Xiaomeng Fu: The effects of the one-child policy on the education system, and girls’ lives in China

Xiaomeng Fu: The effects of the one-child policy on the education system, and girls’ lives in China

In 2015, the two-children policy was introduced nationally in China to take the place of the former one-child policy, which was put in practice nationally in 1979, to increase the population growth rate. The one-child policy means, literally, one family could not have more than one child. This policy was criticized by the international community since it has been introduced, due to human rights violations, sex-selected abortion, abandonment, etc. In this essay, I will talk about the influence of the one-child policy regarding both, its positive and negative consequences. I will focus on the effect on the education system, and regarding the consequences for girls, because one could claim that the one-child policy actually protects girls and can be considered part of the women’s rights struggle in China.

Max Rehmet: Incarceration and the African American Family in the Films of Charles Burnett

Max Rehmet: Incarceration and the African American Family in the Films of Charles Burnett

Incarceration poses a disproportionate threat to African Americans. A popular conception is that the family structure of African Americans is to blame. The demonisation of matriarchal family structures was influenced by the Moynihan Report from 1965 and has since not only been reiterated by conservative commentators but also by representations of black families in film and television. Charles Burnett’s strategy of representation manages to address the sensitive issue of incarceration among African Americans without exploiting the image of violent young black men. Rather than focusing on ‘pathology’ Burnett portrays the complexity of the African American family, while drawing attention to external reasons for its vulnerability.