Jerzy Topolski’s Marxist Anthropocentrism

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 361-377
Author(s):  
Ewa Domańska ◽  
Paul Vickers

Abstract In this article I demonstrate that the ideas outlined in Jerzy Topolski’s Methodology of History (Polish 1968, English translation 1976) could not only offer a reference point for and indeed enrich ongoing debates in the philosophy of history, but also help to set directions for future developments in the field. To support my argument, I focus on two themes addressed in Topolski’s work: 1) the understanding of the methodology of history as a separate discipline and its role both in defending the autonomy of history and in creating an integrated knowledge of the past, which I read here through the lens of the current merging of the humanities and natural sciences; and 2) the role of a Marxist anthropocentrism based on the notion of humans as the creators of history, which I consider here in the context of the ongoing critique of anthropocentrism. I point to the value of continuing to use concepts drawn from Marxist vocabulary, such as alienation, emancipation, exploitation and overdetermination, for interpreting the current state of the world and humanity. I stress that Marxist anthropocentrism, with its support for individual and collective agency, remains crucial to the creation of emancipatory theories and visions of the future, even if it has faced criticism for its Eurocentrism and might seem rather familiar and predictable when viewed in the context of the contemporary humanities. Nevertheless, new manifestations of Marxist theory, in the form of posthumanist Marxism and an interspecies historical materialism that transcends anthropocentrism, might play an important role in redefining the humanities and humanity, including its functions and tasks within human and multispecies communities.

Author(s):  
I. V. Bukhtiyarov

The article presents the results of the analysis of health, working conditions and prevalence of adverse production factors, the structure of the detected occupational pathology in the working population of the Russian Federation. The article presents Statistical data on the dynamics of the share of workplaces of industrial enterprises that do not meet hygienic standards, occupational morbidity in 2015-2018 for the main groups of adverse factors of the production environment and the labor process. The indicators of occupational morbidity over the past 6 years in the context of the main types of economic activity, individual subjects of the Russian Federation, classes of working conditions, levels of specialized occupational health care. The role of the research Institute of occupational pathology and occupational pathology centers in solving organizational, methodological and practical tasks for the detection, treatment, rehabilitation and prevention of occupational diseases is shown. The basic directions of activity in the field of preservation and strengthening of health of workers, and also safety at a workplace are defined.


2011 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 671-685 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Drayton

The contemporary historian, as she or he speaks to the public about the origins and meanings of the present, has important ethical responsibilities. ‘Imperial’ historians, in particular, shape how politicians and the public imagine the future of the world. This article examines how British imperial history, as it emerged as an academic subject since about 1900, often lent ideological support to imperialism, while more generally it suppressed or avoided the role of violence and terror in the making and keeping of the Empire. It suggests that after 2001, and during the Iraq War, in particular, a new Whig historiography sought to retail a flattering narrative of the British Empire’s past, and concludes with a call for a post-patriotic imperial history which is sceptical of power and speaks for those on the underside of global processes.


Author(s):  
Jamil Salmi

In the past decade, however, accountability has become a major concern in most parts of the world. Governments, parliaments, and society at large are increasingly asking universities to justify the use of public resources and account more thoroughly for their teaching and research results. The universal push for increased accountability has made the role of university leaders much more demanding. The successful evolution of higher education institutions will hinge on finding an appropriate balance between credible accountability practices and favorable autonomy conditions.


2004 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 387-398
Author(s):  
DAVID D. HALL

George M. Marsden, Jonathan Edwards: A Life (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2003)Robert E. Brown, Jonathan Edwards and the Bible (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002)Avihu Zakai, Jonathan Edwards's Philosophy of History: The Re-enchantment of the World in the Age of Enlightenment (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003)Amy Plantinga Pauw, “The Supreme Harmony of All”: The Trinitarian Theology of Jonathan Edwards (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2002)We play tricks on the past, but the past also plays tricks on us. We try to fool the past by reconstructing it in our own image, imposing order and significance on the untidy sources we depend upon. The trick the past plays on us is to remain defiantly strange, ever able to expose what it is that our gestures of sympathetic reconstruction have altered, ignored, or suppressed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 139-147
Author(s):  
Marjona Akhmadovna Radjabova ◽  

