compassion for their fellow team memberRead MoreLeadership Styles : Leadership And Management Skills1018 Words   |  5 Pagescontinue to occur in nursing as well as the health care industry. As the profession continues to grow, it will become increasingly important for the nurse to develop skills in both leadership and management roles (Marquis, B. L., Huston, C. J., 2017). For optimal functiona lity, a great leader most possess both leadership and management skills. Gadner (1990) asserted that integrated leader-managers possess six distinguishing traits. These include. 1) They think long term. 2) They look outward, towardRead MoreLeadership Skills And Styles Of Dr. Brown1991 Words   |  8 PagesElementary School. Dr. Brown holds BA in Philosophy, M. Ed. in Special Education and PhD in Educational Leadership and possesses 15 years of experience in administering urban school districts. Moreover, Dr. Brown has a passion for students, families and staff. The principal believes in authenticity, commitment, fairness, tenacity, playfulness and vision as the fundamental hallmarks of leadership. In his current position, he shapes the vision of academic success and instructional competence for studentsRead MoreLeadership Traits, Skills, And Style Questionnaires2656 Words   |  11 Pageshave decided to use the leadership trait, skills and style questionnaires. For this questionna ire, I asked 5 different people that know me in different contexts in life, such as personal, school, and work environments. For the majority, I rated myself higher on the traits than my fellow colleagues. On some of the traits however, I was rated higher than what I thought. Overall, I averaged a 4/5 which means that everyone agreed with the traits that were given. For the style questionnaire, I found outRead MoreMy Leadership Style : Leadership, The Skills Model And Motivations, And The Path Goal Theory2295 Words   |  10 PagesLeadership is a part of every social relationship, even in ways we do not stop to consider. Each individual sees leadership through a different lens and from a different perspective. My personal leadership style is something I constantly work to improve. The specific situation I am in directs how I take action in my leadership role. Throughout this paper, I will address how my leadership style relates to the trait approach, authentic leadership, the skill s model and motivations, and the path-goalRead MoreEffectiveness Of Leadership Skills Styles At Team Level Management Position3100 Words   |  13 Pagesdependent on a variety of factors such as leader-follower relations, leadership styles and situational factors (Reynolds Rogers, 2003). An effective leader should also be flexible, innovative and wisely use his/her power statics to improve organizational performance (Crutchfield Roughton, 2013; Davidson, 2012; Norton, 2010). Based on these concepts, this report aims to explore the effectiveness of leadership skills styles at team level management position in maximizing team performance in RealRead MoreWhat Kind Of Marketing Skills And What Types Of Leadership Styles That Angela3206 Words   |  13 PagesBritish brand, however, after she took office, Burberry becomes a luxury brand and to apprehend the youth market. To investigate what kind of marketing skills and what types of leadership styles that Angela used to let Burberry makes revive. Key word: Tannenbaum Schmidt Leadership Continuum Model, Margerison McCann Team Wheel, and leadership style 2. Introduction To face of financial crisis and global economic recession, some of luxury brands are still worth unabated. Successful luxuryRead MoreDifferent Definitions Of Leadership, Skills, And Behavioral Styles That Set Me Apart From Everyone Else?1336 Words   |  6 Pagesdetermining whether to keep it up or improve on the said skills. With different definitions of leadership, different people also view my leadership skills differently. This is simply because I possess certain traits, skills and behavioral styles that set me apart from everyone else. Having completed the three surveys which includes; Five-Factor Trait Model, Skills inventory and Situational leadership surveys, a friend completed the Behavioral Style Questionnaire. Five- Factor Trait Model After I completedRead MoreAnalysis of Leadership Theories958 Words   |  4 PagesLeadership Theories Analysis Leadership theories These leadership theories are grouped in trait theories, behavioral theories, contingency theories, and power and influence theories. Trait theories focus on the traits and skills that successful leaders must have. Initially, these theories state that these skills are innate, but research shows that individuals can also develop such skills and become leaders. Behavioral theories focus on other issues, like the behavior of leaders within their teams

A New Future For Business - 773 Words

