scholarly journals From education to welfare – A historical-exploratory approach for examining the role of madrassas

Author(s):  
zahid Mumtaz

Abstract Much is written on the history of madrassas and their contributions to scholarship. In addition, several scholars have done considerable research to identify the causes of madrassas' growth, determine the linkage of madrassa education with breeding extremist ideologies and suggested possible areas for reforms. This particular aspect has been the topic of scholarly debates and a policy problem faced by many governments and international agencies, i.e., how madrassas can be reformed. However, not much literature could be located that draws parallels and dissimilarities between the madrassas of the golden age and the current era. This is important because any reform or policy is unlikely to succeed without considering a problem's historical and contextual factors. Hence this study adopts a historical-exploratory approach to identify the similarities and differences between the madrassas of the golden age of Islam and present times and explore the causes of such differences by utlising the case study of madrassas in Pakistan. Addressing these issues will make the following contributions: First, identifying the similarities and dissimilarities between the madrassas of the golden age and modern times requires a detailed exploration of madrassas' current state and their role, of which little is known. Second, identifying the factors responsible for the differences in madrassas' role from the golden age to modern times will help understand the implications of such differences on madrassas and society. Lastly, such implications will answer the repeated calls in the literature of formulating policies for reforming the madrassas that have been a significant policy problem faced by many countries.

Religions ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 394
Author(s):  
Sónia Silva

The peripheral role of divination in religious studies reflects centuries of misrepresentation and depreciation in the textual record. This long history dates back to the travel literature of early modern times, particularly in West Africa, where two stereotypical themes took form: divination as mumbo jumbo, and the diviners as charlatans who shamelessly deceive their credulous clients. These two stereotypical themes persisted through the anthropological discourse about African divination until the 1970s. To undo this long history of misrepresentation and depreciation, a change of analytical focus from reified differences to similar engagement with broad ideas and big questions is in order. By considering a particular case study—basket divination in northwest Zambia—through the theoretical lens of worldviews and ways of life, it becomes possible to take divination seriously and grant it a more central place in religious studies. Four broad, inclusive ideas or big questions emerge from the ethnography of basket divination in northwest Zambia: ontology, epistemology, praxeology, and the place of suffering in human existence.


2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 137
Author(s):  
Caroline Spry ◽  
Jillian Garvey ◽  
Emmy Frost

Warning Aboriginal and Torres Strait readers of this article are warned that it may contain images of ancestral remains. Compiling a history of archaeology is critical for evaluating, understanding and contextualising the current state of the discipline. While oral histories provide vivid accounts of people, events and decisions from sources with direct relationships to these moments in time, they have played a limited role in building historical narratives of archaeology as a discipline. A moderated conversation between Emeritus Professors David Frankel and Jim Allen and Professor Susan Lawrence on the early and more recent history of archaeology at La Trobe University, Melbourne, held during the university’s 50th anniversary celebrations in 2017, provides a glimpse of the discipline’s past, present and future in Australia. This paper presents the key themes and topics from this conversation with accompanying excerpts, providing an important case study of how oral history can assist with archiving this discipline.


2020 ◽  
Vol 963 (9) ◽  
pp. 30-43
Author(s):  
M.Yu. Orlov

Studying the current state of cartography and ways of further developing the industry, the role of the map in the future of the society, new methods of promoting cartographic products is impossible without a deep scientific analyzing all the paths, events and factors influencing its formation and development throughout all the historic steps of cartographic production in Russia. In the article, the history of cartographic production in Russia is considered together with the development of private, state and military cartography, since, despite some differences, they have a common technical, technological and production basis. The author describes the stages of originating, formation and growth of industrial cartographic production from the beginning of the XVIII century until now. The connection between the change of political formations and technological structures with the mentioned stages of maps and atlases production is considered. Each stage is studied in detail, a step-by-step analysis was carried out, and the characteristics of each stage are described. All the events and facts are given in chronological order, highlighting especially significant moments influencing the evolution of cartographic production. The data on the volumes of printing and sales of atlases and maps by commercial and state enterprises are presented. The main trends and lines of further development of cartographic production in Russia are studied.


Author(s):  
Andrea Harris

The Conclusion briefly examines the current state of the New York City Ballet under the auspices of industrial billionaire David H. Koch at Lincoln Center. In so doing, it to introduces a series of questions, warranting still more exploration, about the rapid and profound evolution of the structure, funding, and role of the arts in America through the course of the twentieth century. It revisits the historiographical problem that drives Making Ballet American: the narrative that George Balanchine was the sole creative genius who finally created an “American” ballet. In contrast to that hagiography, the Conclusion reiterates the book’s major contribution: illuminating the historical construction of our received idea of American neoclassical ballet within a specific set of social, political, and cultural circumstances. The Conclusion stresses that the history of American neoclassicism must be seen as a complex narrative involving several authors and discourses and crossing national and disciplinary borders: a history in which Balanchine was not the driving force, but rather the outcome.


