Reconstructing Realities from Biblical Utopias

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-206
Author(s):  
Frauke Uhlenbruch
Keyword(s):  
Ideal Type ◽  
Specific Response ◽  
Intended Audience ◽  
Historical Reality ◽  
The Social ◽  
Perceived Reality ◽  
Utopian Theory ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Strict Definition

This article addresses two specific issues in reading the Hebrew Bible drawing on utopian theory: the possibility of reconstructing historical reality by reading a text as a utopia, and the variable of changing audiences throughout time and their impact on utopian readings.
Suvin’s and Roemer’s definitions of utopia are used, but it is acknowledged that no one definition of utopia is necessarily more correct than another. ­Approaching the concept of utopia as a flexible ideal type, rather than with 
a strict definition, is advocated. Utopia is seen as a specific response by the author(s) to a perceived reality; therefore it has been suggested that reading biblical texts as utopia can offer insight into social realities at the time of the text’s creation. This notion is examined critically, drawing on Holquist’s comparison of utopia to the abstraction of chess. While it is possible to make some statements about the social reality at the time of the production of the text by reading the text as a utopian representation, it must always be taken into account that each reconstruction of reality is only one possible interpretation offered by a member of a non-intended audience. A utopia’s relationship to realities is complex, and often aspects of its implied counter-piece, the dystopia, become visible when a transfer of a utopia into reality is attempted.


Together in Music

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
State Of The Art ◽  
Contemporary Music ◽  
Positive Outcomes ◽  
Music Making ◽  
The Social ◽  
Methodological Approaches ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Level Of Understanding ◽  
Insight Into

Together in music develops insight into the musical ensemble as an intense form of teamwork, as finely coordinated joint action, and as an emotionally and socially rewarding experience that enables positive outcomes for wellbeing and development. By investigating processes related to group music-making at meso-, micro-, and macro-level, it offers a platform for synthesis across disciplinary and methodological approaches, and the definition of a new level of understanding that is holistic and considers interrelationships between levels of analysis. The book combines review chapters that summarize the state of the art with case studies that present research outcomes. While most chapters focus on Western classical or contemporary music, the themes that run through the book have broad relevance, which include the role of embodiment and emergence, relationships between the social and the musical, multi-dimensionality of experiences, and technologies to investigate and support collaboration and interaction in ensembles.

The Social Setting of Wisdom Literature

2021 ◽  
pp. 336-352
Author(s):  
Mark Sneed
Keyword(s):  
Social Class ◽  
Social Background ◽  
Wisdom Literature ◽  
Social Setting ◽  
Social Variables ◽  
Intended Audience ◽  
The Social ◽  
Original Audience ◽  
Insight Into

The question of the social setting of the biblical Wisdom Literature is an interesting one in that this type of literature seeks to exclude its social background as much as possible. Wisdom Literature, by its very nature, ostensibly portrays itself as universal in its appeal. The social setting of the biblical Wisdom Literature is introduced in this chapter, in order to provide insight into how a range of social facets impinge on their interpretation. Attention focuses on the Israelite scribal context for this literature and the location of its authors/original audience in the retainer social class. Other social variables treated are power, age, gender, and status of both the intended audience and its authors.

scholarly journals ) Cues-of-Being-Watched Paradigm Revisited

2011 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 203-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claus-Christian Carbon ◽  
Vera M. Hesslinger
Keyword(s):  
Cooperative Behavior ◽  
Social Cues ◽  
Statistical Analyses ◽  
Personality Factors ◽  
Confounding Variables ◽  
The Social ◽  
Socially Relevant ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Insight Into

Bateson, Nettle, and Roberts (2006 ) provided an intriguing experimental paradigm for investigating the effects of social cues on cooperative behavior in a real-world setting. By placing an image of a pair of eyes on a cupboard door above an “honesty box” for hot beverages, they induced substantially higher amounts of contributions. As this finding has a significant impact on the social sciences and assumptions concerning the meaning of social cues for human behavior, we systematically reanalyzed their procedure and statistical analyses and tried to replicate the results while taking personality factors into account. The overall results of our analysis and replication efforts do not unequivocally support conclusions about the effects of eyes as social cues for cooperative behavior. Problems start with the definition of cooperative behavior, underspecified methods, confounding variables, invalid statistical analyses, and a lack of insight into the factors – including personality factors – that modulate the expected effect. A follow-up experiment with 138 participants showed no effect of eyes on socially relevant concepts and attitudes. Furthermore, none of the personality factors that, according to Bateson et al.’s explanation of reputational concerns, might be a source of effects interacted with any of the measures we used to operationalize these socially relevant concepts and attitudes.

scholarly journals A New Spectacle in China's Mediasphere: A Cultural Reading of a Web-Based Reality Show from Shanghai

2011 ◽  
Vol 205 ◽  
pp. 133-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daria Berg
Keyword(s):  
Generation X ◽  
Urban Society ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Reality Show ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
The Social ◽  
Perceived Reality ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Insight Into

