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Got my dissertation supervisor today, it is of no surprise to me that I got my course leader based on my synopsis that was handed in. Shame I'm changing my whole dissertation topic, never mind the question. Ohh well I'm sure it'll be fine. Just need to come up with it now. :lol:

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Considering I just started covering this today, could you expand on the construction issues? The whole idea of protestantism(frugality, self-denial, and a "rational" view of religion) allowing/enabling a capitalist society seemed quite valid. It could be the way the lecturer presented it though, as most sociology lecturers seem very bias to certain paths of thought/belief.

Have you read the protestant work ethic and the spirit of capitalism?

To briefly outline the massive historical own-goals associated with the above theory in European history alone:

- the first region of Europe to arguably attain a functioning capitalist economy were Italian city states in the 15th Century. Even prior to the Reformation, not a hotbed of Protestant anti-clerical sentiment.

- Scotland was an uber-Protestant, Covenanting hotbed in the 17th Century but remained a complete backwater during the development capitalism in the Netherlands and to a lesser extent in England in the period.

- Industrial capitalism in continetal Europe was led by Catholic Belgium, whereas an equally-sized, previously richer and Protestant Netherlands remained agrarian. Ditto Bohemia or the Ruhr Valley in comparison to Lutheran Scandinavia.

The unequal development of capitalist societies has been overwhelmingly driven by the availability of resources, the existence of crucial economic stimuli to innovate (ie high demand for food with lack of land available: colonisation and agricultural improvement) and the subsequent benefits attached to colonisation above any mumbo-jumbo 'cultural' explanations. On a global level, Kenneth Pomeranz's 'The Great Divergence...' explains this very well, comparing Britain with the most densely-populated regions of China. The idea that hugely wealthy Chinese merchants were missing a trick thanks to (largely mythical) characteristics self-identified with Protestantism is nothing less than grotesque and absurd.

Edited by vikingTON
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There's a new honours class for politics this year called Governance & Development and we had an entire discussion on Weber's Protestant ethic nonsense yesterday. Surprisingly (to me, at least) the majority of the class agreed with Weber.

Then again, someone did say in the first week of the class that the Highlands were underdeveloped, "stuck in the dark ages" and had a religious divide between Catholics and Protestants. He, unfortunately, wasn't joking.

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There's a new honours class for politics this year called Governance & Development and we had an entire discussion on Weber's Protestant ethic nonsense yesterday. Surprisingly (to me, at least) the majority of the class agreed with Weber.

Then again, someone did say in the first week of the class that the Highlands were underdeveloped, "stuck in the dark ages" and had a religious divide between Catholics and Protestants. He, unfortunately, wasn't joking.

It just goves to prove that intelligence - raw IQ at least - does not impact on the level of someone's ignorance.

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It must be a real beamer for the dwindling sociology course co-ordinators, when they're inevitably forced to launch partnerships with Chinese universities. Erm yes our most welcome guests, this subject relies on a sketchy half-baked theory that your current late-developing position in the world owes to a lack of 'rational' religious affiliation or any Chinese work ethic.

So when do we pick up your cheque?

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Then again, someone did say in the first week of the class that the Highlands were underdeveloped, "stuck in the dark ages" and had a religious divide between Catholics and Protestants. He, unfortunately, wasn't joking.

Was he getting the Highlands confused with Glasgow?
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My tutor is on strike tomorrow so my seminar, in which I've spent about a week preparing a presentation for, is cancelled. I'm sitting at a 2A just now but I'm going to email my module coordinator and milk this like f**k in the hope of getting bumped up to a first.

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Glasgow Uni library is closed. Came all the way into uni to get some work done only to find out they've closed the library.

If they are on strike, they are on strike, but someone at the uni surely could have sent an email to let students know the library will be closed.

Also not sure if I like being told not to cross a picket line by someone with a megaphone simply for walking into the main building to get a coffee.

Strikes make me considerably more right wing. If they want to take industrial action, that's their business, why get annoyed at students using the facilities we pay a shit-load of money to use? If picket lines were more friendly, less militant and let us get on with our business I feel there would be less frustration on campus about their antics.

Also the loony left trying to convince me to join some CND campaign is odd, what have CND got to do with university staff pay conditions?

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Guest honestrae95

Glasgow Uni library is closed. Came all the way into uni to get some work done only to find out they've closed the library.

If they are on strike, they are on strike, but someone at the uni surely could have sent an email to let students know the library will be closed.

Also not sure if I like being told not to cross a picket line by someone with a megaphone simply for walking into the main building to get a coffee.

Strikes make me considerably more right wing. If they want to take industrial action, that's their business, why get annoyed at students using the facilities we pay a shit-load of money to use? If picket lines were more friendly, less militant and let us get on with our business I feel there would be less frustration on campus about their antics.

Also the loony left trying to convince me to join some CND campaign is odd, what have CND got to do with university staff pay conditions?

Completely agree. I went up to the library to get some work done to find it was closed. Apparently it was on the website, but surely they should have at least sent us an email.

Agree with your point on picket lines being too militant as well. I personally would give them more support if they weren't going to be complete throbbers about people essentially moving from building to building. Not that I do particularly agree with the strike.

I'm always getting harassed by left wing extremists such as the Marxist group when moving about campus. They seem to be a very active group.

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1396034_643662849012303_220362708_n.jpg

Despite not striking, not being a part of the union, and ultimately, it having no effect on me, I'm entirely behind them.

The irony being that along with everything else in the country, the top level of HE take so much that the bottom level get f**k all, when really there's plenty for everyone to make a decent living.

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Feeling pretty embarrassed tonight, although it's a bit of a non-event.

A few weeks into the Sports Studies module and I had a 500 word essay on 'What is Sport?' to be completed, which I believed would only be used for a computer lab test about turnitin. Cleverly, I decided it was a piece of piss and so proceeded to write an incoherent, utterly shambolic essay in the space of 5 minutes which in no way related to or answered the question (I did this as it would not be getting marked). To top it off, in a moment of abject stupidity I also typed my name onto the top of the so-called 'essay'. :1eye

I have found out this week that this essay will be reviewed by fellow students as part of the 2nd assignment of the module. Frankly, I'm not bothered that it's a shite essay but the fact that it has my name on it turns it into a whole new ball game. Considering deactivating my Facebook for a week and laying low for a while...

Edited by Chupacabra
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Feeling pretty embarrassed tonight, although it's a bit of a non-event.

A few weeks into the Sports Studies module and I had a 500 word essay on 'What is Sport?' to be completed, which I believed would only be used for a computer lab test about turnitin. Cleverly, I decided it was a piece of piss and so proceeded to write an incoherent, utterly shambolic essay in the space of 5 minutes which in no way related to or answered the question (I did this as it would not be getting marked). To top it off, in a moment of abject stupidity I also typed my name onto the top of the so-called 'essay'. :1eye

I have found out this week that this essay will be reviewed by fellow students as part of the 2nd assignment of the module. Frankly, I'm not bothered that it's a shite essay but the fact that it has my name on it turns it into a whole new ball game. Considering deactivating my Facebook for a week and laying low for a while...

Your life at Uni is just a never ending clusterfuck :lol:.

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Did you not do history? Mmmm

A fine point. VT has always been in denial that history is on a par with the likes of sociology / psychology and that will never change seeing as he appears to be devoting his life to it. Hobby subject requiring him to stay in academia to make any use of it imo.

It's like trying to tell an Orc that Rangers died, perhaps more difficult.

Edited by Hedgecutter
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