Balancing spirituality and secularism,globalism and nationalism: the geographies of identity,integration and citizenship in schools

Geographies of education have drawn more research attention in the last decade. The varied motivations for geographical attention to education have led to divergent approaches. First, a macro, political economy or “outward looking” approach has examined educational provision and what it tells us about wider social, economic and political processes. Second, a micro, social-cultural or “inward looking” approach has emphasised social difference within school spaces, and the links between home and educational spaces. This latter approach has also acknowledged the importance of the voices of children and young people in understanding educational experiences. In this paper, l take stock of existing research in the geographies of education and then make a case for the examination of two types of schools that have received little or no geographical attention thus far, namely international schools and faith-based schools. I propose a multi-scalar framework for analysing the former and a relational framework for understanding the latter.     

The Principle and Practice of 'Reconciliation' in German Foreign Policy: Relations with France, Israel, Poland and the Czech Republic

Germany has sought 'reconciliation' with former foes as an ideal in foreign policy since 1949. Reconciliation remains a priority of new the SPD-Green coalition, as for all previous German governments since the Second World War, for both moral and pragmatic motives. In four bilateral cases of reconciliation in German foreign policy–with Israel, France, Poland, and the Czech Republic–the mix of pragmatism and morality differs depending on history, institutions, leadership, and the international context. Reconciliation with France and Poland is more institutionalized, more open, more embedded in the European Union, and more pragmatic than in the other two cases. In relationswith Israel and the Czech Republic, history and moral claims are more prominent. Institutions are important in all four cases, but they are not as dominant in the latter two cases. Political leadership is central in all four cases, navigating the relationships through periods of domestic opposition to bilateral partnership in processes of reconciliation that strive for an unachievable idea.     

Re-presentar the religious: nation,community and identity in museums 1

This paper examines the roles that museums play as ‘unofficially sacred’ places, underscoring or challenging the religious life of a people and ‘nation’. It focuses on three key questions: (1) Do sub-national and transnational religious formations pose a challenge to or present opportunities for nation-building strategies, and what part do museums play in this struggle? (2) In what ways do re-presentations of religion in museums contest or reinforce religious community and identity? and (3) What challenges do museum displays pose to the understanding of religious meanings? This paper explores these three key questions about the intersection of religion with politics and ideologies, social relations, and cultural interpretations and transformations using an in-depth case study of an exhibition on the Jewish community in Singapore.     

21世纪的中国与中国地理学:一场文化(地理)革命?

一位著名的新加坡文化地理学家,兼亚洲问题研究专家从更广的视角回顾了近年出现的中国国内外地理学者关于中国文化地理的研究,以及中国的崛起对21世纪文化地理学的影响。作者指出了中国目前正面临的六大问题,并认为如果从文化地理学的视角来看这些问题,不仅可以加深对中国的了解,还可以重塑文化地理学作为分支学科的实用性形象。这六大问题分别是:农业改革、经济改革、城市变迁、城乡移民和与其密切相关的社会不公平、不断改变的家庭结构和环境变化。作者认为,如果中国文化地理学希望最大限度地帮助本学科开发一个更加国际化的,更为包容的研究方法,就要考虑到中国面临的这些重大问题,给出有建设性的答案,并导出新的理论观念,使地理学的理论思维更加多样化。