Author(s):  
Alessandro Portelli

This article centers around the case study of Rome's House of Memory and History to understand the politics of memory and public institutions. This case study is about the organization and politics of public memory: the House of Memory and History, established by the city of Rome in 2006, in the framework of an ambitious program of cultural policy. It summarizes the history of the House's conception and founding, describes its activities and the role of oral history in them, and discusses some of the problems it faces. The idea of a House of Memory and History grew in this cultural and political context. This article traces several political events that led to the culmination of the politics of memory and its effect on public institutions. It says that the House of Memory and History can be considered a success. A discussion on a cultural future winds up this article.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 324-333
Author(s):  
Tobias Kelly

Abstract This short essay offers a broad and necessarily incomplete review of the current state of the human rights struggle against torture and ill-treatment. It sketches four widespread assumptions in that struggle: 1) that torture is an issue of detention and interrogation; 2) that political or security detainees are archetypal victims of torture; 3) that legal reform is one of the best ways to fight torture; and 4) that human rights monitoring helps to stamp out violence. These four assumptions have all played an important role in the history of the human rights fight against torture, but also resulted in limitations in terms of the interventions that are used, the forms of violence that human rights practitioners respond to, and the types of survivors they seek to protect. Taken together, these four assumptions have created challenges for the human rights community in confronting the multiple forms of torture rooted in the deep and widespread inequality experienced by many poor and marginalized groups. The essay ends by pointing to some emerging themes in the fight against torture, such as a focus on inequality, extra-custodial violence, and the role of corruption.


Author(s):  
Ilona Bidzan-Bluma

Objective: It is estimated that twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) occurs in 10–15% of monochorionic twin pregnancies. One of the fetuses takes on the role of donor and the other of recipient. The treatment administered involves serial amnioreduction and laser photocoagulation of the communicating blood vessels. After TTTS, children may have deficiencies in psychomotor functioning, in particular in cognitive functions, expressive language, and motor skills. Few scientific reports indicate that twins after TTTS do not demonstrate significant differences in tests which measure intellectual functioning. Methods: The cognitive functioning of twins in the late childhood period was compared using the following tools: an analysis of their medical history, an interview with their parents, and neuropsychological tests allowing the evaluation of their whole profile of cognitive functions. Case Study: Cognitive functioning in the late childhood period was analyzed in a pair of 11-year-old male twins (juvenile athletes), a donor and a recipient, who had developed TTTS syndrome in the prenatal period. Results: Comparison of the cognitive functioning profile of the donor and recipient revealed that children with a history of TTTS develop normally in terms of cognitive and motor functioning in late childhood. A comparative analysis of the donor and recipient was more favorable for the recipient, who had a higher level of general intelligence, visual–motor memory, and semantic fluency. Conclusions: The fact that both the donor and the recipient chose to pursue athletics suggests that gross motor skills are their strongest suit. Playing sports as a method of rehabilitation of cognitive function of children born prematurely after TTTS could contribute to the improvement of cognitive functioning.


2018 ◽  
Vol 95 (3) ◽  
pp. 2-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Wiese

Place-based activism has played a critical role in the history of urban and environmental politics in California. This article explores the continuing significance of environmental place making to grassroots politics through a case study of Friends of Rose Canyon, an environmental group in San Diego. Based in the fast-growing University City neighborhood, Friends of Rose Canyon waged a long, successful campaign between 2002 and 2018 to prevent construction of a bridge in the Rose Canyon Open Space Park in their community. Using historical and participant observer methodologies, this study reveals how twenty-first-century California urbanites claimed and created meaningful local places and mobilized effective politics around them. It illuminates the critical role of individual activists; suggests practical, replicable strategies for community mobilization; and demonstrates the significant impact of local activism at the urban and metropolitan scales.


Author(s):  
Raffi Kamalian ◽  
Alice M. Agogino ◽  
Hideyuki Takagi

In this paper we review the current state of automated MEMS synthesis with a focus on generative methods. We use the design of a MEMS resonator as a case study and explore the role that geometric constraints and human interaction play in a computer-aided MEMS design system based on genetic algorithms.


2016 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 503-527
Author(s):  
E. JAMES WEST

This article explores the role ofEbonymagazine as a key staging ground for competing political and ideological debates over Martin Luther King Jr's legacy, and the struggle for a national holiday in his name. In doing so, it provides an important case study into the contestations between what Houston Baker has described as “black critical memory” and “black conservative nostalgia.” In response to attempts by Ronald Reagan and other politicians to reimagine King as an advocate for color-blind conservatism,Ebony’s senior editor, Lerone Bennett Jr., sought to situate King's legacy within a radical “living history” of black America. However, the magazine's broader coverage of the King holiday movement betrayed underlying tensions within its discussion of King's legacy, and fed into the magazine's role as an inadvertent frame for color-blind ideologies during the 1980s.


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