Research Paper on Non-Western Art Essay Example

Research Paper on Non-Western Art Essay Introduction Boundaries are swept away in the modern world, which slowly turns into a global village. People of art, who have always been lucky to live without boundaries inside of them can now enjoy the freedom of physical world. Such major changes on the word scene of art give a lot of opportunities for the non-western artists. Race, origin, color of the skin, age, sex and nationality of an artist plays no role any more. â€Å"A local hero bids his motherland farewell, is tapped into the latest communication technology, raises his voice loud enough and suddenly he is a world artist. The artist as nomad, someone who picks up ideas just as easily in New York and Cape Town as in Sao Paolo or Stockholmâ€Å" (Mackay). Unfortunately, such a freedom and new opportunities very often turn to be a fake and artists from non-western countries still have to put enormous efforts to get the recognition on the world art scene. Europe and North America put their hard requirements to the non-western artists, who want to present their art works in these countries. Here the artists face a difficult problem, which becomes a dilemma. It’s a conflict between their own identity and paying the tribute to the western world and globalization. Unique works of art do not pass sharp critics of western specialists and The Influence of Globalization on the Modern Art Globalization is the process that we can’t stop today; it’s rapidly spreading around the world. The phenomenon of globalization has both negative and positive sides and we can’t say exactly if it is good or bad. Just a few years ago we knew practically nothing about numerous artists from Africa or Asia nowadays we have a possibility to see their works of art and enjoy them. There works are really great and full of feelings and we can realize that just because we live in the epoch of globalization and the exchange of global information is a usual thing for us. We will write a custom essay sample on Research Paper on Non-Western Art specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Research Paper on Non-Western Art specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Research Paper on Non-Western Art specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The process of globalization is the modern phenomenon but its appearance is determined by a lot of historical phenomena, such economical growth, urbanization, appearance of informational technologies, changes in the process of thinking and so on. â€Å"We are witness not to a new phenomenon called Globalization, but to the triumph of old, global power relations: Francis Fukuyama’s end of history, coupled with the illusion of a new, porous metropolis† (Mackay). Western countries still know not very much about African and Asian artists who created their works in the year 1945 and earlier. A western person still can name minute amount of non-western artists even in the era of globalization. The majority of non-western artists that live and work in the West still don’t have equal rights with native artists. Those, who work in their native countries, find themselves even in more difficult situation. Even such talented artists as Ofili and Shonibare are considered as rather successful artists but all in all outsiders because of their color. These artists, by the way, are British according to their origin. We can easily remark that even the remotest connection to Africa or Asia make the talented artists outsiders in the West. Non-western artists don’t have equal opportunities in the West, Globalization creates differences when, in fact, there is no difference. That is the bad side of this phenomenon. Non-western artists have to adopt to western way of life, norms and regulations in order to create works of art, which would be understood by western audience. They have to balance between the effort to keep national identity and reflect their origin in their work s with the growing pressure created by the globalization and unification. Nowadays it’s correctly to speak separately about African or Asian arts as we always used to do regarding the European one. We should analyze art not taking into account its continental belonging. Work of art is a masterpiece, art isn’t a characteristic of a given country, it’s global notion without boundaries and limitations. At the same time every work of art shows the peculiarities of its countries and reflects national identity, same as the individual features, added by the author. These peculiarities show the national identity and beauty of the work rather than put the pictures in a range according to the country they were created in. â€Å"Much as one is involved in this seemingly inescapable labyrinth of a discourse, one is nevertheless certain that we would all benefit more were everything to devolve to the level of the artist and what it is they are contending with in their work irrespective of where their parents were born.