263 research outputs found
A Political Companion to Walt Whitman
No full textThe works of Walt Whitman have been described as masculine, feminine, postcolonial, homoerotic, urban, organic, unique, and democratic, yet arguments about the extent to which Whitman could or should be considered a political poet have yet to be fully confronted. Some scholars disregard Whitman’s understanding of democracy, insisting on separating his personal works from his political works.
A Political Companion to Walt Whitman is the first full-length exploration of Whitman’s works through the lens of political theory. Editor John E. Seery and a collection of prominent theorists and philosophers uncover the political awareness of Whitman’s poetry and prose, analyzing his faith in the potential of individuals, his call for a revolution in literature and political culture, and his belief in the possibility of combining heroic individualism with democratic justice. A Political Companion to Walt Whitman reaches beyond literature into political theory, revealing the ideology behind Whitman’s call for the emergence of American poets of democracy.
John E. Seery is a professor of politics at Pomona College. He is the author of America Goes to College: Political Theory for the Liberal Arts; Political Theory for Mortals: Shades of Justice, Images of Death; Political Returns: Irony in Politics and Theory from Plato to the Antinuclear Movement; and coeditor of The Politics of Irony: Essays in Self-Betrayal.
Whitman is indeed one of the great theorists of democracy, but is not often taught as part of the canon of American political thought, an oversight that this volume goes far to remedy. -- George Shulman, author of American Prophecy: Race and Redemption in American Political Culture
This volume brings Whitman into conversation with political theory by way of examination of his major works. The authors, several of whom argue with each other, exhibit the wonderful diversity of contemporary political theory, moving from humanist to post humanist appreciations of Whitman, and from seeing him as a thinker of solitude committed to individual rights to one of erotic connection. This wonderful collection is a timely invitation to political and social theorists to take seriously this imaginative man who solicited us to think and sing democracy. -- Bonnie Honig, author of Emergency Politics: Paradox, Law, Democracy
A Political Companion to Walt Whitman gathers an extraordinary group of scholars who, like Whitman’s leaves of grass are at once singular, remarkable, independent and beautiful in their unity. Like the poet it honors, the Companion (comrade, comarado) speaks eloquently of men, women and the mestizo, sun and warmth and sight, of work and friendship and love, of America and the democratic. -- Anne Norton, author of Leo Strauss and the Politics of American Empire
For so long we have reveled in the music of Whitman’s songs and the beauty of his language. Now we have the definitive political Whitman whose moral courage takes us into the heart of Democratic theory. These essays glisten in the Whitmanesque sun! -- Cornel West, Princeton University
Seery has assembled in this book a powerfully persuasive collection of essays showing that Whitman should be first and foremost understood as a philosopher of democracy. The essays deal with all aspects of Whitman and with all of his works. We have here not only a political companion to Whitman but a book showing us that Whitman is our political companion and that we do well to listen to his voices. -- Tracy Strong, University of California, San Diego
[E]xceptionally rich and intellectually exciting. -- Choice
A Political Companion to Walt Whitman has many strengths. Chief among these is its disciplinary focus, which results in a number of novel readings of Whitman\u27s works. -- Journal of American Studieshttps://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_english_language_and_literature_north_america/1071/thumbnail.jp
Jack\u27s life : a Taylorean auto/biographical study of the masculine identity of a young Irish male undergraduate
No full textTHESIS 10653Masculinities is a relatively new field of study, grounded in anthropology, sociology and psychoanalysis. The most cited author in the field, Raewyn Connell, has developed a widely-used sociological theory of masculinities, based around the concepts of hegemony, complicity, subordination, authorisation and marginalisation structured in socially and culturally-specific gender regimes
Effects of Convergent and Divergent Feedback on Creative Thinking During Children’s Design Processes
