scholarly journals Literary Representation of the Relationship between Man and Nature in Guo Muoruo’s Poetry Anthology The Goddess

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 126
Author(s):  
Chunyan Zhang

<p class="1Body">One of the distinct characteristics of Chinese culture has always been its emphasis on the harmony of man with nature (<em>tianren heyi</em>天人合一). This is still widely accepted in Chinese intellectual discourse. However, few scholars have noticed that a new attitude towards the relationship between human beings and nature, which emphasizes the “greatness” of man and the battle against nature, began to germinate in the 1920s. In Chinese culture, the earliest and most impressive manifestation of this attitude was in Chinese literature. The literary revolution foreshadowed the overall intellectual movement of the “New Culture”. Guo Moruo’s (郭沫若1892-1978) poetry<em> </em>anthology <em>The Goddess</em> (<em>Nüshen</em>女神) (1921) was a representative example. It constructed the “greatness” of man and the myth of “man battling against nature” effectively by elevating the status of man in nature. This paper discusses how Guo Muoruo’s ideas related to the social ideologies of the time (e.g. nationalism, Westernization, Romanticism, Expressionism, Marxism and leftist politics). Guo is a case study, demonstrating how social and political change influenced Chinese artistic expression in the 1920s and the 1930s.<strong></strong></p>


Author(s):  
Thomas Teo

Critical psychology comprises a broad range of international approaches centered around theories and practices of critique, power, resistance, and alternatives of practice. Although critical psychology had an axial age in and around the 1970s, many sources can be found decades and even centuries earlier. Critical psychology is not only about the critique of psychology, which is a broader historical and theoretical field, but about doing justice in and through theory, justice with and to groups of people, and justice to the reality of society, history, and culture as they powerfully constitute subjectivity, as well as the discipline and profession of psychology. Doing justice in and through psychological theory has a strong basis in Western critical approaches, representing a privileged position of reflection in Euro-American research institutions. Critical psychologists argue that traditional psychology is missing its subject matter and hence is not doing justice in methodology, and its practices of control and adjustment are not doing justice to the emancipatory possibilities of human agency or human science. Critical psychologists who are attempting to do justice with and to human beings are not neglecting the onto-epistemic-ethical domain, but are instead focusing on people, often marginalized or oppressed groups. Critical psychologists who want to do justice in history, culture, and society have argued that traditional psychological practice means adaption and adjustment. This means that not only subjectivity, but also the discipline and profession of psychology need to be connected with contexts. Psychologists have attempted to conceptualize the relationship between society and the individual, as well as the ability of humans not only to adapt to an environment but to change their living conditions and transform the status quo. This conceptualization also means providing concrete analyses of how current society, based in neoliberal capitalism, not only impacts individuals but also the discipline of psychology. Despite the complexities of critical psychology around the world, critical psychologists emphasize the importance of reflexivity and praxis when it comes to changing the conditions of social reality that create mental life. Given that subjectivity cannot be limited to intra-psychological processes, critical psychologists attend to relational and structural societal realities, requiring inter- and transdisciplinarity in the discipline and profession.



2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 202-210
Author(s):  
Rajeswari G

Thirukkural, global literature does not only talk about human behaviours which are to be glorified. It also proposes bright cut ideas about the relationship between humans and nature. The attention of the modern world is on environmental issues. The fast developments due to science and technology resulted in destroying nature. Due to industrial-based products and for the sake of the sophisticated life of the modern man, we left the nature for destruction. And now humanity faces the consequences. It is a general truth that the literature reflects the social issues of that time of its outcome. One can notice that the recent creative literature of Tamil talks about environmental aspects of the globe and the local areas. Thirukkural also deals with the issues of nature and it proposes the ideal relationship between man and nature, which is the concern of this paper. Thiruvalluvar says that the whole world depends on water. All the activities in the world cannot be possible if the rain fails. All the activities of living creatures, including humans, depend on water. Start with food production and leading to every activity are depends on rain. So Tiruvalluvar concludes that the relationship between humans and nature depends on water i.e. is rain. The paper concludes that the concept of Thiukkural towards nature is the dependency of humanity.



2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 340-348
Author(s):  
Fatma ZAGHAR ◽  
El-Alia Wafaâ ZAGHAR

In this increasingly interconnected epoch, the teaching of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) along with culture that is considered as a fifth skill has become inevitable. Therefore, EFL teachers are impelled to introduce cultural instruction in their classes. They are then advised to combine the teaching of language skills with the foreign culture because it prepares their learners to behave successfully in intercultural encounters, gain solid cultural knowledge, overcome cultural obstacles, and promote their cultural awareness. The main questions addressed in this research focus on the inclusion of the cultural component in language subjects’ syllabuses, and the type of teaching strategies that can ameliorate the status of cultural instruction. This study points out the key importance of implementing intercultural information in EFL contexts founded on a case study undertaken at the University of Oran 2 in Algeria. This paper targeted a group of Master II students by using an array of data collection means including a questionnaire given to the learners, an interview done with the teachers, and classroom observation sessions carried out by the researchers. The major aims of this work were to verify the learners’ perceptions of cultural learning, and outfit students with core foundations of culture. The results demonstrated that the incorporated teaching techniques have enriched the students’ cultural understanding and intensified their linguistic adeptnesses. It is suggested that these teaching initiatives can aid learners be compassionate, understandable, and tolerant human beings.



