Realism of Political Activity in the Teaching of Pope Francis

This paper presents an argument for political realism in response to the trends of populism and liberalism. Pope Francis emphasizes the need to restore a social order whose functioning would be judged from the perspective of the common good. The human person holds an overriding social value that is not subject to the laws of exchange. This unique status justifies selflessness of action as a long-term measure aimed at restoring social equity. In that context, education as a process of the formation of personality becomes synonymous with the process of humanization of the world, where the human person is increasingly conscious of his or her subjectivity. Conversely, the ideologies of populism and liberalism and the resulting systems aim to objectify the individual by catering to the lowest instincts and seeking immediate benefits. In his political reflection, Pope Francis draws directly from his encyclical letter Laudato si, and thus – indirectly – from the constitution Gaudium et Spes.

گل بنگلزئی نا افسانہ غاتا کتاب، دڑد آتا گواچی؛ نا جاچ اس

When the industrial revolution and progressive tendencies in the nineteenth century influenced every sphere of life, literature could also not escape such trends. At that time, fiction (short story) was introduced as a new genre in literary world and soon it managed to generate a distinction. Like the other languages ​​of the world, fiction writers of Brahui literature also effectively adopted this genre. Among the pioneer Brahui fiction writers, the name of Gul Bangulzai is also well known who initiated the fiction writing. The effects of the progressive literary movement can be seen in his fiction writings. Gul Bangulzai in his book of fiction, Darhd ata Guachi, centralized the topic on the problems of ordinary individuals and lower class of the region. The book was first published in 1984, thus, standing the second book in Brahui literature after Dr. Taj Raisani's book, Anjeer na Phul. In, Darhd ata Guachi, Gul Bangulzai mainly reflected the problems of village life in a unique manner. Gul Bangulzai skillfully identified the problems of farmers, laborers, women, shepherds, and gypsies. Additionally, the themes also include poverty, starvation, the hardships of weather, cruelties of higher class, the culture and traditions of people of Baluchistan, and their mentality. The fiction also depicted the stunning natural landscapes of this region. In the fictions of Gul Bangulzai frustration, deprivation, helplessness, cruelties, and poverty are observable. However, ultimately, the message it conveys that after the dark night there is a dawn of new morning and hope which is another distinguished beauty of the fictions of Gul Bangulzai, bestows him a unique status in Brahui literature wherein most fictions revolves around the complications of village life.

The Origin and Functioning of Myth: Linguistic Conditions

The article identifies two approaches to determining the linguistic conditions of the emergence and functioning of the myth. The first approach assumes that the myth is a manifestation of unconscious (M. Müller) or conscious (E. Cassirer, R. Barthes) distortion of language. Within this approach it is impossible to escape from myth because the presentation of the facts of the world in language is inescapable, which is always imperfect. These distortions are meant for political influence, as according to the proponents of the conscious mythologizing of language. Philosophy is tasked with resisting such distortions and, consequently, myth creation in general. This approach seems simplified, because the myth is identified here with the linguistic form of its distribution, reduced to the analysis of distortions of language presentation. At the same time, the psychological and epistemological preconditions of the myth, its unique status in the life of communities are lost. Conditions for the development of the second approach arise through the critique of classical rationality by several influential thinkers who undermined the belief in the exclusive ability of discursive language to present the truth (F. Nietzsche, L. Wittgenstein, M. Heidegger). The second approach assumes that the myth emerges and continues to exist due to the inability of the logos to present some important aspects of reality, especially its existential dimension (P. Tillich, H. Blumenberg, L. Hatab, K. Morgan). In this case, myth and logos become alternative and at the same time closely connected linguistic ways of presenting the truth. Logos (the language of science) presents primarily abstract causal connections of essences. At the same time, mythical narratives are better than science at presenting the mysteries of origin and existence, creating a hierarchy of values for communities.

Horse Burial in Lombard Italy: Crossing Cultural and Afterlife Boundaries in Social Representation

The custom of horse burial, of foreign extraction, was carried across the Italian borders by the Lombards during their migration in 568 AD. The buried horses are linked to a variety of human remains: not only warriors, but also young women, adult males without weapons, and men who did not possess the osteological markers of warriors. The focus is on one of the most interesting examples in Lombard Italy, the necropolis of Spilamberto, due to the unique association of horses with young ladies. This paper argues that the horses buried in the Italian Lombard necropolises (late sixth / seventh century), were cultural symbols borrowed from the warfare sphere, but primarily used, in death, as emblems of unique status, whether or not there was a factual involvement in warfare-matters during life.

Are Australian Islamic schools elitist?

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine whether Australian Islamic schools, by dint of their unique status within Australian private schooling, may be construed as elitist or exclusivist premised on markers such as religious affiliation, school age, history, location, reputation and non-curricular excellences such as affluence and alumni. This issue has not been examined empirically hitherto. This study addresses this absence, as these markers, when used selectively, may make student entry restrictive by virtue of enrolment criteria that is either hyper selective or exclusivist that is often administered through costly tuition fees. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative analysis is used to examine four distinct elitist markers associated with Islamic schools, as they appeal to a market prescribed by faith, preference and demand. Data is sourced from selected government and independent school databases including the index of community socio-educational advantage (ICSEA) database. Findings The findings indicate that Islamic schools do not fit any of these markers partly because these schools are positioned predominantly in middle to lower socio-economic communities and areas where the measure of educationally advantaged backgrounds is only marginally above the ICSEA threshold of 1,000. Further, their enrolment criteria are not premised on high fee-based structures nor on exclusivist selection and enrolment practices that would tag them as elitist. Research limitations/implications It is quite possible that parental and community perceptions of Islamic schools using qualitative measures may identify some schools as elitist. This, however, has yet to be tested empirically in further studies relying on surveys, interviews and focus group sessions. Practical implications Islamic schools should not market nor portray themselves as elitist or exclusivist for that may undermine the very purpose of their function as faith-based institutions. Social implications Perceptions of elitism levelled against some Islamic schools must be weighed against a number of distinct social markers. The examination of four markers in this study does not support such perceptions. Elitist perceptions may abound within communities and amongst parents when vying for student placements in these schools. The basis for such observations, however, is at best anecdotal or outright conjectural in the absence of empirical evidence. Originality/value This is the first and only study that examines the issue of elitism amongst Islamic schools in Australia and elsewhere.

