The scripts of the Prague Sacramentary, Prague Archivo O 83

Talking History records a series of conversations that centre on the writing of history, and especially early Indian history, as evident in the works of Romila Thapar. She has focused on the study of early India but is also interested in the link between the past and the present. Whereas she recognizes the importance of analysing texts of ancient India for information on early history, which she does in her various studies of the past, she is also concerned with explaining what happened in the past and why. Assessing the data and its reliability is the first step followed by explaining its historical context and how it contributes to the construction of history. Her emphasis on reliable evidence and logical explanation has led her to oppose the fantasy reconstructions of the past by supporters of religious nationalism. In her more recent work she has challenged the widely held idea that Indian society lacked a sense of history. In this book Thapar shares her insights on history with Ramin Jahanbegloo, an Iranian philosopher, and Neeladri Bhattacharya, a historian of modern India at the Jawaharlal Nehru University. Given the link between aspects of the past and the present, the book begins with recalling Thapar’s early life before becoming a historian and continues with reflections on topics ranging from religion in history to theories of explanation as, for example, Marxism. She discusses objectivity in history, the rational retelling of events, oral history, historicity, and various concepts used in the study of history.

Writing History with Female Religious Communities:Medieval and Modern Hagiography1 Máirín MacCarron (bio) The importance of hagiographies for the study of early medieval history cannot be overstated. These texts are used to illuminate contemporary social, religious, and political practices, and to understand the intellectual environment of hagiographers. However, an over-emphasis on the hagiographer's agenda, though crucial for understanding a work's historical context, sometimes introduces too great a separation between their endeavour as an individual and the role of their protagonist's community in preserving and curating their own history. This disparity can be particularly pronounced for female religious figures, as the earliest surviving sources concerning their lives often came from outside their monasteries and were written by men. In early medieval Ireland, the most famous female saint, Bridget of Kildare, is venerated in three early lives, all believed to be written by men.2 During the same period in Britain, most of our information about religious women is preserved in the Venerable Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People, which was written at his monastery of Wearmouth and Jarrow.3 The double monasteries of Whitby and Coldingham, both ruled by abbesses and both featured in Bede's History, between them produced one surviving text, the Earliest Life of Gregory the Great, written by an unidentified member of the Whitby community around AD 700, which tells us little about life at Whitby and does not mention Hild (d. 680), the monastery's most famous abbess.4 The community of Barking recorded their early history, but this has only survived in excerpts preserved by Bede. And Bede is also the earliest surviving source for the community at Ely.5 The former Frankish queen, Radegund, who founded the monastery of Holy Cross at Poitiers, is an exception as her life was recorded by one of her sisters, Baudonivia, and this work has survived to the present day. However, the more celebrated account of Radegund's life is that by the acclaimed poet, Venantius Fortunatus, which [End Page 427] was commissioned by the community.6 The limited supply of first-hand information from female religious communities stands in sharp contrast to contemporary male institutions, such as, for example, Armagh, Iona, Lindisfarne, and Wearmouth and Jarrow, about which we know much because sources produced in and for these houses have survived.7 However, the nature of the surviving evidence should not lead us to overlook the role that women may have played in creating and preserving their own histories. I have spent many years studying hagiographies from early medieval Ireland and Britain, including examining the role and presentation of women in these texts, and my understanding of the genre of hagiography and the writing of history by members of a community was transformed by a year spent working for a modern religious congregation, the Poor Servants of the Mother of God. I worked on a biographical project about their foundress, Magdalen Taylor (1832–1900), as part of her canonisation cause. The following offers some reflections on my experience observing hagiography in action as a female religious community explored their own history. Focusing on charism and history The Poor Servants of the Mother of God were established in 1869 to address the diverse needs of the poor in Victorian London. Their foundress believed such needs were not being met by existing religious orders and ultimately decided to establish her own congregation to be active in society. Magdalen Taylor, born as Frances Margaret Taylor in Stoke Rochford, Lincolnshire, and in religion Mary Magdalen of the Sacred Heart, was the daughter of an Anglican minister and converted to Catholicism after working as a nurse in the Crimea from 1854–55. All her biographers agree that from an early age she was committed to helping others and her later vocation and subsequent foundation of a new religious congregation are presented as logical developments for a woman of her interests and abilities.8 The Poor Servants' distinctive charism inspired by Taylor's religious faith is their commitment to working with, rather than for, the poor. From the start, Taylor recognised the potential of teaching skills such as sewing to the poorest and most...