2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 53-69
Author(s):  
Petra Tlčimuková

This case study presents the results of long-term original ethnographic research on the international Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai International (SGI). It focuses on the relationship between the material and immaterial and deals with the question of how to study them in the sociology of religion. The analysis builds upon the critique of the modernist paradigm and related research of religion in the social sciences as presented by Harman, Law and Latour. The methodology draws on the approach of Actor-Network Theory as presented by Bruno Latour, and pursues object-oriented ethnography, for the sake of which the concept of iconoclash is borrowed. This approach is applied to the research which focused on the key counterparts in the Buddhist praxis of SGI ‒ the phrase daimoku and the scroll called Gohonzon. The analysis deals mainly with the sources of sociological uncertainties related to the agency of the scroll. It looks at the processes concerning the establishing and dissolving of connections among involved elements, it opens up the black-boxes and proposes answers to the question of new conceptions of the physical as seen through Gohonzon.



2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 351-363
Author(s):  
Tarcísio Staudt ◽  
Carla Joseandra Dillenburg ◽  
Jucelaine Bitarello

ABSTRACTThe objective is to identify the relationship of managers and employees the forms of recognition of Spiritual Capital as part of the integral being in the workplace. Thus, we described the spiritual evolution of man through the ages, we discuss theories about the whole being, identify and analyze the values that constitute the Spiritual Capital, showing its relevance in the business environment in two ways: the reflections generated by the formation of a team spirit high, and the values and principles that guide the actions of managers and employees. The research is characterized as qualitative descriptive exploratory design, whose basis was made by the literature review. The case study was conducted at the Agency for Post Franchised Rua Grande, located in São Leopoldo / RS. We used the methodology of content analysis, using the technique of speech analysis performed by guiding tours of interviews with two managers and a non-probability sample of ten employees. In the analyzed company, identified as a factor of greater relevance to management integration with your staff, creating involvement and complicity in the team. Leaders seek personal satisfaction and professional staff as well as realize the extent of the social issues of particular employees by making the work environment supportive. The methodology applied by management contributes to the formation of the integral, since it gives employees freedom of action, stimulating their potential and enhancing their qualifications. The agency has an integrated team, strengthened by the values and purposes guiding spirituality.RESUMOO objetivo é identificar nas relações de gestores e funcionários as formas de reconhecimento do Capital Espiritual como elemento do ser integral no ambiente de trabalho. Desta forma, descrevemos a evolução espiritual do ser humano através dos tempos; abordamos teorias sobre o ser integral; identificamos e analisamos os valores que constituem o Capital Espiritual, demonstrando sua relevância no ambiente empresarial sob dois aspectos: os reflexos gerados pela formação de uma equipe espiritualmente elevada, e, os valores e princípios que norteiam as ações dos gestores e funcionários. A pesquisa caracteriza-se como qualitativa com delineamento descritivo-exploratório, cujo embasamento deu-se através da revisão bibliográfica. O estudo de caso foi realizado na Agência de Correios Franqueada Rua Grande, situada na cidade de São Leopoldo/RS. Utilizou-se a metodologia de análise de conteúdo, através da técnica de análise de discurso realizada por meio de roteiros norteadores de entrevistas aplicadas aos dois gestores e em uma amostra não-probabilística de dez funcionários. Na empresa analisada, identificamos como fator de maior relevância a integração da gestão com seu quadro funcional, criando envolvimento e cumplicidade na equipe. Os líderes buscam a satisfação pessoal e profissional dos funcionários, bem como percebem a extensão social das questões particulares dos colaboradores tornando o ambiente de trabalho solidário. A metodologia aplicada pela gestão contribui para a formação do ser integral, visto que proporciona aos funcionários liberdade de ação, estimulando suas potencialidades e valorizando suas qualificações. A agência conta com uma equipe integrada, fortalecida pelos valores e propósitos norteadores da espiritualidade.



2001 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Bloch

Convention status accords refugees social and economic rights and security of residence in European countries of asylum. However, the trend in Europe has been to prevent asylum seekers reaching its borders, to reduce the rights of asylum seekers in countries of asylum and to use temporary protection as a means of circumventing the responsibility of long-term resettlement. This paper will provide a case study of the United Kingdom. It will examine the social and economic rights afforded to different statuses in the areas of social security, housing, employment and family reunion. It will explore the interaction of social and economic rights and security of residence on the experiences of those seeking protection. Drawing on responses to the crisis in Kosovo and on data from a survey of 180 refugees and asylum seekers in London it will show the importance of Convention status and the rights and security the status brings.



