Modern Assessments of Quintilian

The recent history of scholarship on Quintilian makes for intriguing and sometimes contradictory reading. While some modern assessments of Quintilian are ambivalent about his abilities as a rhetorician as revealed in the Institutio Oratoria, there has been a marked shift during the last part of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century towards a more positive appraisal of his achievements. One reflection of this changed perception is the tendency by recent scholars to steer away from some of the disparaging criticism made by previous generations of scholars of Quintilian’s supposed shortcomings as a rhetorical theoretician, especially as a rhetor who is steeped in the faults of his age. Another indication of a more positive approach to Quintilian is the increased scholarly focus on seemingly almost every aspect of his rhetorical treatise. This growing interest in Quintilian is reflected in the over 600 publications that were published in 1980–2016, which is far more in number than for any period of similar length in the past. The discussion is intended to serve primarily as a statement about current worldwide opinions concerning Quintilian, with scholarly assessment of his significant role in Imperial rhetoric being the general focus. This chapter features the following main sections: topics of academic investigation; general praise of Quintilian; originality of Quintilian; modern relevance and utility of Quintilian; Quintilian, education, and law; Quintilian, literary criticism, and stylistic issues; general criticism of Quintilian; antiquated attitudes and speculative criticism; pseudo-academic scholarship: Wikipedia; and journalism and popular writing.

Not for Sale, but for Own Need”: Trade of the Volhynian Gentry in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the Second Half of the 16th — First Half of the 17th Century

The article analyzes socioeconomic processes in the early modern Europe, in particular trade in its separate regions. It considers the classical economic model focused on the industry and agriculture, which Eastern and Western Europe followed in their multifaceted development. It studies legislation, namely the Second Lithuanian Statute and the Sejm Constitutions for assessing the involvement of gentry representatives in commerce. It indicates that the activity of the Volhynian gentry in the internal trade of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was due to both external changes in the market, primarily the demand for products from Eastern Europe, and the tendency observed on the continent when running a household became a business that made incomes grow. It analyzes general criticism in the intellectual circles of the trade activity of the gentry as such, which could lead to a certain deterioration of traditions. Man-knight and man-merchant intersections in the society of that time were acceptable if a nobleman traded goods from his own estates and could prove it with an oath.The article also investigates key areas of trade of the Volhynian gentry in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth on the basis of documentary material of court books of the 16th–17th-century Volhynia and previously published sources of economic nature. It studies main range of goods sold and bought by the representatives of the elite, observes the participation of the Volhynian gentry in trade operations with the core centers of the Polish-Lithuanian economy, and their involvement in local fairs and tradings. It shows the role of intermediaries, first of all representatives of the Jewish community and peasants from the gentry fоlwarks, in the trade enterprise of the gentry.

EAP in China: A case study of a paradigm shift in Shanghai College English programmes

Against the backdrop of the internationalization of higher education, Shanghai tertiary institutions in mainland China implemented a paradigm shift from test-driven EGP (English for General Purposes) to EAP (English for Academic Purposes) in 2013. Based on the needs analysis of specialist departments and pedagogical constraints, a hybrid EAP approach was adopted to fend off general criticism of EAP practices and hindrances from policy makers of different levels. To facilitate the shift, we used a top-down approach with Shanghai government support, designed an EAP-focused curriculum, planned EAP teacher-training programmes, organized project-based and publication-oriented student forums and conferences, developed EAP tests, and created a China EAP Association. Some implications for the paradigm shift have finally emerged from the findings.

