User talk:TimRJordan/sandbox/Approaches to Knowledge/2020-21/Seminar group 3/Power

Suggestions for Different powers involved in Biology
Your section on the different forms of power in biology was really interesting to read! I was wondering if you wanted to elaborate more on the underrepresentation of women in science, like the reasons behind their underrepresentation and how it's linked to power? An interesting article I found was https://academic.oup.com/rev/article/26/2/102/3060345 which investigates the reasons behind underrepresentation of women in science and https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00703/full which explains how gender stereotypes influence a woman's decision to go into STEM. Was thinking that it ties nicely with the concept of power but this is just my suggestion! If you don't mind, could I add a few lines on it unless you would like to do it? PerpetualMisfit (discuss • contribs) 00:46, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

Go ahead! I'll be happy to read your contribution to my article! Chopsticks21 (discuss • contribs) 12:05, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

Thanks! I've added it, do let me know what you think and feel free to edit as you wish. PerpetualMisfit (discuss • contribs) 14:52, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

Thank you! That was really interseting! I edited it a bit, hope you don't mind. Chopsticks21 (discuss • contribs) 16:54, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

Power in History
This section was really interesting to read, I particularly enjoyed the part on historical nihilism and how governments have the power to 'reshape' history. I added subheadings and made some minor edits (like how disciplines don't need to be capitalised), do feel free to change/undo them! PerpetualMisfit (discuss • contribs) 23:34, 9 November 2020 (UTC)

Collaboration in Power of Philosophy
I found your article very interesting about imbalanced gender power in Philosophy, but I was wondering if elaborating the article by talking about how Philosophy is a powerful subject like you said it was created in Ancient times then why we are still studying it or how it influences the society? Api20 (discuss • contribs) 11:04, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

Suggestions for Power in Nursing
Hello, do you mind if I add just a brief passage at the beginning of your article on how it is usually women who face discrimination in disciplines but nursing is one of the few where men are discriminated? (or feel free to add it yourself if you are inspired) Also I added titles within your article but if you feel like the naming of the sections don't exactly match the point you were trying to make in your different paragraphs feel free to change them! Chopsticks21 (discuss • contribs) 12:39, 9 November 2020 (UTC)

Please feel free to add a brief passage at the beginning. Also thanks for the subtitles! --PepperOud (discuss • contribs) 23:29, 9 November 2020 (UTC)

Okay finished writing it (it's very short), feel free to edit it if you want! Chopsticks21 (discuss • contribs) 12:05, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

Thank you! I've just added a source to prove the gender inequality phenomenon in your brief passage as well. --PepperOud (discuss • contribs) 15:37, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

Okay great! Chopsticks21 (discuss • contribs) 16:54, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

Question for Power in History
Hello, I've noticed that you haven't talked at all about the role of power within history but more about the powers surrounding it. I don't know if that's very clear but basically you've talked about gender inequalities and the control of historical knowledge but not the study of power which, I think is a major factor in history (through the study of any government, any nation, any conflict, always connected to multiple power dynamics; nobility vs peasants, USA vs USSR, etc.) and I was just curious as to why you took that perspective of power in history as I would've expected quite the opposite? (By the way this isn't a criticism, more of curiosity) Chopsticks21 (discuss • contribs) 19:13, 9 November 2020 (UTC)

Hi, I tried to write about how different forms of power influence History as a discipline, rather than how power is conceived within the discipline. I hope what I wrote isn't too off topic then... This approach came rather naturally as I thought it was very interesting to "question" this discipline in which we place so much trust. But as you mentioned the other approach is very relevant as the notion of power is fundamental in History, despite its evolution in its application. --Fantomasque (discuss • contribs) 16:50, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

Okay that makes sense! I agree on the importance of questioning history's authority (did my Truth article on truth in history haha). Thanks for your insight! Chopsticks21 (discuss • contribs) 16:56, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

Question and Collaboration for Power in Literature
I added a couple of citations for the writers you mentioned and expanded on your comment on the Iliad, stating that it is still interesting because the content of its stories are commonly direct human experiences even though it tells the story of the divine interfering with humans.

I wondered whether you could further explain your comment "As the human itself doesn’t change but does its society, stories remain in Time."

Sugarfreejazz1 (discuss • contribs) 03:17, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

What I meant by this was that we still relate to characters in very old stories written a long time ago even if we live in a totally different society. But the reason is that we still have the same feelings and emotions, especially in social interactions. For example, you can see that Romeo and Juliet was written by Shakespeare during the 17th century but there have been hundreds of movies and books adapting the story changing only the world around the characters. You can see that in Romeo + Juliet by Baz Luhrmann in 1996 with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, the story takes place in Verona Beach in Los Angeles but the names, the relations between the characters and the events are exactly the same. Another famous adaption is West Side Story by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise in 1961. It is a movie inspired by the tragedy Romeo and Juliet and takes place in New York City in the sixties. Therefore, a story written a hundred years ago can still be understood and related by people today. Api20 (discuss • contribs) 10:56, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

Hi, I really enjoyed your entry! I just have a friendly suggestion to use gender-neutral pronouns. I noticed that in your second paragraph, you refer to the writer as "he", and I think it would be more suitable to use "they". Eagle1020 (discuss • contribs) 14:14, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

Will do! Thank you Api20 (discuss • contribs) 17:30, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