This study examines the transformation of self-image and hetero-image in literature and its intermedia adaptations, analyzing the impact that historical context, ideological objectives, and approach to reading have on the imagining of the “Other.” Drawing on the theoretical contributions of Jean-Marie Carré, Hugo Dyserinck, and Joep Leerssen, as well as methods of comparative and intermedia analysis, the study investigates how these imaginings change over time and space, particularly in the context of Ismail Kadare’s works and their adaptations for stage and screen. The hypothesis of this paper is that the conception of the “Other” in three dimensions – as a construct of the author, the characters, and the reader/adapter – is a non-linear process, shaped by historical realities, ideological discourse, and interpretive approach (be it author-centered, text-centered, or reader-centered). The research question guiding this analysis is: How do conceptions of the “Other” differ at the levels of the author, characters, and reader/adapter, depending on historical and cultural contexts, and how is this dynamic reflected in the construction of identity and alterity in literary discourse and its adapted variants? In conclusion, the study concludes that the image of the “Other” is not an immutable construct, but a transformable category that changes depending on historical contexts, ideological objectives and the reading approach that is given to the original text during the process of interpretation or adaptation. The analysis of stage and film adaptations of literary works supports this hypothesis, showing that the figure of the “Other” is reconfigured not simply because of the medium, but in accordance with the goals and vision of the adaptor. Imagology, in this sense, serves as a valuable theoretical framework to investigate the permanent changes in the perception of the “Other” in different cultural and discursive contexts.

This study aims at examining why Shakespeare’s Hamlet has been adapted and appropriated in different historical and cultural contexts. The study begins by introducing the reasons behind adapting this play and how the play’s thematic variety and its deep tackling of controversial philosophical, social, political and human issues, that interest everyone from different cultures and times, are the reasons that made it transcultural. The study then tries to trace the journey of adapting Hamlet through history starting from the seventeenth century up to postmodern era. After that, it dwells on examples from different cultural contexts such as Europe, Asia and Africa, Canada and many other places to prove the play’s universality. The study also includes many examples of cinematic, poetic and cartoony adaptations of the play to indicate the ability of the play to adjust itself to different artistic and cultural mediums. Keywords: adaptations, appropriations, transculturalism DOI : 10.7176/JLLL/56-04 Publication date :May 31 st 2019

This book highlights the unique insights that Jean Sibelius’s Violin Concerto in D Minor (op. 47) offers into the composer’s musical imagination, violin virtuosity, and connections between violin-playing traditions. It discusses the concerto’s cultural contexts, performers who are connected with its early history, and recordings of the work. Beginning with Sibelius’s early training as a violinist and his aspirations to be a virtuoso player, the book traces the composition of the concerto at a dramatic political moment in Finnish history. This concerto was composed when Finland, as an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire, was going through a period of intense struggle for self-determination and protest against Russian imperial policies. Taking the concerto’s historical context into consideration leads to a new paradigm of the twentieth-century virtuoso as a political figure, which replaces nineteenth-century representations of the virtuoso as a magical figure. The book explores this paradigm by analyzing twentieth-century violin virtuosity in terms of labor, recording technology, and gender politics, especially the new possibilities for women aiming to develop musical careers. Ultimately, the book moves away from the compositional context of the concerto and a reading of the virtuoso as a political figure to reveal how Sibelius’s musical imagination prompts thinking about the long ecological histories of musical transmission and virtuosity.

There is evidence that a distinct pattern of alcohol consumption is emerging across the world and is a cause for concern because of its relationship with a range of health and social problems. Its visibility, particularly its high involvement of young people, makes this not only an issue for public safety and order in many countries, but also a highly contentious and politicized subject.  This book examines the rapid and heavy drinking behavior by young people, described in a number of countries, positioning it within its appropriate social, historical and cultural contexts. The book argues in favor of a new term, “extreme drinking,” to fully encapsulate the many facets of this behavior, taking into account the underlying motivations for the heavy, excessive and unrestrained drinking patterns of many young people. It also acknowledges the drinking process itself and accommodates greater focus on outcomes that are likely to follow. In many ways, “extreme drinking” is not so far removed from other “extreme” behaviors, such as extreme sports – all offer a challenge, their pursuit is motivated by an expectation of pleasure, and they are, by design, not without risk to those who engage in them, others around them and society as a whole.  Edited by Marjana Martinic and Fiona Measham, Swimming with Crocodiles is the ninth volume in the ICAP Book Series on Alcohol in Society. The authors discuss the factors that motivate extreme drinking, address the developmental, cultural and historical contexts that have surrounded it, and offer a new approach to addressing this behavior through prevention and policy. The centerpiece of the book is a series of focus groups conducted with young people in Brazil, China, Italy, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, which examine their views on extreme drinking, motivations behind it and the cultural similarities and differences that exist, conferring at once risk and protective factors.

