“The Bush Burned with Fire and the Bush Was Not Consumed”

This paper explores the post-metaphysical theology of Richard Kearney (1954–) from a Jewish theological perspective. It seeks to provide an original analysis of his project “anatheism,” considering the prominence of Jewish texts in the development of the concept of anatheism. Rooted in deconstructionist and Continental philosophical discourses, Jewish hermeneutics also plays a central role in anatheism. This discursive intersection has received scarce scholarly attention to date. Biblical and other texts which he interprets, include the rabbinic exegesis of Rashi and of modern Jewish hermeneutical philosophy notably of Martin Buber, Franz Rosenzweig, and Emmanuel Levinas. I analyse elements of Kearney’s interpretation primarily of the “Burning Bush” biblical narrative as a test case for anatheistic reading of Jewish texts as they appear in one particular text “I Am Who May Be” in The God Who May Be: A Hermeneutics of Religion (2001). Kearney’s textual reading of the Burning Bush offers an unusual example of a Christian engagement with Jewish interpretations of the biblical parable as well as of Levinas, Derrida, and others. Kearney’s effort highlights an approach of a mutual search for ways of interpreting texts not “of” the other, but “with” the other, in a mutual engagement of post-metaphysical theology. More broadly, this examination offers an important contribution to the developing field of post-metaphysical theology in the Jewish and Christian traditions, ultimately posing questions as to how and whether elements of Jewish scriptural interpretative techniques might or can imbue contemporary Christian post-metaphysical theologies. Conversely, the question can be asked as to what a Jewish version of anatheism might look like. This examination presents a test case for possibilities of reading and learning from discourses across different religions.

«SILENT ALL THESE YEARS» OR BECOMING IN EVERYDAYNESS: TORI AMOS AND HER POETICS OF THE QUOTIDIAN

Created by the American singer-songwriter Tori Amos «Silent All These Years» is a prominent cultural product of the 1990s in the domain of western popular music. Released in the beginning of the decade it has actualized the current sensibilities, ethically and aesthetically. Deploying the efficient mutual engagement of feminist and postmodernist strategies the author mobilizes the quotidian and performs its intellectual aestheticization. The study focuses on the ways the everyday operates in the song lyrically and musically, as well as on the author’s intention of aestheticizing the mundane. There is an important interdependence between the material circumstances in which the song was created and its genre form of an indie ballad — an ironic gesture that subverts the «heroic» becomes definitive of the piece. The embodied «women’s» experience of the mundane comes as grotesque, «women’s» time threatens to devour the time of «progress», elements of western eschatological mythology undergo domestication and the archetypal image of the Mermaid receives a re-reading, urban everyday vocabulary ruptures the «high» register. An intensification of sameness, repetition and monotony, however, accentuates a non-ironic potentiality of emancipation and insight. The poetics of the quotidian in Amos, thus, presents itself politically by locating the invisibly heroic becoming in everydayness as opposed to a one-time extraordinary action. One of the singular possibilities of such a becoming is a possibility of a continuing, and always risky, dialogic exchange.

Tackling the emotional toll together: How journalists address harassment with connective practices

In this article, we examine how journalists address and tackle online harassment by connective practices that involve joint action with peers and editors that we find are particularly effective in addressing the emotional effects of harassment. Theoretically, we bridge community of practice research with theories of emotional labour to develop a novel perspective to examine online harassment. Drawing on 22 interviews with Finnish journalists, we find three categories of connective practices that are particularly effective in tackling harassment: (1) supportive connection between the journalist and the editor; (2) shared collegial practices among peers in the newsrooms and (3) emotional engagement among peers outside the newsroom. All three categories illustrate how journalists as a community of practice develop new practices through dynamic processes innovation, improvisation, trial and error, reciprocal learning and mutual engagement. Importantly, emotional labour forms an important dimension of these practices as the journalists jointly address and tackle the emotional effects of harassment. We posit that the effectiveness of these connective practices largely stems from their ability to provide emotional support. While addressing feelings of fear, anger and shame, these shared practices also help consolidate the newly acquired knowledge and the professional identity under attack. Finally, we offer recommendations for newsrooms and journalists on how to collectively counter harassment and develop policies to address it.

A Dyadic Technology-Based Intervention for Informal Caregivers and Patients With Dementia

Most intervention programs in the dementia domain have exclusively focused on the caregiver (CG) or the patient (CR), despite evidence of a reciprocal interaction between the dyad. This presentation will describe a randomized controlled trial that is evaluating the feasibility and efficacy of an innovative dyadic intervention (DT) that is delivered through an interactive technology that includes an evidenced-based CG component, an evidenced-based cognitive training component for the CR and a dyadic component. The program is designed to: be synergistic and emphasize issues important to CGs in the earlier stages of caregiving. The sample involves 200 informal CGs and CRs with early-stage dementia. Data will be presented regarding factors influencing the feasibility of implementing a dyadic intervention such as recruitment challenges (e.g., mutual consent and eligibility), and mutual engagement of both the CG and CR. Strategies implemented to maintain the trial during the COVID-19 pandemic will also be discussed.

