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Deep Ecology, Ontic Relationality, and Positionality
No full textIn this chapter, I examine and analyse the ontology of anthropogenic waste as coming-to-be from a sustained objectification, exploitation, and devaluation of the non-human by the human and from the projection of the non-human as essentially being toward human jouissance. The wanton and colossal waste of millions of tonnes of animal products, plant products, and consumable and non-consumable natural resources in a world paradoxically filled with the necessary needs for such things is on the increase and confirms the little value humans place on the non-human. Any genuine commitment to deep ecology that prioritises the intrinsic value and entitlement to exist and thrive for all beings, human and non-human, must radically rethink the hermeneutics of human wants and needs, human material and aesthetic security, and the human quest for jouissance. Such commitment must also painstakingly examine, as this chapter does concerning sub-Saharan African traditions, decolonial and indigenous knowledges of human and non-human relationships. Bearing these in mind, this chapter begins by exploring an ontology of anthropogenic waste as essentially defined by a jouissancial and an instrumental mode of being. In doing so, I analyse two defining features of this mode of being: (1) the structures of being-out-of-place and (2) the jouissance of the dissection, disembodiment, and storing-up of being. I then proceed to explore a different mode of being in indigenous African places, one that is characterised by a strong value for being-in-place – ontic positionality, and being-together – ontic relationality. Focussing on African indigenous healthcare systems, I show the value of a positional and relational ontology in community in promoting relationships among all beings and sustaining wellbeing. The chapter concludes by highlighting the need to rethink our capitalist and industrial structures if the goal to radically reinterpret the value of the non-human is to be taken seriously
Introduction to issues around academic freedom and freedom of speech in the 2020s in the UK and internationally
No full textThis edited collection contains contributions by junior and senior scholars from eight countries. They are spread thematically across three parts, each of which addresses a crucial paradox. Part I frames the recent history and limits of free speech legislation in the United Kingdom and the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023; here the paradox lies in the tensions within the law to protect both individual and collective rights. Parts II and III provide an international spread. Part II, ‘Politics and possibilities’, explores the difficulties that arise around political use of legislation to regulate speech; here the paradox lies in how to moderate excessive use of suspicion by government and universities as the latter attempt to navigate legal frameworks. Part III, ‘In the classroom: pedagogy and communities of inquiry’, offers practical pedagogic alternatives; here the paradox lies in tensions inherent in phronesis (practical wisdom): how to square ethical principles with contextual practicalities
Public Debt and Resilient Futures in Latin America and the Caribbean
No full textThe region of Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) faces a triple challenge of high debt burdens, intensifying climate shocks, and stalled progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Average gross public debt has reached 70 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), with external obligations surpassing US$1 trillion in 2023. In several countries, debt servicing now exceeds spending on health or education, crowding out critical social and climate investments. Rising borrowing costs, sharp currency depreciations, and repeated climate disasters are compounding fiscal stress. Average sovereign bond yields across the region now exceed 10 per cent. Caribbean small island developing states (SIDS) are especially vulnerable, with some disasters causing damages of more than 100 per cent of GDP. These dynamics risk locking countries into a vicious cycle in which debt distress limits climate and development investment, which in turn heightens vulnerability to future shocks. A regional heatmap of debt, climate, and SDG performance shows that 20 countries – representing 81 per cent of GDP in LAC – face high composite risk. To break the cycle of vulnerability, a reformed debt and climate finance architecture is urgently needed. Current debt sustainability analyses fail to sufficiently incorporate climate risks or the investment needs for achieving the SDGs. A new framework should integrate these dimensions to distinguish between countries that need deep restructuring and relief and those that require liquidity support
Japanese as a second language for Japanese Sign Language (JSL) users: Pragmatic strategies used in their L1 JSL and L2 Japanese and their perceptions of Japanese
