Showing papers on "Criticism published in 2007"

Aesthetics and Politics

Abstract: No other country and no other period has produced a tradition of major aesthetic debate to compare with that which unfolded in German culture from the 1930s to the 1950s. Here the key texts of the great Marxist controversies over literature and art during these years are assembled in a single volume. They do not form a disparate collection but a continuous, interlinked debate between thinkers who have become giants of twentieth-century intellectual thought. Frederic Jameson, author of The Political Unconsciousness and Marxism and Form, sums up the paradoxical lessons for art and criticism today in a thoughtful conclusion.

The Concept of Competence in the Development of Vocational Education and Training in Selected EU Member States: A Critical Analysis.

Abstract: This contribution follows the descriptive review of Weigel, Mulder and Collins regarding the use of the competence concept in the development of vocational education and training in England, France, Germany and the Netherlands. The purpose of this contribution is to review the critical analyses brought forward by various authors in this field. This analysis also remarks on the most important theories and critiques on the use of the competence concept in the above‐mentioned states, The systems of vocational education within the four states covered in this study are: the National Vocational Qualifications in England, the approach to learning areas in Germany, the ETED and the bilan de competences in France, and the implementation of competence‐based vocational education in the Netherlands, and these are the respective focal points for the critical assessments of the competence concept presented here. These critiques encompass such aspects as the lack of a coherent definition of the concept of competence, th...

Literary Theory: The Basics

Abstract: This third edition of Hans Bertens’ bestselling book is an essential guide to the often confusing and complicated world of literary theory. Exploring a broad range of topics from Marxist and feminist criticism to postmodernism and new historicism Literary Theory: The Basics covers contemporary topics including: reception theory and reader response theory the new criticism of postmodernism the ‘after theory’ debate post-humanism, biopolitics and animal studies aesthetics Literary Theory: The Basics helps readers to approach the many theories and debates in this field with confidence. Now with updated case studies and further reading this is an essential purchase for anyone who strives to understand literary theory today.

Turning Around Politics: A Note on Gerard de Vries' Paper

Abstract: The criticism levelled by Gerard de Vries against the political theory implicit in science studies offers a good occasion to render more precise the different meanings the word " politics " may have in the literature on the " politics of science ". It is certainly time to use the same methods that have modified the theory of science so much, on the practice of politics. The commentary on de Vries's paper offers just such a clarification by distinguishing five successive meanings of the adjective " political ".

The Problem of Authority: Revisiting the Service Conception

Abstract: The problem I have in mind is the problem of the possible justification of subjecting one's will to that of another, and of the normative standing of demands to do so. The account of authority that I offered, many years ago, under the title of the service conception of authority, addressed this issue, and assumed that all other problems regarding authority are subsumed under it. Many found the account implausible. It is thin, relying on very few ideas. It may well appear to be too thin, and to depart too far from many of the ideas that have gained currency in the history of reflection on authority. The present article modifies some aspects the account, and defends it against some criticism made against it.

Sports journalism: Still the `toy department' of the news media?

Abstract: Sports journalism is an increasingly significant feature of the press yet is subject to considerable criticism, as summarized by the familiar jibe that it is the `toy department of the news media'....

Queer Theory and Sociology: Locating the Subject and the Self in Sexuality Studies*

Abstract: In this paper, I revisit the relationship of queer theory and sociology in order to address some critical issues around conceiving the subject and the self in sexualities research. I suggest that while sociology and queer theory are not reducible to each other, sociology has its own deconstructionist impulse built into pragmatist and symbolic interactionist analyses of identity and subjectivity that is often overlooked by or reinvented through queer theory. But, conversely, queer theory has a very specific deconstructionist raison d'etre with regard to conceiving the sexual subject that marks its key departure from Foucault and sociology more generally. This deconstructionist mandate, by definition, moves queer theory away from the analysis of self and subject position—including those accruing from race, class and gender—and toward a conception of the self radically disarticulated from the social. This “anti-identitarian” position has been a source of criticism among some sociologists who find in queer theory an indefensible “refusal to name a subject” (Seidman 1993:132). But this criticism, I suggest, stems from a misplaced effort to synthesize queer theory and sociology when, in fact, the two approaches to the subject are founded on incommensurable methodological and epistemological principles. Rather, I argue that the very promise of queer theory rests in a strong deconstructionism that exists in tension with, rather than as an extension of, sociological approaches to the self.