The focus of this study is on performance aspects of cycles of Preludes and Fugues by composers from the former Soviet Union. This little-known part of 20th century piano repertoire has been largely neglected by music scholars. In this thesis it is purposely examined from a performer's perspective, with a particular emphasis on study of analytical processes and practical procedures at various stages of performance interpretation. Large-scale polyphonic cycles of preludes and fugues, analogous to the Well-Tempered Clavier by Bach, became phenomenally popular among Soviet composers after the 1950s, with more than 20 substantial cyclic works appearing in the second half of the last century in Russia, Ukraine, Armenia and Uzbekistan. My performance research thesis focuses on the following works: 24 Preludes and Fugues by Dmitri Shostakovich, Rodion Shchedrin, Sergei Slonimsky, Nikolai Kapustin and Dmitri Smirnov; 34 Preludes and Fugues by Valentin Bibik, 12 Preludes and Fugues by Alexander Yakovchuk and 6 Preludes and Fugues by Myroslav Skoryk. These eight cycles by Russian and Ukrainian composers are among the most influential Soviet polyphonic works, most of which are regularly performed in the countries of the ex-Soviet bloc. Although this thesis avoids drawing specific parallels between the historical, political and cultural context and the musical text, one of its main aims is to enhance performers' and listeners' awareness of the contextual complexity of the works under discussion. The main body of my thesis explores the interpretative challenges of the works under discussion, with individual chapters dedicated to such performance and perception aspects as understanding of the overall cyclic structure and programming issues, investigation of the cultural and historical context and its influence on the perception of the Soviet music, approaches to analysing scores, manuscripts and available recordings.

During the last 2 decades there has been a dramatic resurgence in literary and cultural productions by Americans who identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, or queer (LGBTQ). Comprehensive in scope and accessible to students and general readers, this encyclopedia explores contemporary American LGBTQ literature and its social, political, cultural, and historical contexts. Included are several hundred alphabetically arranged entries written by expert contributors. Each entry cites works for further reading, and the encyclopedia closes with a selected, general bibliography. Students of literature and popular culture will appreciate the encyclopedia's insightful survey and discussion of LGBTQ authors and their works, while students of history and social issues will value the encyclopedia's use of literature to explore LGBTQ American society. During the last 2 decades, there has been a dramatic resurgence in the literary and cultural productions of Americans who identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, or queer (LGBTQ). The works of these authors have gained popular attention and are increasingly important to the curriculum. They also reflect many of the issues central to contemporary American society. Comprehensive in scope and accessible to students and general readers, this encyclopedia surveys contemporary LGBTQ American literature and its social, political, historical, and cultural contexts. Included are hundreds of alphabetically arranged entries on such topics as: ; African American Gay Literature; Dorothy Allison; Bisexuality; Christopher Bram; Augusten Burroughs; Peter Cameron; Patricia Cornwell; Michael Cunningham; Christopher Durang; Leslie Feinberg; Harvey Fierstein; Gay Graphic Novel; Gay Jewish American Literature; Gay Rights Movement; Jewelle Gomez; Homosociality; Gary Indiana; Larry Kramer; David Leavitt; Leslie Larson; Ursula LeGuin; Lesbian Graphic Novel; Audre Lorde; Armistead Maupin; Terrence McNally; Lenelle Moise; Dale Peck; Puerto Rican Gay Literature; Queer Pedagogy; Sapphire; Sarah Schulman; Reginald Shepherd; Michelangelo Signorile; Transgender Young Adult Literature; Carla Trujillo; Edmund White; Emanuel Xavier; And many more. Each entry is written by an expert contributor and lists additional sources of information, and the encyclopedia closes with a selected general bibliography of print and electronic resources for student research. Students of American history and society will welcome the encyclopedia's use of literature to explore LGBTQ social issues, while students of literature and popular culture will appreciate the extensive exploration of authors and their works. FEATURES AND BENEFITS: ; Hundreds of alphabetically arranged entries discuss authors, literary works, movements, genres, and social issues.; An alphabetical list of entries offers a quick survey of the encyclopedia's contents.; A guide to related topics quickly and conveniently directs readers to entries likely to interest them.; Entry bibliographies help students find sources of additional information on specialized topics.; A selected, general bibliography directs students to the most helpful print and electronic resources on contemporary LGBTQ American literature.

