The Aakash tablet and technological imaginaries of mass education in contemporary India

Abstract

We explore here public and private initiatives in technological solutions for educating the poor and the disadvantaged in India since the second half of the twentieth century. Specifically, we document Ministry of Human Resource Development’s project to develop an affordable tablet computer, named ‘Aakash,’ as a personal access device for digital courses and online learning materials. We approach this case study in relation to several educational technologies that preceded it, and with a wider interest in mapping a contemporary transition from satellite-based mass education to Internet-based mass education. We argue that this process cannot be easily seen as a transition from unilateral broadcasting to more democratic multi-casting model of communication and learning. Specifically, we study the manufacturing process of Aakash and the public debates around it, to comment on the nature of state power in India, as revealed in its attempts to imagine and develop a digital personal device to deliver mass education.     

祭祖与礼佛:紫禁城养心殿一区的佛堂与清帝的信仰

自雍正以降,养心殿一区成为清代宫廷的政治枢纽和帝王生活起居之所,其中至少分布着四个佛堂区。通过对这些佛堂及其内部供奉的梳理,作者发现该区域的佛堂以藏传佛教佛堂规模最大;而同样以佛堂命名的东佛堂(东配殿),其实是以祭祖为主要功能的亦佛堂亦宗庙的建筑;此外在养心殿天花上还供有雍正九年安奉的藏汉佛教与道教混合的五块一组符板。作者认为,养心殿一区佛堂体现出汉藏佛教、汉地传统祖先崇拜与清宫满族传统信仰等多元并存的现象,清帝在对待祭祖、佛教与道教方面表现出实用主义的态度。     

中国书画艺术的乐舞精神

通过综合各家学说、考据典、辨析要义,在深入剖析中国“书画”所寓含的深刻人内涵基础上,提出了“乐舞精神”作为其主脉这一独具特色的看法,在一定意义上解决了学术界在此问题上的困惑与长期徘徊的局面。     

20世纪初期革命精神的生成——以话语分析为径

民族精神的生成与培育,有赖于语言的承载与传播.20世纪初,革命上升为民族精神,一定意义上可视作中国现代性革命话语由渐到顿的变化过程.中国现代性革命话语既受儒家传统的影响,又吸收英语、日语中的现代性因素,到20世纪二三十年代,革命已由此前为人禁忌的词汇变为强势话语,由少数人的思想变为广大民众的精神追求.     

论图书馆人文精神的弘扬

弘扬人文精神是21世纪人们普遍的共识。图书馆作为培育和弘扬人文精神的重要机构,它在推动和促进社会人文精神的凝聚和发展方面起着重大作用。人文精神也是现代图书馆精神的核心。图书馆只有“以人为本”,充分发挥其教育职能,才能适应新形势的需要,并不断加速自身的完善与发展。     

日本武士阶级的文武合一思想

提倡文武两道,是日本封建武士道中的重要内容。到了江户时代儒学成为官学,经过儒学的改造,日本传统的文武两道观发展为以仁义之道为基础的文武合一论。而江户时代后期,由于承平日久,社会流于文弱,武士的文武观开始强调以尚武为主,认为统治阶级保持尚武精神是国家长治久安的关键。     

元《庆元儒学洋山砂岸复业公据》碑考辨

《庆元儒学洋山砂岸复业公据》碑是目前发现存世的仅有的一例附有八思巴字元代公据碑。本文在释录碑文的基础上,通过对宋末元初庆元路儒学对位于昌国州的洋山砂岸被侵占所提起的二次诉讼案及相关人物的考察,试图揭示元代赡学砂岸被占的实质,以起补史、证史之作用。同时,作为一例完整个案,为元代司法、儒学等方面的研究提供第一手史料。     

《滕学义建祠碑》考释

光绪年间所立的《滕学义建祠碑》，所记史实是研究淮军及捻军起义的宝贵资料。     

近代中国的民族认同和民族精神的弘扬

中华民族认同经历了颇为复杂的历史进程,在近代中国才最终得以实现,成为凝聚全民族力量的核心价值所在.这一认同对于中华民族精神的塑造、丰富与弘扬,对于中华民族精神各项功能的发挥,都起了巨大作用,影响至为深远.     

Kant and the Two Principles of Publicity

ABSTRACT

The aim of this article is to argue that the principle of “publicity” constitutes a fundamental idea in Kant’s political thought. Publicity provides a central insight that binds together various strands of Kant’s political writings (on issues as diverse as the question of Enlightenment, the right of revolution, historical teleology, reflective judgment, cosmopolitan citizenship, democratic peace, and republican government), and moreover, it offers a much-needed cornerstone for a systematic exposition of his nonexistent political philosophy. Apart from some eminent examples, publicity has been a rather neglected topic in the ever-expanding literature on Kant’s political ideas. Revisiting this notion will make us more attentive to his evocation of the “spirit of republicanism” over and above the letter of the law, and might prompt us to reconsider Kant’s reputation as a classical representative of liberal political thought. Indeed, it should inspire us to situate Kant’s appeal for the “public use of reason” in the vicinity of the republican ideal of political liberty.