African literature : an anthology of criticism and theory

Abstract: The Rienner Anthology of African Literature-Anthonia C. Kalu 2007 ?This excellent anthology is to be welcomed, both for the excellence of its material and for the fact that it will fill a growing need. I congratulate Anthonia Kalu and all whose work is in the volume for their contributions.? ?Dennis Brutus. University of Pittsburgh and University of KwaZuluNatal?Dr. Kalu has assembled the best of the oral and written traditions of African literature into an anthology comprehensive in scope.... The Rienner Anthology is great news for African literature, and a boon to literature lovers.? ?Tanure Ojaide, University of North Carolina at Charlotte?Hongera to Professor Kalu and the publisher for accomplishing the important task of making African literature more accessible to more people.... This very good and wide-ranging collection brings together a valuable sampling of classic African works. It occupies a uniquely definitive position in the field.??Simon Lewis, College of CharlestonRanging from ancient cultures to the present century, from Africa?s rich oral traditions to its contemporary fiction, poetry, and drama, this long-awaited comprehensive anthology reflects the enduring themes of African literature.The selections, drawn from the length and breadth of the continent, reveal the richness of African creativity. Readers will find myths and epics, works by such well-known figures as Chinua Achebe, Miriama Ba, Bessie Head, Tayeb Salih, Wole Soyinka, and Ngugi wa Thiong?o, and fiction and poetry by myriad new writers. The pieces are organized chronologically within geographic region and enhanced by both introductory material and biographical notes on each writer. An author/title index and suggestions for further reading are also included.Anthonia C. Kalu is professor of black studies at the University of Northern Colorado. Her numerous publications on African literature include Women, Literature and Development in Africa, and she is also author of a collection of short stories (Broken Lives and Other Stories) and a novel in progress.

Managing criticism in Ph.D. supervision: a qualitative case study

Abstract: This article is part of a larger study which presents findings from an in‐depth longitudinal case study of a student’s Ph.D. journey. It shows how criticism is produced and managed in the supervisory relationship. As well as an overview of types of criticism produced across a range of supervisory interactions, the article presents a micro‐analysis of two recorded interactions between a supervisor and a Ph.D. student. Moments of interactional difficulty, disagreement and the strategic abandonment of conflict‐producing dialogue are described. Through the strategies of foreshadowing, advice‐giving, repair, humour and politeness, a symbiotic and cordial relationship is collaboratively developed and sustained. The effective management of criticism is a joint activity that underlies the capacity for supervision to be educationally effective. The findings of this study will contribute to the development of training programmes in supervisory skills in higher education, as well as advising students on how to get t...

Causation and explanation

Abstract: This collection of original essays on the topics of causation and explanation offers readers a state-of-the-art view of current work in these areas. The book is notable for its interdisciplinary character, and the essays, by distinguished authors and important rising scholars, will be of interest to a wide readership, including philosophers, computer scientists, and economists. Students and scholars alike will find the book valuable for its wide-ranging treatment of two difficult philosophical topics. The volume focuses first on the development of theories of causation and explanation, and then on the application of those theories. Theoretical discussions include Patrick Suppes's investigation of the causal issues surrounding intentional activities such as computation and decision making, and Clark Glymour and Frank Wimberly's analysis of technical issues encountered in formulating an account of actual causation. The essays exploring applications include Nancy Cartwright's examination of the application of counterfactuals to economics and Alfred Mele's criticism of the work of Benjamin Libet on the applicability of experimental results in psychology to philosophical analyses of free will and self-control. Causation and Explanation offers a remarkably wide-ranging set of essays on two topics that present difficult philosophical issues.

Voice in Motion: Staging Gender, Shaping Sound in Early Modern England

Abstract: Introduction: From Excitable Speech to Voice in Motion 1. Squeaky Voices: Marston, Mulcaster, and the Boy Actor 2. Words Made of Breath: Shakespeare, Bacon, and Particulate Matter 3. Fortress of the Ear: Shakespeare's Late Plays, Protestant Sermons, and Audience 4. Echoic Sound: Sandys's Englished Ovid and Feminist Criticism Epilogue: Performing the Voice of Queen Elizabeth Notes Bibliography Index Acknowledgments

Acadêmicos auto-alienados: reflexões sobre a crise norte-americana da disciplina "Direito e Desenvolvimento" (1974)