DERADICALIZING RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM LINGUISTICALLY: AN INTERTEXTUAL APPROACH TO ISLAMIC EXTREMISTS’ VIEW ON THE QUR’ANIC INTERPRETATION

This article is a qualitative-descriptive study which employs which concern the existing phenomenon underlying in the translation of Qur'anic verses that are generally interpreted as a means for legitimizing the acts of terrorism by radical Islamists. The integration on the linguistic knowledge of Islamic texts has been studied as a process of incorporating new information into the existing knowledge with an interdisciplinary approach. The importance of language in the multitude of learning and the discipline of science has led to its status as a condition for correct understanding of the Qur'anic messages. This study used Fairclough’s intertextual approach on the potentially abused Qur’anic verses for violence acts in the name of Islam by extremist groups such ISIS. Two patterns of understanding Islamic texts become the spectrum of how the teachings of Islam are fairly understood. Linguistic provides general criticism toward the radicals’ interpretations in understanding the Islamic sources (primarily the Qur’anic verses). Then the study ends up with an argument that the radicalism in many groups in Islam is connected with the reality of Islamic sources which essentially needs to be interpreted in the context of Islamic societies and requires dynamic reading and prospective production on the meanings of a sacred text. Keywords: intertextuality, language, and radicalism

What is it that Wittgenstein denies in his philosophy of psychology?

Taking up some of W.’s paradoxical remarks about the existence of ‘mental things’ the paper investigates, what exactly he is criticizing. After a discussion of the mistaken idea of a private baptizing of one’s own ‘mental events’ W.’s general criticism of the ‘object-and-name model’ is treated with a view on the consequences it has for our understanding of the mental. This treatment includes a discussion of figurative kinds of language use as well as a discussion of the difference between ‘things’ and ‘objects of reference’: With respect to figurative uses of language it often makes no sense to treat constituent expressions as names of objects, and not all objects of reference are things in an unproblematic ordinary-life sense. So what at first sight appears to be a limitation of our understanding of the nature of an object and consequently seems to ask for more empirical research often turns out to be a limitation of our understanding of how we use our language. The paper concludes that one important aspect of what the later W. opposes is dualism: The mental cannot be conceived of as an additional ‘something’ a description of which could be just added to a description of a person as a physical being. Thus W.’s anti-dualism can also be read as turning against a dualism in his Tractatus: The mental realm as well as other provinces of ‘the higher’ are no longer seen as areas of entities about which we have to be silent.

Pelos manuais escolares, (um)a história contada: entre o currículo e a Educação Histórica

Curricular studies have shown a growing interest in the study of school manuals, embracing a general criticism of such educational resource, traditionally associated with dynamics of reproduction of social stereotypes and to an hegemonic and monocultural understanding of knowledge, and concerted with an existing homogenized tendency. Thus, the main goal of this essay is to present a reflection about the role of the school manual in the pedagogical and didactic dynamics of the contemporary (History) classes and, simultaneously, hint at some structural lines that that resource could follow, if conceived as another contribution for the development of student’s skills in historical thinking

Perception and Reality—Economic Inequality as a Driver of Populism?

Can the rise of populism be explained by the growing chasm between rich and poor? With regard to Germany, such a causal relationship must be rejected. Income distribution in Germany has been very stable since 2005, and people’s knowledge on actual inequality and economic development is limited: inequality and unemployment are massively overestimated. At the same time, a persistently isolationist and xenophobic group with diverse concerns and preferences has emerged within the middle classes of society that riggers support for populist parties. This mood is based on welfare chauvinism against immigration rather than on a general criticism of distribution. Since the immigration of recent years will inevitably affect the relevant indicators concerning distribution, an open, cautious but less heated approach is needed in the debate on the future of the welfare state. In order to address and take the local concerns of citizens seriously, an increased exchange with public officials on the ground is needed.

Resistance to rebellion

This chapter addresses the history of black and minority ethnic people in Britain following increased colonial migration after the Second World War, and subsequent relationship with an often-hostile society, experiencing widespread discrimination, racial violence, and a political consensus to depoliticise and marginalise racial issues. It examines the development of activism, militancy, and black mobilisation, considering the build-up of antipathy towards the police due to their policies, actions, and general criticism, illustrating the gradual building of discontent towards a British state offering minority ethnic groups little support. The chapter’s title ‘Resistance to rebellion’, inspired by Ambalavaner Sivanandan, itself provides a basic overview of the change demonstrated through these years; discussion, in effect, acts as a ‘roadmap to 1980–1’.