College of Humanities and Social Sciences

During the 1950s, after the ending of the WWII, the USA economy was booming. More people than ever before had access to new cars, suburban houses, ​and other consumer goods. Looking forward to a period of stability, conformity to social and government rules were seen as crucial in safeguarding the American way of life. Easy access to pop culture, movies, and most importantly news gave Americans a common vision, characterized by a heightened level of uniformity in social norms. Although often described as a happy period, the 1950s conformity also initiated many social problems. The quest for conformity reached its peak during what was called the anti-communist “Red Scare” hysteria of the 1950s, during which people with ‘communist’ ideology or associations were discriminated against and prosecuted. Amongst the social movements that emerged and pushed against oppression and for social rights issues, The Beat Generation defied the conformist tendency and consumerist culture in the U.S., through their writing and lifestyle.

What’s in a word? Since its original appearance into the world’s dictionary in the late 1800s, the word ‘Feminism’ has always sparked controversy. The motives have been the political and social implication of the movement, but also the constant evolution of its meaning. The definition of the word and the social movement have evolved by feeding on each other. Initially blamed for representing only white, middle-class women, the movement expanded its activism toward representing the rights of all women, then of all marginalized groups, and finally representing the rights of all people. Although the definition has always been pro-woman rights and not against men rights, anti-feminist groups have tried to redefine, to a certain success, its meaning and created a counternarrative for the movement mission. Amidst the ongoing controversy around the word ‘feminism’, today’s feminists are reclaiming the word and using it to fuel an all-inclusive social movement, represented by the Women’s March. Chosen as the word of the year in 2017 by Merriam-Webster, the word ‘Feminism’ is engaging people in discussions and activism in regard to women’s and human’s rights.

What could go wrong on a sunny Sunday afternoon? In the short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, the reader is presented with the normal life, of a normal teenage girl, that suddenly takes a dark turn. When two old looking ‘teenagers’ show up at Connie’s driveway, it does not take long for the reader and Connie to understand the shady nature of the uninvited guests. During the course of a few minutes, we see Connie shapeshift into different female archetypes, but none of them helps her overcome the dangerous situation she finds herself in. She goes from being the ‘femme fatale,’ to the ‘maiden in distress,’ and finally ‘the martyr,’ sacrificing herself for her family. In typical storylines, authors usually blame the vanity of the heroine for her fate, but Oates sympathizes with Connie. She tries to bring to the reader’s attention the issue of families and societies failure to encourage females to create a stronger sense of identity.

Wilson, the reader is presented with the larger-than-life character of Troy Maxson, who initially seems to be in control of his life, but soon we discover he is not. When he was a teenager, Troy escaped the crop farms and his abusive father and sought refuge in the city but was immediately faced with the hard reality of living there. After fathering a son and struggling to provide for his family, Troy spent 15 years in jail. He comes out a changed man, but the world outside has also changed. His girlfriend has moved on and his son has grown up without him. He meets Rose, they marry, have a son together and for 17 years he keeps his life under control​ until he doesn’t. The theme of “fathers and sons” is one of the pillars of the play “Fences”, connecting the stories of three generations of the Maxson family. Troy’s difficult relationship with his own father shapes him as a parent and his relationship with Lyon and Cory. Maxson man’s path to manhood includes the act of defiance against their fathers, fleeing their home and finally internalizing them. Troy’s struggles as a father and son is a representation of the importance of the father-son relationship and how that shapes the character of the sons.

Machine learning-based (IDS) have become a critical component of safeguarding our economic and national security because of the massive quantities of data produced each day and the growing interconnection of the world's Internet infrastructures. The existing machine Learning Model technique may have difficulty comprehending the ever-increasingly complex distribution of data invasion patterns. With a small number of data points, a single deep learning algorithm may be ineffective at capturing different patterns for intrusive attacks. We presented CNN-LSTM Novel Intrusion Detection Model for Big Data to improve the efficiency of IDS-based CNN-LSTM even further (NIDM). NIDM uses behavioural traits and content functions to understand the characteristics when compared to earlier single learning model tactics, this strategy can improve the rate of intrusive attack detection.