Get PDFThis thesis focuses on Deaf Japanese Sign Language (JSL) users, who use Japanese as their second language (L2). Deaf signers in Japan use JSL as their first language (L1) and also use the written form of Japanese as citizens living in Japanese society, where the vast majority of people are hearing Japanese speakers. JSL users are linguistic minorities (Kimura & Ichida, 1996; Ladd, 2003) and plurilingual individuals (Council of Europe, 2001) who have L1 JSL and L2 Japanese as their linguistic resources, influencing each other. From this perspective, this thesis explores Deaf JSL users’ pragmatic strategies used in JSL and Japanese and their perception of Japanese by conducting three interconnected Sub-Studies. Sub-Study 1 (Email) examines pragmatic strategies that 28 JSL users adopted in writing email messages in L2 Japanese to realise three speech acts (request, refusal and advicegiving) and compares them with those by 33 L1 Japanese speakers. The results show that between the two language groups there were statistically significant differences in strategies used in refusal and advice-giving emails, with more JSL users employing direct strategies than Japanese speakers. Sub-Study 2 (Role-play) compares the pragmatic strategies used by JSL users and Japanese speakers in face-to-face interaction in refusal and advice-giving situations in role-plays in their respective L1s, in order to explore the possible sources of the differences found in Sub-Study 1 (Email). The results demonstrate differences between the two language groups in both speech acts, with more JSL users using direct strategies than Japanese speakers. Sub-Study 3 (Interview) analyses semi-structured interviews with six JSL users to investigate JSL users’ perception of L2 Japanese and their L2 socialisation experience. It reveals that Deaf JSL users acquired Japanese in the process of L2 socialisation in Japanese, through which they have come to hold different individual perceptions of Japanese. In sum, this thesis sheds light on the reality that JSL users deal with two languages whose typically used pragmatic strategies differ from each other, JSL and Japanese. Their choice of pragmatic strategies reflects their individual perceptions of L2 Japanese
The Compatibility of the Death Penalty with the Right to Life and the Prohibition of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
Get PDFPolicy advice and capacity
No full textPolicy advice is understood as the production of knowledge about public policy problems and how those can be ameliorated. Policy advice, however, is intricately linked with the capacity or the skills and competencies of public actors. This chapter focusses on the relationship between policy advice and capacity. The chapter advances two arguments. First, effective policy advice requires a range of capacities – analytical, operational, and political – to understand problems and how they can be addressed. Second, policy advice must recognise the constraints of the capacity of public actors. Put differently, no amount of expertise or policy knowledge of problems and solutions matter if there are deficiencies on the part of the public actor to operationalise that advice
Seeking, Being, Becoming: The Spiritual Life Journeys of LGBTQIA+ and Feminist Muslims
No full textThis thesis explores the spiritual, political and philosophical project that is and constitutes becoming queer/trans Muslim. Scholarly and other literature tends to frame journeys of becoming in a Eurocentric way, focusing on the singular hero’s individual and linear quest towards enlightenment. In contrast to such accounts, this thesis opens up the ways in which queer Muslim becoming is a communal affair and requires a turning and returning to oneself and others. Through presenting the oral history interviews I conducted for this thesis, in which primarily LGBTQIA+ Muslims explored their life histories, relationships with Islam, Islamic feminism and (inclusive) Muslim spaces, I trace the process of becoming. The result is a phenomenological account of living and breathing Islam in non-normative ways. The participants’ stories reveal how some initially struggled to gain agency in their relationship with Islam and have sought to nurture an independent and critical engagement with its sacred text. In many cases, it is patriarchal hierarchies and authority surrounding interpretation and spiritual practice that participants resist. At the early stages, for some participants, honest and authentic reflection on their faith and the Qur’an is an isolated endeavour. In their search for new meanings and methodologies of Qur’anic reading, participants attend or create inclusive Muslim spaces. In such spaces, LGBTQIA+ Muslim practices of re-reading and re-interpretation become a communal practice, which not only allows for the creation of diverse interpretations but also the development of sacred community and kinship. My research explores and participates in the values that this sacred community platforms, such as pluralism, self-reflexivity and mutual compassion. With my participants I contemplate questions such as: what does the calling feel like, and where does it take you? How can grief nurture a longing for Muslim spaces in which desire is not shamed? How does it