Religious Movements of 18th Century America Essay

Religious Movements of 18th Century America - Essay Example The Awakening was the first major religious movement to sweep through the colonies. By 1720, church membership had declined and in many areas in the backcountry preachers and churches were not available (Nash et al., 149). The Awakening was a non-denominational movement that derived its popularity from the belief that anyone could preach the word of God simply by being 'born again' into their faith in Christ. This attracted nomadic preachers and a revival environment that spread throughout the countryside. Because many of its followers were non-traditional and poor, the movement often became a lightening rod for social movements. The movement was able to draw distinctions between the elite and the poor and in doing so became an instrument of political and social reform. The Enlightenment had begun in the middle 17th century in Europe and spread to the colonies by the early 18th century. It was also a religious movement, but believed that man and science could reason the universe and come to an understanding with God. This belief, known as deism, promoted a natural order in the world (Henretta, Brody, and Dumenil, 113).

Creative writing assignment Essay Example for Free

Creative writing assignment Essay To describe myself in three adjectives, one of the words would have to be that Im ambitious. To be ambitious is to be eager and greatly desirous. For example, I play on an ice hockey team and lots, if not all, are all skating drills where its really tiring, but yet, the day before practices, I am always excited and eager to play the next day, where I no that many other players hate going to practices. Another example would be that I make many goals that I always try my best to achieve which most of the time motivate me to try even harder. For example, at the beginning of grade seven, I made a goal to be on the honor roll while being on as many school teams as possible for each of my years at junior high, and I achieved that goal with flying colors. This year, my goal is to make it on the honor roll once again and also to be on the junior volleyball school team, and by making that a goal for me, it makes me try even harder to achieve it. The second word I would use to describe myself would be trustworthy. To be trustworthy is to be reliable and to be worthy of confidence. I use this word to describe myself because I am the kind of person that you can trust with anything from something in words or something material. If someone were to tell me something with confidence that I wouldnt tell another person, that someone wouldnt have to worry because I would never break the trust that that someone puts in me. If someone has enough confidence in me to tell me something or ask me to hold something for him or her, it shows me that they have trust in me, to me, that is a big complement, and if I were to break that trust, I would lose that complement forever. For example, my parents trust me enough to stay home alone from time to time, and the only reason they do is because I havent broken their trust before. The third and final word I would use to describe myself is athletic. Unlike the other adjectives I used, athletic is a word that always pops into my head whenever I am asked to describe myself. Although it isnt as deep as the other two, I felt the need to put it as one of my three adjectives because without it, it just doesnt feel like me. The reason I use this word to describe myself is simple, because I play a lot of sports and I enjoy them more then anything. Ive been athletic about all my life, and I feel it is important for everyone to be physically fit especially while youre young, it  makes u feel better about yourself and even has many long term life saving effects.

Transformative Pedagogy and Learning

Transformative Pedagogy and Learning One of the most exciting changes that have occurred in education during the past decade has been the increase in knowledge in the areas of brain research and cognitive science. This research has produced a wealth of knowledge about how the brain functions and the kinds of conditions under which it learns most effectively. This new knowledge has significant implications for pedagogy and curriculum, and also for how schools are organized because the reality is that the kinds of conditions that are needed to promote learning are not seen inmost schools. Increased knowledge about new research related to pedagogy and curriculum is vital to making decisions about new strategies or innovations. The term pedagogy is defined as the art and science of being a teacher, refers not only to strategies or styles of instruction but also to the facilitation and management of sustainable transformations, whether individual, social, structural or institutional. The transformative dimension of pedagogy deserves to be clarified, revisited and eventually changed the responsibility of educators to