A New Future for Business? Rethinking Management Theory and Business Strategy Introduction In their 2010 article in Business Society, â€Å"A new Future for Business? Rethinking management Theory and Business Strategy†, authors Han, Kolk and Winn report the need for a fundamental re-think of the approach of academics toward business theory and strategies, with a focus on sustainable practices, and the ecological and societal consequences of business. This paper will explore the need to re-think the fundamental role of the businesses in opozarja, da morajo biznisi posvetiti vso pozornost na sustainable development in da making money ne sme biti primarni cilj. This paper will explore what has been done in last 25 years since the sustainable†¦show more content†¦4. The conventional approaches of value creation and growth focused business, are often blind to new approaches that bring substantial benefits by adopting greener and more socially responsible ways. Authors question whether public policy needs to be called upon, to better regulate business conduct with societal needs. Six academic articles: 1. In the article ‘Why making money is not enough’, Tata et al (2013) argue that maximizing the profit should not be the primary purpose of the businesses. Businesses need to understand sustainable development is more important and should be the primary driver. Authors highlight Tata Group as a good example as Tata primary purpose was to help people and not make money. Authors highlight what has changed in 20 years – after people realized fundamental changes will need to be made for a sustainable development. Today, some companies are investing into clean technology but we still haven’t done enough to reduce world population. Authors argue a critical need for economic, social and environmental issues to be considered with new business strategies and future technologies. 2. Andreas, Cooperman, Gifford Russell (eds), 2011 in the

How Steinbeck creates sympathy in Of Mice and Men

Steinbeck creates sympathy in Of Mice and Men. Discuss in relation to one character Of Mice and Men is a novella set on a ranch in the Northern western state of California written by Californian novelist John Steinbeck and then published in the late 1930’s. Set in the time of The Great Depression and The nationwide effective Wall Street Crash the book features characters all around who have depressing lives but focusing in on two paradoxical characters that are always juxtaposed to one another. Steinbeck has placed us with two characters that we are able to connect with, being able to sympathise with their dilemmas and problems as the two being long-time companions with a strong relationship but also being a priority to George as he†¦show more content†¦Steinbeck has Milton in the spotlight of a single parent trying to look after himself and Lennie which often leaves him releasing his stress onto Small in forms of anger and lashing out as you can see this early on in book when milton tells him how â€Å"Whatever we ain’t got, that’s wh at you want. God a’mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy†. Remembrance being one of the many problems Lennie struggles with it is not fair that he should be told how much he is holding someone back all the time as it is not his intentional fault, but as we delve deeper into the tale of the two ranch workers we soon learn that the barley bucker was no stranger to the use of selective hearing. This is proven various times in the novella but the one incident that keeps striking my mind as it brought a sense of deliberate delinquency for the rules was when he came back to their cabin with the puppy that slim had let him keep. After being told not to move it from the barn countless times by Milton these orders did not take place; Knowingly disobeying Milton’s orders small had went straight to his bed laid down faced towards the wall with the pup under his garments so that George could not see and even when George did confront him and tell him to take the dog bac k he lied about it at first until George had taken it off him by force.Show MoreRelatedHow Steinbeck creates sympathy for Candy in Of Mice and Men1208 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿How does Steinbeck create sympathy for Candy and his position on the ranch? Of Mice and Men is a novel written by John Steinbeck, set in America in the Great Depression of the 1930s. The main characters in the book are the clever, quick George, and his slow, child-like companion Lennie. They are itinerant workers who find work on a ranch in California’s Salinas Valley. There are many characters on the ranch, including Curley, Slim, and Crooks. However, the first ranch worker George and LennieRead MoreAnalysis Of John Steinbeck s Of Mice And Men 1181 Words   |  5 PagesQ) How does Steinbeck present the good and bad in Curley’s wife? Of mice and men is a novel written by John Steinbeck, which was published in 1937. This novel is set in the 1930’s America when women’s were being oppressed. This story informs the reader about Steinbeck’s experience in those particular times, as people with different races, disabilities and especially women were treated poorly and below their status. When Curley’s wife first appears in the book, she is described negatively by theRead More Of Mice and Men Essay1119 Words   |  5 PagesOf Mice