Humanities & Social Sciences

This study examines the attitude of three important pre-Constantinian Church authors on the issue of military service by Christians. During their era, there were growing numbers of Christians in the army, and discussions began in their communities as to whether this was consistent with Christian beliefs. Many positions and arguments emerged. At the same time, the study shows how Christianity struggled to find its position within the Roman Empire.

From Sir John Franklin's doomed 1845 search for the Northwest Passage to early twentieth-century sprints to the South Pole, polar expeditions produced an extravagant archive of documents that are as varied as they are engaging. As the polar ice sheets melt, fragments of this archive are newly emergent. In The News at the Ends of the Earth Hester Blum examines the rich, offbeat collection of printed ephemera created by polar explorers. Ranging from ship newspapers and messages left in bottles to menus and playbills, polar writing reveals the seamen wrestling with questions of time, space, community, and the environment. Whether chronicling weather patterns or satirically reporting on penguin mischief, this writing provided expedition members with a set of practices to help them survive the perpetual darkness and harshness of polar winters. The extreme climates these explorers experienced is continuous with climate change today. Polar exploration writing, Blum contends, offers strategies for confronting and reckoning with the extreme environment of the present.

The increase in migration movement worldwide, and the consequent growth of multi-ethnic classes in schools have impacted on the implementation of ethnic bullying, a subtype of bias-based bullying in which victims are targeted because of their ethnic background. Despite the serious consequences of this discriminatory behaviour on the actors involved, research on the role of ethnicity in bullying is still limited. Upon these considerations, the present work aims to shed light on the role of structural factors and psychological mechanisms, explaining ethnic bullying in schools among natives and students with immigrant backgrounds. Specifically, this study is composed of three distinct parts: 1) a systematic review of the association between school and classes’ ethnic diversity and bullying and victimization; 2) a cross-sectional study on the role of ethnic diversity (legal and perceived) on bullying victimization; 3) a longitudinal study on the differential impact of COVID-19 on victimization and emotional symptoms, focusing on natives and students with immigrant background. Finally, the main results of the three studies are discussed, the implications for future studies and interventions are suggested and, policy and education practices are recommended.

The chapter discusses the shift in the focus of the Archaeological Survey of India from excavation and documentation to preservation and conservation of sites and artefacts. The chapter then highlights the fate of two private collections from Bihar: the images in the Bodh Gaya Mahant’s compound and those which belonged to AM Broadley’s Bihar Museum. In the process of rediscovery while some images continued to be worshipped, a large number of these were moved into museums. The scene of actions moves to the newly constituted Museums such as the Patna Museum and the Nalanda Museum and investigates how the narratives of display, cataloguing and nomenclature presented a visual archive which codified the parameters within which religious images came to be viewed.

Wo von »Freiheit« gesprochen wird, geht es gewöhnlich um das Handeln. Legt man aber zugrunde, dass wir uns die Welt aktiv in Zeichen erschließen, so ist damit auch für das Erkennen und Verstehen Freiheit vorausgesetzt. Lars Leetens Buch geht dem Sinn dieser Voraussetzung nach. Dabei zeigt sich, dass Freiheit im Verstehen nicht als Willkür gedacht werden kann. Das theoretische Weltverhältnis als frei zu begreifen, bedeutet vielmehr, sich die Verantwortung zu vergegenwärtigen, mit der alles Denken und Verstehen von Anfang an verbunden ist.

Water plants of all sizes, from the 60-meter long Pacific Ocean giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) to the micro ur-plant blue-green algae, deserve attention from critical plant studies. This is the first book in environmental humanities to approach algae, swimming across the sciences, humanities, and arts, to embody the mixed nature and collaborative identity of algae. Ranging from Medieval Islamic texts describing algae and their use, Japanese and Nordic cultural practices based in seaweed and algae, and confronting the instrumentalization of seaweed to mitigate cow methane release and the hype of algal photobioreactors, amongst many other standpoints, this volume comprehensively addresses the ancestors of terrestrial plants through appreciating their unique aquatic medium.

Industrial / commercial art & design

Writing as Material Practice grapples with the issue of writing as a form of material culture in its ancient and more recent manifestations, and in the contexts of production and consumption. Fifteen case studies explore the artefactual nature of writing — the ways in which materials, techniques, colour, scale, orientation and visibility inform the creation of inscribed objects and spaces, as well as structure subsequent engagement, perception and meaning making. Covering a temporal span of some 5000 years, from c.3200 BCE to the present day, and ranging in spatial context from the Americas to the Near East, the chapters in this volume bring a variety of perspectives which contribute to both specific and broader questions of writing materialities. The authors also aim to place past graphical systems in their social contexts so they can be understood in relation to the people who created and attributed meaning to writing and associated symbolic modes through a diverse array of individual and wider social practices. (DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/bai)

In this work I have endeavoured to apply the theory of primary and secondary systems as defined by D.S. Likhachev to Russian literary texts. Likhachev's idea amounts to the fact that those systems reoccur alternately. Thus, a primary system evolves into a so-called elliptic stage which enables a succeeding, secondary system to develop itself. Conversely, when the latter has become the standard norm it gradually evolves, in turn, into a similar elliptic stage. This, in turn, gradually develops into a primary system too. As far as the fluent succession of systems is concerned, Likhachev's theory differs from a similar theory developed by E.R. Curtius. The latter assumes that literary works should be divided into works with a Classicistic and a Manneristic character. The first develop into the latter which show a frozen character with no original qualities. In the end works with a new Classicistic character develop themselves. These, in turn, have a vital character again. In other words, in Curtius' scheme there is no place for a fluent alternation of systems the way there is in Likhachev's.

