scholarly journals Children’s perceptions of local religious sites in rural central Europe: case studies in the Czech-Polish and Polish-Slovak borderland

Author(s):  
Daniel Reeves ◽  
Tomáš Havlíček

This study focuses on the local identities of children living in rural towns of Czechia, Poland and Slovakia. Cognitive maps, drawn by elementary school students in geographically proximate municipalities near international borders, provide a means of investigating the significance of local religious sites in the minds of young people. This research successfully examines everyday interactions between the subjects and their local landscape. It seeks to highlight religious elements of local identities. The methods employed in this research present a more humanistic and qualitative approach, shedding light on the daily experiences of children in rural settings. Recognizing the inclusion and even the placement and artistic details of a religious site in a child-drawn map is a powerful way to move research “beyond the ‘officially sacred’”. The methods also allow for a blending of both passive – including a religious site in a cognitive map – and active – ranking a religious site among the top three important places – declarations of a religious element within local, territorial identity. This study demonstrates how children use elements of the local religious landscape in constructing and re-constructing their community identity. The two Slovak municipalities showed the greatest affinity for religious elements among the expressions of local identity (children’s cognitive maps). Poland’s municipalities ranked in the middle and the two Czech municipalities scored lowest in terms of religious sites being considered important to the research participants.

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rolf Lidskog

This paper investigates post-disaster dynamics at the local level, in particular how local identity and social cohesion are affected after an extreme event. A particular case is investigated: the largest forest fire in modern Swedish history, which took place in 2014. The empirical material consists of interviews with forest professionals and organizations involved with the fire or the post-fire work and a postal survey to all people directly affected by the wildfire. The analysis finds that the experience of the wildfire and its social interpretation led to the invention of a particular community identity, one that strengthened the self-understanding of the community. Thus, the post-disaster dynamics are pivotal for what social practices that emerge and what local identities are invented and thus may greatly affect the capacity of a community to handle extreme events.


2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
James L. Byo

This purpose of this study was to uncover the nature and value associated with involvement in “Modern Band” (rock band), the primary, not supplemental, means to music education in one US school. The values that emerged—music, community, identity, teacher, and classroom management—overlap considerably with the benefits and values identified by adolescents in traditional concert band, orchestra, and choir. These results provide data worthy of consideration as readers ponder the viability of rock band as a medium of school-based music education and a way to connect meaningfully with more secondary-school students. Evidence suggests that if there are reasons to reject the rock band, the source for the skepticism should not be the values accrued and identified by its participants. This case is an example of meaningful, authentic, and valuable music education that is positioned between the extremes of formal and informal learning, process and product orientation, and teacher- and student-centered pedagogy.


Author(s):  
Lynn S. Neal

Religion in Vogue provides readers with a unique approach to the study of popular culture and American religion. Through its analysis of numerous primary sources ranging from fashion magazines to runway shows, the book traces how Christian symbols and imagery became an increasingly prominent part of the fashion industry and designer apparel. Examining this trajectory illuminates the longstanding and evolving relationship between Christianity and fashion. To capture this complexity, each chapter focuses on a specific element of fashion that mediates Christian ideas and images, including print articles, advertisements, jewelry, and fashion designs. Religion in Vogue examines in-depth religious elements in fashion advertisements, the popularity of cross jewelry, Catholic inspirations in designer collections, and, of course, the appearance of the divine on designer garments. Chronicling this trajectory highlights how the fashion industry constructs a vibrant textual, visual, and material discourse on Christianity that exists alongside and intersects with more dominant and familiar religious narratives. This fashionable religion, an aestheticized Christianity, offers spiritual seekers a way to be simultaneously stylish and religious. In doing so, the world of fashion both shapes and reflects trends toward religious individualism and religious eclecticism that have dominated the religious landscape of the United States in the latter half of the twentieth century and the first quarter of the twenty-first. Religion in Vogue helps us better understand the changing American religious landscape in a novel and fascinating way.