and Men John Steinbeck’s novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ is one of those books which make you believe everything that takes place between the covers. Books like these always remain as classics, because of their very informative and believable stories. John Steinbeck especially excels in this, and therefore is the reason I have chosen this book to describe. ‘Of Mice and Men’, the title of the novel, originates from the poem ‘To a Mouse’, by Robert Burns. It means that no matter what youRead MoreA Comparison of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck1353 Words   |  6 PagesA Comparison of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck I will be comparing the novels ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley and ‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck. I will focus on how the main outcasts in each book feel and how their emotions are presented and what effects this has on the reader. The novel Frankenstein is about a man Victor Frankenstein, who grew up in Geneva, Switzerland as an eldest son of a quite wealthy and happy family. HisRead MoreThe Character Crook from Steinbecks Novel Essay1222 Words   |  5 Pagesrelationships and vocabulary and language in relation to the social status of certain characters. There is an authorial judgement of Crooks and the introduction of Crooks into the novel. Also, Steinbeck ´s style is demonstrated very well. The descriptions in the extract reflect the style of Steinbeck as he lists Crooks ´ possessions in a simple way inorder for the reader to understand the bareness of Crooks ´ life. This includes a mauled copy of the California civil code for 1905. ´ This alongRead MoreNew Log : Of Mice And Men892 Words   |  4 PagesSeptember 30, 2015 New Log: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck John Steinbeck creates an odd pair of men to assume the role of protagonist in his novel, Of Mice and Men. George, a small and quick-witted man, is the dominant personality. Lennie, his clumsy companion, is a character who displays a child-like demeanor and is often compared to an animal throughout the novel. The couple’s relationship closely resembles that which is often found between a father and son. Steinbeck later introduces Curley,Read MoreOf Mice and Men by John Steinbeck1081 Words   |  4 PagesIn Steinbeck’s ‘of mice and men’ set in 1930’s, both Crooks and Curley’s wife are defenseless victims of social prejudice which leads to their sadness and depression. Crooks, being a black man is discriminated and segregated towards by all the other ranchers â€Å"They play cards in there but I can’t play because I’m black- Crooks† whereas Curley’s wife being a woman is expected to stay at home and take care of the house â€Å"Why dont she get the hell back in the house where she belongs- Carlson†. FurthermoreRead MoreThe American Dream998 Words   |  4 PagesYet when society lacks these basic behaviors, the American Dream is unattainable. John Steinbeck’s classic novel, Of Mice and Men, incorporates various characters which create sympathy in readers, characters such as Lennie, Curley’s wife, and Crooks. First, an exploration of Lennie’s character with his struggle between mental and physical strength elicits an abundance of sympathy. Lennie Smalls is anything but small. Lennies last name is an oxymoron as he is a very large man. George describes hisRead MoreAnalysis Of The Novel Of Mice And Men 1530 Words   |  7 PagesSteinbeck’s novel was written and set in the 1930s. In the novella, of Mice and Men, the autor gave his characters The American Dream but the obsacles always seem to get in the way. Steinbeck show us the theme, American Dream, as it is in real life and demonstrates the effect of isolation through prejudice, broken dreams and the setting. Every character from the ranch is discriminated in Of Mice and Men. The book Of mice and men was written in a period when people with mental illness were treatedRead MoreOF MICE AND MEN1721 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿In the book Of Mice and Men, the single women that appeared in the book resented herself as an object. The statement Women today are more often treated by men as equals rather than objects can be true or false. A man that goes to Gentleman s Cubs every night is a different man that studies at Harvard Law School. A striper is going to be a different person than a CEO of a successful business. It’s all about how you present yourself. In Of Mice and Men, Curley s wife presents herself in a seductive

Fredric Jameson and the limits of postmodern theory Essay Example For Students

