Sympathy for Oswald Mosley: Politics of Reading and Historical Resemblance in the Moral Imagination of an English Literary Society

The mid-twentieth-century English novelist, Henry Williamson, wrote nature stories but also romantic and historical fiction, including a fifteen-volume saga that contains a largely favorable characterization of Oswald Mosley, the leader of the British Union of Fascists. This essay considers the challenge of such a fascist character through the prism of the literary imagination of Williamson readers, and more specifically through my longstanding ethnographic work with an English literary society constituted in the author’s name. I am centrally concerned with how literary society members deal with the positive depiction of the Mosley-based character through the stages of the reading process that they identify and describe. Do the immersive values commonly attached to their solitary reading culture, for instance, assist or further problematize that engagement? What role does their subsequent, shared practice of character evaluation play? As well as considering the treatment of characters as objects of sympathy, I explore the vital sympathies that for literary society members tie characters together with historical persons. Across the essay I dialogue with anthropological literature on exemplars, historical commentaries on the fascist cult of leadership, and finally with the philosophical claims that Nussbaum makes for the moral and political consequences of fiction reading.

Indeks Aktivitas Literasi Membaca Peserta Didik Dan Prestasi Akademik: Studi Korelasi Pada 34 Propinsi Di Indonesia

The Indonesian government's efforts to eradicate illiteracy deserve appreciation, but this has not been accompanied by successful efforts in building a reading culture in the community. This is in accordance with various world surveys that note the low level of literacy in Indonesia. There are several studies through quantitative studies on interest and fondness for reading in various provinces in Indonesia, and this can be used as comparison material. One of the comprehensive studies conducted by the Center for Policy Research on Education and Culture, Research and Development Agency, Ministry of Education and Culture released the Reading Literacy Activity Index (Alibaca Index) in 34 provinces in Indonesia. Seeing this data, what becomes interesting to study later is whether the reading literacy level has a correlation with the student's academic achievement variable. This is important because in the end the school/madrasah literacy movement is aimed at achieving the highest level that goes beyond the level of habituation and development, namely the level of learning. This study aims to answer the questions, 1) Is there a significant positive correlation between students' reading literacy levels and academic achievement, in 34 provinces in Indonesia? and 2) What strategies should schools/madrasahs do to increase students' reading literacy levels and at the same time increase the achievement of academic achievement? This study uses a descriptive correlational approach by collecting data through the study of documentation and interviews. The results showed that the correlation between reading activity index and academic achievement (r) was 0.766. There are several innovation ideas also described qualitatively as a result of interviews.

The Management of Reading Park Case study in Kaba Kamboja Batipuh Panjang

Reading park it means of a place to increase children’s interest in reading which makes reading a daily culture in improving the quality of human resources. In Kaba Kamboja, the withdrawal of interest in reading is carried out by managers the managers is who are collage students. The manager himself which has several strategies in its services, especially learning management in the form of : 1) critical awareness 2) motivating children, 3) two-way communication, 4) monitoring activities, and 5) program providers as needed. In the case of kaba kamboja its focuses on reading interest to make area on Batipuh Panjang are reading culture. The purpose of managing the reading park itself now more focused on children’s reading culture. Kaba Kamboja is opened every times a week and more towards tutoring and becoming a focus for playing and learning areas for the children of the jambak village

Social media and the reading culture revolution among digital natives

Reading is one of the intellectual activities that only humans have that develops along with the writing system. The culture of reading does not just grow, because human history records the development of the writing system through a very long journey. The study, which involved 41 respondents aged 17-21 years who were randomly selected, showed a shift in the reading culture from print media to online media, related to reading patterns, gender aspects, reading frequency, and duration. From a gender aspect. The shift in the reading culture among young people is also greatly influenced by the characteristics of online media that print media lacks. The practicality and mobility of online media as well as easy access are some of the advantages that attract young media users. Books, newspapers/tabloids, and magazines do not have this characteristic. required Greater effort is more expensive to access print media which is incompatible with the characteristics of the digital natives. Although it has a number of advantages, online media is still considered to have a number of weaknesses compared to print media. One of the weaknesses of online media is the inaccuracy of the information, because the writing often does not apply the principle of cross-checking and confirmation, and contains more subjective opinions. The survey results reinforce the tendency of new media audiences to be not merely positioned as objects that are the target of messages. The tendency to change in reading culture is closely related to audiences and changes in media technology and the meaning of media have renewed the role of audiences to become more interactive with messages, and new media consumers who are dominated by young people can determine how to access according to their wants and needs.