transcend the traditional role and expand the scope of the work towards an active participation to knowledge enrichment. What is Transformative Pedagogy? A transformative pedagogy is based both on a realistic view of contemporary and on possible paths to improvement in our human life. Knowledge is a social concept and it emphasiss the value of multiple perspectives in the teaching/learning experience. It is well known learners construct their own knowledge, based on their interaction with the environment. It is within the constructivist perspective that we find insights about transformative pedagogy. It is in this environment that the critical questioning can lead to deeper self-reflection as students absorb with knowledge and perspectives that differ from their own. The process of transformative pedagogy opens the door for the development of problem-solving skills that promote active responses within the larger society, making transformative pedagogy far more than the transmission of information. It also expands the view of students and teachers alike, leading to greater self-awareness, deeper compassion for others and a commitment to produce change in self and the world. Teachers should be enfranchised to take meaning from what their pupils bring with them into the classroom. Childrens cultural exchanges with other children are important and dominant in the negotiations of interests between home, school and peer group, Present day system of teaching and learning In todays educational scenario the curriculum is classified and framed. Teachers have little opportunity to introduce new ideas. Teachers dont have autonomy in curriculum matters. Schools still use printed and linear pedagogy that was developed in the past. Teachers tend to use new technologies which can be adapted to their old styles of teaching following the syllabus guidelines. Young people learn more by peer group interaction than engagement with adults. In the process of learning evaluation is done by conducting tests. It is believed that all human beings are alike. Every learner was assigned same lesson. Teaching was teacher centered and the curriculum focused on subject matter. The information was organized in sequenced topics and units and the teacher delivered and students have to master them. The intended outcome is to pass the test by memorizing and mastering the transmitted information. Advantages of Transformative Pedagogy Transformative pedagogy places the student at the center of learning. It help learners find their own inner voice and power, therefore they feel empowered to effect social change. Teachers have to respect and will have compassions for co-learners. All ways of knowing are interconnected and enriched by each other. The desired outcome is to change- to transfer learning into social action outside the classroom. Transformative pedagogy is closer to collaborative approach. The power is more likely to be shared between students and teachers. The curriculum focuses on problems and solutions by both teachers and students and they jointly construct meaning that informs learners personal growth. Learning is measured by observing each students growth and thinking process, inquiry process, and students predisposition to lifelong learning. Transformative learning involves experiencing a deep, structural shift in the basic premise of thought, feeling, and actions. It is a shift of consciousness that dramatically and permanently alters our way of being in the world. Such a shift involves our understanding of ourselves and our self-locations; our relationships with other humans and with the natural world; our understanding of relations of power in interlocking structures of class, race, and gender; our body-awareness; our visions of alternative approaches to living; and our sense of the possibilities for social justice and peace and personal joy Edmund V. OSullivan (2002) Process of Transformative Learning The process of transformative learning involves four vital concepts known as experiencing, conceptualising, analysing, and applying. Experiencing understands in our own ways the interests, perspectives and expressions that learners form in their mind. Conceptualising is drawing and calling something with distinctions of similarity and difference with interpretative framework. Analysing is a process of reasoning, drawing inferential and deductive conclusions, establishing functional relations. It also involves evaluation of your own and other peoples perspectives, interests and motives. Applying is the application of knowledge and understandings to the complex diversity of real world situations and testing their validity. The technology has the potential to inspire all of us to transform the way we live, the way we teach, and the way we learn. It is a radical transformation in educational practice, especially who learns from whom, where, under what circumstances, and for what and whose purpose. Hence the notion of a transformative pedagogy in the