A forgotten social group: a Chinese photographic album

This applied thesis project focuses on a Chinese photographic album Work. The Manufacturing Industry in Dongguan: Real-life Stories of Migrant Workers housed at the Archive of Modern Conflict in Toronto. It is a handmade photographic album by Chinese photographer Zhan Youbing, consisting of 55 objects including 50 digital color prints (D2T2 prints) featuring the life of Chinese migrant workers in Dongguan, the biggest labor market in Southern China. This thesis comprises four components: a literature review introducing the unique status of migrant workers within the historical context of China’s urbanization and the preservation and conservation of photographic albums, an overview of the album, a complete illustrated catalogue of the 55 objects as well as a detailed instruction of the preservation of the album.

A forgotten social group: a Chinese photographic album

This applied thesis project focuses on a Chinese photographic album Work. The Manufacturing Industry in Dongguan: Real-life Stories of Migrant Workers housed at the Archive of Modern Conflict in Toronto. It is a handmade photographic album by Chinese photographer Zhan Youbing, consisting of 55 objects including 50 digital color prints (D2T2 prints) featuring the life of Chinese migrant workers in Dongguan, the biggest labor market in Southern China. This thesis comprises four components: a literature review introducing the unique status of migrant workers within the historical context of China’s urbanization and the preservation and conservation of photographic albums, an overview of the album, a complete illustrated catalogue of the 55 objects as well as a detailed instruction of the preservation of the album.

Gibt es ein Asymmetrie-Problem in der Genealogie der nachmetaphysischen Vernunft?

This essay places some conceptual pressure on the model of a “learning process” in Jürgen Habermas’s Auch eine Geschichte der Philosophie, and it asks whether this model introduces a subtle asymmetry into the relationship between religion and secular philosophy. Such an asymmetry would seem to obtain insofar as religious tradition is granted a privileged or unique status as the source of normative insights that are then available for rational scrutiny and translation into secular life. The essay also draws a comparison between Lessing and Habermas: Lessing, like Habermas, saw revelation as a source of instruction for humanity, and affirmed that religion could thereby play a role in the Erziehung des Menschengeschlechts. But Lessing was careful to say that no valuable normative contents are found in religion that could not also be derived by secular reason alone. Habermas’s genealogy of post-metaphysical thinking does not seem to confirm Lessing’s idea; instead, it appears to confirm an asymmetry in the relation between religion and secular philosophy.

Intimate Rivals: The Freedom of Religious Nationalism

In this article, I argue that religious nationalism poses a unique challenge to the liberal theory of religious freedom. In arguing this, the article first develops and defines an ideal type of religious nationalism through an analysis of Hindu-nationalist and religious Zionist thought. I show that religious nationalism in states like India and Israel have the unique status of intimate rivals. They are intimate since they are able to successfully present themselves as the carriers of the authentic character of the nation-state and utilize modern political tools. As a result, they are free of much of the unifying pressures of state nationalism. And they are rivals because they promote a vision of society and politics that fundamentally challenges the political identity of the state. The paper then turns to the justifications and rationales of religious freedom—both in seminal cases and in political and legal scholarship—and applies them to religious nationalism. It argues that the status of intimate rivalry should, depending on which justification of religious freedom we adhere to, change the way in which we morally and legally understand religious nationalism. First, because religious nationalism is intimate—that is, acceptable and mainstream—it should be approached as a part of the culture of the majority. This implies that we should be less concerned about infringements of religious freedom in the case of the adherents and organizations of religious nationalism. Second, the rivalry of religious nationalism is in itself a good reason for the nation-state not to accommodate it.

More than a “Chinese Century”: The Case of International Film Festival and Awards Macao

This paper contributes to debates around cultural event management in the Chinese century by investigating the case of the International Film Festival & Awards Macao (IFFAM). It first problematises the Chinese century concept by contrasting studies on film-related soft power in China as cultural diplomacy with the Macao Special Administrative Government’s use of festivals and events as place marketing strategies. It argues Macao does not fit comfortably into the soft power paradigm normally associated with China and uses the festival to illuminate areas of difference. Within this problematised context, the case study of IFFAM is built on existing studies of eventalisation as urban cultural policies. The analysis section demonstrates IFFAM differs from state-led film activities in mainland China. Findings presented and evaluated include official announcements about IFFAM by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), where the festival’s objective to ‘improve Macao’s international reputation’ are contrasted with the paradigms underpinning mainland China’s going-out international trade policy. Further findings relate to the festival’s programming strategies, and domestic and international reception of IFFAM in the past years, answering the question of whether Macao and IFFAM act as intermediaries, influencing cultural policy and film festival production practices in other regions of China and recentring film festivals’ focus from Europe to Asia. It emphasises the importance of IFFAM’s development in Macao because of its unique status and potential as an alternative, intermediary lens for observing the Chinese century.