AbstractThis study offers a cultural reading of the web-based reality show Soul Partners (2007) from Shanghai. Soul Partners serves as a case study to explore how 21st-century Chinese cultural discourse debates the transformation of urban society in China, providing insight into the Chinese cultural imagination, perceptions of the globalizing metropolis and the impact of consumer culture. This reading positions Soul Partners within the discursive context of Chinese popular, postmodern and post-socialist culture and in relation to the cultural import of the reality show genre into China's mediasphere. Analysis focuses on the quest for authenticity in the Chinese discourse on perceived reality and the way Soul Partners generates new urban dreams for China's Generation X. The analysis of Soul Partners sheds new light on the dynamics of transcultural appropriation in a globalizing China and the social and political implications.

scholarly journals On the prognostic and modeling functions of the social utopias of Russian cosmists

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 50-57
Author(s):  
Olga Khalutornykh ◽  
◽  
Maria Maksimova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social System ◽  
External Factor ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
Ideal Type ◽  
Social Model ◽  
The Real ◽  
The Social ◽  
Utopian Theory ◽  
Systemic Understanding ◽  
The Impact

Introduction. The article is focused on analyzing the utopian direction of Russian cosmism and its influence on the Soviet cosmonautics and the development of society in the USSR. This philosophical theory was created in the period that made it possible to incorporate the applied aspects of utopia into scientific and technological progress and thereby embody a number of steps towards the outer space exploration. The authors have developed criteria and parameters for assessing the utopian component of the Russian cosmism theories, which made it possible to bring this construct to a higher level of abstraction and thereby create a working model for conducting such studies in the context of other utopias of models. The purpose of the article is to show the influence of the Russian cosmism utopia on the cosmonautics development in the USSR, develop empirical criteria for evaluating the phenomenon. Achieving the goal required solving the following tasks: 1) considering and analyzing the subject matter of the cosmism utopia; 2) developing parameters for assessing the impact of utopia on the development of the social system; 3) applying the developed parameters to assess the impact of utopian ideas on the development of the Soviet cosmonautics system. Methods. Developing the theoretical model for assessing social utopias, as well as considering and analyzing the cosmism utopia, required the use of structural-functional and systems analysis. The research was conducted within the framework of a synergistic paradigm. Scientific novelty of the research. The article conceptualizes the concept of utopia. It is shown that most of the definitions of utopia as a socio-political ideal focus on the limitations of its existence: utopia cannot be embodied, often has an unscientific character, does not correlate with the real state of the system, i.e. definitions of utopia are often reduced to the negative format. The authors believe that the influence of utopia on society, as a rule, is positive. It is noted that, along with limitations, utopianism has certain unique essential features that qualitatively affect the social projects implementation. Utopia in the systemic understanding acts as a complex of ideas influencing the development of the system, being both internal (since it is created artificially and consciously by the very elements of the system) and an external factor of influence. Unlike Plato’s eidos, the projection of which is reality, utopia is created inductively, but after its creation it again “descends” to the level of reality, since it begins to influence the social model in which it was created. Results. The article discusses the prognostic and modeling functions of the social utopias of Russian cosmists. It has been proved that one of the essential functions of the Russian cosmism utopias is the formation of an ideal type, towards which, in a historical perspective, the real social system begins to strive. It is convincingly demonstrated that utopia acts as a cognitive support and inevitably forms the canvas along which society begins to move, defining the utopian model as an attractor, although such a goal is not always formulated when creating a utopia. This relationship makes it possible to assess the degree of influence of utopian ideas on the formation of reality in each specific case, which, in turn, provides an opportunity to answer the question of how and to what extent the utopian ideal type participates in determining the characteristics and parameters of a real social system. Conclusions. It was found that the social utopia of cosmists as a cognitive concept is an important effective factor influencing the development of the space industry in the USSR. The parameters adopted in the study allow us to describe the measure of its influence as both an internal and an external factor on the development of the society in which it is implemented. The validity of perceiving the utopia of cosmists as a construct with a certain life cycle, the main part of which is the period of functioning, is stated. During this time period, utopian theory can have a significant impact on the actual development of society from various angles.

scholarly journals Pathways to Empowerment

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-56
Author(s):  
Judith R. L. M. Wolf ◽  
Irene E. Jonker
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Process ◽  
Personal Agency ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Social Quality ◽  
The Social ◽  
Centered Care ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Further Development ◽  
Insight Into

A program for person-centered intervention—Pathways to Empowerment (PTE)—is indebted to the social quality approach (SQA), which has been developed as its scientific foundation. It provides comprehensive insight into all sorts of factors that have an impact on the quality of the daily lives of persons who have lost control in their lives. In this article, we describe what puzzles were encountered in this developmental process, specifically with regard to the constitutional factors of social quality, which are strongly linked to biographical development and personal agency and thus are the focal points of person-centered care. This part of the SQA seems less developed and researched. We describe how we have further developed the conceptualization of the constitutional factors and their dialectical relationships with the conditional factors into a practical structure for PTE. We make a case for the further development of the constitutional factors of the theory, specifically the concept of personal agency. A plea is made for reviewing the definition of social quality.