environment of ubiquitous learning (Cope Kalantzis, 2008) is not to start from the side of the teacher, but from the side of the student. Internet resources can uniquely facilitate advocacy by helping students obtain necessary information, promoting communication, and enabling coordination with others who have similar concerns. Conclusion The importance of preparing teachers for transformative learning cannot be emphasized enough. If the persistent achievement, learning, and community gaps ((Lee, 2005) are to be closed, and if we are to foster a multicultural democracy, we need teachers who possess the habits and minds of transformative practice. To facilitate successful learning in multicultural education courses, professors must be proactive and engage in pedagogies that are empowering, humanizing, and liberating yet engaging enough to foster meaningful knowledge construction and yet critical enough to challenge students conservative and myopic beliefs and values. We have to study, think, and dialogue about the future of our schools in a time when global knowledge, information technology and the constancy of change are altering the environment of learning. When students make the transition from the classroom into the work force, they are by and large, simply not equipped to handle the challenges they race. They have not acquired the real world skills they need to thrive not just survive in todays laser fast, high-tech globally competitive environment but to help face a future that is more volatile, competitive and complex than ever before. Learning is a community endeavor. The corner stone of a prosperous nation is its intellectual capital. Its true wealth is the treasure of the collective minds of its populace. Creating an ideal, true learning society is the real challenge for the future schools. The future schools will be a workplace for creative, innovative and productive learning for children to make them live with more confident and to b e useful to the society and community and to a large extent to b the good citizen of a nation. The main challenge for tomorrows schools is creating a knowledgeable creative society. Transformative pedagogy is one of the important concepts of learning every pedagogue should know for transforming children of today. P. Vijayachandran

Religious Perspective of Cloning :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

Religious Perspective of Cloning Many questions are raised about cloning a human being. It has moral and ethical issues and their affect on our society. The real question is, what is it to be a human being? Most of the organized religions' response to the issue of cloning is in an overwhelmingly negative fashion. They are not however outright eliminating the thought. Roman Catholics, Jewish, Protestants and other religions all have diverse opinions but there overall conclusions are the same. Their concerns are for the preservation of human dignity and the individual's freedom. Cloning is not only wrong it totally goes against the religious and biblical principles that have been deeply rooted for many centuries and have been past on from our ancestors many years ago. Cloning is condemned because of the violation of our dignity. Most religions are cautious against applying the new technology to humans, but for varying reasons. "Protestant theology emphasizes the view that nature is "fallen" and subject to improvement... But while they tend to support using technology to fix flaws in nature, Protestant theologians say cloning of humans crosses the line" (Herbert, Sheler and Watson 62). There are so many possibilities that cloning brings about; and most of them bring about nothing more than destruction of the human race. As we have known today and years ago, anything that is created with good intention will find it ways to destructive consequences. Religion has played a big part in our society today and will continue its role for many generations to follow. It is religion that provides us with moral and ethical senses. Once again we must seek their guidance. Roman Catholic Church argues their religious and ethical viewpoints. Their views are based largely on the interpretation of the story of creation. The dignity that has bestowed on us from God and cloning will violate our dignity as Godchildren. We are solely responsible for maintaining and preserving what God has created. "Cloned humans are manufactured in the image of existing people instead of created by a 'unique creative of God' " (Emig, Lau and Stone). Roman Catholics are strongly against any production of human cloning research, and believe an outright ban is needed. The Jewish on the other hand favor human cloning, with justifiable explanations. Their view on human cloning is based upon historical and sacred writings that focus on human destiny.

Billy Mitchell: A Critical Analysis of His Leadership Essay

