scholarly journals Music and traditions of Thrace (Greece): a trans-cultural teaching tool

2012 ◽  
pp. 145-164
Author(s):  
Kalliopi Stiga ◽  
Evangelia Kopsalidou
Keyword(s):  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Teaching Tool ◽  
Communication Tool ◽  
Cultural Convergence ◽  
International Language ◽  
Music Lessons ◽  
Cultural Teaching ◽  
Eastern Cultures ◽  
Of Greece

The geopolitical location as well as the historical itinerary of Greece into time turned the country into a meeting place of the European, the Northern African and the Middle-Eastern cultures. Fables, beliefs and religious ceremonies, linguistic elements, traditional dances and music of different regions of Hellenic space testify this cultural convergence. One of these regions is Thrace. The aim of this paper is firstly, to deal with the music and the dances of Thrace and to highlight through them both the Balkan and the middle-eastern influence. Secondly, through a listing of music lessons that we have realized over the last years, in schools and universities of modern Thrace, we are going to prove if music is or not a useful communication tool – an international language – for pupils and students in Thrace. Finally, we will study the influence of these different “traditions” on pupils and students’ behavior.

Toward a Semiotics of Middle Eastern Cultures

1980 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 319-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Joseph
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Complementary Method ◽  
Sign Systems ◽  
The People ◽  
Symbolic Life ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
Fresh Perspective ◽  
Eastern Cultures ◽  
Semiotic Theory

There exists a growing body of literature which either explicitly or implicitly utilizes semiotic theory to discuss various sign systems in the Middle East. I believe that by exploring these works and linking them to similar studies, we can acquire a fresh perspective on the symbolic life of the people of the Middle East. I do not argue that semiotics can or should replace other paradigmatic approaches to out analysis of culture, but rather that semiotics can serve as a complementary method for interpreting sign systems.

Learner Autonomy

2019 ◽  
pp. 71-89
Author(s):  
Abdallah Elmahjoub ◽  
Terry Lamb
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Learner Autonomy ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Analytical Thinking ◽  
Eastern Cultures ◽  
Readiness To Adopt

This chapter explores teachers' perceptions of learners' readiness to adopt autonomous roles and to develop their critical and analytical thinking. The chapter reports on an ethnographic study investigating teachers' views on whether the notions of learner autonomy and critical and analytical thinking can be developed in the Libyan cultural context. The reason behind this exploration is that Libyan culture is one of the Middle Eastern cultures in which some educationalists believe learner autonomy to be inappropriate. The study's findings suggest that notions of autonomy, critical and analytical thinking, and creativity can well be fostered in the context of this study.

“Written in fair Arabic Characters”

2020 ◽  
pp. 33-41
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Einboden
Keyword(s):  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Single Person ◽  
Arabic Characters ◽  
African Slaves ◽  
Entire Nation ◽  
Of Greece

This chapter details Thomas Jefferson’s dealings with Ezra Stiles, President of Yale and New England’s leading intellectual. Stiles became Jefferson’s confidant in 1786. Meeting only a month before Jefferson embarked overseas from Boston on July 5, 1784, the two men enjoyed an immediate connection, despite their divergent roles and regions. A master of many disciplines, Stiles was most distinguished by a single interest in particular: his facility with Middle Eastern languages. Jefferson shared anxieties with Stiles concerning Muslim captivity—captivity not of a single person, however, but of an entire nation, sharply criticizing Ottoman occupation of Greece. Anticipating future experiences of his new friend and a later U.S. President, Stiles also gained access to manuscripts arising from Muslim captivity and Arabic documents written by African slaves.

K Obrazu Medzinárodnej JazYkovej Komunikácie V Európskej Únii

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-87
Author(s):  
Stanislav Košecký
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
International Negotiations ◽  
Communication Tool ◽  
Linguistic Communication ◽  
Member States ◽  
International Language ◽  
Language Problem ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
The Eu

Abstract This paper is a reaction to the study of A. Lejsková that appeared in the number 2/2015 of this journal. Its aim is to put the mentioned issue into a wider picture from a historical point of view as well as to complete it. The problem of international linguistic communication in the EU is in practice often neglected and remains at the level of unfulfilled declarations. As a result, international negotiations are dominated by English, which is changing itself in its function of interlinguistic communication tool, with a minority use of other “strong” languages such as German, Spanish and sometimes Italian. It is shown that the principle of equality of the languages of the member states is not fulfilled from the points of view of both technical and financial possibilities of the EU. We reach the conclusion that the best solution to the language problem of the EU would be the introduction of a neutral international language (especially Esperanto is considered), which also presents serious problems from the point of view of the preparation of its application.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document