Fredric Jameson and the limits of postmodern theory Essay The impetus behind this paper has been the recent publication of Fredric Jamesons 1991 Welleck Lectures, The Seeds of Time. 1 As these lectures were delivered a decade after Jamesons initial attempts to map the terrain of postmodernity it appeared to me to provide an occasion to reflect upon the current status of Jamesons highly influential and much criticised theory of postmodernism as the cultural logic of late capitalism. It also enables me to return to, what I consider to be, one of the most troubling aspects of Jamesons writing on postmodernism, that is to say, the waning, to use Jamesons term, of the political imagination. As Jameson is probably the foremost Marxist theorist writing on postmodernism and one of the most influential of contemporary cultural critics, I find this paralysis of the political imagination in the face of postmodernism deeply problematic. As most of you are probably aware postmodernism is inherently paradoxical and playful. There is, suggests Jameson a kind of winner loses logic about it, the more one tries to define what is characteristically postmodern the less characteristic it turns out to be. Postmodernism, by definition resists definition. Theoretically, postmodernism can only theorise its own conditions of impossibility; with neither a fixed subject nor object there can be no theory of postmodernism as such. This paradoxicality is what Jameson now identifies as the antinomies of postmodernity, the aporia or theoretical impasses which mesmerise postmodern theory and unlike the older (modernist) discourse of dialectical contradiction remain unresolvable at a higher level of abstraction. Jameson identifies four fundamental antinomies of postmodernism: time and space, subject and object, nature and human nature, and finally the concept of Utopia. Today I will focus on just the first of these antinomies, what Jameson describes as the foundational antinomy of postmodernism, that is, time and space, and suggest that the failure to think beyond the antinomy is symptomatic of a more general failing in Jamesons theory as a whole. I shall also venture to suggest that a more dialectical understanding of temporality and spatiality may enable us to move beyond what Jameson sees as the limits of the postmodern. Before engaging with this debate, however, I will briefly recapitulate Jamesons original thesis and what I still consider to be the importance of his theoretical endeavour. Jamesons initial intervention in the postmodern debate, in a 1982 essay `The Politics of Theory,2 was primarily an attempt to map the ideological landscape of postmodernism, however, the article concluded on a characteristic Jamesonian note, insisting on `the need to grasp the present as history. Jameson, then, initially seemed to suggest the possibility of a way through the impasse of the two most influential strains of thought emerging at that time in relation to postmodernism. On the one hand, one encountered an uncritical celebration of the concept by the postmodernists themselves, and, on the other, the charge of cultural degeneracy was being levelled by more traditional critics and older modernists. We must avoid, argued Jameson, adopting either of these essentially moralising positions, and rather develop a more fully historical and dialectical analysis of the situation. Whether we like it or not there was a perception that culturally something had changed, we may disagree on what that change entails but the perception itself has a reality that must be accounted for. To repudiate such a cultural change was simply facile, to thoughtlessly celebrate it was complacent and corrupt; what was required was an assessment of this `new cultural production within the working hypothesis of a general modification of culture itself within the social restructuration of late capitalism as a system. It was this promise to historically situate postmodernism in relation to transformations in the capitalist system and the development of global multinational capital that, for many like myself who at once embraced aspects of postmodern theory whilst remaining critical of its often ambiguous political stance, was probably the single most significant aspect of Jamesons theory. At the same time, however, the precise nature of the relationship between postmodernism as a cultural phenomenon and late capitalism as a system was left somewhat under-theorised and, for myself at least, this has remained one of the most troubling aspects of Jamesons theory of postmodernity. That is to say, Jamesons notion of postmodernism as a cultural dominant, or the cultural logic of late capitalism. Very briefly there are three broad uses of the term, postmodernism or postmodernity, to have emerged in the 1980s: firstly, as a cultural category, deriving mainly from debates in architecture but also applicable to the other arts and literature. In this sense postmodernism is defined in relation to modernism and specifically the high modernism of the inter- war years. The second sense concerns the notion of epistemic or epochal transition has taken place. That is, Lyotards much heralded theory of the end of grand universalising narratives. This is also linked to the specifically cultural definition of postmodernism through the idea that the arts can no longer associated with a wider socio-historical project of human emancipation. The whole Enlightenment project, argued Lyotard, has come to an end, how can we still meaningfully speak of human progress and the rational control of the life world