Billy Mitchell was a visionary airpower pioneer who demonstrated very effective leadership in field operations, but his inability to develop a guiding coalition limited his effectiveness in leading the major organizational change he so desperately desired. General Mitchell was a famous, some would say infamous, airpower thinker who some regard as the father of the United States Air Force.1 Born into a wealthy family and the son of a Wisconsin Senator, Mitchell could have chosen a life of luxury. But Billy sought great adventure and chose the military life instead. He joined the Army at the age of eighteen, six years before the Wright brothers made their first historic flight at Kitty Hawk. Once powered flight was proven, it wouldn’t take long for men to make it a weapon of war. For the U.S. Army, Mitchell found himself leading this effort in World War I and, by all accounts, he did so superbly. In this experience, he gained a vision for airpower so firmly embraced that he beca me America’s most outspoken supporter of air forces and the need for an independent Air Service. See more: how to write an analysis As he pursued this challenge, Mitchell’s leadership was both stirring and divisive – leading to heroic displays of airpower technology and also to courts martial for insubordination. Despite his efforts, General Mitchell was not able to drive the Army and the nation to the strategic change he desired for airpower. In the years, however, following his downfall, many of his concepts eventually won the day. Denied his dream in life, his contributions were rewarded six years after his death when he was posthumously promoted to Major General and awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. How could a man succeed so greatly in one phase of his life, but fail to achieve the same level of success in another, given the fact that history has proven his airpower tenants correct? To answer this, one must examine Mitchell’s leadership and explore how it affected his successes and failures. The Air War College leadership curriculum provides an environment to examine the underpinning s of leadership and how it may be defined and improved. As a core analytical framework, it utilizes the Right to Lead (RTL) Model. 2 This model allows one, given certain authority, obligations, and requirements, to assess leadership against the factors of competence, character, personality, and relevance. I use these factors to assess Mitchell’s field leadership and provide rationale for his operational successes. Mitchell possessed high levels of leadership competence, especially with regard to his knowledge and skills. He was very intelligent and dedicated himself to mastering the technical aspects of every military duty, which crossed a wide gamut from reading Morse code to flying aircraft. His assignments, from the jungles of the Philippines to the barren tundra of Alaska, provided him with great breadth of experience from which he polished the personal skills needed to lead his men. He leveraged this talent in the first world war, when he brought the power of his knowledge and experience to combat the ignorance of those who failed to understand how to employ airpower in the fight. 3 The one limiting factor in Mitchell’s competence related to his behavior, specifically in the wear of the uniform, where he was known to take â€Å"free reign in everything that adds a touch of picturesque to his personality.4 He would have been wise to remedy his behavior in this regard, as some of his actions drew outrage from his men, including the wear of more gold chevrons on his sleeve than he was authorized.5 Luckily for Mitchell, due to his strength of character, his men were mostly willing to overlook his behavioral faults. He was known as a man of integrity and was fiercely devoted to the well being of his men. Given that an honest effort was put forward, he was surprisingly tolerant of mistakes. Most importantly in the eyes of his troops, before ordering a subordinate to undertake a tough assignment, Mitchell would experiment with the task himself.6 Consider the following: Mitchell enlisted into the Army at eighteen despite his option of an easier life; he was th e first airmen to volunteer for assignment to France in World War I; and he was the first American officer to fly over the German front lines. 7 I argue that these examples all support the fine character of General Mitchell. Mitchell’s personality was well suited for leadership in a field environment. He was able to effectively utilize the coercive, authoritative, and pacesetting leadership styles that, according to leadership research, were well suited for executing his vision in stressful environments with highly motivated men.8 He engendered high levels of trust from those who worked under him and gained the respect of those who worked by his side, including the British, French, and Italian allied leadership.9 Relevance, the apex of the RTL model, is a direct result of a leader’s influence and occurs at the organizational, environmental, and personal levels.10 Mitchell showed relevance in all of these areas. First, from an environmental perspective, he brought together multiple organizations, air forces from Britain, Italy, and the United States, and integrated their personnel and equipment into a viable fi ghting force, which culminated in â€Å"the greatest concentration of air power that had ever taken place.