On the Psychology of Argument: A Structural Analysis of Former Muslims' Postings Within Malaysian Social Media

This research attempts to provide insights into the argumentation structures in the discussion of Islam on social media involving 14 Malaysian former Muslims. The social media accounts of the participants were observed for 12 months, from January to December 2019. A total of 368 postings put forth arguments related to Islamic authoritative discourse, the Quran and “Sunnah” of the Prophet Muhammad, to justify their renunciation of the Muslim religion. The analysis revealed that the Level 2 argument, which includes the claim, data to support the claim, and the warrant, was identified as the most common argument structure. Level 5, which has more than one rebuttal, was the least common argument structure. The analysis shows that most argument structures were at the lower levels (1–3) in that they offered no strong, clearly identifiable rebuttals. This study concludes that the arguments put forth by former Muslims, in the main, are loosely constructed rather than attempts to build a strong cumulative argumentation to support their reasons for abandoning the Muslim faith.

Dekonstruksi Bomoh Dalam Ritual Bedekeh Suku Akit Di Rupat Bengkalis Provinsi Riau

Bedekeh is medical traditional treatment that is from the ancient treatment of ancestor that has been done by Akit People when they need treatment such as seek and seen the desease or illness from the body of someone. This ritual is contained mystics which they believe if there is relation with the curing that is helped by the spirit of ancestor Akit that is based of Akit people’s faith. Both Batin and Bomoh have a big role of Akit Tribes life cycles. The role of Batin in Akit Tribe is important because they not only keep the tradition culture of Akit exist, but also lead the Bedekeh ritual (as Bomoh Besar). Nowadays, exsistent of Batin is not used by or important because Batin himself has been replaced by the Village Head of Hutan Panjang (Kepala Desa) that is not nesessary from Akit People. When there was Undang-Undang Desa (Village Laws), Batin had two roles, Kepala Desa (Village Head) and the leader of Bedekeh Ritual. In Akit People, Batin and Bomoh have certain social roles and cultural system of Akit. The Profession of Bomoh politically authoritative discourse of power. The Position of Bomoh attract the variety of interests as the legitimacy of power. That posistion is used to gain the position, respect, and power. Discourse of power or knowledge is Foucault’s Theory, about correlation between Discourse, power, and knowledge to become the aspect in power of Batin and Bomoh for Bedekeh ritual for Akit People.

A Fly in the Soup: Gibberish in Russia as Aesthetic Defiance

Unintelligible sequences of letters or words in today’s Russian culture are omnipresent: in slogans, such as “Hair is the best remedy,” “Stop grandma’s merciless feeding!”; on social media, for example #ifnotputinthencat and “LSDUZ and IFIAU9”; in satirical songs and poems; in films by Zvyagintsev, novels by Sorokin, Tolstaya, and Pelevin, etc. The appeal of gibberish and its repression by the Soviet and post-Soviet officialdom is rooted in the belief that art and word have the power to influence people and events. Avant-garde artists who pioneered this belief in the transformative power of art cheered the Bolshevik’s promise to create a new society, but were soon crushed by the Soviet state as dangerous saboteurs. Today, gibberish is again a strategy of aesthetic defiance. Erudite and inventive, gibberish eludes the grasp of state censorship. It builds communities of resistance, and spoils the authoritative discourse like a fly in the soup.

Depiction of Lenin and Stalin in Estonian Art as an Indicator of Shifts in the Soviet Authoritative Discourse

The paper provides an analysis of changes in depiction of Soviet leaders by Estonian artistsduring the period of Soviet occupation of Estonia. More specifically, changes in theiconography of Lenin and Stalin are viewed in light of Alexei Yurchak’s concept ofperformative shift of the Soviet authoritative discourse. During the over 40-year period of Soviet occupation conventions of depicting Leninand Stalin underwent several notable changes that more or less reflected shifts in the Sovietpolitics as well as the developments in Estonian arts. The paper argues that changes in thedepiction of the leaders amounted to the fundamental meaning and message of these works ofart. Especially from the end of the 1960s, an increasingly playful and ironic undertoneprevailed. In using the depictions of the Soviet leaders in Estonian art to test the aforementionedtheoretical constructions, the paper however concludes that changes in the official discoursein Estonian arts did not wholly conform to the performative shift as described by Yurchak.

Authoritative discourse in advanced studio lessons

The purpose of this paper is to explore authoritative discourses in advanced studio lessons. Authoritative approaches have been described variously as systematic instruction, direct teaching and teacher-centred, and they appear to be widely accepted in music education, and sought by advanced students. Concerns have been raised in general education theory about the limitations of such approaches, but they have been little researched in the context of studio teaching. This qualitative case study seeks evidence of authority in advanced studio behaviour, through Bakhtin’s account of dialogism and authoritative discourse and theories related to direct instruction. Specifically, an analysis is made of a single studio lesson given by an expert saxophone teacher to an undergraduate student. The terms of inquiry are focused on features of lesson dialogue, including representations of others as emblems of authority, the teacher’s initiation of tasks, student responses and teacher feedback. The study identifies internally consistent patterns of behaviour that provide abundant evidence of teacher-centred approaches to advanced studio tuition, which draw attention to the teacher’s personal expertise, privilege her perspective and convey a sense of her authority. However, the observed studio practices are found to be complex and sophisticated, with features of cognitive scaffolding that are inconsistent with authoritative discourse. It is argued that authoritative approaches are contingent on the subject matter, with their productivity contingent on the balance and match between participants’ expertise, commitment and purpose.