feel? What do you miss?My thesis seeks to show the radical dynamics of these inclusive spiritual-political spaces, in which conversation, criticality and flux are valued above dogmatic thinking and loyalty. The former values are seen to be rooted in a shared view of Allah and Their divine word as just, which Muslims aim to embody. Therefore, I do not argue that my participants are ‘queering’ Islam or reconciling parts of themselves that are inherently contradictory. On the contrary, the conversations with my participants reveal that their queer way of being/becoming (Muslim) is in keeping with the tradition of Islam and Islamic knowledge production, particularly through the revival of collective interpretive practices such as ijtihad. The Qur’an then enters the language of the everyday, developing not only politically liberatory readings but an intimacy with Allah and Their creation
What does free speech have to do with Palestinian liberation? On resisting genocidal epistemicide
Get PDFIn this article, I argue that epistemicide exists in relation to genocide as scholasticide exists in relation to war: it attempts to erase not just educational institutions in their current state, but the very possibility of education in the future, in order to entirely erase the existence of a people from the Earth. I further argue that the fight for free speech – documenting its suppression and pushing back against its violations – is among the most powerful means of resisting genocide in its epistemic forms. From Palestine to Europe to North America, students, staff and faculty are opposing the Gaza genocide by developing their local protest traditions, which in turn rely on a robust understanding of free speech that is often at odds with popular understandings of the term
‘I did not think they could help me’: Autistic adults’ reasons for not seeking public healthcare when they last experienced suicidality
Get PDFWith autistic people at increased risk of dying by suicide, understanding barriers to help-seeking is crucial for suicide prevention efforts. Using an online survey designed in consultation with autistic people, we examined reasons why autistic adults living in the United Kingdom did not seek help from the National Health Service (NHS) when they last experienced suicidal thoughts or behaviours. Participants who disaffirmed help-seeking from the NHS (n = 754) were able to select from a prepopulated list of 20 reasons why and to enter their own. The three most commonly endorsed reasons were ‘I tried to cope and manage my feelings by myself’, ‘I did not think they could help me’ and ‘The waiting list is too long – no point’. Endorsement of reasons differed significantly with gender identity, age group and degree of lifetime suicidality. Four themes emerged from analysis of free-form responses: NHS is ineffective , NHS as antagonistic, Fear and consequences and Barriers to access . These findings highlight the need to foster more flexible healthcare systems capable of supporting autistic people, and that autistic people view as trustworthy and effective, to enable help-seeking behaviours with the potential to save lives. Lay abstract Autistic people are more likely than non-autistic people to think about, attempt and die by suicide. For people in crisis, public healthcare services are, in theory, a source of help. In reality, many non-autistic people do not seek help from healthcare services. We wanted to understand why autistic people living in the United Kingdom may not seek help from the National Health Service (NHS) when suicidal and if these reasons differed by characteristics like age and gender. This study tried to answer these questions using responses from a survey co-designed with autistic people about various aspects of suicidal experiences. Participants were able to select from a list of 20 reasons and enter their own explanations (free-form responses) why they did not seek NHS support when suicidal. Our findings show that the most common reasons were that people tried to cope and manage by themselves; they did not think the NHS could help; and they thought the waiting list was too long. Reasons for not seeking help differed by age and gender, as well as lifetime history of suicidal thoughts and behaviour. For example, cisgender women and transgender/gender-divergent participants were more likely to say that previous bad experiences with the NHS prevented them from seeking help, and people with experience of suicide attempts were more likely to have been turned away by the NHS in the past. The free-form responses showed that many participants believed the NHS was ineffective, had previously had negative experiences with the NHS, worried about the consequences of help-seeking and experienced barriers that prevented help-seeking. This work highlights the crucial change and work required to make the NHS safe and accessible for autistic people so they can reach out for help when suicidal
Klatt, Johannes Emil Otto 1852 – 1903
Get PDFBiography of the Indologist and Librarian Johannes Klatt for the Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB)
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