2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 230
Author(s):  
Seyed Ahmad Kasaian ◽  
Rangaswamy Subbakrishna

The British and US varieties of English have now come under suspicion of promoting American and British ways of life and marginalizing the local identities of their learners. Prompted by these suspicions, many scholars and policy makers have voiced doubts about the cultural adequacy of the native speaker-controlled ELT programs. In a recent survey conducted by the present authors (forthcoming), the attitude of the Iranian education officials towards the teaching of English in its western cultural context was surveyed. The findings indicated that they strongly disapproved of the teaching of English along with its western cultural values. To find out whether the above official resistance in Iran has the backing of the general public, a cultural resistance survey was conducted. 393 male and female Iranian parents from different walks of life participated in this survey. The results showed that the high school students’ possible adoption of the western lifestyle and their exposure to the manifestations of incompatible western culture were resisted by their parents. Based on the findings of this research, the researchers made a number of recommendations for international, regional and local ELT material development.


Author(s):  
Paola Viviana Pila

Este artículo tiene como objetivo analizar cómo la organización social para la gestión del agua de consumo humano ha conservado la identidad comunitaria del territorio rural en el Azuay y ha sido la base para que esta organización rural localizada trascienda hacia el nivel nacional a través de sus líderes y sus discursos. Se parte del concepto de territorio como producto de la acción de los seres humanos y sus dinámicas que devienen en procesos sociales, culturales, económicos y políticos que adquieren dimensiones simbólicas tales como la identidad territorial y la concepción de lo comunitario. La metodología usada para el levantamiento y análisis de la información fue cualitativa, lo que permitió analizar los discursos de los sujetos y sus significados con base en entrevistas y grupos focales, generando evidencia de que la gestión del agua evolucionó desde un estado tradicional aislado, hasta un estado de organización local con incidencia nacional. Esto ha permitido llevar las características de lo comunitario hacia la organización de tercer grado. Se puede decir que la gestión del agua puede ser la base del mantenimiento de la organización rural, sin que ello implique ubicarse únicamente en dicha esfera, sino trascender hacia la presencia organizativa y política nacional. Abstract The aim of this article is to analyze how the social organization for management of water intended for human consumption has maintained the community identity of the rural territory in Azuay and has been as well the basis for the transcendence of this rural organization to the national level through the presence of community leaders and their discourse. The article assumes the territory as a result of human actions carried out through dynamics that become social, cultural, economic and political processes and acquire symbolic dimensions such as territorial identity and the conception of the community. The qualitative methodology that has been used for the gathering and analysis of information, made it possible to examine the discourses of the subjects and their meanings based on interviews and focal groups, generating evidence that water management has evolved from a traditional isolated state to a state of local organization with nationwide significance. This has made it possible to bring the community characteristics to a third-grade organization. As a conclusion, we propose that water management not only may be the basis for the maintenance of rural organization, which shall not imply remaining in this area, but also is able to transcend to the national political and organizational presence.


