The Hoodoo Tradition Analysis

One of the many old belief systems is witchcraft and sorcery. It is often believed that

Divine precognition is a phase of clairvoyance that brings knowledge of future events without relying on any physical senses. While clairvoyance is an awareness of past or future events that happen at a distance, precognition is knowing about events that will take place soon. For instance, you may be shown forthcoming events while you are in a dreaming state, during meditation or via flashes of clarity.

When I was a young child I would go with my mother and family to a Buddhism temple for prayer and ceremonies. My family is Vietnamese and in the Vietnamese traditions we have a shared religion with Chinese Buddhism. Many of the practices and gods are the same but with different names and different ways of practice. A famous form of divination in our religion is called Xin Xam, or better known as Chinese Fortune Sticks. In Chinese this is called Kau Cim, it is a fortune telling practice that is performed at the temple. It is a practice that is similar to Denham’s theory of divination because it helps people cope with the unknown in a common practice. At the temple I saw my mom practicing Xin Xam, afterward, I asked her about what she was doing, I plan on explaining this by using Aaron Denham’s theory on divination.

As everyday people become more mindful of alternative forms of medicine to employ in place of rigid western medicine, longstanding methods of healing from around the world have experienced a revival, especially the West African practice of Hoodoo. Hoodoo, otherwise known as “rootwork” or “conjuring,” is a manner of folk magic and spiritual practice that focuses upon the innate powers of the earth and its dwelling life-forces (Rave, n.d.). Brought by slaves transported to the United States as part of the Transatlantic Slave Trade the ways of Hoodoo spread throughout the Mississippi Delta, and utilizes a wide variety of methods to produce a positive impact on

respect these spirits and go to them for guidance in times of trouble. Unlike most

Many of the oldest recorded paleographical records that are left from China’s ancient history have shown the significance of communication with the spiritual world. The concept of the Chinese spiritual world evolved large from the Chinese focus on filial piety and the harmony that exists between those alive and deceased. A diviner would use his or her interpretation to assist patrons in how to proceed by interpreting events, signs or contact with forces that are supernatural.

Boyz N the Hood, directed by John Singleton is one in many films to showcase the harsh reality of African Americans living in the “hood”. Hood films, as characterized by an identifiable urban setting, such as New York or Los Angeles, and within a modern time frame, use themes of hip hop culture to highlight the issues that plague urban minority communities (Massood 145). Singleton, with Boyz N the Hood, offers a commentary on the harsh experience of young, urban black males by demonstrating the issues faced by these young men, namely lack of upward mobility and cyclical and internal violence. One of the main issues highlighted in the film that plague the communities of young, urban black men is a lack of upward mobility. Social theory has

Have you ever looked at a bug funny, or walked right passed a homeless dog? Hm, well I’m pretty sure you’re an evil person who deserves to die in a hole, or at least that's what people who don't agree with being immoral say. Those people are called…. Uhhhh, well they are people like us. They just don't like violence or anything. You know what I think. Violence is unavoidable.

In the story of how “A Rouge Sociologist Takes to the Streets”, Sudhir Venkatesh finds himself in the projects of Chicago documenting his first hand experiences of his journey on how he is introduced to the black culture. Sudhir, a first year college student in the University of Chicago, decides to take part in a research project about “how young blacks were affected by specific neighborhood factors”, although when he quickly realizes how ineffective these questionnaires are, he decides to take unconventional ways to retrieve his answers. Sudhir’s fascination with the housing projects in Chicago only grew the longer he stayed. Before long he had befriended a gang leader and accumulated more information then he had ever thought he would have been able to acquire.

Holling Hoodhood is a young kid who is about to begin seventh grade. He lives in a small suburb on Long Island in New York. He is worried about the family architectural business, friends, and immediate threats from older classmates. Hoodhood believes his teacher Mrs. Baker hates him. He is forced to spend each Wednesday afternoon in class alone Over time, however, Mrs. Baker sees that Hoodhood is smart and she begins teaching him Shakespeare. Hoodhood begins to understand there is more to the world than he initially realized.

Did you know that people are influenced everyday? In the book The Wednesday Wars there’s a 7th grade boy that lives with his parents and his sister Heather he also has a girlfriend named Meryl Lee and he’s being pressured to be something he doesn’t want to be. Throughout the book he has changed but who influenced him? I think that Ms.Baker, Shakespeare, and all his friends were biggest influences on Holling Hoodhood.

In Geraldo’s writing he said that black and Hispanic parents should not let their children go around wearing hoodies. He also mentions the Florida shooting in which a teenager was killed due to being profiled by the way he dressed. He also goes on to mention Harvard students dressing a certain way and being attacked. If someone likes hoodies, they shouldn’t have to worry about others profiling them due to the fact. People have the freedom to wear what they want and profiling someone by the way they dress is a huge issue. I believe that as a society we have to be more understanding as people are going to do as they please.

Have you ever felt neglected by your family? Have you ever felt that they have your back and they are always there for you? The Outsiders and The Wednesday Wars are two very different books, and their sense of family are very different aspects. The Outsiders is the story of a teen gang in 1967 rural Oklahoma, the Greasers, who are constantly at odds with the Socials, a rival group. When Greasers Ponyboy and Johnny get into a fight that ends in the death of a Social member, the boys go into hiding and Ponyboy and Johnny must face the consequences. The Wednesday Wars is the story of 7th grader Holling Hoodhood, who stays in Mrs. Baker’s classroom every Wednesday afternoon during the 1967 school year, where they have many adventures and learn value of the world they live in. Ponyboy has a family member who mistreats him, and Holling is uncared for and neglected by his family. However, Ponyboy’s brother and friends are always there for him and Holling’s family is not. The last point is that Ponyboy lives in a very poor neighborhood and he is underprivileged, and Holling is living a beneficial, perfect life. To this extent, the family situations of both Ponyboy and Holling have similarities and differences.

My worldview thus is a set of fundamental of my beliefs through which I view the world and my calling and future in it. The premonition may be so manifested that it goes largely unquestioned; it may be greatly refined through cultural-historical development; it may not be straightforward and developed into a systematic creation of life, or it may not even be deepened into a philosophy. Nonetheless, this perspective is a passage for the subsequent belief which gives orientation and meaning to life. It is the unifying and revelatory framework by which order evaluated, the standard by which reality is managed and followed. It is the set of hinges on which all our everyday thinking and doing turns. Although a worldview is held only by

Based on the article, “College Students Confront Subtler Forms of Bias: Slights and Snubs”, I believe that our increased interest in microaggressions, small but inappropriate acts of unkindness, are creating multiple “victimhood cultures”. These “victimhood cultures” are just certain races or cultures that have been targeted with meanness and treated unfairly constantly. According to what Bradley Campbell, a professor at Cal State Los Angeles, said, cultures are turning into victim cultures from “...‘dignity culture’, in which people are taught to have thick skins and refuse to allow others to affect their sense of self-worth.” Certain cultures, such as the Indian culture and the Hispanic culture, have already been created into cultures that