Bediako of Africa: A Late 20th Century Outstanding Theologian and Teacher

2009 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu

AbstractKwame Bediako of the Akrofi-Christaller Memorial Institute of Theology, Mission and Culture based in Akropong-Akwapim in Ghana, was a stalwart in the field of African Christianity and Theology. He was called home to glory in June 2008 at the age of 63 years. Converted from atheism whilst studying for a doctorate degree in French and African literature at the University of Bordeaux in France, Bediako embraced a conservative evangelical faith. He went on to do a second PhD in Theology under the tutelage of Andrew F. Walls in Aberdeen. Bediako returned to Ghana in 1984 to found the then Akrofi-Christaller Memorial Center for Mission Research and Applied Theology. Through that initiative, now a fully accredited tertiary theological educational institute, Bediako pioneered a new way of doing theology through his emphasis on mother-tongue hermeneutics, oral or grassroots theology, and the study of primal religions as the sub-structure of Christian expression in the majority Two Thirds World. These ideas are outlined in his major publications, Theology and Identity, Christianity in Africa, Jesus of Africa, and the many forceful and insightful articles scattered in local and international journals in religion and theology. For many years to come, although living in glory, Bediako's evangelical intellectual heritage will continue as a leading reference point for all those seeking to understand Africa's place in the history of world Christianity.

It is my pleasant duty to welcome you all most warmly to this meeting, which is one of the many events stimulated by the advisory committee of the William and Mary Trust on Science and Technology and Medicine, under the Chairmanship of Sir Arnold Burgen, the immediate past Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society. This is a joint meeting of the Royal Society and the British Academy, whose President, Sir Randolph Quirk, will be Chairman this afternoon, and it covers Science and Civilization under William and Mary, presumably with the intention that the Society would cover Science if the Academy would cover Civilization. The meeting has been organized by Professor Rupert Hall, a Fellow of the Academy and also well known to the Society, who is now Emeritus Professor of the History of Science and Technology at Imperial College in the University of London; and Mr Norman Robinson, who retired in 1988 as Librarian to the Royal Society after 40 years service to the Society.


2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 25-26
Author(s):  
Gerhard Van den Heever

Gerhard van den Heever presents the history of the journal Religion & Theology, from its start as an in-house theological journal for the University of South Africa to its current frame as an international publication for the transdisciplinary study of religion and theology as discourse formation. Van den Heever presents insights into the journal’s management and shares insights for those interested in submitting their research.


2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Luyk

Batten, Jack. Oscar Peterson: The Man and His Jazz. Toronto: Tundra Books, 2012. Print. This young adult non-fiction novel explores the life of the legendary Canadian jazz pianist and composer Oscar Peterson. Beginning with an account of Peterson’s 1949 breakthrough performance at Carnegie Hall as part of the influential Jazz at the Philharmonic (JATP) concert series, Batten traces the seventy year musical career of Oscar Peterson in an engaging and insightful style. This book seamlessly combines a personal and musical biography of Peterson with a history of the development of jazz from the 1920s to the time of Peterson’s death in 2007. True to the title of the book, Batten’s is indeed one about both the man and his music. From Peterson’s humble upbringing as the son of immigrants from the West Indies living in poverty in Montréal, the influence of his family on his personal and musical development is a consistent theme throughout the book. Batten does not hold back when describing the social conditions Peterson was operating under throughout his career. The racism Peterson encountered both at home and abroad, as well as the drug use prominent among jazz musicians is honestly explored, as are the personal tragedies Peterson faced, including his failed marriages and consistently poor health. Peterson’s many longtime musical collaborations are explored in great detail, with Batten highlighting the influential performing and recording achievements of his career. From his longtime relationship with the jazz promoter Norman Granz, through the many iterations of Peterson’s famous trio, Batten doesn’t leave out the details at any point. The addition of multiple photographs, quotes from Peterson’s teachers and collaborators, and a selected bibliography and discography add to the historical richness of this title. This book is recommended to the young adult reader with an interest in jazz history, and the life and accomplishments of one of Canada’s most cherished musicians.Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Sean LuykSean is the Music Librarian for the Rutherford Humanities and Social Sciences Library at the University of Alberta. Sean holds an MA in Music Criticism and B.Mus from McMaster University, as well as an MLIS from the University of Western Ontario.