† (Araeen) Today the qu estion of origin is a very important one because some people attack some artists who show their origin in the works and another group of people contends with artists who don’t because they are a herd. Here arises a question: is it necessary to show their identity for non-western artists or is it better to adapt to the so-called â€Å"western standards† and so come to the Western scene? It’s a very complex question and we can not give an exact answer. The only thing I’m absolutely sure in is that non-western artists have their own original world that is mysterious and not always understandable for Europeans and the world must be seen it in the works of art. Nowadays there is a trend in the West to consider African and Asian arts as just ethnic and that’s why they can’t take the same place as western ones till they don’t follow the formed standards. Such point of view is anesthetic, as non-western arts are as important and significant as the western ones. â€Å"Anesthetic† is â€Å"a loaded word that speaks to the variegated, multi-layered rules of the culture game, a great pun because the search for identity or the mark of ethnicity becomes an esthetic that inoculates–anaesthetizes–the art establishment in the West from dealing with those non-Western artists whose work would stand the rigors of the mainstream aesthetic.† (Araeen, 20) Non-Western Art and Globalization So-called western standard system of arts now tries to create principles according to which this or that art would be accepted in this system and it’s a real problem of standardization nowadays. Every work of art is unique, no standards can limit it. A work expresses inner world of an artist and it’s impossible to prescribe inner ideas and thoughts of the creator. It’s a real problem for the non-western artist to save his identity in the modern world of standards. From the other side non-western artists have to use ethnical marks in their works in order to correspond the requirements of the western audience and meet the requirement of â€Å"otherness†, showing the kind of art, which can’t be created by westerners. There is nothing wrong with the demand for ethical features in the works of artists. The problem arises when this demand becomes a â€Å"must† and the only pass for the non-western artists. Identity can be expressed in many ways, but Western audience perceive it only on the most primitive level and such an attitude can become a burden for the artists. SO-called western tradition dominates in the world art even in the age of globalization. In reality the term globalization in art stands very close to westernalization and non-western artists have to make a difficult choice if they want to enter the world market and compete with Western artists. They have to choose between the loosing identity by adopting western standards in art and getting the status of second class or arte povera artists, if they refuse. Digital revolution has changed the face of the world forever. The countries of the third world, separated by distance and informational barriers before can now make the decent part of the world community. New means of communication allow quick interaction among the people from different parts of the world and this gives an opportunity for changes in art. Hopefully, very soon not only western people will be defining the criteria of the world art and norms of generally accepted works. If the tendency to globalization develops and becomes more correspondent to its original meaning in contrast to adopting everything to western norms, non-western artists will have more chances for expressing their identities not like an exaggerated ethnic elements, which make the products more sellable, but will let them to express the depth of their national consciousness. Unfortunately, it’s not people, who make a demand for the works of art nowadays. The market does. The meaning and values of the artwork lies in its uniqueness and singularity, not generality. But the market pushes artists to generality, creating filters for the works, which will be sold. The public is deceived by the works with â€Å"false identity† and adopts false standards. As David Byrne states, â€Å"In my experience, the use of the term world music is a way of dismissing artists or their music as irrelevant to one’s own life. It’s a way of relegating this â€Å"thing† into the realm of something exotic and therefore cute, weird but safe, because exotica is beautiful but irrelevant†. (Byrne, 1999) The term popular art perfectly reflects the state of events in the modern world. There is nothing ban when an art becomes popular and reachable for the wide public. The problem arises when the world popular becomes synonym for low-quality and primitive entertainment. Art, which made people think and feel differently during the centuries uses its unique meaning at the age of globalization. â€Å"The artist is the one in charge of pulling the heavy human chariot forward and up†¦ if art runs away from its task, this void cannot be filled. For no other power can replace art†. (Kandinsky) During the centuries the function of art was to elevate people to its level but nowadays we can see a sad tendency when the art descends to the level of average people. And it’s a sad truth modern artists have to deal with. Western culture presents the pattern of success and prosperity and non-western people try to follow it. Same happens with the artists. Many non-western artists try to follow the success of their western comrades and forget about their origins and follow the patters alien to them. Homi Bhabba uses the term â€Å"the third space† when talking about the new generation of Chinese artists. To his mind, they represent a unique combination of the carriers of national culture who meet the requirement of the western world at the same time. These artists don’t belong to western tradition, same as they don’t belong to traditional Chinese art. They managed to find a fragile balance between their national identity as they put all their knowledge of history and tradition in what they do, with the new challenges created by globalization. â€Å"The third space is replacing a concept of identity based on the traditional opposition between East and West. The invention of the notion of the third space itself is a cultural strategy. In general, western artists don’t see art activities as a kind of strategy related to the question of cultural identity, while nonwestern artists living in the West necessarily face the challenge of seeking their own plac es there.