† 11 He had high organizational relevance, changing the persona of his combined force from one solely focused on strategic attack, to one comfortable executing the additional tactics and techniques of air superiority, close air support, and interdiction.12 Finally, General Mitchell had tremendous personal relevance to the airmen fighting under his command. As America rushed to get into the European air fight, they suffered from long delays in producing aircraft and training pilots, so much so that the vast majority of Army airmen shipped to Mitchell had never seen an airplane.13 He took this force and trained them to fly, fight, and win – culminating in a decisive victory at the Battle of St. Mihiel. The RTL model proves a valuable tool to help understand why Mitchell was an effective leader in field operations, which culminated in his effective planning and execution of the European air campaign of World War I. His experiences there convinced him that airpower would be the domi nate force in future warfare and to effectively organize, train, equip, and employ it required the creation of an independent Air Service Department. 14 Enacting such a vision required strategic organizational change, which Mitchell attempted to lead. He proved less successful in this regard and I’ll look to experts on leading change in an effort to understand why. In his book Leading Change, John Kotter spells out the eight steps to create major change within an organization.15 The change process can be summarized in three phases: break the status quo; introduce many new practices; and ground the changes into the organizational culture.16 To break the status quo, post-war budget cutbacks provided the required sense of urgency to produce military change and Mitchell had a clear and articulate vision, but he failed to create a sufficiently powerful guiding coalition to support the change. Though he was able to create a large cadre of airpower advocates in the military, the congress, and in the public, Mitchell was never able to get Army and Navy leadership to buy into his vision. When the head of an organization is not an active supporter, major change can be impossible.17 Unable to break the status quo, Mitchell targeted the second phase of the change process by introducing new practices and empowering those under his command to take broad action in the development of new aircraft and more capable munitions. Mitchell hoped public demonstrations of these capabilities would force his leadership to buy into his vision. In an attempt to make this happen, he turned to dissent. Mitchell utilized the national press to campaign for support, publicly denouncing the policies and positions of his leadership.18 In more recent times, other famous leaders, including Generals Douglas McArthur and Stanley McChrystal, have been relieved for publicly espousing opinion in conflict with national leadership. But I believe Mitchell felt national security was at stake and that, as the Army’s top airpower strategist, his expertise was being overlooked. When these conditions are met, some argue that dissent is appropriate.19 Right or wrong, Mitchell’s public campaign won him a very public showing of airpower capabilities, where his men famously sunk the battleship Ostfriesland.20 His public success did garner support for aviation – Navy aviation. The public nature of his dissent offended leadership and made it impossible for him to build the guiding coalition required for his vision. Without this key ingredient, he was unable to drive the organizational change desired. General Richard Myers argues that successful strategic leaders must manage cognitive dissonance.21 Thus, successful management means maintaining relationships despite disagreement. Mitchell failed here when he went public. Remarkably, he wasn’t fired, probably because his views aligned with the public mood of the day. 22 However, he again enacted this approach three years later with even stronger criticism of national policy and leadership. This time, he’d experience the impacts of dissent as he was tried and convicted at court martial. Although this ended his military career, Mitchell regarded his trial as a necessary cog in the wheel of progress.23 Billy Mitchell was an extremely effective leader in field operations. He was also a visionary airpower pioneer who attempted, but failed, to lead organizational change due to his inability to build the requisite coalition. His ideas were valid and later implemented after his death. It took men with different leadership competencies, however, to eventually enact the changes Mitchell so deeply advocated. 