Controlling the Boundaries of Morality: The History and Powers of Ayelala Deity

The worship of deities has always been a major religious preoccupation among the Yoruba. Among these deities is Ayelala, a water goddess, who is not only worshiped with pomp and pageantry but also highly revered and respected for its judicial powers. As a deity of retribution and justice, Ayelala is believed to possess great powers which she uses against varying forms of social vice, such as armed robbery, sexual offences, and witchcraft to mention a few. Ayelala is reputed for seeking vengeance when the offender has forgotten her or his crime, and strikes her victims by inflicting on them bodily swelling and in few cases, dryness. Such is Ayelala’s overwhelming power and potency that the deity seeks to control the boundaries of morality and at the same time forms amajor bulwark against societal impropriety. Our article examines the history of Ayelala, being one of the popular deities worshipped in coastal Yorubaland. It also interrogates how the deity’s power stems from the importance of boundaries and difference, insofar as these warrant the strict obedience of individuals, their families and the society as a whole to the prevailing set of moral demands. The article contends that beyond the narratives of power, potency and retribution, Ayelala’s role as an arbiter of justice underscores the importance of civic values held within communities where the deity is worshipped – which are also values that undergird intergroup relations. Though Ayelala worship is pervasive among the Ilaje, Ikale and Ijaw-Apoi communities of Ondo state, Nigeria, the deity is also linked with other neighboring and distant communities which highlight the unifying tendencies of a common religion and deity belief among different sub-ethnic groups.

Assessing the Impact of Holocaust Education on Adolescents’ Civic Values: Experimental Evidence from Arkansas

Background American adults overwhelmingly agree that the Holocaust should be taught in schools, yet few studies investigate the potential benefits of Holocaust education. Objectives We evaluate the impact of a Holocaust education conference on knowledge of the Holocaust and several civic outcomes, including “upstander” efficacy (willingness to intervene on behalf of others), likelihood of exercising civil disobedience, empathy for the suffering of others, and tolerance of others with different values and lifestyles. Research Design We recruit two cohorts of students from three local high schools and randomize access to the Arkansas Holocaust Education Conference, where students have the chance to hear from a Holocaust survivor and to participate in breakout sessions led by Holocaust experts. Results We find evidence that the conference increased participants’ upstander efficacy, but fail to reject the null hypothesis that the conference would increase participants’ knowledge or other civic attitudes.

Восприятие общегражданских ценностей студентами Москвы и Кировской области

В конце 2020 г. в рамках исследования восприятия общегражданских ценностей и российской идентичности было проведено анкетирование студенческой молодежи Москвы и Кировской области. В качестве оснований для гордости за свою страну рассматривались представления молодых людей об объектах культурного и природного наследия России, значимых исторических событиях и текущих направлениях деятельности нашего государства. В перечень объектов культурного достояния, по мнению учащихся, входят: особенности языка и речи, эпос народов России, народные промыслы, предметы быта, блюда национальной кухни. В список важнейших памятников природы, как считают наши респонденты, следует включить: Байкал, Алтай, Камчатку и Карелию. Подавляющее большинство опрошенных в первую очередь гордится победой в Великой Отечественной войне и достижениями советской космонавтики. По результатам работы может быть сделан вывод о первостепенной значимости научных открытий, культурных и спортивных событий для возникновения патриотических чувств у современной студенческой молодежи. При сохранении единства мнений о наиболее принципиальных российских ценностях в массовом сознании молодежи одновременно присутствуют различия в выборе ответов в зависимости от территории проживания. Это может свидетельствовать об особенностях политических настроений, реакций на внешние угрозы, ориентаций на первоочередное участие в проектах регионального или государственного уровней, которые свойственны для молодых людей каждого конкретного региона. На разницу в суждениях студентов в определенной степени могут также влиять содержание учебных программ и качество образования столичных и провинциальных вузов. At the end of 2020, a students’ survey in Moscow and Kirov region was conducted to study the perception of civic values and Russian identity. Young people’s perceptions of Russia’s cultural and natural heritage, significant historical events, and current activities of the state were examined as foundations for pride in their country. According to the students, the cultural heritage of Russia includes language and speech, epics of the peoples of Russia, folk crafts, household items, and national cuisine. The most important natural monuments as seen by students included Baikal, Altai, Kamchatka, and Karelia. The vast majority of respondents are primarily proud of the victory in the Great Patriotic War and the achievements of Soviet cosmonautics. The results revealed that scientific discoveries, cultural and sports events are of paramount importance for the patriotic feelings among the modern student youth. While the opinions on the most fundamental Russian values in the mass consciousness of young people mostly coincide, there are certain differences in the choice of answers depending on the territory of residence. This may indicate that political sentiments, reactions to external threats, and orientations towards participation in regional or state projects of young people differ in each region. To a certain extent, the students’ judgments can also be influenced by the curricula and the quality of education in metropolitan and provincial universities.