after Auschwitz and Stalins gulags. This seems to me to be a particularly spurious argument but perhaps we can return to it later. The third use of the term postmodernism has been to define, albeit rather imprecisely, some recent trends within French philosophy, particularly what have been called the new Philosophies. Again I remain rather unclear about what is imputedly postmodern here as many of the philosophical positions adopted are strikingly modernist in tone and substance. Jameson use of the term attempted to straddle or incorporate these debates within a more totalizing theory of postmodernity. That is, Jameson takes postmodernism to be a periodising concept, it is neither a narrowly cultural category designating specific features which distinguish postmodernism from modernism proper; nor a global category designating a new epoch and radical break with the past; rather, the term serves to `correlate the emergence of new formal features in culture with the emergence of a new type of social life and a new economic order. What has become known as late or multinational capitalism. I should, perhaps, point out that the problem for Marxists with the notion of postmodernism, particular in the second sense in which I defined it above, as a new economic and social order, is that at a stroke it abolishes Marxisms founding premise. That is to say, its historical emancipatory narrative. Marxism, along with psychoanalysis, is exemplary of the kind of grand narratives that postmodernism has, allegedly, delegitimated. The significance of the theory of late capitalism, as it was developed by the Ernest Mandel, therefore, cannot be understated in relation to Jamesons overall project. The theory of Late capitalism at once acknowledges a further development and restructuration of the capitalism on a global scale but does not posit a radical break with the past. Late capitalism, consumer society, the post-industrial society, what ever one wishes to call it, is still fundamentally the same economic system. There are two other important factors regarding late capitalism that will concern us later: firstly each successive expansion of the capitalist system entails a corresponding technological revolution. Secondly that changes in the social and economic spheres involve a change in the spatial paradigm. I will come back to both of these points below. Late or advanced capitalism therefore does not present us with a radically new system or life world; Baudrillards world of protean communication networks, simulacrum and hyperreality but rather a restructuration at higher levels of production of the same system. Postmodernism represents not so much a break with the past but a purer form of capitalism, a further intensification of the logic of capitalism, of commodification and reification. Indeed, argues Jameson, late capitalism marks the final colonisation of the last enclaves of resistance to commodification: the Third World, the Unconscious and the aesthetic. Unlike modernism, postmodernism does not attempt to refuse its status as a commodity, on the contrary it celebrates it. Postmodernism marks the final and complete incorporation of culture into the commodity system. Hence the slippage within Jamesons work between the two terms, postmodernism and late capitalism, as both come to signify the same object and to be equated with the totality itself. In Jamesons first extended attempt to specifically define the postmodern, he suggested, that postmodernism was characterised by a new experience of time and space. Our experience of temporality has been radically transformed and dislocated through the dual effects of the dissolution of the autonomous centred subject and the collapse of universal historical narratives. Drawing on Lacans work on schizophrenia and the Deleuzes notion of the nomadic or schizoid subject, Jameson argued that our sense of temporality was now radically disrupted and discontinuous. Without a coherent or unified sense of the subject it becomes increasingly difficult to speak of temporality in terms of memory, narrative and history. We are condemned to a perpetual present, the immediacy of seemingly random, unconnected signifiers. In short, Baudrillards world of simulacra and hyper-reality, a world without reference or fixed meaning. The positive side of this, if one can speak of it in such terms, is that individual isolated signifiers appear to become more real, shorn of any residual meaning they become more literal and material in their own right. We now experience moments of schizophrenic intensity rather than modernist duration, of aesthetic boredom and estrangement. The spatial corollary of this loss of temporality has been the pervasive flattening of space. Initially structuralism bracketed the referent and any notion of the referentiality of language, post-structural and postmodernist theory took this a step further and bracketed any sense of a signified. Words, signs, images no longer refer us to anything other than other words, signs, images in endless chains of signification. The Flu Epidemic F 1918 EssayBut one gets very