The theatricality of eating in the life of St. Francis of Assisi

I examine the role of food, eating, and meals in the life of St. Francis of Assisi. I observe that his experience significantly differs from that of the female fasting saints. I show that his concern lies with the justifiability of eating, and that food is associated with dramatic lessons that instruct or chastise others. I argue that, like Christ, Francis uses food and eating to teach, to share a message, or to accept outsiders.     

To understand and be understood: facilitating interdisciplinary learning through the promotion of communicative competence

Whilst interdisciplinarity has become a central concern of research and learning in geography, few from the discipline have considered the practical facilitation of interdisciplinarity in the classroom. Module convenors, I argue, must pay greater attention to how learners engage and negotiate with peers and perspectives from other disciplines. In this paper, I focus on my own efforts in designing and teaching a second year undergraduate course on health, biomedicine, and society, to illuminate the opportunities and challenges facing teaching staff who seek to provide opportunities for interdisciplinary learning in the classroom. Drawing upon theories of communication, I demonstrate the significance of developing “communicative competence” as a pathway to successful interdisciplinary learning. Unless learners from one discipline can understand, and be understood by, peers from other disciplines, the accomplishment of interdisciplinary learning is undermined. Interdisciplinary modules should include learning outcomes that facilitate student development in this area. Approaching interdisciplinary learning through the lens of communicative competence casts critical attention upon the central abilities and cultural sensitivities that are the hallmarks of interdisciplinary collaboration – from negotiating meaning to critical disciplinary awareness – and highlights the lessons that interdisciplinarity poses for disciplines, such as geography, tasked with preparing students for interdisciplinary learning.     

The Persian Presence in Nineteenth-Century English Poetry: A Taxonomy

This study employs keyword searches of literary databases such as Literature Online (LION) in an attempt to map the image of “Persia” in nineteenth-century English poetry as it was molded by a proliferation of thoughts and ideas in a variety of contexts. Completeness is not possible, of course, but the article aims to identify and explore some of the major categories within which the image of Persia was formed and disseminated in the nineteenth-century. The scope of the study is not confined to a corpus of poetic works that were written specifically on or about “Persia,” but takes account of a broader range of poems, and attends to the structure, texture and variations of the presence of “Persia” in nineteenth-century English poetry.     

The future role of GIS education in creating critical spatial thinkers

Teaching of critical spatial thinking in higher education empowers graduates to effectively engage with spatial data. Geographic information systems (GIS) and science are taught to undergraduates across many disciplines; we evaluate how this contributes to critical spatial thinking. The discipline of GIS covers the whole process of spatial decision-making, but GIS modules often ignore the context setting of spatial problems, and just cover the technical aspects of how to use GIS software. We outline how some existing GIS practicals could be improved to focus on the development of critical spatial thinking skills, competences and abilities that are valuable to graduates.     

Memories of Kings of Israel and Judah within the Mnemonic Landscape of the Literati of the Late Persian/Early Hellenistic Period: Exploratory Considerations

This article explores, from a perspective informed by Social Memory studies, memories of kings of Judah (/Israel) in three different corpora (the Deuteronomistic Historical Collection, the Prophetic Book Collection and Chronicles). It draws attention to the interdependence between memories of kings and other characters populating the world of memory evoked by each of these corpora and explores the ways in which the worlds of memory evoked by each of them interacted, informed and balanced each other within what we may call the “comprehensive mnemonic system” of the literati. The article sheds light on generative grammars governing systems of preferences and dis-preferences for certain types of memories of kings in each of the corpora and across them, and at times, even across cultures, and highlights that the world of memory of the Yehudite literati of the late Persian/early Hellenistic period was shaped by a consistency of inconsistency, and an overall coherence manifested through a seeming lack thereof that served well the social reproduction of the group.     

Teaching and learning on a transnational education programme: opportunities and challenges for flying faculty in Geography and related disciplines

Within the context of the internationalization of UK higher education, an increasing number of UK-based institutions are developing collaborative degree programmes with overseas institutions, of which partnerships with institutions in China are the most common. This paper employs a critical reflective approach to explore, from different perspectives (self-reflection, student feedback, our colleagues’ experiences), some of the opportunities and challenges that exist for flying faculty through critical reflection on the author’s own flying faculty experiences delivering an introductory Physical Geography module in China. Teaching in an unfamiliar environment brings with it a plethora of challenges, however; for staff in Geography and related disciplines, active engagement with the external world through field-based learning is perhaps the most challenging aspect of any overseas teaching experience. As such, a particular focus of this paper is on the challenges, and potential solutions, of incorporating field-based learning and teaching in the international classroom. Ultimately, faculty with international teaching experience are best placed to develop and enhance the internationalization of their own institution’s curricula.     

顾彭年:文学研究会中的半个贵州作家——兼及其他贵州籍会员

中国现代第一个文学社团文学研究会成立于1921年,曾有四个贵州籍会员:谢六逸、蹇先艾、李君毅、杨敬慈。前两位广为人知,而后两位知道的人较少。除此之外,还有一位顾彭年,他也是文学研究会的早期会员,抗战爆发后即移居贵州,是贵州著名作家、学者顾汶光、顾朴光的父亲,故可算半个贵州作家。顾彭年早年的文学成就一是白话新诗创作,一是文学翻译,三是文学研究。他与茅盾、郑振铎等有过交往,同时还是我国城市市政建设理论早期的开拓者。     

民国时期华文教育本土化探析——以国语文教材的编写为视角

论文以民国时期大陆学人与东南亚学人所编东南亚华校国语教材为视角,探讨华文教育本土化问题。认为大陆学人所编东南亚华校国语教材的本土化倾向包括选材符合国外实际、稳妥处理敏感话题、教给儿童规范汉语及配以实用方便的教学法;东南亚学人所编东南亚华校国语教材的本土化倾向包括突出第二语言教学的特性、使用外语进行解释及强调国语文的特点。     

从在黔散文成就看王阳明在明文学史的地位

王阳明在黔创作的《瘗旅文》等多篇散文,是明代散文的精品,他的散文有其独具的特点;王阳明不仅是明代思想家、教育家、也应是文学家,这在明清以来就有定论。     

抗战时期陕甘宁边区的国民教育

陕甘宁边区的教育经历了曲折的探索过程,从旧教育模式到创立自己的教育模式,由强迫教育到尊重群众的自愿与需要,由包办到民办公助,形成了具有鲜明时代特色的教育体制。、国民教育培养出的毕业生成为社会的有用之才,提高了陕甘宁边区文化程度,培养了大量专门人才。抗战时期陕甘宁边区的教育从抗战的环境和边区的实际出发,坚持教育同抗战、同社会、同生产劳动相结合的方针,为抗战培养人才,消除了群众中的文盲、迷信、不卫生的习惯,解决了群众生产和生活中的实际问题,既推动了边区教育事业的发展,也但排了边区经济、社会的进步,为抗战作出了重要贡献。