Hijacking History

Hijacking History analyzes world history textbooks for high school students produced by the three most important publishers of Christian educational materials—Abeka Books, Bob Jones University Press, and Accelerated Christian Education. Initially intended for Christian schools, they now are also widely used for homeschooling. They have already been used by several generations. According to these textbooks, historians, informed by their faith, tell the story of God’s actions interpreted through the Bible. History becomes a weapon to judge and condemn civilizations that did not accept the true God or adopt “biblical” social and political positions. In their treatment of the modern world, these textbooks identify ungodly ideas to be vanquished—evolution, humanism, biblical modernism, socialism, and climate science among them. These curricula’s judgments, as Hijacking History documents, are rooted in the history of American evangelicals and fundamentalists and the battles they fought with secular culture. These curricula’s use of history has important civic ramifications. They assume that God sanctions their positions on social, political, and economic issues. Thus God’s providential relationship with American Christians entails that America should be a Christian nation advancing evangelical Christianity and capitalism throughout the world; American foreign policy and military interventions are invariably virtuous. Christianity, as these textbooks present it, is proselytizing but intolerant of other religions and Christian groups, hegemonic, and unquestionably anchored to the political right. As Hijacking History argues, the ideas these world histories promote resonate in contemporary debates about religion, politics, and education; reinforce cultural divisions; and challenge civic values of a pluralistic democracy.

La educación física como fortalecimiento de valores ciudadanos para la convivencia (Physical education as a strengthening of citizen values for coexistence)

Esta investigación surge de la problemática que se enfrentan ante la pérdida de valores entre los jóvenes y la necesidad de mejorar su comportamiento, empleado el área de Educación Física como estrategia para el fortalecimiento de los valores ciudadanos y la convivencia en instituciones educativas oficiales de Ibagué, Colombia. El propósito del estudio fue conocer el nivel de actitud y percepción que tienen los estudiantes de básica secundaria con relación a la práctica de valores al momento de la clase y poder precisar la contribución de la Educación Física en su consolidación y fortaleza y, así construir, un plan de acción para que el ejercicio de valores ciudadanos sea cotidiano, tanto en la clase como en el entorno escolar y en su vida social. Empleado una metodología de carácter cualitativo - cuantitativo con enfoque ciberetnográfico, a través de un plan de auto-observación, se pudo detectar comportamientos en formación de valores de los estudiantes de sexto a noveno grado, frente a los patrones de formación ciudadana expresados al recibir clases de educación física. Los resultados indican una actitud positiva hacia la asignatura, percibiendo la práctica de los valores de honestidad, respeto, transparencia, responsabilidad, tolerancia, justicia y participación ciudadana, entre otros, como las principales convicciones que vienen determinado su forma de ser y orientan su comportamiento social; situación que se vigoriza con las actividades desarrolladas en clase y consolidadas con un plan de acción liderado por todos los docentes para la utilización de alternativas pedagógicas que sustenten una formación ciudadana integral. Summary. This research arises from the problem faced by the loss of values among young people and the need to improve their behavior, using the area of physical education as a strategy to strengthen citizen values and coexistence in official educational institutions of Ibagué, Colombia. The purpose of the study was to know the level of attitude and perception that elementary school students have in relation to the practice of values at the time of class and to be able to specify the contribution of physical education in its consolidation and strength and, thus, build, an action plan so that the exercise of civic values is daily, both in the classroom and in the school environment and in their social life. Employed a qualitative-quantitative methodology with a cybernetic approach, Through a self-observation plan, it was possible to detect behaviors in the formation of values of students from sixth to ninth grade, compared to the patterns of citizenship formation expressed when receiving physical education classes. The results indicate a positive attitude towards the subject, perceiving the practice of the values of honesty, respect, transparency, responsibility, tolerance, justice and citizen participation, among others, as the main convictions that determine their way of being and guide their behavior. Social; a situation that is invigorated with the activities developed in class and consolidated with an action plan led by all teachers for the use of pedagogical alternatives that support a comprehensive civic education.

Dual Pandemics of COVID-19 and Systemic Racism: The Roles of Perceptions of Inequities, Civic Values, and Conservatism in Mask-Wearing Behavior

Amid unprecedented political polarization, the US continues to grapple with the simultaneous crises of COVID-19 and structural racism. We examine potential predictors of COVID-19 mask-wearing at the intersection of these crises, with particular attention to the behavior of conservatives and young people, who have resisted compliance with efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19. Specifically, we investigate perceptions of racial/ethnic inequities in the healthcare system and civic values as predictors of COVID-19 mask-wearing frequency and potential moderators of the relationship between political orientation and COVID-19 mask-wearing frequency. Diverse college students at a university in southern California participated in our longitudinal survey, which was initiated prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (N = 431). We found that perceptions of inequities and civic values predicted mask-wearing, whereas political conservatism was negatively related to mask-wearing. Further, conservative participants were more likely to wear masks if they reported greater perceptions of inequities. Our results provide a foundation for future research that may inform targeted public health interventions aimed at encouraging responsible COVID-19 behavior and fostering dialogue on structural equities in a contentious political environment.

Epinikion, Kudos, and Criticism

This chapter considers the genre of professional epinikion (choral poems composed on commission to celebrate athletic victories), inquiring into the socio-cultural motivations for the development of this strange hybrid genre c.550 bce and relating it to a broader set of practices commemorating athletic victory in ancient Greece (including victor statues). Epinikion in performance and victor statues alike served as sites for negotiation between pre-eminent individual victors and their broader communities—both the Panhellenic elite and their civic communities. Both poetry and material monuments aimed to distil and preserve the special talismanic power (kudos) the victor acquired by victory at the ‘crown games’, anchoring it and sharing it out with the victor’s family and city. At the same time, literary evidence suggests that this elitist valorization of epinikian praise, victory statues, crowns, and kudos was not uncontested in archaic and classical Greece: poets espousing civic values explicitly challenged the worth of athletic achievement as a common good.