Abstract: THIS ARTICLE SHOWS THAT THE FIELD OF LAW AND DEVELOPMENT IS IN CRISIS DUE TO A CHANGE OF ATTITUDE BY THE SCHOLARS IN RESPECT TO THEIR ACTIVITY, WHAT LEAD THEM TO A STATE OF SELF-ESTRANGEMENT. THE CHANGE OF ATTITUDE WAS DUE TO CRITICISM MADE TO THE AMERICAN EFFORT OF HELPING THE LEGAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE THIRD WORLD, AND MORE ESSENTIALLY, OF CRITICISMS MADE TO LIBERAL LEGALISM, THE IDEAL MODEL OF LAW THAT ORIENTED THE ACTION OF SCHOLARS AND DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES. BECAUSE OF THAT CRITICISM, THE SCHOLARS NO LONGER RECOGNIZED THEMSELVES IN THE THEORIES AND PRACTICES RELATED TO SUCH FIELD. THE ARTICLE SEEKS TO THINK BESIDES THE CRITICISM, MAPPING OUT THE POSITIONS OF THE INTELLECTUALS IN RELATION TO SUCH CRITICISMS AND SPECULATING ABOUT THE FUTURE OF LAW AND DEVELOPMENT.

Islam: Past, Present and Future

Abstract: Introduction: Against a Clash of Civilizations A. Origin I. A controversial religion II. Problems of the beginning B. Centre I. God's word has become a book II. The central message III. The central structural elements C. History I. The original Islamic community paradigm II. The paradigm of the Arab empire III. The classical paradigm of Islam as a world religion IV. The paradigm of the Ulama and Sufi D. Challenges of the present I. Competition between different paradigms II. Which Islam do Muslims want? III. The Israel-Palestine conflict IV. New approaches to theological conversation V. Speculative questions VI. From biblical criticism to Qur'anic criticism? E. Possibilities for the future I. Islamic renewal II. The future of the Islamic legal order III. The future of Islamic state order and politics IV. The future of the Islamic economic and social order V. Islam: a picture of hope

Bodies of Tomorrow: Technology, Subjectivity, Science Fiction

Abstract: Anxieties about embodiment and posthumanism have always found an outlet in the science fiction of the day. In Bodies of Tomorrow, Sherryl Vint argues for a new model of an ethical and embodied posthuman subject through close readings of the works of Gwyneth Jones, Octavia Butler, Iain M. Banks, William Gibson, and other science fiction authors. Vint's discussion is firmly contextualized by discussions of contemporary technoscience, specifically genetics and information technology, and the implications of this technology for the way we consider human subjectivity. Engaging with theorists such as Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, Anne Balsamo, N. Katherine Hayles, and Douglas Kellner,Bodies of Tomorrow argues for the importance of challenging visions of humanity in the future that overlook our responsibility as embodied beings connected to a material world. If we are to understand the post-human subject, then we must acknowledge our embodied connection to the world around us and the value of our multiple subjective responses to it. Vint's study thus encourages a move from the common liberal humanist approach to posthuman theory toward what she calls 'embodied posthumanism.' This timely work of science fiction criticism will prove fascinating to cultural theorists, philosophers, and literary scholars alike, as well as anyone concerned with the ethics of posthumanism.

Mapping the Meme: A Geographical Approach to Materialist Rhetorical Criticism

Abstract: Memetics, the emerging and contested “science” of the meme, has much to offer critical communication studies. The meme, a replicator that functions as the basic unit of cultural change, is a valuable practical tool for rhetorical critics, and it is particularly useful for critical/cultural analysts interested in the seemingly superficial and trivial elements of popular culture. In addition to its functional utility, memetics issues a productive theoretical challenge to that trajectory of communication scholarship that seeks to further the materialist rhetorical project by developing and deploying the ideograph, the only significant methodological tool developed for the purposes of materialist criticism. Through a contrast between the “geographical” meme and the “historical” ideograph, I explore the utility of the meme as a productive concept for the analysis of contemporary culture.

The Death of the Critic

Abstract: Introduction: The Role of the Critic The Public Critic in the 20th Century Anglo American Literary Criticism since 1968 The Value of Criticism and the Criticism of Value.

Reading Mixed Methods Research: Contexts for Criticism

Abstract: Health and social care researchers, in their haste to ``belong'' to academia, have adopted the system of mixed methodology research, overestimating its ability to reveal the truth and occasionally ...