1. Lt Col William Ott, â€Å"Maj Gen William â€Å"Billy† Mitchell: A Pyrrhic Promotion,† Air and Space Power Journal, Winter 2006, 27. 2. Gene Kamena, Col Mark Danigole, and CAPT Scott Askins, â€Å"The Right to Lead,† (working paper, Air War College, Maxwell, AL, 2012), 1. 3. Roger Burlingame, General Billy Mitchell (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, Inc., 1978), 78. 4. Ibid., 103. 5. Ibid., 79. 6. Ibid., 78-79. 7. Dr. Michael L. Grumelli, â€Å"Billy Mitchell’s Air War: Practice, Promise, and Controversy,† (lecture, National Museum of the United States Air Force Lecture Series, Dayton, OH, 16 Jan 2000), NPN. 8. Daniel Goleman, â€Å"Leadership That Gets Results,† On Point: Harvard Business Review, March-April, 2002, 11. 9. Burlingame, General Billy Mitchell, 103. 10. Kamena, Danigole, and Askins, â€Å"The Right to Lead,† 1-5. 11. Burlingame, General Billy Mitchell, 94. 12. Grumelli, â€Å"Billy Mitchell’s Air War,† NPN. 13. Burlingame, General Billy Mitchell, 73-74. 14. Alfred F. Hurley, Billy Mitchell: Crusader for Air Power (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1975), 40. 15. John P. Kotter, Leading Change (Boston MA: Harvard Business School Press, 1996), 20-22. 16. Ibid., 23. 17. Ibid., 6. 18. Hurley, Billy Mitchell: Crusader for Air Power, 62. 19. Don M. Snyder, Dissent and Strategic Leadership in the Military Professions, ASSI Publication 849 (Carlisle, PA: Army Strategic Studies Institute, February 2008), 6-7. 20. Hurley, Billy Mitchell: Crusader for Air Power, 64-69. 21. GEN Richard B. Myers, Ret. and Albert C. Pierce, â€Å"On Strategic Leadership,† Joint Force Quarterly, No. 54, 3rd quarter 2009, 13. 22. Hurley, Billy Mitchell: Crusader for Air Power, 90. 23. Hurley, Billy Mitchell: Crusader for Air Power, 105. Bibliography 1. Roger Burlingame, General Billy Mitchell (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, Inc., 1978), 1-94. 2. Daniel Goleman, â€Å"Leadership That Gets Results,† On Point: Harvard Business Review, March-April, 2002,1-15. 3. Dr. Michael L. Grumelli, â€Å"Billy Mitchell’s Air War: Practice, Promise, and Controversy,† (lecture, National Museum of the United States Air Force Lecture Series, Dayton, OH, 16 Jan 2000) 4. Alfred F. Hurley, Billy Mitchell: Crusader for Air Power (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1975), 1-105. 5. Gene Kamena, Col Mark Danigole, and CAPT Scott Askins, â€Å"The Right to Lead,† (working paper, Air War College, Maxwell, AL, 2012), 1-14. 6. John P. Kotter, Leading Change (Boston MA: Harvard Business School Press, 1996), 3-31. 7. GEN Richard B. Myers, Ret. and Albert C. Pierce, â€Å"On Strategic Leadership,† Joint Force Quarterly, No. 54, 3rd quarter 2009, 12-13. 8. Lt Col William Ott, â€Å"Maj Gen William â€Å"Billy† M itchell: A Pyrrhic Promotion,† Air and Space Power Journal, Winter 2006, 27-33. 9. Don M. Snyder, Dissent and Strategic Leadership in the Military Professions, ASSI Publication 849 (Carlisle, PA: Army Strategic Studies Institute, February 2008), 1-46. 10. Marybeth P. Ulrich, â€Å"The General Stanley McChrystal Affair: A Case Study in Civil-Military Relations,† Parameters, US Army War College Quarterly, Vol. XLI No. 1, Spring 2011, pp. 86-100.

Tobacco and the Origins and Domestication of Nicotiana

Tobacco and the Origins and Domestication of Nicotiana Tobacco (Nicotiana rustica and N. tabacum) is a plant that was and is used as a psychoactive substance, a narcotic, a painkiller, and a pesticide and, as a result, it is and was used in the ancient past in a wide variety of rituals and ceremonies. Four species were recognized by Linnaeus in 1753, all originating from the Americas, and all from the nightshade family (Solanaceae). Today, scholars recognize over 70 different species, with N. tabacum the most economically important; almost all of them originated in South America, with one endemic to Australia and another to Africa. Domestication History A group of recent biogeographical studies reports that modern tobacco ( N. tabacum) originated in the highland Andes, probably Bolivia or northern Argentina, and was likely a result of the hybridization of two older species, N. sylvestris and a member of the section Tomentosae, perhaps N. tomentosiformis Goodspeed. Long before the Spanish colonization, tobacco had been distributed well outside its origins, throughout South America, into Mesoamerica and reaching the Eastern Woodlands of North America no later than ~300 BC. Although some debate within the scholarly community exists suggesting that some varieties may have originated in Central America or Southern Mexico, the most widely accepted theory is that N. tabacum originated where the historical ranges of its two progenitor species intersected. The earliest dated tobacco seeds found to date are from early Formative levels at Chiripa in the Lake Titicaca region of Bolivia. Tobacco seeds were recovered from Early Chiripa contexts (1500-1000 BC), although not in sufficient quantities or contexts to prove tobacco  use with shamanistic practices. Tushingham and