2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander L. Greninger ◽  
Keith R. Jerome

ABSTRACT In early March 2020, the University of Washington Medical Center clinical virology laboratory became one of the first clinical laboratories to offer testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). When we first began test development in mid-January, neither of us believed there would be more than 2 million confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections nationwide or that we would have performed more than 150,000 real-time PCR (RT-PCR) tests, with many more to come. This article will be a chronological summary of how we rapidly validated tests for SARS-CoV-2, increased our testing capacity, and addressed the many problems that came up along the way.


Author(s):  
Jacopo Moggi Cecchi ◽  
Roscoe Stanyon

This volume is dedicated to the Anthropological and Ethnological section of the Natural History Museum. First the historical journey of the collections is traced from the antique nucleus of the Medici to the foundation of the National Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology, when Florence was the capitol of Italy, and the discipline of anthropology was born. The second part illustrates the multivariate collections from all over the globe. They are a precious record of the past and present biological and cultural diversity of our species opening wide horizons that rigorously connect science to the many faces of human culture, including art. The third section is dedicated to current research and opens new prospectives on the significance of ethnological and anthropological collections due to new technology and in light of a new appreciation of the museum as a living “zone of contact”.


1888 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 149-174
Author(s):  
D. G. Hogarth

The movement in favour of organised research in Cyprus which, originating in the latter part of the summer of 1887, led before the end of the year to the formation of a Fund directed by a Committee comprising all those who are most prominent in supporting the study of Classical Archaeology in this country, has been set forth already in circulars and reports, and needs only a brief allusion here in order to explain the causes and conditions of our subsequent work at Old Paphos and other sites in the winter and spring of this year. In the early mouths of 1887, Dr. F. H. H. Guillemard, the well-known traveller and ornithologist, spent a considerable time in Cyprus, and in the less known parts of the island saw and heard so much of continual discoveries, legitimate and illegitimate, that, on his return to England, he lost no time in pressing the desirability of sending an expedition on many who were interested in matters archaeological, with the result that the University of Cambridge took into consideration the question of making a grant from the Worts Travelling Bachelor's Fund for that purpose. The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies was also sounded, and many circumstances conspired to induce their favourable consideration for such a proposal. Besides the valuable information communicated by Dr. Guillemard, it was known that the High Commissioner of Cyprus had resolved for sufficient reasons, which need not be detailed here, to discountenance in future all private exploration in the island, but at the same time had declared his willingness to help any work organised and conducted by a recognised scientific body: it resulted therefore that, unless such bodies undertook the task, no one would attempt to solve the many problems connected with the island for some years to come.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Montoya

The aim of the present study is to contextualize a collection of Maya artifacts that have been kept for 125 years at the University of Ghent, in Belgium. The objects came from one of the first archaeological excavations carried out in Guatemala, between 1880 and 1900. The collection includes 130 pottery pieces, 64 jadeite pieces, 24 stone objects (serpentine, silex, and other stones), and 52 obsidian pieces. The study started in 2016, with the identification and location of the provenance site, which was visited in 2017. The phases of documentation and photographic registration of the objects were completed in 2019. It is the intention to digitize the collection and make it available to scholars for further research. This report presents a brief description of the site, Chich’en, and analyzes aspects of its geographical environment, as well as the historical and religious context that determined its relevance from the Classic period to the Late Postclassic and the early colonial period. A selection of the objects is presented, and outstanding iconographic elements are analyzed. The analysis is based on a bibliography review in the fields of archaeology, history, and ethnology in the Maya region and in Mesoamerica in general. It is extraordinary to find an extensive collection of Maya archaeological artifacts in the reserves of a university museum, and a privilege to study them. These artifacts hold a wealth of information about the archaeological site Chich’en, where they were excavated 126 years ago. They enlighten the role of this site in the history of Verapaz (ancient Tezulutlán), strategically situated between the Northern Highlands and the Lowlands of Guatemala. Little is known about the history of this region. We are fortunate to lean on the research carried out by countless scholars in various disciplines to guide us in our search for answers to the many questions. Making this collection accessible for collaborative study should ensure that this cultural heritage will not remain silent nor stay forgotten.