Suggestion for Power in Social Psychology
Hi, I found this section really interesting and engaging. My suggestion would be that you include a brief definition of conformation bias within your writing (or, alternatively, hyperlink to the wikipedia page on conformation bias?). In fact, I talked about conformation bias within my writing for Truth and I used a source from JSTOR called 'What is conformation bias and why do some people have it?' to define it. Hope that helps. HotelBudapest (discuss • contribs) 17:26, 9 November 2020 (UTC)

Oh that's a great idea, thanks! PerpetualMisfit (discuss • contribs) 22:04, 9 November 2020 (UTC)

Suggestion for Power in Biology
Hello, your article was very interesting. It made me think about another form of power in Biology. Maybe you could elaborate a form of power in Darwin's Theory of Evolution: only the most "powerful" or "suitable" could survive the Evolution. It could be interesting. An article about Evolution : https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12052-009-0128-1 Darwin's Theory: Darwin. The Evolution of species. ISBN-13 : 978-0451529060

Furthermore, I also thought of the power of the discipline itself. Biology is a scientific subject. It changes and evolute in Time discovering new truths that societies follow. It has a certain power in finding the truth about life. And sometimes discoveries in science are too hard on societies. Moreover, we could think of how the interactions inside and outside the discipline show relations of power? (fights between biology and religions in History for example). Maybe this idea could develop another power in social power. Here is an article about facts and debates around the Theory of Evolution : https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/02/11/darwin-day/

Here is a book that could be interesting : Michaels A. The Power of a Theory: confronting Evolution and the Nature of our Existence. ISBN-13: 978-1536932454

An article about Biology in our society : https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_04_372.

About the impact of science on societies by James Burke Jules Bergman and Isaac Asimov: https://history.nasa.gov/sp482.pdf

Api20 (discuss • contribs) 10:56, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

Oh sorry I hadn't seen that as there was already a section concerning my article in the discussion page. I don't think I'll manage to add anything to my article knowing that the deadline is in a few minutes but I'll definitely read these articles! Thanks! Chopsticks21 (discuss • contribs) 17:00, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

Question about Power in History
Like a previous question about your article, I was wondering if you thought of any different form of power in History. You talked about nihilism and gender but do you think that historical characters, testimonies or facts in History could be examples of power? For example, we choose to talk about an event more than another... I also thought of how History is powerful, why we still learn what is past?

Api20 (discuss • contribs) 10:57, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

Suggestion for Power of Gender Bias in Medicine
Hi! I thought you gave some very interesting insight into gender bias in the treatment of patients and medical research, and thought you could maybe also talk a bit more about gender bias within medical professions, as in inequality between men and women working in the medical field, and what power dynamics these create? Here are some linked articles and studies on the subject: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24889702/ and https://journals.lww.com/academicmedicine/FullText/2018/02000/It_Is_Time_for_Zero_Tolerance_for_Sexual.15.aspx --TheStarryLamppost (discuss • contribs) 12:54, 10 November 2020 (UTC)


 * Hello, thank you very much for these links that are very interesting. As I had already written a lot, I only added a small paragraph on this but I will definitely keep it in mind. Feel free to add anything if you want to! Saucesoja (discuss • contribs) 14:18, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

Suggestion for power in literature and collaboration
I found your contribution very interesting. I was wondering if you would be interested in looking into post-colonialism and its implications for power in literature. I wrote a section about power in translation, which is connected to literature, and I think post-colonialism is a topic that would be very relevant to both of us, so maybe we could explore the idea together and share resources.Ridumdepiro (discuss • contribs) 14:22, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

Sounds very interesting! It could indeed be interesting to talk about the power of gender and culture in Literature... Api20 (discuss • contribs) 17:41, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

Suggestion on the Power in Translation
Hey! I find your section very interesting. I've made some minor edits to the grammar of the content. Also, I wonder if you can give a specific example of how the cultural differences between the translator and the author of the source text can influence the outcome? I think it might make your article even better. --PepperOud (discuss • contribs) 15:28, 10 November 2020 (UTC)


 * Hi, I didn't write on this topic, but I was wondering the same thing and I looked up some examples. Most of them were on the impact of translation in diplomatic relations, and I found this very interesting article on the role of language and translation in diplomatic relations between the United Sates and China, if you want to have a look! https://medium.com/discourse/lost-in-translation-how-language-impacts-diplomacy-a81efbbf81ba. This article could also be linked to the last paragraph on the role of culture. Saucesoja (discuss • contribs) 16:12, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

Suggestion for power in translation
Hello, last year in my History class we learned of different translations of the Bible. Interestingly enough, we learned that the word used to describe Mary in the most ancient version (a greek one) was "virgo" which has 2 latin meanings: 1) young girl under 15 and 2)virgin as we think of it now. Maybe you could add a small section where you talk of the gender discrimination that can follow certain translations as the Christian Church chose the second meaning in the Bibles ever since and forced girls to be virgin before a wedding, or that women's sexuality was more taboo then the men's. Just an example of how translation can give more power to a gender :)

Suggestion for the Power of Law
Firstly, I found it very interesting that you included the theories of Michel Foucault in your article as he pushes power farther than the law as you explain clearly. My suggestion was that it could be interesting to analyze the limits of the law and the cases in which it finds itself powerless. You could take the example of international laws that were completely ignored by the USA and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, or countries changing their laws to please big multinational firms. The example of Donald Trump applying pressure to France by adding tariffs as they wanted to tax Google comes to mind. Can individuals, organizations, or countries be powerful enough to render the law powerless?