The Dancing Floor of War: A study of Theban imperialism within Boeotia, ca. 525-386BCE

<p>This thesis is a reexamination of Thebes’ relationship with the neighbouring Greek poleis (city states) of Boeotia in early Greek history, including but not limited to the so-called Boeotian League or Confederation. Although it is generally acknowledged that Thebes was the dominant city of Boeotia in the Archaic and Classical Periods, scholarly opinion has varied on how to classify Thebes’ dominance. At some point in the period considered here, the Boeotian states gathered themselves together into a regional collective, a confederation. The features of this union (in which Thebes was the leading participant) obscure Thebes’ ambitions to subjugate other Boeotian states. I argue here that it is appropriate to define Thebes’ relationship with Boeotia as imperialist. I begin with a methodological consideration of the application of imperialism to ancient Greek history. The thesis considers in the first chapters three stages of development in Theban imperialism: firstly an early period (ca. 525) in which Thebes encouraged nascent Boeotian ethnic identity, promoting its own position as the natural leader of Boeotia. Secondly, a period (ca. 525–447) in which a military alliance of Boeotian states developed under the leadership of Thebes. Thirdly, a period which was the earliest true form of the Boeotian Confederation, contrary to scholarship which pushes the date of the Boeotian collective government back to the sixth century. I argue that the Boeotian federal constitution of 447–386 gave Thebes sufficient control of Boeotia to be classified as an imperialist structure. A final chapter independently considers the evidence of Boeotian coinage, which has often been used problematically to inform historical analysis of Boeotian relations. I argue that on cultural and economic grounds alone the numismatic evidence suggests that Thebes’ dominance in Boeotia extended to monetary influence.</p>

The Dancing Floor of War: A study of Theban imperialism within Boeotia, ca. 525-386BCE

<p>This thesis is a reexamination of Thebes’ relationship with the neighbouring Greek poleis (city states) of Boeotia in early Greek history, including but not limited to the so-called Boeotian League or Confederation. Although it is generally acknowledged that Thebes was the dominant city of Boeotia in the Archaic and Classical Periods, scholarly opinion has varied on how to classify Thebes’ dominance. At some point in the period considered here, the Boeotian states gathered themselves together into a regional collective, a confederation. The features of this union (in which Thebes was the leading participant) obscure Thebes’ ambitions to subjugate other Boeotian states. I argue here that it is appropriate to define Thebes’ relationship with Boeotia as imperialist. I begin with a methodological consideration of the application of imperialism to ancient Greek history. The thesis considers in the first chapters three stages of development in Theban imperialism: firstly an early period (ca. 525) in which Thebes encouraged nascent Boeotian ethnic identity, promoting its own position as the natural leader of Boeotia. Secondly, a period (ca. 525–447) in which a military alliance of Boeotian states developed under the leadership of Thebes. Thirdly, a period which was the earliest true form of the Boeotian Confederation, contrary to scholarship which pushes the date of the Boeotian collective government back to the sixth century. I argue that the Boeotian federal constitution of 447–386 gave Thebes sufficient control of Boeotia to be classified as an imperialist structure. A final chapter independently considers the evidence of Boeotian coinage, which has often been used problematically to inform historical analysis of Boeotian relations. I argue that on cultural and economic grounds alone the numismatic evidence suggests that Thebes’ dominance in Boeotia extended to monetary influence.</p>

Giving voice to teachers through interpretative phenomenological research: a methodological consideration

PurposeThis conceptual article aims to examine the application of interpretative phenomenology to research on teacher experience. It covers methodological theory and practical interpretative approaches that are pertinent for generating useful insights into an educational issue.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on an illustrative research on secondary teachers' disciplinary and pedagogical reasoning and classroom practices in Ghana, this article explores the author's musings and introspection around carrying out an interpretative phenomenological research and demonstrates how the approach helped to amplify teachers' voices.FindingsThe article demonstrates that the canons of interpretative phenomenology and qualitative research in general, while translatable to practice, need to be regarded as a series of emergent decisions and actions rather than prescriptive set of principles. The article explains that educational researchers must recognise interpretation as the lifeblood of the approach and move beyond the description of essences and explicate participants' experiences of phenomena using workable frames of interpretation.Originality/valueThe article extends the current methodological knowledge base by contributing to international discussions on qualitative research and to an understanding of the applicability of interpretative phenomenological research design to research on teacher reasoning and practice. It also serves as a useful methodological resource for novice researchers.

Governmental policy capacity and policy work in a small place: Reflections on perceptions of civil servants in Prince Edward Island, Canada from a practitioner in the field

The body of public administration literature is missing contributions from practitioners in the field. Emic or insider-led studies of public administration can act as powerful mechanisms to generate new knowledge. This article studies the relationship between place, perceptions and policy work by drawing on the author’s own public administration experience and interviews with civil servants. The results show that societal factors such as political culture and reduced anonymity associated with small place create challenges when developing public policy. However, expedited public engagement and problem identification were perceived by civil servants to be enhanced by a small context. This means that small place can be both limiting and beneficial for high levels of policy capacity. Overall, this article finds that geospatial factors such as smallness impact perceptions of policy work and capacity. Furthermore, this article finds that insider-led studies of public administration can indeed make important and unique contributions to the body of literature and are therefore deserving of more serious methodological consideration.

Post-Critique, Politics, and the Political in Educational Philosophy

The recent Manifesto for a Post-Critical Pedagogy introduced a specifically pedagogical register into theoretical and methodological consideration of post-critique. Focusing on a specific aspect of the Manifesto – the view that the political concerns of much critical educational research position education as instrumental to politics to the extent that the “educational” in educational research is left out of the picture – I ask to what extent we can defend the view that education and politics should be separate in our enquiries? Drawing on a particular account of the separation of education and politics I suggest that what is at issue is not the political as such but the particular, sociological, register of politics at work in critical educational research. To bracket out the political is potentially to leave everyday flesh and blood experiences of education out of the picture.

Balancing generosity and critique: reflections on interviewing young men and implications for research methodologies and ethics

Feminist research methodologies have challenged power imbalances in qualitative interviews and gendered inequalities more broadly. We explore the methodological and ethical complexities of, and implications for, doing feminist research with young men. We draw on two studies in which narrative interviews with young men were conducted: one in 2014 and 2015 with 28 middle-class men between the ages of 20 and 31 living in Australia and Germany; and one a longitudinal study beginning in 2009 in the south-east of England with 24 working-class men between the ages of 18 and 24. We explore the production of narratives in interviews with young men, rapport-building, and interactional issues. Balancing generosity and critique emerges as a key ethical and methodological consideration for research conducted with young men. We suggest that negotiating the tensions of this balance can hold key possibilities for research and for proliferating alternative modes of masculinity.