† (Hanru, Minglu,1991) A lot of critiques and specialists also speak about the same notion, using different names for it. Fumio Nanjo speaks about the third way Japanese and other non-western artists should follow. Two roads mentioned earlier refer to canonical western art and national art reserved in old traditions. He suggests that: â€Å"Japanese, and non-Western artists in general, therefore have to avoid both roads, which becomes a vital issue for an artist’s identity. I believe that for some years now, we have been progressing in the direction where the identity of an artist no longer refers specifically to his or her nationality, and a future is upon us when an artist’s personality and work will be difficult to define.† (Nanjo) Conclusion So, non-western artists have to deal with a serious task – they have to join incompatible things and they find different ways to do that. There are artists who use their background and national identity as the source of inspiration, expressing it in a way, understandable for Western audience. There is another group who use their national belonging as an object of speculation, using national peculiarities in their works as the way to attract admirers of everything exotic.

7 Myths About Freelance Writing Online

7 Myths About Freelance Writing Online 7 Myths About Freelance Writing Online 7 Myths About Freelance Writing Online By Ali Hale You want to earn a bit of extra money. Or youd love to be a published writer. Or youre looking for an exciting and rewarding career. Whatever your reason, youve started to think about freelance writing online. It sounds like a dream come true: you could work from home, at any time of the day (or night), and get good money for writing about topics that interest you. Except somethings stopping you. Youve started believing one – or more – of these harmful myths. Today, I want to show you that these myths just arent true. Theres no reason to let any of them hold you back. #1: Its too late to make money freelance writing online All the good jobs are already gone, right? And bloggings dead anyway Wrong. The fact that huge numbers people are making money online as freelance writers should encourage you. Theres plenty of work out there – and as more and more businesses realize the importance and the potential of the internet, new writing jobs are appearing every single day. In fact, now is a great time to start freelancing. Writing online is a growing area, particularly as more and more print magazines fold, and as the demand for online content grows. #2: Online writing gigs dont pay as well as print ones This is a gross generalization, without much truth in it. Some print publications dont pay anything – local newspapers and specialty magazines often rely on volunteers, because of printing and distribution costs. But online, even tiny operations can afford to pay writers, since their overheads are so low. Some online writing gigs pay very little – but there are others which pay a hundred dollars or more for a short article. Its up to you what jobs you take, so you never need to work for a low rate. In my experience, online writing gigs pay very well in terms of time spent. They may pay less per word – but they often dont require the same level of research and fact-checking that print publications want. #3: You need technical knowledge to freelance write online This myth puts off a lot of people. Theyre convinced that online freelance writing requires technical skills like knowing HTML code or being a whizz with different systems. The truth is, you almost certainly already have all the technical skills you need: Ability to use email (to send articles to an editor) Basic word-processing skills (e.g. using Microsoft Word or Open Office) Ability to use search engines (e.g. Google, Yahoo) for research It really is that simple. Of course, there are some gigs where youll be at an advantage if youre comfortable with uploading content into your clients software – for instance, WordPress – but there are plenty of writing jobs which dont require anything techy beyond the ability to create a document and send it by email. #4: You need an English or Journalism major to be a freelance writer Maybe you majored in math or a science, or maybe you didnt go to college at all. It doesnt matter. All that editors care about is your ability to write – whether or not you have a degree makes no difference to them. If youve studied English, Journalism or a related subject, youll probably be a confident and fast writer – which will serve you well. However, you can easily develop your writing skills outside the college world – and academic writing bears very little resemblance to the sort of writing that