Effect of Post-Election Violence on the Perfomance of Tourism Industry. A Critical Literature Review

Purpose: A free and transparent electioneering process ideally shuns violence, 21 corruption and other vices encouraging the flourishing of economic activities including tourism leading to a vibrant tourism sector. The general objective of the study was to examine effect of post-election violence on the performance of tourism industry in Kenya. Methodology: The paper used a desk study review methodology where relevant empirical literature was reviewed to identify main themes and to extract knowledge gaps. Findings: The study concluded that election violence affects movement of people within the country, people movements are restricted during the campaigns, local and international members of the fourth estate give prominence to negative news during this period scaring both domestic and international tourist’s arrivals and that people prefer staying in familiar places and fear travelling when there is election violence. Recommendations: The study recommends that the Kenyan security infrastructure should regain civilian confidence: by cultivating citizen-police relations to tame the prevailing account of fear and apathy. This can be worked on and transformed into more justifiable national confidence on the security agencies and a platform created for mutual engagement. This relationship is crucial in helping the security agencies in controlling crime and being able to mitigate the security challenges arising during elections. This way the tourism industry will benefit in terms of enjoying a peaceful environment before, during and after general elections in the country. Once this relationship is built on trust, the police will be able to manage effectively all issues

I Want to Participate—Communities of Practice in Foraging and Gardening Projects as a Contribution to Social and Cultural Sustainability in Early Childhood Education

Learning and development in early childhood is highly dependent on social interaction and exploration through continuous encounters with the real world. Foraging and gardening are outdoor pedagogical practices that have relevance to education for sustainability. Previous work suggests that engagement in such activities can be characterized by the concept “community of practice” (CoP). In this paper, we explore how characteristics of the CoP can be recognized in foraging and gardening projects performed in the Arctic region of Norway, and we discuss how these activities can contribute to social and cultural aspects of sustainability. Data collection included focus group interviews with kindergarten staff (teachers and assistants) and videos taken of foraging and gardening activities with the children. Our data indicate that the hallmarks of CoP, domain, community, and practice, are strongly recognized in these projects through increased interest, social interaction, and agency for learning. This mutual engagement and participation in the CoPs for foraging and gardening connect both staff and children to local food heritage and culture for a sustainable future.

Educating Democratic Character

Many recent writers on democracy have lamented its decay and warned of its imminent death. We argue that the concerns are focused at three different levels of democracy. The most fundamental of these, celebrated by Tocqueville and by Dewey, recognizes the interactions and joint deliberations among citizens who seek sympathetic mutual engagement. Such engagement is increasingly rare in large-scale political life. In diagnosing and treating the problems, we recommend returning to the debate between Lippmann and Dewey, in which many of the concerns now prominent were already voiced. This inspires the main work of the paper – the reconstruction of Dewey’s conception of democracy as a ‘mode of associated living’. We focus on the thesis that democracy is educative and explicate Dewey’s notion of growth, showing how democratic education contributes to three important functions: the capacity for sustaining oneself, the enrichment of individual experience, and the ability to enter into cooperative discussions with fellow citizens. Dewey’s conception of democratic education is directed at fostering particular virtues and, if citizens come to possess them, the need for Lippmann’s ‘omnicompetent individual’ vanishes. We conclude by suggesting that Dewey’s project of educating democratic character is pertinent for addressing the disaffection of our times.

Towards collective moral resilience: the potential of communities of practice during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond

This paper proposes communities of practice (CoP) as a process to build moral resilience in healthcare settings. We introduce the starting point of moral distress that arises from ethical challenges when actions of the healthcare professional are constrained. We examine how situations such as the current COVID-19 pandemic can exponentially increase moral distress in healthcare professionals. Then, we explore how moral resilience can help cope with moral distress. We propose the term collective moral resilience to capture the shared capacity arising from mutual engagement and dialogue in group settings, towards responding to individual moral distress and towards building an ethical practice environment. Finally, we look at CoPs in healthcare and explore how these group experiences can be used to build collective moral resilience.

THE The Human and the Non-Human in Ze života hmyzu by the Brothers Čapek: Contexts, Scheme, Interpretation

The study „The mutual engagement of human and insect sphere in Čapeks´ most-played drama“ attempts at a contextual perspective on the human and natural spheres of Čapeks celebrated „insect play“ (Ze života hmyzu). Summing up the potential thematic and structural influences on the play (such as L´Oiseau Bleu), the study uncovers the structure of the play (the mise-en-abyme and circular composition) and proves it to be one of the key interpretative tools for its understanding. The other analytical tools are derived from detailed evaluation of the figure of the Tramp (a universal human figure) and of the individual insect groups (types). In the final search for the core dynamics and the message of the play, the influence and legacy of Jean-Henri Fabre is recalled, alongside the authors´ own perspective.