colleagues have traced a continuous record of smoking tobacco in pipes in western North America from at least 860 AD, and at the time of European colonial contact, tobacco was the most widely exploited intoxicant in the Americas. Curanderos and Tobacco Tobacco is believed to be one of the first plants used in the New World to initiate ecstasy trances. Taken in large amounts, tobacco induces hallucinations, and, perhaps not surprisingly, tobacco use is associated with pipe ceremonialism and bird imagery throughout the Americas. Physical changes associated with extreme doses of tobacco use include a lowered heart rate, which in some cases has been known to render the user into a catatonic state. Tobacco is consumed in a number of ways, including chewing, licking, eating, sniffing, and enemas, although smoking is the most effective and common form of consumption. Among the ancient Maya and extending down to today, tobacco was a sacred, supernaturally powerful plant, considered a primordial medicine or botanical helper and associated with Maya deities of the earth and sky. A classic 17 year-long study by ethnoarchaeologist Kevin Goark (2010) looked at the use of the plant among the Tzeltal-Tzotzil Maya communities in highland Chiapas, recording processing methods, physiological effects, and magico-protective uses. Ethnographic Studies A series of ethnographic interviews (Jauregui et al 2011) was conducted between 2003-2008 with curanderos (healers) in east central Peru, who reported using tobacco in various ways. Tobacco is one of over fifty plants with psychotropic effects used in the region that are considered plants that teach, including coca, datura, and ayahuasca. Plants that teach are also sometimes referred to as plants with a mother, because they are believed to have an associated guiding spirit or mother who teaches the secrets of traditional medicine. Like the other plants that teach, tobacco is one of the cornerstones of learning and practicing the art of the shaman, and according to the curanderos consulted by Jauregui et al. it is considered one of the most powerful and oldest of plants. Shamanistic training in Peru involves a period of fasting, isolation, and celibacy, during which period one ingests one or more of the teaching plants on a daily basis. Tobacco in the form of a potent type of Nicotiana rustica is always present in their traditional medical practices, and it is used for purification, to cleanse the body of negative energies. Sources Groark KP. 2010. The Angel in the Gourd: Ritual, Therapeutic, and Protective Uses of Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) Among the Tzeltal and Tzotzil Maya of Chiapas, Mexico. Journal of Ethnobiology 30(1):5-30.Jauregui X, Clavo ZM, Jovel EM, and Pardo-de-Santayana M. 2011. â€Å"Plantas con madre†: Plants that teach and guide in the shamanic initiation process in the East-Central Peruvian Amazon. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 134(3):739-752.Khan MQ, and Narayan RKJ. 2007. Phylogenetic diversity and relationships among species of genus Nicotiana using RAPDs analysis. African Journal of Biotechnology 6(2):148-162.Leng X, Xiao B, Wang S, Gui Y, Wang Y, Lu X, Xie J, Li Y, and Fan L. 2010. Identification of NBS-Type Resistance Gene Homologs in Tobacco Genome. Plant Molecular Biology Reporter 28(1):152-161.Lewis R, and Nicholson J. 2007. Aspects of the evolution of Nicotiana tabacum L. and the status of the United States Nicotiana Germplasm Collection. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution  54(4):727-740.Mandondo A, German L, Utila H, and Nthenda UM. 2014. Assessing Societal Benefits and Trade-Offs of Tobacco in the Miombo Woodlands of Malawi. Human Ecology 42(1):1-19. Moon HS, Nifong JM, Nicholson JS, Heineman A, Lion K, Hoeven Rvd, Hayes AJ, Lewis RS, and USDA A. 2009. Microsatellite-based Analysis of Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) Genetic Resources. Crop Science 49(6):2149-2159.Roulette CJ, Hagen E, and Hewlett BS. 2016. A biocultural investigation of gender differences in tobacco use in an egalitarian hunter-gatherer population. Human Nature 27(2):105-129.Tushingham S, Ardura D, Eerkens JW, Palazoglu M, Shahbaz S, and Fiehn O. 2013. Hunter-gatherer tobacco smoking: earliest evidence from the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Journal of Archaeological Science 40(2):1397-1407.Tushingham S, and Eerkens JW. 2016. Hunter-Gatherer Tobacco Smoking in Ancient North America: Current Chemical Evidence and a Framework for Future Studies. In: Anne Bollwerk E, and Tushingham S, editors. Perspectives on the Archaeology of Pipes, Tobacco and other Smoke Plants in the Ancient Americas. Cham: Springer International Publishing. p 211-230.Zagorevski DV, a nd Loughmiller-Newman JA. 2012. The detection of nicotine in a Late Mayan period flask by gas chromatography and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry methods. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 26(4):403-411.