2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 387-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juha Klemelä

Purpose The Social Return on Investment (SROI) framework has been developed for mapping and measuring social impact. It may be used for legitimating organisations and projects. The framework is often criticised for its overemphasis of the SROI ratio, i.e. the relationship between monetised benefits and costs. This study aims to demonstrate how the SROI method legitimates organisations or projects with multiple other discursive ways besides the SROI ratio. It also discusses the status of these other ways of legitimation in relation to the quantifying and monetising core tendency of SROI. Design/methodology/approach The empirical data consist of an SROI guidebook and 12 SROI reports. Their study applies Theo van Leeuwen’s ideas for analysing the discursive legitimation of social practices. The study takes place broadly in the framework of Norman Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis, aided by qualitative content analysis. Findings In the analysis, the full spectrum of the van Leeuwenian legitimation means used by SROI – authorisation, rationalisation, moral evaluation and mythopoetical narration – is brought out in the data and the status and social context of the legitimation means are assessed and discussed. It is shown that there is existing potential for broader and more visible use of different legitimation means. Practical implications Based on the findings of the study, suggestions for the improvement of SROI reporting by a more balanced explicit use of the multitude of legitimation means are presented. Originality/value The study is original both in its subject (the spectrum of legitimation in SROI) and its method (qualitative discursive and contentual analysis of SROI as a legitimating discourse).



Author(s):  
Fen LIN

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract in English only.In the dominant discourse of the "human–machine relationship," people and machines are the subjects, with a mutually shaping influence. However, this framework neglects the crux of the current critical analysis of AI. It reduces the problems with new technology to the relationship between people and machines, ignoring the re-shaping of the relationship between "people and people" in the era of new technology. This simplification may mislead policy and legal regulations for new technologies. Why would a robot killing cause more panic than a murder committed by a human? Why is a robot's misdiagnosis more troubling than a doctor's? Why do patients assume that machines make more accurate diagnoses than doctors? When a medical accident occurs, who is responsible for the mistakes of an intelligent medical system? In the framework of traditional professionalism, the relationship between doctors and patients, whether trusted or not, is based on the premise that doctors have specialized knowledge that patients do not possess. Therefore, the authority of a doctor is the authority of knowledge. In the age of intelligence, do machines provide information or knowledge? Can this strengthen or weaken the authority of doctors? It is likely that in the age of intelligence, the professionalism, authority and trustworthiness of doctors require a new knowledge base. Therefore, the de-skilling of doctors is not an issue of individual doctors, but demands an update of the knowledge of the entire industry. Recognizing this, policy makers must not focus solely on the use of machines, but take a wider perspective, considering how to promote the development of doctors and coordinate the relationship between doctors with different levels of knowledge development. We often ask, "In the era of intelligence, what defines a human?" This philosophical thinking should be directed toward not only the difference between machines and people as individuals, but also how the relationship between human beings, i.e., the social nature of humans, evolves in different technological environments. In short, this commentary stresses that a "good" machine or an "evil" machine—beyond the sci-fi romance of such discourse—reflects the evolution of the relationships between people. In today's smart age, the critical issue is not the relationship between people and machines. It is how people adjust their relationships with other people as machines become necessary tools in life. In the era of intelligence, therefore, our legislation, policy and ethical discussion should resume their focus on evolutionary relationships between people.DOWNLOAD HISTORY | This article has been downloaded 41 times in Digital Commons before migrating into this platform.



Author(s):  
Robyn Eckersley

This chapter examines how environmental concerns have influenced International Relations theory. It first provides a brief overview of the ecological crisis and the emergence of green theorizing in the social sciences and humanities in general, along with the status and impact of environmental issues and green thinking in IR theory. It then investigates green theory’s transnational turn and how it has become more global, while critical IR theory has become increasingly green. It also considers the different ways in which environmental issues have influenced the evolution of traditional IR theory. It concludes with a case study of climate change to illustrate the diversity of theoretical approaches, including the distinctiveness of green theories.



2009 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 671-696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Mesny

This paper attempts to clarify or to reposition some of the controversies generated by Burawoy’s defense of public sociology and by his vision of the mutually stimulating relationship between the different forms of sociology. Before arguing if, why, and how, sociology should or could be more ‘public’, it might be useful to reflect upon what it is we think we, as sociologists, know that ‘lay people’ do not. This paper thus explores the public sociology debate’s epistemological core, namely the issue of the relationship between sociologists’ and non-sociologists’ knowledge of the social world. Four positions regarding the status of sociologists’ knowledge versus lay people’s knowledge are explored: superiority (sociologists’ knowledge of the social world is more accurate, objective and reflexive than lay people’s knowledge, thanks to science’s methods and norms), homology (when they are made explicit, lay theories about the social world often parallel social scientists’ theories), complementarity (lay people’s and social scientists’ knowledge complement one another. The former’s local, embedded knowledge is essential to the latter’s general, disembedded knowledge), and circularity (sociologists’ knowledge continuously infuses commonsensical knowledge, and scientific knowledge about the social world is itself rooted in common sense knowledge. Each form of knowledge feeds the other). For each of these positions, implications are drawn regarding the terms, possibilities and conditions of a dialogue between sociologists and their publics, especially if we are to take the circularity thesis seriously. Conclusions point to the accountability we face towards the people we study, and to the idea that sociology is always performative, a point that has, to some extent, been obscured by Burawoy’s distinctions between professional, critical, policy and public sociologies.



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