Korero Pukapuka, Talking Books: Reading in Reo Māori in the Long Nineteenth Century

<p>The introduction of reading to New Zealand by missionaries in 1815 was a catalyst for enormous change in how Māori communicated and recorded information. Reading was quickly adopted by Māori, who learned in mission schools initially, and increasingly taught each other, both in formal educational contexts and informally in village settings across the country. Missionaries were concerned to promote reading as a means of communicating the Christian gospel, and much of the early material available to Māori readers in reo Māori was ecclesiastical or scriptural works. However, in 1842 the colonial government established the first reo Māori newspaper, the first of around forty titles which were produced over the period 1842-1932 by government, church and philanthropist, and Māori groups. Alongside news, speeches and other items, the niupepa included a wide range of texts that broadened the genres available in reo significantly. Many reports exist of Māori reading and writing in to the niupepa. Māori reading was, however, often carried out in conjunction with traditions of Māori debate and oral communication, which proved to be pragmatic approaches to the reading context of Māori in nineteenth century New Zealand. Government-controlled niupepa in particular used translated texts, both in niupepa and bound separately, as a means of disseminating information on a ‘civilised’ life and urging Māori to take up European behaviours. Other niupepa, however, in particular the Anglican-Māori Te Pipiwharauroa, He Kupu Whakamarama and Te Toa Takitini and the Kotahitanga niupepa Te Puke ki Hikurangi, promoted reading as a means by which Māori could inform themselves, entertain themselves, and connect with other cultures. Rather than being subsumed by Pākehā culture, these niupepa writers aimed to enrich their lives as Māori by incorporating elements of what they read in the paper. Translated texts, reo Māori versions of originals from other languages, were certainly part of this change, with readers reporting their reflections on the text and its application in their lives. Although responses were varied to reading, with many Māori both reading and lacking interest in reading at the end of the long nineteenth century, a well-developed reading culture in te reo existed in New Zealand, Although reading was not engaged in by the whole population, it was, in many cases, highly respected and a part of daily and official life.</p>

Korero Pukapuka, Talking Books: Reading in Reo Māori in the Long Nineteenth Century

<p>The introduction of reading to New Zealand by missionaries in 1815 was a catalyst for enormous change in how Māori communicated and recorded information. Reading was quickly adopted by Māori, who learned in mission schools initially, and increasingly taught each other, both in formal educational contexts and informally in village settings across the country. Missionaries were concerned to promote reading as a means of communicating the Christian gospel, and much of the early material available to Māori readers in reo Māori was ecclesiastical or scriptural works. However, in 1842 the colonial government established the first reo Māori newspaper, the first of around forty titles which were produced over the period 1842-1932 by government, church and philanthropist, and Māori groups. Alongside news, speeches and other items, the niupepa included a wide range of texts that broadened the genres available in reo significantly. Many reports exist of Māori reading and writing in to the niupepa. Māori reading was, however, often carried out in conjunction with traditions of Māori debate and oral communication, which proved to be pragmatic approaches to the reading context of Māori in nineteenth century New Zealand. Government-controlled niupepa in particular used translated texts, both in niupepa and bound separately, as a means of disseminating information on a ‘civilised’ life and urging Māori to take up European behaviours. Other niupepa, however, in particular the Anglican-Māori Te Pipiwharauroa, He Kupu Whakamarama and Te Toa Takitini and the Kotahitanga niupepa Te Puke ki Hikurangi, promoted reading as a means by which Māori could inform themselves, entertain themselves, and connect with other cultures. Rather than being subsumed by Pākehā culture, these niupepa writers aimed to enrich their lives as Māori by incorporating elements of what they read in the paper. Translated texts, reo Māori versions of originals from other languages, were certainly part of this change, with readers reporting their reflections on the text and its application in their lives. Although responses were varied to reading, with many Māori both reading and lacking interest in reading at the end of the long nineteenth century, a well-developed reading culture in te reo existed in New Zealand, Although reading was not engaged in by the whole population, it was, in many cases, highly respected and a part of daily and official life.</p>

Religious Subcultures and Reading Culture

For religious subcultures, the reading of religious books was of great importance, even for Roman Catholics, renowned for their ritual-mindedness and the prevailing limitations in terms of religious reading for laypeople. This article aims to reveal the extent to which the status and role of a subculture affected the printing history and reception of religious books. The Post-Reformation Low Countries – split into the South, where the Catholics were a dominant culture, and the Dutch Republic in the North, where they were a subculture – provides an excellent case study. A very popular meditation book serves as the source for the study, namely Sondaechs Schoole (Sunday school) (1623).