little sense of how the one relates to the other. In terms of postmodern spatiality what Jameson wishes to emphasis is the alarming disjunction between the individuals perception of their own bodies and their immediate surroundings and the global environment that we now find ourselves within. Jameson finds this new spatiality particularly disorientating and suffocating, he writes, that postmodern space `involves the suppression of distance and the relentless saturation of any remaining voids and empty places, to the point where the postmodern body s now exposed to a perpetual barrage of immediacy from which all sheltering layers and intervening mediations have been removed. Postmodern spatiality is a realm of chaotic immediacy, in which our bodies are bereft of any spatial co-ordinates and are incapable of distantiation. Although, I would venture, that if Jameson paid more attention to the mediating role of institutional, local and n ational aspects of postmodernism he would find postmodern spatiality a little less bewildering. However, such concerns are ruled out, a priori, by Jamesons overly totalizing perspective, postmodern spatiality is, by definition, without mediation, I can elaborate on this later if anyone wishes. Quite simply, the problem with this is that it reinstates the position that Jameson and a number of other notable theorist were trying to get away from in the first place. The emphasis on spatial analysis in Jamesons work, and postmodernism generally, has emerged from a much wider debate within the social sciences and particularly from the work of Marxist geographers in the mid-70s. The new geographers challenged the privileged position accorded to temporality in social theory, insisting on the necessity of a more dynamic conception of space. Space had always been assigned a secondary position in relation to time; temporality is history, it is dynamic, the site of the dialectics, it is the potential for change and transformation, the historical possibility of revolution. Space, on the other hand, has always been seen as static and inert, space is simply given, a neutral category, an emptiness which is filled up with objects. The new geographers challenged the contemporary conceptions of space insisting that space is not given but produced. Socially produced space, spatiality, is not inert and static but is itself constitutive of social relations. Spatial relations and spatial processes are infact social relations taking a particular geographical form. Therefore, we cannot simply take space as a given but require what Henri Lefebvre called a unitary theory of space, a theory of space which brings together all its elements: physical space, mental space and social space. What Lefebvre calls the perceived, the conceived and the lived. For the postmodern and Marxist geographers spatiality is differential, conflictual and contradictory, the very antithesis of Jamesons conception of postmodern space. Whereas, originally the transformation of space was a constitutive feature of postmodernism by the late 80s it had become the constitutive feature of postmodernism. Modernism was seen as essentially temporal whereas postmodernism became spatial. Modernism was valorised as dynamic, the site of history, narrative and memory, in short, the potential for change. Postmodernism the site of pure immanence, immediacy, stasis and above all a disorientating and disempowering realm of space. Space is the place from which no meaningful politics can be conceived. Despite Jamesons ostensible intentions space he has once more become negatively defined in relation to time. In an interesting article on the politics of space and time, Doreen Massey has observed how Jamesons dichotomy of space and time is clearly linked to a second dichotomy, that of transcendence and immanence: temporality is ascribed transcendence and spatiality immanence. Faced with the horror of multiplicity of postmodern space Jameson can only vainly call in the wind for new forms of cognitive mapping. This is what I referred to a moment ago as Jamesons residual modernist sympathies, sympathies clearly indicated in the opening chapter of The Seeds of Time, `The Antinomies of Postmodernity with its echoes of Lukcs and the antinomies of bourgeois thought. Jameson comes out of an essenti ally literary and modernist tradition, his concern with spatiality has always been a concerned with what I called early conceived space. Jameson reads space as a text, and the semiotics of space its grammar and syntax. Jameson has no sense of space as either lived physical space or social space. Jamesons notion of cognitive mapping is founded upon a dialect of perception but it lacks any real sense of the physical and spatial practice that would follow from it. The flattening of space that Jameson identifies as characteristic of postmodernity is itself a symptom of his own theory which sees space simply in terms of representation. By ignoring what Lefebvre called the perceived and the lived Jameson has eradicated from space its differential, conflictual and above all contradictory