Abstract. The following article discusses the role of onomastic components in phraseological units and their meaning as well as giving a classification of onomastic components in phraseological units based on the materials of different structural languages. Through examples the author proves that the presence of names in the ancient rich phraseological layer of non-fraternal English, Russian and Uzbek languages is related to the national and cultural values, customs, ancient history, folklore and daily life of the peoples who speak this language. Besides, in the process of study of onomastic components it is also determined that names, along with forming their national character, are a factor giving information about the past of a particular nation. Background. In the world linguistics there have been carried out a series of researches in the field of the study of phraseological units with onomastic components in comparative-typological aspect revaling their national and cultural peculiarities, analyzing and classifying their content structurally and semantically


Politeja ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2(65)) ◽  
pp. 189-204
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Marcol

The Role of Language in Releasing from Inherited Traumas. Negotiations of the Social Position of the Silesian Minority in Serbian Banat The aim of the paper is to show the dependence between language, collective memory (also post-memory) and sense of identity. This issue is analysed using the example of an ethnic minority living in the village of Ostojićevo (Banat, Serbia) called ‘Toutowie.’ Their ancestors came in the 19th century from Wisła (Silesian Cieszyn, Poland); they left their homes because of great hunger and were looking for jobs in Banat. Narratives about the past contain traumatic experiences of the past generations transmitted in the Silesian dialect and constituting communicative memory. At the same time, a new Polish national identity is being constructed, supported by institutions and authorities; it carries a new image of the world and creates a new cultural memory. This new identity – shaped on the basis of national categories – leads to changes of its self-identification and gives the opportunity to raise its social position in the multi-ethnic Banat community.


2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 207-236
Author(s):  
Shinkarenko Alexander ◽  

In this article, the author touches upon the formation of ecological geopolitics and the role of Latin America in it. The socio-political processes that are currently taking place in the region focus on environmental problems, as well as the possibility of reducing the intensity of extractivistic initiatives. The relevance of the environmental discourses and the costs generated with the rental model of the economy, is characteristic not only of Latin America, but also other regions of the world. Nevertheless, it is here we can observe the active work of antiextractive movements to form a contemporary environmental agenda and search for models that are alternative to the current state of the world.


2010 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 20-28
Author(s):  
Darko Radovic

This article focuses on the role of gentrification in urban regeneration. It supports calls for a more nuanced approach to understanding of that complex phenomenon, which would include the possibility that some of its forms may represent the much needed transfusion of new and healthy energies into tired urbanities. The examples of gentrification presented in this article indicate that some of the outcomes of certain kinds of gentrification are superior to those generated by “proper”, even well considered and well theorised examples of urban regeneration. Those examples are from Tokyo, the largest and one of the fastest-changing cities in the world. The chosen locations are in the precincts of Nezu and Yanaka, where living connections with the past coexist with practices of the bustling World City, and in vibrant, commercially driven Harajuku. The article advocates locally attuned approaches to cultural sustainability, and careful balancing of gentrification with urban regulation. That may help cities remain, as de Certeau once said, the ‘most immoderate of human texts’.


Author(s):  
John G. McNutt ◽  
Lauri Goldkind

The use of sophisticated technology to promote social change has developed over the past three decades from tentative beginnings to an expected part of the arsenal of movement organizations and advocacy groups. The development of practical politics throughout the world has made greater use of ever more sophisticated technologies. This article will discuss the nature of e-activism, the development of electronic social change activities, the organizational and practice issues, the research base and the potential future developments in the field.


2022 ◽  
pp. 425-440
Author(s):  
Shirin Alavi

This chapter seeks to impart understanding of the role of employee online communities for enhanced employee engagement and retention in an organization. The highly engaged and motivated employees would contribute more towards accomplishing the organizations goals. The various research studies conducted in the past across the world identify job satisfaction as a major determinant of employee engagement and retention. The role of internal communication through employee online communities of organizations or intranets is theoretically suggested to be a major influencer for the enhancement of employee engagement efforts. This can help to enhance and support culture, corporate values, mission statement, and annual company goals. The purpose of this chapter is to investigate the role that the employee online communities of organizations play in order to support the twin objectives of employee retention and engagement. Engaging employees can be the catalyst for inducing positive change among employees and, as a result, boosting an organization's success.


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