online gigs will want! #5: Receiving payments is hard. Youll need an accountant and a merchant bank account This myth really frustrates me, because its so out of date! All you need to receive money online is a PayPal account – almost every single online gig Ive ever had has paid through PayPal. The one gig which didnt, with an online magazine, sent me a check which I just deposited straight into my bank account. Opening a PayPal account takes minutes, and allows you to receive money in many different currencies without having to pay the hefty fee that your bank would charge for a foreign transaction. #6: Only people living in the US can become successful freelance writers Im living proof that this is untrue – I live in the UK, and have worked with editors in the US, in Canada and in Australia. I know of many successful freelance writers around the world. Most online gigs will take writers from anywhere. All that matters is that you can write good English. If you live in a country with a low cost of living, then youre actually at an advantage – as youll be getting paid US rates for your work. #7: You need to be an expert in one field before you can find freelance jobs You already have certain areas where youre knowledgeable, just from your life experience. For instance, you might have children – and there are scores of jobs looking for people who can write about parenting. Many online gigs are open to any writers, and dont require any particular expertise. You might have to do extra research to begin with, but if you keep writing on similar topics, youll soon become a self-taught expert. So – seven myths busted! I hope youre feeling more optimistic about your own chances of freelancing online. Writing is a great way to make a living (or just make some extra cash on the side) and theres always going to be a demand for good writers and new content. Notice: Due to popular request we have finally released our Freelance Writing Course. Come check it out if you want to get started freelance writing online. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Freelance Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Creative Writing 10130 Baseball IdiomsOne "L" or Two?

Family Life Education Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Family Life Education - Assignment Example As the essay stresses the definition of social support is subject to a lot of debate. The definition of social support varies, the concepts behind the definition similarly diverse. Among the most common definition of social support include: the activity that involves resource provision; a positive outcome implied; social integration; and outcomes that involve a recipient feeling cared for. The concept of social support is however widely applied in many cycles including health behaviour, caregiver burden, and compliance. Sociologists, psychologists, and nurses for example have used the concept in assessing social networks; evaluating social relations; and linking illness outcomes to family assessments respectively. This discussion declares that the global war on terrorism has impacted on many people’s lives, military personnel and their families especially according to Huebner, Mancini, Bowen, and Orthner. Deployment of military personnel to the battle field has an effect on the personnel, their marriages, and their children. Children for example end up experiencing depression, loneliness, and bruised self esteem even as their parents under deployment are stressed up in the wake of imminent harm. Facing such challenging situations without the support of other people is often very tasking, the reason people need to engage external support. The family support system needs to be augmented by the community’s support for better results when dealing with stressful issues. Engaging the community in capacity building and supporting the family is characterised by two main elements; collective competence and shared responsibility according to Huebner et al (nd, p 219). Military men and wome n for example get a lot of support when they form formal and informal networks. Although the resilient informal support network are often preferred by members of society, their formal counterparts play a great role in providing grounds for their (informal support systems) establishment and growth (Huebner et al, nd, p 220). Research has shown that having positive view of community capacity directly impacted positively on depression. In the Air Force, a study showed that suicide rates reduced when members of the AF community engaged in interagency activities (Huebner et al, nd, p220). Also, at the national level, community capacity has notably helped in the establishment of stable social capital and conducive business environments. Community Engaged Parent Education The role of parents in the community and society at large has been one issue that has drawn a lot of concern. This is especially the case with the rapid changes that are taking place in the world today. As such, the paren ting landscape has undergone significant transformation causing the need for similar albeit adequate response in parent education as noted by Doherty, Jacob, and Cutting (nd). In the United States, the need for engaging the community in parent education finds its roots in the establishment of organized parent education initiatives. With time, parenting education started focusing on making the world a better place.