character. Characteristics that we once more need to restore if any meaningful spatial politics are to be conceived. A reductionism at the level of theory rather than at the level of the experiential. Finally, therefore, I would suggest that what Jamesons theory lacks is any real sense of a spatio-temporal dialectic. That is to say, that modernism cannot simply be conceived in terms of a thematics of temporality any more than postmodernism can be conceived as completely spatial. I will conclude by suggesting a few ways in which this spatio-temporal dialectic can be thought of and perhaps offers a more theoretical satisfying position than Jamesons antinomies. In a recent article on modernity Peter Osborne has persuasively argued that what is unique about the temporality of modernity is its notion of contemporaneity. That is to say, modernity designates what is new, and what is new must be distinguished from even its most recent past, the modern will always be that which is new. In other words, modernity is a qualitative and not a chronological category. What interests me here is that the temporality of modernity can only be grasped as a dialectic of homogenisation (its contemporaneity) and differentiation (its distancing of itself from other historical epochs). Furthermore this dialectic can only be in relation to modernitys spatial relations; that is the geopolitics of modernity, the history of colonialism. Osborne writes: the concept of modernity was first universalized through the spatialization of its founding temporal difference, under colonialism; thereafter, the differential between itself and other times was reduced to a difference within a single temporal scale of progress, modernisation and development. As Althusser reminded us, different modes of production project different temporalities, the universalisation of the capitalist system could only take place through the eradication of distinct temporalities, that is to say the colonisation of all sites of pre-capitalist production. Now this in itself does not discredit Jamesons notion of postmodernism as the latest and purest form of capitalism. But it does begin to suggest a way of conceiving postmodernist temporality beyond the antinomy outlined above. Postmodernism does not represent a complete break with modernist temporality so much as an acceleration of this dialectic of homogenisation and differentiation, or what David Harvey has called time-space compression. 6 According to Harvey, `the history of capitalism has been characterised by the speed-up in the pace of life whilst simultaneously overcoming spatial barriers. What has happened with regard to postmodernism argues Harvey is that this speed-up has once more accelerated. That capitalism has embarked on one more fierce round `in the process of the annihilation of space through time that has always lain at the centre of capitalisms dynamic. But does not Harveys assertion that postmodernism is marked by an increased annihilation of space through time seem to be at odds with Jamesons assertion that space is now the experiential dominant? On the contrary, if space is increasingly eradicated through temporal acceleration then what spaces that remain become ever more important, ever more significant. `The superior command of space, writes Harvey, `becomes an even more important weapon in class-struggle. If this is the case, then one can begin to think of the ways in which political struggles now take place, as struggles over space. The recent emergence of road protesters as well as animal rights protests over the transportation of live stock are both essentially spatial conflicts. Questions of Third World development, famine and debt are also spatial in the sense that they concern the particular utilisation and control of space. I am not suggesting that all traditional forms of struggle be replaced by joining road protesters but I am suggesting, contrary to Jameson, that it is possible to envisage forms of political action within the postmodern spatial paradigm. Some of us may wish to link up these protests with more traditional or orthodox forms of political activity but we disregard them at our peril. We would also need to conceive of a form of spatial politics in terms of the way our urban environments construct and constrain our subjectivity and different forms of social life. The development of shopping centres may provide safe, although that is now seriously questionable, and clean environments to shop but they also privatise what may have previously been public space and our access to that space is now limited and policed. Furthermore, the steadily increasing privatisation of public means that there are fewer and fewer places to freely congregate in the centres of cities. In many cities, and Manchester does not appear to be one of them, the homeless in particular are being forced further and further out of sight and out of the commercial districts. I am not articulating a clearly thought out programme here, these are just a few of the areas though that I could conceive of a properly postmodern form of spatial politics emerging.