Wednesday, February 27

Help, please, smart people?

Ok, so, I'm writing this massive paper in 3 days which is really dumb but I can't change my previous time management decisions. I'm going to post my progresses on here in hopes that some of you fine, learned, thinking people will give me some constructive criticism as I go. My topic is a little abstract and I want to make sure that I am actually communicating effectively what I am trying to say.

so...PLEASE, gimme some feed back. Even if it's as simple as "Yes, that makes sense." if it does. If it doesn't, could you help me pinpoint the areas that could use some tweaking? THANK YOU!


Language is the primary tool for communication among members of the human race. The words available within a linguistic system that serve to represent thoughts and allow them to be transmitted can either limit or expand the ways one is able to conceive of and express ideas, which subsequently shapes the way one speaks, and ultimately how one acts. From that frame of reference, this paper will seek to analyze the linguistic discourse that provides a framework for the discussion and carrying-out of humanitarian activities. We will begin with a discussion of linguistic theory in an attempt to discover what type of relationship exists between words and ideas. Based on those conclusions, we will analyze a number of phrases and terms related to humanitarian activity, beginning with “humanitarian” itself, and then look at the historical conception of the “right to intervene” followed by the modern phrase of preference, the “responsibility to protect”. Close analysis of these phrases will seek to uncover the assumptions that they may carry, and to critique the potential limitations of such language. Finally, this paper will seek to look at the relationship between thought, word and action, by looking how at the current discourse around the responsibility to protect is helping or hindering the cause of humanitarianism in the modern world.

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