The Religious Teachings and Rituals of the Faith Essay

The Religious Teachings and Rituals of the Faith - Essay Example in its vast fold. The Mass serves as the gathering of the Christian community at the church on Sunday morning, in memory of Holy Jesus (Baldovin 2003), in order to participate in all the rituals going to take place in church according to the Christian belief system and traditions associated with this sacred gathering, aim to pray to God and demonstrate their loyalty and dedication to the Holy Christ. The Mass contains the beginning hymns (performed with musical instruments), sermon depicting the sacred life and noble teachings of Jesus Christ, recitation and interpretation of some verses from the Gospel, collective prayer in the light of Christian belief, presentation of gifts and prayers to altar, the priest’s lecture at the altar, elucidating the noble cause behind the great and exemplary sacrifice made by Christ for humanity, blessing the bread and wine, according to the commands made by Christ at the eve of his Last Supper, followed by the collective Great Amen and receivi ng of Jesus in Holy Communion, and the final blessings at the end (Chadwick 106). Consequently, the Mass is actually the completion of all the rites associated with Eucharist from gathering to the participation in the final blessings. The question aptly rises in the minds of the Christian community that since they could offer their prayers and can observe meditation and recitation while staying at their homes, then why should they proceed to church and spend time at there as they are to perform almost the same at home, which they are going to carry out by visiting the church. However, at the moment they forget the very reality that the prayer does not mean mere delivering of some words from the mouth or doing some specific acts at a room in the residence; on the contrary, worship stands for a comprehensive and organized activity, to be observed in the company of the fellow people of the same faith in order to join the prayer session collectively, and to comprehend with the real mess age of Jesus Christ that the Christians are responsible for conveying his message to the entire humanity without any discrimination of class, caste, community, race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status (Latourette 295). It is, therefore, then every Christian is welcomed at the church without taking his position, appearance, wealth and resources into slightest consideration even. Similarly, selection of Sunday by the saints for communion is actually for celebrating the day of Christ’s resurrection (Baldovin 2-3), on the third of his crucifixion at the hands of the cruel ruler of his era. Another important issue related to the Mass includes the purpose behind it. Since Eucharist stands for Thanksgiving, it is actually the expression of gratitude to Christ for his sacrifice and love, which should be made in the congregation by visiting the church instead of sending the same by staying at home.  

Learning log Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Learning log - Essay Example I think that a company should consider remunerating sales people well because they intrigue the revenue sources for the company hence deserve a motivation. Given the work they do they should be motivated more and with all the sources available. The company in an insurance setting should also consider the economic situation and always make policies that make the work of sales people easier in terms of adjustable terms (Sukiennik, Bendat & Raufman 2007). What I would do differently next time is to make a list of all the clients and categorize them according to need as opposed to handling them one at a time. I would also ensure I do more research on the subject I intend to share with the clients to make them see the need of purchasing insurance policies. This is prompted by the rising demand for insurance schemes and policies. In the future I would also ensure that I create a stress free work environment as it only adds more burdens (Honey 2000). As a volunteer teacher in the NGO schools I had an interesting experience of interacting with teenagers of ages 6-12 years. What I did was majorly to creatively formulate activities for the kids which brought together so many kinds of games. I had to ensure that the activities that we come with were always new and up to date as the leadership of the school highly discouraged traditional learning. This made me have the roles of linking between a topic and the likeliness by the children. What I think is that the school should allow for all forms of learning for the kids. As opposed to rote memorization and spoon feeding as practiced in the school currently, the learning should be student centered and generated (Rijlaarsdam, Bergh & Couzijn 2005). This is as portrayed by the â€Å"Cognitivism Learning Theory† which according to my experience helped me do my job well. Therefore what I would do differently entails allowing

The Competitive Sport Of Nba Basketball Sports Essay