The NGO Moment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin O'Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
International Organisations ◽  
Colonial Era ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Archival Material ◽  
The Social ◽  
Fertile Ground ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Third World ◽  
Global Project ◽  
Insight Into

This book is a study of compassion as a global project from Biafra to Live Aid. Kevin O'Sullivan explains how and why NGOs became the primary conduits of popular concern for the global poor between the late 1960s and the mid-1980s and shows how this shaped the West's relationship with the post-colonial world. Drawing on case studies from Britain, Canada and Ireland, as well as archival material from governments and international organisations, he sheds new light on how the legacies of empire were re-packaged and re-purposed for the post-colonial era, and how a liberal definition of benevolence, rooted in charity, justice, development and rights became the dominant expression of solidarity with the Third World. In doing so, the book provides a unique insight into the social, cultural and ideological foundations of global civil society. It reveals why this period provided such fertile ground for the emergence of NGOs and offers a fresh interpretation of how individuals in the West encountered the outside world.

Ways and Voices in the Psychoanalysis of Links According to Enrique Pichon-Rivière

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa Jaitin
Keyword(s):  
Couple Therapy ◽  
Clinical Observation ◽  
Clinical Work ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Social ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Voice ◽  
Different Levels

This article covers several stages of the work of Pichon-Rivière. In the 1950s he introduced the hypothesis of "the link as a four way relationship" (of reciprocal love and hate) between the baby and the mother. Clinical work with psychosis and psychosomatic disorders prompted him to examine how mental illness arises; its areas of expression, the degree of symbolisation, and the different fields of clinical observation. From the 1960s onwards, his experience with groups and families led him to explore a second path leading to "the voices of the link"—the voice of the internal family sub-group, and the place of the social and cultural voice where the link develops. This brought him to the definition of the link as a "bi-corporal and tri-personal structure". The author brings together the different levels of the analysis of the link, using as a clinical example the process of a psychoanalytic couple therapy with second generation descendants of a genocide within the limits of the transferential and countertransferential field. Body language (the core of the transgenerational link) and the couple's absences and presence during sessions create a rhythm that gives rise to an illusion, ultimately transforming the intersubjective link between the partners in the couple and with the analyst.

Pedagang Kaki Lima, Profil Entrepreneurship Sejati, Pelaku Ekonomi Kerakyatan, Ciptakan Jiwa Kewirausahaan Mandiri

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-35
Author(s):  
Agus Prasetya
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Data Display ◽  
Job Seekers ◽  
Street Vendor ◽  
Street Vendors ◽  
The Social ◽  
Collection Data ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Depth Interviews

This article is motivated by the fact that the existence of the Street Vendor (PKL) profession is a manifestation of the difficulty of work and the lack of jobs. The scarcity of employment due to the consideration of the number of jobs with unbalanced workforce, economically this has an impact on the number of street vendors (PKL) exploding ... The purpose of being a street vendor is, as a livelihood, making a living, looking for a bite of rice for family, because of the lack of employment, this caused the number of traders to increase. The scarcity of jobs, causes informal sector migration job seekers to create an independent spirit, entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship, with capital, managed by traders who are true populist economic actors. The problems in street vendors are: (1) how to organize, regulate, empower street vendors in the cities (2) how to foster, educate street vendors, and (3) how to help, find capital for street vendors (4) ) how to describe grief as a Five-Foot Trader. This paper aims to find a solution to the problem of street vendors, so that cases of conflict, cases of disputes, clashes of street vendors with Satpol PP can be avoided. For this reason, the following solutions must be sought: (1) understanding the causes of the explosions of street vendors (2) understanding the problems of street vendors. (3) what is the solution to solving street vendors in big cities. (4) describe Street Vendors as actors of the people's economy. This article is qualitative research, the social paradigm is the definition of social, the method of retrieving observational data, in-depth interviews, documentation. Data analysis uses Interactive Miles and Huberman theory, with stages, Collection Data, Display Data, Data Reduction and Vervying or conclusions.

Silence and Sound in Black Girl Utopia

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 90-97
Author(s):  
Alexis Pauline Gumbs
Keyword(s):  
Social Structure ◽  
Black Girl ◽  
The Social ◽  
Mind And Body ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Tone Deaf ◽  
At Home

Ladeedah is an audio novella that takes place in a Black utopic space after “the improvised revolution.” Ladeedah is a tone-deaf, rhythm-lacking Black girl in a world where everyone dances and sings at all times. What is Ladeedah's destiny as a quiet, clumsy genius in a society where movement and sound are the basis of the social structure and the definition of freedom? This excerpt from Ladeedah focuses on Ladeedah's attempts to understand the meaning of revolution from her own perspectives—at home, at school, and in her own mind and body.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document