2015 ◽  
pp. 33-44
Author(s):  
Jolanta Sujecka

The Contuinity and Discontinuity. The Question of Territorialism and Double Identity from the Perspective of 20th Century MacedoniaThe sense of territorial identity gains force whenever political means of solving the Macedonian Question, a repugnant legacy of the Eastern issue, become scarce. This attitude is reflected in the articles published by the representatives of the Macedonian diaspora in journals of its different centres. Due to space constraints I decided to present only (and at least) the views of Krste Misirkov, a very complex figure indeed, who in contemporary Macedonia belongs to the undisputable national pantheon. His opinions on the Macedonian Question were far from explicit and his statements delivered at different stages of his life do not fit into a cohesive whole as the national purists would want it. However, it is difficult to imagine a better mirror for “Macedonian matters” in the 20th century and a more comprehensive picture of the twisted paths that the Macedonian Slavs took to reach the concept of ‘Macedonian’ understood as an ethnos, not only in its territorial aspect.A bond with the territory has never disappeared from Macedonian self-perception. Only the constant presence of territorial identity explains the assimilation of the ancient heritage, which is in fact heritage of a territory, into the Macedonian national canon. It is further confirmed by the most recent Macedonian history textbooks for high school students where the ancient tradition is treated as a part of their own heritage. While the bond with the territory is still an integral part of the Macedonian elite’s consciousness, the question of double identity remains less obvious. In Misirkov’s time double identity, expressed through various ethnic configurations, on the one hand shaped Macedonian self-identity and on the other proved the distinctiveness of a ‘Macedonian’ at that time (i.e. in the first half of the 20th century) from a ‘Serb’ in Serbia proper and a ‘Bulgarian’ in Bulgaria proper, thus creating favourable conditions for the emergence of separatist understanding of Macedonianness, allowing even non-Slavs to be Macedonians. Macedonianness began to be founded on Slavicness relatively late and this dependence was propagated quite naturally mainly by Slavophile circles (the circle of Nace Dimov) and by the communists in the 1920’s and 1930’s. However, in the first half of the 20th century there still existed alternatives, such as, for instance, the above-described project of Krste Misirkov. The most evident connection between the term ‘Macedonian’ and Slavicness crystallised in Tito’s post-war Macedonia, de facto undermining the notion of double identity in the sense in which it had functioned in the first half of the 20th century.Ciągłość i jej brak. Kwestia terytorializmu i podwójnej tożsamości z perspektywy macedońskiejPoczucie tożsamości terytorialnej odzywa się ze szczególną siłą w sytuacjach, kiedy wyczerpują się polityczne możliwości rozwiązania problemu macedońskiego, jako niedobrego spadku po kwestii wschodniej. Potwierdzają to wypowiedzi przedstawicieli macedońskiej diaspory publikowane na łamach czasopism, wychodzących w różnych miejscach jej skupisk. Zdecydowałam się na przedstawienie jedynie (i aż) poglądów Krste Misirkova, należącego w dzisiejszej Macedonii do niekwestionowanego panteonu narodowego, w istocie postaci wielce skomplikowanej. Jego poglądy w kwestii macedońskiej były dalekie od jednoznaczności, a wypowiedzi wygłaszane na różnych etapach życia nie układają się w całość, jakiej chcieliby narodowi puryści, natomiast trudno sobie wyobrazić lepsze zwierciadło „spraw macedońskich” w XX wieku i pełniejszy obraz krętych dróg, jakimi macedońscy Słowianie dochodzili do pojęcia „Macedończyk” rozumianego jako éthnie, a nie tylko terytorialnie.Więź z terytorium nigdy nie zniknęła z macedońskiego myślenia o sobie samych. Jedynie stałą obecnością tożsamości terytorialnej można wytłumaczyć asymilację dziedzictwa antycznego, czyli faktycznie dziedzictwa terytorium, do macedońskiego kanonu narodowego. Potwierdzają to najnowsze macedońskie podręczniki do nauki historii dla szkół średnich, w których tradycja antyczna jest traktowana jako część tradycji własnej. O ile jednak więź z terytorium jest nadal integralną częścią świadomości macedońskich elit, to zupełnie inaczej wygląda kwestia podwójnej tożsamości. W czasach Misirkova podwójna tożsamość, wyrażająca się poprzez różne etniczne konfiguracje, z jednej strony kształtowała macedońską tożsamość własną, z drugiej zaś to dzięki niej pojęcie „Macedończyk” w tym czasie (tzn. w pierwszej połowie wieku XX) potwierdzało swoją odrębność od Serba z Serbii właściwej i od Bułgara z Bułgarii właściwej i tym samym sprzyjało kształtowaniu się separatystycznego rozumienia macedońskości. Ten sposób widzenia umożliwiał bycie Macedończykiem także nie-Słowianom. Oparcie pojęcia macedońskości o słowiańskość nastąpiło stosunkowo późno i było propagowane w sposób naturalny głównie przez środowiska słowianofilskie (petersburski krąg Nace Dimova), ale w latach dwudziestych i trzydziestych XX w. także przez środowiska komunistyczne. Jednak w pierwszej połowie XX wieku miało wciąż alternatywne propozycje, jak chociażby omówiony przeze mnie projekt K. Misirkova. Najwyrazistsze powiązanie pojęcia „Macedończyk” ze słowiańskością nastąpiło w powojennej Macedonii czasów Josipa Broz Tity i w istocie podważyło pojęcie podwójnej tożsamości, w tym sensie w jakim funkcjonowała ona w okresie wcześniejszym, tzn. w pierwszej połowie wieku XX.


