Cultural nationalism of the interwar period: Latvian visual art and folklore

The interwar period in Europe marks a tendency towards authoritarian leaders in politics as well as the classicizing practices of the visual arts. However, the extent and modality of both tendencies vary from state to state: mapping differences and similarities leads towards greater understanding of each national history. The particularity of Latvian art life is a comparatively substantial use of folklore motifs and representation of pagan mythology, going hand in hand with overall ethnolinguistic nationalism agenda and related state cultural policy. Despite the coexistence of various artistic styles, in regard to content and intentions of artworks, the interwar period can be characterized by the turn from National Romanticism to Romantic Nationalism. The historical outline and theoretical discussion of folklore representations are illustrated by three case studies, analysing the biographies, ideas, and works of Latvian artists Ansis Cīrulis, Jēkabs Bīne, and Niklāvs Strunke.     

Student experiences of multidisciplinarity in the undergraduate geography curriculum

This paper explores the student experience of multidisciplinarity within the undergraduate Geography curriculum. It considers the drivers that have underpinned this development before considering the findings of research into student experiences in two universities in the south of England. The results suggest that most students view this development positively and recognize a number of advantages that it brings, citing expanded opportunities for learning, working with people from other disciplines, expansion of perspectives and perceived benefits to employability. However, for a minority this development is more problematic. The research points here to issues with specialist knowledge and disciplinary pedagogies, social issues within the classroom and class organization and some reservations regarding groupwork. The paper concludes with a series of recommendations.