The Competitive Sport Of Nba Basketball Sports Essay 1. Introduction: I would to start by introducing one of the most famous sports around the world; furthermore, it is currently one of the most played sports around the world. This sport is called Basketball, and it is team sportin which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or shooting† aballthrough the top of a basketball hoop while following a set ofrules. While competitive basketball is carefully managed, basketballhad been developed for casual play. Competitive basketball is primarily an indoor sport played on carefully marked and maintainedbasketball courts, but less regulated variations are often played outdoors in both inner city and rural areas TheNational Basketball Association(NBA) is an exciting mens professionalbasketballleague inNorth Americawhich consists of thirty different teams, where twenty-nine are located in theUnited Statesand only one inCanada. The NBA is one of the fourmajor North American professional sports leagues, which includeMajor League Baseball(MLB), theNational Football League(NFL), and theNational Hockey League(NHL). The league was created inNew York Cityo n June 6 ,1946 as theBasketball Association of America(BAA).The league adopted the name National Basketball Association in 1949 after merging with the rivalNational Basketball League(NBL). The leagues several managements are directed out of its head offices located in theOlympic Towerat 645Fifth Avenuein New York City. Section 2: NBA Regular seasons After the summer Holiday, teams organize training camps in late September. Training camps are opportunities for players to practice , locate the teams strengths and weaknesses, prepare the players for the challenging regular seasons, and determine the 12-man active roster (and a 3-man inactive list) with which they will begin the regular season. After training camp, a series of preseason games are held. The NBA regular season starts on the last week of October. During the regular season, each team plays 82 games, 41 home and 41 away. A team faces opponents in its own division four times a year (16 games), teams from the other two divisions in its conference either three or four times (36 games), and teams in the other conference twice (30 games). The NBA is also the only league that regularly schedules games onChristmasDay.The league has been playing games regularly on the holiday since 1947,though the first Christmas Day games were not aired on television until1983.Games played on this day have featured some of the best teams and players. In February, the regular season comes to a short stop to celebrate the annualNBA All-Star Game. Fans vote throughout the United States, Canada, and even on theInternet, and the players with the top votes at each position in each conference are given a starting spot on their conferences All-Star team. Coaches vote to choose the remaining 14 All-Stars. Afterwards, Eastern conference players face the Western conference players in the All-Star game. The player with the best performance during the game is rewarded with aMVP (Most valuable player) award. Other events during the   All-Star stop include the Rookie Challenge, where the top rookies and second-year players in the NBA play against each other in a 5-on-5 basketball game; furthermore theSkills Challenge, where players compete to finish an obstacle course including shooting, passing and dribbling in the fastest time. There is also the Three Point Contest, where players compete to score the most amounts of three-point field g oals in a given time, and theNBA Slam Dunk Contest, where players compete to dunk the ball in the most entertaining and exciting way according to the judges. Around the middle of April, the regular season ends. As soon as the season ends, votes for individual and team awardswell begin. TheSixth Man of the Year Awardis given to the best player that was not in the startup line but was later substituted in the game. TheRookie of the Year Awardis awarded to the best first-year player. TheMost Improved Player Awardis awarded to the player who had shown the most improvement from the previous season. TheDefensive Player of the Year Awardis awarded to the leagues best defender. TheCoach of the Year Awardis awarded to the coach that has made the most positive influence into a team. TheMost Valuable Player Awardis given to player who had proved the most valuable for (his team) that season. Section 3: NBA Playoffs NBA Playoffs begin in late April, with eight teams in each conference going for the Championship. The three division winners, along with the team with the next best record from the conference are given the top four Positions. The next lower four teams in terms of record in the season are given the lower four position. This is how they organize it: There are 30 teams divided into two conferences, the east and west. Each conference has a division of 5 teams each. The top team from each division and the next 5 teams from each conference regardless of division make the top 8 teams from each conference. Then they get positioned   much like most other sports, the top team gets the worst qualifying team (1st versus 8th) and the second best gets the second worst, and so on. They play a round of best-of-seven, meaning technically they will play seven games against each other and whoever ends up with the most wins advances to the next round. Of course, after one team wins 4 games, theres no use to play out the entire 7-game series so it is the first team to win 4 games that get to move to the next round. Furthermore, the team with the best regular season record in the league is guaranteed home court advantage in every game it plays in the playoffs. The final playoff round, a