Author(s):  
F. Fiorillo ◽  
G. Rizzi ◽  
C. Achille

Abstract. The concept of combining learning activities and Cultural Heritage is a highly effective approach, both in the pandemic era and no. Knowledge and awareness of a place cultural identity by the local community is itself a conservation action. Therefore, a training activity was tested at the “Liceo Leopardi” (Lecco) according to the guidelines of Italian work-school projects. It is an innovative didactic methodology that allows students to combine school training with practical experience in a public or private institution. Since 2015, it has been compulsory in Italy for all high school students. The didactic tool used to face innovative topics related to heritage digitisation and its remote access was the Virtual Tour of the Monumental Complex of Laorca. The VT is a very effective immersive tool and easy to use even for non-expert users. Through some frontal lessons and laboratory activities, the students learned the basic concepts about the acquisition techniques to realise multimedia data (artistic photography, light painting, panoramic photography, video, etc.) to enrich the Laorca complex VT frame. The didactic experimentation was very engaging for the students who created a cultural game for the younger middle school students. The game is structured like a path consisting of 10 phases, designed in two versions: one version played directly on-site and another available online within VT. The research presented aims at the CH digitisation for the involvement and participation of the local community in the territorial identity promotion. The didactic experiment involved students reinforcing the link with their territory.


2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (8) ◽  
pp. 1315-1336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingxue (Jessica) Yuan ◽  
Tsungpo (Bob) Tsai ◽  
Pouwen Chang

A bed and breakfast (B&B) is a “nontraditional” form of accommodation that provides guests with personal service and high-level host–guest interaction, usually in rural settings where the establishment is owner-operated. This exploratory research was undertaken to categorize B&B properties as forms of rural entrepreneurship, using data collected in Taiwan. Through narrative analysis/synthesis of in-depth interviews with 25 B&B participants, an entrepreneurship typology of B&B properties was identified based on the local identities of the owner and founding motive in terms of cultural traits. Four categories (Nostalgic, Diversifying, Assimilative, and Innovative) are derived. The theoretical and practical contributions of the study are also discussed.


1979 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 139-144
Author(s):  
Cheri L. Florance ◽  
Judith O’Keefe

A modification of the Paired-Stimuli Parent Program (Florance, 1977) was adapted for the treatment of articulatory errors of visually handicapped children. Blind high school students served as clinical aides. A discussion of treatment methodology, and the results of administrating the program to 32 children, including a two-year follow-up evaluation to measure permanence of behavior change, is presented.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy L. Donaldson ◽  
Karen Krejcha ◽  
Andy McMillin

The autism community represents a broad spectrum of individuals, including those experiencing autism, their parents and/or caregivers, friends and family members, professionals serving these individuals, and other allies and advocates. Beliefs, experiences, and values across the community can be quite varied. As such, it is important for the professionals serving the autism community to be well-informed about current discussions occurring within the community related to neurodiversity, a strengths-based approach to partnering with autism community, identity-first language, and concepts such as presumed competence. Given the frequency with which speech-language pathologists (SLPs) serve the autism community, the aim of this article is to introduce and briefly discuss these topics.


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