In recent years, numerous reflections have pushed on the importance of using agricultural parks to recreate reciprocal relationships between urban and rural realities, through the enhancement of their proximity. The parks can also be an opportunity to experiment with new forms of planning on a territorial scale, oriented towards the construction of unitary and coherent morphological, functional and environmental scenarios. This volume offers a reflection on these issues by sharing the results of a design experience involving the School of Territory studies of Empoli (Degree in Urban and Territory Planning) and the School of territorial engineering of Clermont Ferrand (AgroParisTech ENGREF). The scenarios arising from the reflection synthesize these two approaches, integrating the interpretation of equities with the processes of diagnostic territorial and with the construction of shared territorialities.

How did the Ancient Egyptians maintain control of their state? This book considers this question from a wide variety of angles and across all periods of Egyptian history, from the Old Kingdom to Coptic times. Topics include the controlling function of temples and theology, state borders, scribal administration, visual representation, patronage, and the Egyptian language itself. These different strands are tied together by legal pluralism theory, which argues that a single state can rely on multiple – and at times even contradictory – strategies for upholding what it considers just within the bounds of what is nominally a single jurisdiction. This theoretical approach, while increasingly common in modern postcolonial studies and the history of law, is yet to be deployed in Egyptology. This book therefore aims to fill that gap. The chapters are expanded versions of papers originally presented at the 3rd Lady Wallis Budge Egyptology conference, organised by Christ’s College and held online on 27th–28th August 2020.

This handbook provides a comprehensive, state-of-the-art account of the politics of the European Union. It pays particular attention to the profound challenges the EU faces which transform the foundation of its politics, such as internal (Brexit, democratic backsliding, growing nationalism and populism, and new protectionism) and external (the return of great-power competition, the war in Ukraine, reconfigurations of power, and the weakening of multilateral institutions reshaping the EU’s security) realities. The handbook examines how conflicts over values, authority, and governance now permeate the European project and how the EU’s political order adapts to crisis and contestation. With this, it analyses and systematically summarizes the institutional dynamics between integration and autonomy, patterns of participation, contestation and identity, and the EU’s external relations in a fragile world order, revealing core aspects and characteristics of EU politics. The Routledge Handbook of European Union Politics is a uniquely comprehensive and core reference for all scholars, students, and readers seeking to understand key, overarching trends in contemporary EU politics and the way it has evolved historically.

This multidisciplinary volume brings together scholars and writers who try to come to terms with the histories and legacies of European slavery in the Indian Ocean. The volume discusses a variety of qualitative data on the experience of being a slave in order to recover ordinary lives and, crucially, to place this experience in its Asian local context. Building on the rich scholarship on the slave trade, this volume offers a unique perspective that embraces the origin and afterlife of enslavement as well as the imaginaries and representations of slaves rather than the trade in slaves itself.

Nearly a decade into a devastating conflict, Yemen stands at a crossroads, grappling with destruction, socio-economic decline, and political deadlock. This edited volume provides a comprehensive and insightful exploration of Yemen’s current crisis, emphasizing the urgent need for a holistic and forward-looking approach to post-conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding. Yemen at the Crossroads: Crisis and Reconstruction examines the historical roots, geopolitical implications, and local dynamics of Yemen’s conflict. Structured into two comprehensive parts, the book first provides a thorough examination of the conflict’s evolution and peacemaking processes, and then shifts to envisioning and strategizing for post-conflict recovery and sustainable development. By highlighting the interplay between local political dynamics and international interests, this book enhances our understanding of Yemen’s conflict and illuminates potential pathways toward peace and reconstruction. Yemen at the Crossroads: Crisis and Reconstruction is an essential resource for policymakers, scholars, and practitioners involved in conflict resolution and post-conflict reconstruction. It aims to guide efforts toward a resolution that respects the resilience and aspirations of the Yemeni people, fostering a just, inclusive, and sustainable peace.

In Unter den Brücken sieht man die Frauen oben auf den Brücken. Am Fenster ihres Ullstein-Büros imaginiert Vicki Baum die Idee einer Telefonistin vor der Schaltwand und transferiert so ihren Roman in ein Theaterstück. Baum, die Telefonistin und die Frauen am Brückengeländer kehren alle den Rücken zum übrigen Raum. Und genauso ausgerichtet sitzen auch die Studierenden bei den berühmten Sit-ins der US-Bürgerrechtsbewegung am Lunch Counter. Kaum bekannt hingegen ist der Kampf der zweiten Frauenbewegung um den Zugang zu Bars, der weniger an der Theke als vor Gericht ausgefochten wurde. Verena Mund untersucht diese Orte des Arbeitsalltags in Bildern, Filmen und Texten sowie ihre Implikationen für Handlungsmacht.