No full textThis paper explores patterns in the feedback preceding instances of design fixation in children (age 9 to 11) carrying out a co-design project. Our goal is to find ways to improve the early mastering of their divergent (DT) and convergent thinking (CT) skills, which in turn will help the children to develop their creative abilities. Previous research has shown that children who participate in a design process experience difficulty in adjusting, changing and elaborating previously selected design ideas. This dynamic is referred to as design fixation. In the case study presented here we analysed the feedback preceding the fixation moments of the children, using Eris’s question-driven design model. We found that most of the feedback was convergent in nature and, additionally, that feedback that could be considered divergent did, for the most part, not spark any DT processes within the design teams. We presume that the expectations and assumptions that were implicitly present in the feedback has negatively influenced the possibility of any new DT processes. Based on the conclusions of this research we will explore new methods and tools stimulating divergent feedback in order to prevent and overcome design fixation during the children’s design process.Science Education and CommunicationDesign Conceptualization and Communicatio
“That they point, is all there is to it.” Wittgenstein, Frazer, eine „Tatsachensammlung“ und ihre „übersichtliche Darstellung“
No full textAt some point, the author of The Golden Bough “became conscious” that he had overlooked the “real foundations of his research”. In this remark Wittgenstein probably refers to Frazer’s self-criticism: the Scottish anthropologist attributes unambiguous precedence to his ‘collections of facts’ over his theories and downplays the importance of the ‘official’ principal problem of his book. Does Wittgenstein realize the concordance between his criticism and Frazer’s self-assessment? And does Wittgenstein’s idea of a ‘perspicuous representation’, even though it contains a criticism of Frazer, still follow too closely the ‘comparative method’ of evolutionary anthropology? Gordon Baker denies that Wittgenstein
ever thinks of the possibility of giving a ‘perspicuous representation’ of religious rituals. Taking a partly critical stance with regard to Baker’s thesis, I throw new light on Wittgenstein’s intentions. Possible foci for a perspicuous representation
are (a) Frazer’s ‘collection of facts’ or (b) the ‘transformations of meaning’ in ritual customs and/or in language. In TS 211 the emphasis is placed on (b). What would a perspicuous representation of ‘Frazer’s collection of facts’ (a) show? Wittgenstein, following Goethe, explains: “And so the choir points to a mysterious law”. He is arguing against Frazer that this is not a hypothetical, empirical, causal, evolutionary-historical law. Are we dealing with a formal universal human ‘principle’ according to which ritual customs are ‘ordered’? On this point the remarks in MS 110 are ambiguous. Moore’s notes on the lectures of May 1933 demonstrate that Wittgenstein develops these critical considerations further. With regard to the ‘choir’ of Frazerian customs, he claims “That they point, is all there is to it”
Les jeunes féministes et la valorisation du travail de reproduction : Quelques réflexions sur le mouvement des femmes au Québec
No full textLe mouvement des femmes au Québec, après avoir reconnu la division sexuelle du travail au cours des années 70, a privilégié l’accès des femmes au travail rémunéré pour qu’elles évitent la dépendance économique. Alors que les inégalités perdurent dans les familles et sur le marché du travail, que reste-t-il des nombreux débats sur la façon de reconnaître et de valoriser le travail de reproduction ayant animé le mouvement des femmes? À partir d’entretiens semi-directifs avec des féministes québécoises âgées de 23 à 36 ans, l’auteure expose la lecture que fait une certaine génération de féministes de la place accordée à la valorisation du travail de reproduction. Les caractéristiques de leur engagement féministe et le contexte dans lequel cet engagement se situe peuvent aider à comprendre leurs préoccupations.The women’s movement in Quebec, having recognized the sexual division of labor in the 1970s, has favoured women’s access to paid work so they could avoid economic dependence. While inequalities persist among families and in the labor market, what remains of the numerous debates on ways to recognize and value the work of reproduction which drove the women’s movement? Based on semi-structured interviews with Quebec feminists aged 23 to 36 years old, the author exposes the understanding that a certain generation of feminists has of the role of the valorization of reproductive work. The characteristics of their commitment to feminism and the context in which this engagement unfolds can help understand their concerns.El movimiento de las mujeres en Quebec, tras reconocer la división sexual del trabajo en la década de 1970, ha favorecido el acceso de las mujeres al trabajo remunerado que impide su dependencia económica. Mientras persisten las desigualdades en las familias y en el mercado laboral, ¿qué queda de los numerosos debates sobre cómo reconocer y valorar el trabajo de la reproducción que animó el movimiento de las mujeres en Quebec? A partir de entrevistas semi-estructuradas con feministas quebequenses de entre 23 y 36 años, exponemos la lectura que hace cierta generación de feministas del sitio dejado a la valorización del trabajo de la reproducción. Las características de su compromiso con el feminismo y el contexto en que se desarrolla este compromiso puede ayudar a entender sus preocupaciones
Attention and Action during the Design and Technology lesson: by fine-tuning task characteristics