best-of-seven series between the victors of both conferences, is known as the NBA Finals, and is held every year in June. The victor in the NBA Finals wins the Larry OBrien Championship Trophy. Each player and major contributor to the NBA season, including coaches and the general manager on the winning team, receive a championship ring. In addition, the league awards aBill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Awardto the best performing player of the Season. Section 4: conclusion As a conclusion, Basketball is an outstanding game where people all around the world can enjoy regardless of whether they are poor or rich, young or old, or even with different skin color. It is a wonderful game that knows no boundaries towards evolution in which any person could come up with new styles and skills that could be played in the friendly games and tournaments. The NBAs style of playing the game has changed dramatically through the years and it was all thanks to the people who have passion for the game.  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Many critics and fans around the world call theNBAgreatest show on earth. No other league around the world brings what the NBAs game has brought every season. The greatest plays, games, dunks, players and passion for the basketball are the reasons why the fans keep watching the games. The NBA is the basketball league which helped in the evolution of the sport. It had created many chances and opportunities for skilled and determined players around the globe to prove themselves in front of crowd and the whole world. It also gave them the dream that they would pursue in order to achieve greatness. For me it is the best sport I ever played.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy - JFK Essay -- President Kennedy

John Fitzgerald Kennedy - JFK John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, on May 29, 1917, the second son of financier Joseph P. Kennedy, who served as ambassador to Great Britain during the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He graduated from Harvard University in 1940, winning note with the publication of Why England Slept, an expansion of his senior thesis on Britain's lack of preparedness for World War II. His part in the war was distinguished by bravery. In August 1943, as commander of the U.S. Navy torpedo boat PT-109, he rescued several crewmen after a Japanese destroyer off the Solomon Islands rammed the boat. His heroic rescue of survivors of his crew won him the Navy and Marine Corps Medal as well as the Purple Heart. In 1953 He married Jacqueline Lee Bouvier, daughter of a wealthy Wall Street broker, they had two children Caroline & JFK JR. In 1946, and with the enthusiastic help of his brothers and sisters won the Democratic nomination to the House of Representatives in the ele venth district of Massachusetts. His mother and sisters organized teas at the homes of voters, while his father furnished campaign funds. He won the election and as Congressman voted for Truman's welfare programs, including expanded social security benefits, aid to veterans, and old-age benefits. In 1952, Kennedy upset the veteran Republican Senator Henry Cabot Lodge by winning his seat in the US Senate. He and his family began working tirelessly for his presidential nomination as early as 1956. In 1956 Kennedy almost gained the Democratic nomination for Vice President, and four years later was a first-ballot nominee for President. Millions watched his four television debates with the Republican candidate and current Vice President, Richard M. Nixon. Winning by a narrow margin in the popular vote, Kennedy became the first Roman Catholic President. His Inaugural address offered the memorable injunction: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country." As President, he set out to redeem his campaign pledge to get America moving again. His economic programs launched the country on its longest sustained expansion since World War II; before his death, he laid plans for a massive assault on persisting pockets of privation and poverty. This plan was named the new frontier; his ideas were used for years to come. Ke... ... â€Å"of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth† The space program fascinates the American people. In the early 1960s whenever space flights were launched during school hours students would gather in gyms and auditoriums to watch the lift offs on television. The race to the moon continued through the 1960s. It is one of the nations single most expensive projects of the decade, costing $56 billion. On November 22, at 12:30 PM CST, while riding in an open limousine through Dallas, Texas, Kennedy was shot in the head and neck by a sniper. He was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where efforts to revive him failed. A commission headed by Chief Justice Earl Warren concluded in September 1964 that the sole assassin was Lee Harvey Oswald, a former U.S. Marine. Oswald, who was captured hours after the assassination in a nearby theater, was himself killed two days later by Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby while being moved from the city to the county jail. The state funeral of President Kennedy was watched on television by millions around the world. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. To this day JFK is still considered one of the nations best presidents.