This paper aims to perform a comparative study of the philosophies of Aristotle and the laws enshrined in the Manusmriti. This comparative study examines Aristotle's philosophical perspectives on women as delineated in his works, particularly "Politics" and "Nicomachean Ethics," juxtaposed with the portrayal of women in the Manusmriti, an ancient Hindu legal text. This study aims to illuminate the divergent conceptions of women's roles, capabilities, and societal status in ancient philosophical and legal frameworks by analyzing these two distinct yet influential sources from different cultural and historical contexts. By navigating the complexities of interpreting ancient texts within their historical and cultural contexts, this comparative study aims to contribute to ongoing discourses on gender equity, social change, and the intersections of philosophy and law in shaping perceptions of women's roles and status in antiquity and beyond.

This book “decodes” 1930s Hollywood movies and explains why they looked and behaved in the way they did. Organized through a series of related case studies, the book exposes Classical Hollywood movies to a detailed analysis of their historical, industrial and cultural contexts. In the process it utilizes industry data, aesthetic analysis and the insights of New Cinema History to explain why and how these movies assumed their familiar forms. The book represents the summation of Richard Maltby’s four decades of scholarship in the field of Hollywood cinema. The essays presented here share an assumption that has increasingly informed the author’s critical method over the years: that any historical understanding of the films of this period requires a deep contextualization in the social circumstances surrounding both their production and consumption. In this way, the book introduces an innovative, overarching research methodology that synthesizes branches of research that are typically employed in isolation, including production, distribution, reception, film aesthetics, and cultural and historical context. Of the book’s nine chapters, three are presented here for the first time, and four have been substantially revised and extended from their original publication.

The main purpose of the study is to identify the significance of civic identity for young people and its impact on modern socio-cultural processes in Kyrgyzstan. The methodology of the research is represented by systematic, socio- cultural, comparative, semiotic analyses, as well as the synthesis method. A survey of 117 university students was conducted to provide additional data on the civic identity of Kyrgyz youth. In addition, the development of civic identity among young people in China and Turkey was analysed for comparison. Despite differences in historical and cultural contexts, factors like education, media, and government policies impacted youth civic identity in all three countries. The study results showed that the civic identity of young people is one of the key factors in modern socio-cultural transformations of society, determining the lifestyle and value orientations of young people, influencing their perception of public roles and responsibility. It is determined that periods of social transformations, civic identity is able to take on a variety of manifestations, influencing the processes of socialisation among young people, and, ultimately, their ability to perceive and join the values prevailing in a particular society. In addition, the findings indicate that it is important to understand the level of influence of the cultural and historical context on the development of the civil identity of certain countries. The results emphasise the importance of adapting policies and government programmes to current socio-cultural realities. The significance of the findings is expressed in the actualisation of the issue under study. The results obtained enrich the theoretical understanding of civic identity and its role in the modern socio-cultural processes of Kyrgyzstan and the world, contributing to the field of socio-cultural transformations and the study of youth identity

Research dating back to the 1960s shows that as children age, their understandings and conceptions about peace change along with their cognitive and social development. This work highlights the importance of context, interpersonal relationships, and cognitive capabilities on how children develop ideas and behaviors related to peace. The literature to date mainly draws from three theoretical bases to situate peace attitudes within ontological development: socialization theory, Piaget’s cognitive stages of development, and social-cognitive theory. Drawing on these models, empirical research has demonstrated that children generally move from concrete and material notions that focus on negative peace to abstract, norm-related concepts that incorporate interpersonal dynamics. At the same time, these processes vary with a number of factors, including cultural norms, historical context, and gender. This chapter presents an ecologically based and culturally grounded theoretical framework to study how children—as part of developmental processes and changes—come to form ideas and behaviors related to peace. An ecological model—Spencer’s PVEST—provides a more effective conceptualization of how individual children interpret historical and cultural contexts in developing understandings of peace and taking on roles as peacemakers. Empirical evidence gathered in different cities in Colombia demonstrates the utility of the theoretical framework for the field of peace and developmental psychology. The chapter ends by discussing how such work in developmental psychology informs peace and human rights education. An ecologically focused theoretical framework would provide a more effective guide for policies and programs seeking to promote understandings of peace and peace building in educational settings.

Of all the arguments directed against presenting mathematical topics within a cultural and historical context, the most serious ones are those that we will refer to as the time and the content arguments. In this paper, after briefly describing these stances, we will endeavor to evaluate and refute their rationales using a social constructivist line of reasoning. To this end, we will first discuss the basic tenets of radical and social constructivism and then, through some simple concrete examples, show how social constructivism organically heralds the pedagogical methodology that imparts mathematical concepts in conjunction with their historical and cultural contexts.

“God Is Able”: Miracles and Hope in Our African-American Patients: Challenges, Historical Perspective and the Way Forward (FR459)

OPERA CHORUS IN THE HISTORICAL REALITY OF THE ESTABLISHMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE KIEV OPERA HOUSE (XVIII – beginning of XX century)