The Book as Object of Lay Devotion in Late Medieval Transylvania (Fifteenth-Sixteenth Centuries)

"Research on late-medieval religiosity in Central and Western Europe has shown that religious books were not only possessed, but also read, and sometimes even copied or disseminated by laymen. The need for a better definition of the relationship between the laity and the religious text leads to the formulation and intensive discussion of concepts such as devotional reading, culture of religious reading, or vernacular theology. Several examples of works that belonged to late-medieval Transylvanian laymen suggest the opportunity and, at the same time, the need to ask whether similar dynamics of pious behaviour can be discussed in their case. In order to provide a convincing answer, this study proposes an analysis of these books from at least three perspectives: theme, language, formal characteristics. The most interesting information is offered, however, by property notes, which suggest that the devotional potential of the book was not activated by reading, but rather by donation. By offering solutions to the everyday necessities of ecclesiastical institutions, these gifts were designed to ensure personal salvation as well. In order to support this hypothesis, I will also address another category of sources from which mentions regarding this kind of donations can be recovered, i.e. last wills. Keywords: religious books, devotional practices, pious donations, last wills, laity "

Strategies for Promoting a Reading Culture Among Secondary School Students in Kiambu County, Kenya

This research looked at reading culture within secondary school students in Kiambu County. It discussed the role that teachers, parents, school librarians and school culture play in the promotion of a reading culture or lack thereof. The specific objectives were; to determine the status of reading culture being promoted by secondary schools and to determine the level of usage of school libraries and their resources to support the development and cultivation of culture of reading among high school learners among secondary school students. This research was based on Lee Vygotsky’s cultural historical theory of cognitive development. The study employed descriptive survey design. The target population was 240 students, 24 teachers and 12 librarians from 12 secondary schools within Kiambu County. This research used stratified random sampling. The data was collected using self-administered questionnaires. Through pretest of the questionnaires and subsequent re-modelling, validity of the findings was enhanced. The data collected was analyzed through the aid of Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS). The analyzed data is displayed using charts, graphs, diagrams, tables, frequency tables, matrices, drawings or block diagrams. A significant portion of students loved reading very much at 31%. The hours spent on reading also varied with students (34%) 3-4 hours a day reading, with 30% others spending more than 4 hours a day. All the institutions featured have libraries. Out of the 208 students, 44% use the library hour to read either in class or the library. 20% of others use the allocated hour for private studies. Most of the students (78%) stated being part of a book club or study group. For instance, the study found that out of the 187 students (78%), a significant proportion (49%) used the groups for academic performance. Others benefited through fluency in language, increased vocabulary, better writing, and reading skills, among other reasons. The study proves the popular notion that Kenya's schools and the country have a poor reading culture. Students are forced into reading either by teachers and parents or pressured by the need to pass exams. As such, the most read materials are school textbooks and novels, which also happen to be the most stocked materials in school libraries. Reading should be a personal initiative as opposed to being forced into it. That being the case, students' opinions matter more on making reading more fun and appealing. Therefore, in addition to the importance of school libraries and reading clubs, schools need to encourage peer motivation to read in an effort to improve reading culture. Some of the study recommendations are that there is a need to include an opinion on academic experts on reading culture, government, and parents who play a significant role in the education sector.

Marginalia Transcription and Scholarly Culture in the Qing Dynasty

In the Qing, transcription of marginalia became common scholarly practice, involving a number of different people who created a new reading culture. This article follows the marginalia trail of scholar and calligrapher He Zhuo 何焯 through various transcribers and others involved in the process: He's disciples, later generations of scholars, bibliophiles, calligraphers, and booksellers. Connected through He's and others' marginalia across time and space, these transcribers established a network for the efficient transmission of information, knowledge, and thought. Transcription of such marginalia created a unique book culture that shaped scholarship, thought, and society in the Qing and produced critical texts that are still read today.