No full textIn this paper, pupils’ design behaviour is regarded as an expression of active knowledge acquisition. Four cases of building a task structure, which supports effective discovery learning, were investigated. We focus on simple characteristics in a model to explain the effects of the structure on task execution. It reconcilesthe advantages of direct instruction and constructionism. The model offers an easy way to immediately denote pupils’ behaviour during the lesson. The idea is that the model can function as a heuristic and becomes manageable for use by the teacher during the lesson. In this way it strongly serves formativeevaluation.In the first case we observed the following characteristics of the task underpinning attentive and active design behaviour:Success criteria, formulated during task instruction, guided performance and evaluation.The task was both challenging and doable.A joint evaluation of performance results and methods that concluded the task led to shared knowledge and language.In the second case, we researched the effect of enhancing skilfulness of focused observation on the quality of discovery and subsequent invention.In the third case, we observed that a familiar situation benefitted the start of the performance. However, the absence of a joint evaluation led to limited shared knowledge and shared language regarding the task.This hindered pupil’s rise of clear expectations about the expected results.In the last case, we researched the effect of enhancing skilfulness of analysis on the quality of verbal expression of discovery and subsequent invention. The thinking hats of De Bono were used as instruments to express ideas about a cuddly toy.The four cases together resulted in a simple model based on task characteristics that furthers active discovery and invention.Science Education and Communicatio
Context- and problem-based learning in chemistry in higher education
No full textThis chapter will provide an overview of the introduction of Context and Problem Based Learning (C/PBL) approaches in chemistry teaching in the UK and Ireland in the early 21stcentury. This will be illustrated using examples from the University of Leicester’s implementation of these approaches. The initial implementations were based on the modification of C/PBL resources developed for use in other degree programmes at Leicester. These resources were introduced in the early stages of the chemistry degree programmes at Leicester. The impact of this initial implementation was measured through student interviews and comparison of student performance with previous years. Later implementations used problems designed by multidisciplinary author teams based at Leicester. The impact of these implementations on student perceptions of skills development was measured inspired by the work of Overton and Hanson. The introduction of C/PBL at Leicester helped improve students’ awareness of the importance of transferable skills development without negatively influencing performance in chemistry assignments. Ongoing research and evaluation has shown that, as part of an employability strategy, C/PBL activities have contributed to high employability levels of Leicester chemistry graduates and have contributed to improvements in student perceptions of skills development. This work has created a suite of C/PBL resources which are freely accessible via the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Learn Chemistry platform. The insight provided by this work has also helped academics at other institutions adapt these resources to suit their own local contexts. Guidance is provided in this chapter on how this can be achieved.
Understanding how vicarious trauma can be experienced by therapists working with clients with post traumatic stress disorder
No full textThe purpose of this research project was to gain an understanding of how vicarious
trauma can be experienced by therapists working with clients with Post traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD). The research also explored how therapists resource themselves in order
to reduce their risk of vicarious trauma. A sample group of six therapists were
interviewed using semi-structured qualitative interviewing procedures, in order to collect
in-depth data.
The findings of this research revealed that in working with clients who have experienced
severe trauma and subsequently PTSD can impact negatively on the therapist. Their
personal outlook, behaviour and thought processes can be altered as a result of the
transformative process of vicarious trauma. The findings also recommended the need for
awareness of the signs and symptoms of vicarious trauma in conjunction with regular
personal reflection.
The majority of the therapists in this study believed that open discussion of therapists’
experiences of vicarious trauma allows for a deeper understanding of the risks, provides
reassurance of the challenging nature of the work, and reduces a sense of isolation that
can be felt in being witness to trauma material. The findings also indicate that the
promotion of close knit teams in organisations, engaging in ongoing professional and
personal development, and regularly attending supervision are essential strategies in
reducing the risk of vicarious trauma. Author keywords: vicarious traum
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