Response to Comments: Practical Wisdom in the Service of Professional Practice:

Abstract: The work of both scholarship and practice progresses as a consequence of dialogue, debate, and exchange. I am grateful to Rodney Evans (“Existing Practice Is Not the Template,” this issue of Educational Researcher [ER], pp. 553–559) for his comments on an earlier ER article that I cowrote with three colleagues at The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (Shulman, Golde, Bueschel, & Garabedian, 2006, “Reclaiming Education’s Doctorates: A Critique and a Proposal”).1 It is gratifying that Evans took our work seriously enough to prepare a carefully argued and passionate critique of our proposals for reclaiming the education doctorate. When the dust settles, I anticipate it will be clear that we agree far more than we disagree. Much of our apparent disagreement is a consequence of our uses of language, our backgrounds, and the sources we regularly use. I am also grateful to the editors of ER for encouraging this exchange of ideas and proposals. Evans’s critique is based largely on a misreading or misrepresentation of our argument, its rationale, and associated proposals. The critique employs a familiar set of rhetorical devices. It begins by summarizing the essence of the earlier argument in terms that are readily attacked, by transforming the original set of ideas into their caricature. This is an important move, not only because it sets up the critique so beautifully. It is quite possible that the misreading at the heart of the caricature is one that other readers (and our critic, as well) might indeed have made, and thus it is useful to have the caricature before us so we can clarify and elaborate the original argument rather than merely attempt to refute the criticism. The Evans critique is beautifully summed up in the title “Existing Practice Is Not the Template.” Evans argues that our emphasis on the “wisdom of practice” is an insufficient, overly narrow, conservative, and ultimately regressive basis for designing a doctoral program for educational leaders. Our work, he maintains, rests on a simplistic distinction between theory and practice. He argues that ideas of theory and practice are not truly separate (I agree), that their integration or synthesis in the traditions of praxis constitutes a more solid basis for imagining new approaches to the doctorate in education (I agree in part),2 and that taking seriously our emphasis on the wisdom of practice would lead to a perpetuation of robotic, conservative, and uncritical local and national education policies (I disagree). There is an important distinction to be made between existing practice, that is, what practitioners already do, and wisdom of practice, which refers to the full range of practical arguments engaged by practitioners as they reason about and ultimately make judgments and decisions about situations they confront and actions they must take. Evans writes as if he believes (and I can’t believe he does) that there is a simple, monolithic, unitary, and internally consistent set of actions called “practice,” which will be documented and then mindlessly imitated in the design of programs. But of course, practice neither is nor ever has been monolithic. To take seriously the world of practice and the intelligence that guides it is to recognize the stunning range of practices that characterizes the work of educators. To interrogate both practice and the wisdom of practice is to confront the kinds of rich, nuanced, contextually varying worlds that ethnographers and other qualitative researchers, such as Evans, write about eloquently. To put it in statistical terms, the wisdom of practice is of interest because of its variance, not its mean. We are inspired by its range, not its median. Evans ascribes to us a unidimensional, stripped, and dumbed-down conception of practice and its wisdoms that we do not espouse. Evans also asserts that the wisdom of practice is only about concrete practical action-in-the-moment (he refers somewhat derisively to Schon’s phrase “reflection-in-action” as critiqued by van Manen) and ignores the central functions and interactions of both abstract theoretical constructs and normative value-laden commitments in the thought and actions of practitioners. The conception of practice that we employ draws on a set of philosophical traditions quite different from those that inspire Evans. We build our own work on a broad, eclectic, and extended family of conceptions of practical reason that begin with Aristotle and are further developed by Thomas Green (1971) and Gary Fenstermacher (1994; Fenstermacher & Richardson, 1993) on teaching; Albert Jonsen and Stephen Toulmin (1990) on ethics and medicine; and William Sullivan (2004) on the professions. At their heart is a recognition that practical reason and practical arguments are not limited to premises that derive from practical experience and action alone. The premises of practical arguments are replete with theoretical, descriptive, critical, and normative assertions as well.

Why is rehabilitation not yet fully person-centred and should it be more person-centred?

Abstract: Aims. It is a generally shared opinion that rehabilitation is not (yet) ‘fully person-centred’ and that it should be more. For a certain number of authors, this deficit in person-centredness has originated from the important weight of a ‘medical framework’ within rehabilitation. In this paper, we will discuss this criticism and its corollary: the idea that rehabilitation is bound to choose between a non-medical and a medical paradigm, since there is a fundamental contradiction between medicine and person-centredness. In the first section of the paper, we will examine the conceptual history of rehabilitation and question whether this history can really be summarized as a ‘shift from a medical approach to a person-centred approach’. In the second section, we will question assumptions and suggestions that have been made to develop person-centredness in rehabilitation. In the third section, we will discuss what might be gained but also what might be lost by reinforcing person-centredness in rehabilitation.Key...