The article analyzes the attitude of the Kharkiv University staff to the problem of higher education Ukrainization, actualized after the February Revolution. It is claimed that it was not significantly different from the position of the other two universities of the Dnieper Ukraine – Kyiv and Novorossiysk (Odessa) and was rather cool. Most professors at first demonstrated their negative attitude towards the Ukrainization of social, political and university life, and eventually became generally supportive of the Ukrainization of the cultural and educational sphere though in every way trying to minimize the Ukrainization measures at the university. While declaratively acknowledging the right of Ukrainians to be educated in their mother tongue, university professors remained largely carriers of Russian or Little Russian identity, Russian culture, and therefore did not consider it possible to sacrifice its stronghold – the university actually remaining such one. The position of the student body is not traced; at least, it did not show any significant activity in this matter. Attention is given to the relevant measures of the then authorities and the position of the local public on the university issue. It is emphasized that not only before the formation of the Ukrainian state, but to a great extent even afterwards such actions were situational, episodic, held at the initiative of individuals, lacking some sound basis, proper corporate, public and state support. The reasons for such a situation are analyzed as well: both national and local characteristics of Kharkiv region and the university (long stay of the region under Bolshevik rule, dominance of pro-Russian elements in local administration, weakness of «Prosvita» etc.). Some positions related to the history of Kharkiv University (regarding the formation of the departments of Ukrainian Studies, teaching in Ukrainian by D. Bagaliy and M. Sumtsov, functioning of the People’s University etc.) are revised or clarified.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Toyin Falola

At the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the University of Ibadan, famous historian, Professor Bọlanle Awẹ was conferred with a well-deserved honorary doctorate degree. For both Professor Awẹ and even Nigeria’s premier university, this great honor is a fitting tribute to mark the anniversary of the institution of learning that has been central to the intellectual history of Nigeria. The University of Ibadan has done well to select Professor Awẹ for this honor. Her earnestness and intelligence are beyond doubts. There is no gainsaying disputing her warmth, her magnetism. I have known her since the 1970s—she remains consistent in the exhibition of positive values, in the promotion of Yoruba culture, and the advancement of the scholarly enterprise.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wojciech Mądry

Polish-Jewish Relations at Poznan University, 1919-1939, in Light of Archival MaterialsThis article covers Polish-Jewish relations at Poznań University between 1919 and the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, in light of unpublished documents from the archives of the University (since renamed Adam Mickiewicz University). It begins by describing the demographics of Poznań and the relationship between the Jewish and Polish populations of the city in 1919, the year which marked both Greater Poland (Wielkopolska) regaining its independence and the founding of Poznań University. Based on the evidence provided by the  unpublished archival documents, the article then assesses how and why the situation of Jewish students at the University changed over time. Particular attention is paid to the role of youth organisations, especially All Polish Youth (Młodzież Wszechpolska), the aim of which was to entirely ban Jews from attending the institution. The article also examines the attitudes of University professors towards Jews, both in  terms of their personal views and the research they conducted. Analysing the unpublished documents from the University’s archives serves as the first step towards filling in the many blank pages in the history of this institution of higher education. Having said this, further inter-disciplinary studies are needed by historians and specialists in fields such as psychology, sociology, ethnology and cultural studies, before a complete explanation can be provided as to why a conflict between Polish and Jewish students broke out at Poznań University.  Stosunki polsko-żydowskie na Uniwersytecie Poznańskim w latach 1919–1939 w świetle materiałów archiwalnychArtykuł ten ukazuje stosunki polsko-żydowskie na Uniwersytecie Poznańskim w latach 1919–1939, tj. w okresie od założenia Uniwersytetu do wybuchu II wojny światowej, w świetle nieopublikowanych  dotychczas dokumentów znajdujących się w zbiorach archiwum Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu. Zwraca uwagę na sytuację demograficzną oraz stosunki pomiędzy ludnością polską i żydowską w Poznaniu w 1919 roku, tj. w momencie odzyskania przez Wielkopolskę niepodległości i utworzenia Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego. Następnie na podstawie analizy dokumentów przedstawiona jest w nim zmieniającą się z biegiem lat sytuacja młodzieży żydowskiej studiującej na Uniwersytecie Poznańskim oraz jej przyczyny, z podkreśleniem roli, jaką odegrały organizacje młodzieżowe, a zwłaszcza Młodzież Wszechpolska. Celem ich było całkowite wyeliminowanie Żydów z tej uczelni. Na uwagę zasługuje także stosunek niektórych profesorów do Żydów zarówno pod kątem ich poglądów, jak i prowadzonych badań. Przeprowadzona analiza materiałów w archiwum UAM jest pierwszym krokiem do zapisania wielu dotychczas jeszcze białych kart w dziejach tej uczelni. Pełne wyjaśnienie przyczyn konfliktu pomiędzy studentami narodowości polskiej i żydowskiej na UP wymaga podjęcia dalszych szeroko zakrojonych badań interdyscyplinarnych zarówno przez historyków, jak i przez specjalistów z takich dziedzin nauki, jak psychologia, socjologia, etnologia czy kulturoznawstwo.


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