Management as a Regulated Profession An Essay

Abstract: The history of management education shows the rigor and relevance gap has been around for centuries, well before its appearance in the United States. Nor is it peculiar to management. It is neither germane to our discipline's present difficulties nor an appropriate focus for our critics. Rather, history suggests we finally parted company with managers after the 1959 Ford and Carnegie reports, as we presumed rationality alone was the sufficient basis for understanding them and their doings. These reports helped us turn management education into a profession even as management itself has yet to become one. To return closer to managers, the author suggests rationality captures one dimension of their practice, whereas the notion of business as an art form might capture its complement. Reformed art education, covering art's history, aesthetics, criticism, and production, provides a framework for studying the managerial art, and leads us to a rich, dynamic theory of the firm.

Narrative criticism: a systematic approach to the analysis of story.

Abstract: Research reveals that writing about one's experiences offers an individual the opportunity to improve function, develop insight, and foster growth. Storytelling and story writing are pedagogical tools used frequently in practice professions. It is reasonable to see these writings as a rich source for research. They are vehicles for understanding human experience and aesthetic knowing. This article presents an innovation in the method used for analysis of stories. It is a blending of two established methods, those of narrative analysis as described by Riessman (1993), and aesthetic criticism by Chinn, Maeve, and Bostick (1997). The merging of both methods, termed narrative criticism, allows for a rich level of insight into unique human experiences.

Difficult forms: critical practices of design and research

Abstract: As a kind of 'criticism from within', conceptual and critical design inquire into what design is about – how the market operates, what is considered 'good design', and how the design and development of technology typically works. Tracing relations of conceptual and critical design to (post-)critical architecture and anti-design, we discuss a series of issues related to the operational and intellectual basis for 'critical practice', and how these might open up for a new kind of development of the conceptual and theoretical frameworks of design. Rather than prescribing a practice on the basis of theoretical considerations, these critical practices seem to build an intellectual basis for design on the basis of its own modes of operation, a kind of theoretical development that happens through, and from within, design practice and not by means of external descriptions or analyses of its practices and products.

Nation branding: With pride against prejudice

Abstract: This paper offers refreshing food for thought for anyone involved in nation branding. Drawing on literature from several disciplines, the author critically evaluates common assumptions and practices in nation branding. Her main criticism is that while the brand should speak with the voice of the people, and the people with the voice of the brand, nation branding does not allow for citizens to play a significant role in the branding process. The paper also introduces the distinction between nation-as-state and nation-as-people, discusses the importance of national diversity in terms of people — and provides theories and observations about stereotypes.

Using deconstruction to educate Generation Y nursing students.

Abstract: Nurse educators are obligated to use creative strategies to educate a post-modern generation of students who possess distinct characteristics, particularly related to teaching and learning. The complexity of today's health care system, related to changing sociological factors and the differences in this generation, gives reason to tap into the strengths of this generation and consider how a postmodern perspective can influence nursing and nursing education. Derrida, to whom deconstruction is attributed, approached postmodern philosophy as a form of textual criticism. Deconstruction denotes a particular practice of reading, criticism, and analytical inquiry, factors that are important to nursing education. This article describes how deconstruction can be used to enhance nursing education of Generation Y students, and its application to reading comprehension and writing skills is explored.

Is the Demise of IQ Interpretation Justified? A Response to Special Issue Authors

Abstract: Standardized testing of intellectual and cognitive functioning remains a critical component of psychological assessment despite widespread criticism of the practice. Although most standardized intellectual measures are some of the best tools available to practitioners, opponents of intellectual assessment argue the traditional use of global IQ-achievement discrepancy has little diagnostic utility or treatment validity. It is time to move beyond the academic rhetoric of global intelligence to make standardized intellectual assessment meaningful for individual children. In this paper, we respond to special issue authors by presenting clinical and statistical arguments that support idiographic interpretation of intellectual measures for children with disabilities and variable test profiles, and offer recommendations for practice that demonstrate the clinical utility of such approaches. If practitioners move beyond global IQ interpretation, and methods for objective idiographic interpretation are established,...