Academic Criticism Research Articles

Trump divide among American conservative professors.

There has been an outpouring of research on right-wing populist conservatism since the advent of the Trump presidency and right-wing movements in Europe. Yet, little research has been devoted to divisions among conservatives themselves, especially among conservative academics. Although Trump has maintained remarkable unity within the Republican Party for electoral reasons, he has fostered sharp divisions among conservative intellectuals and academicians. This article compares 102 politically conservative professors who are Trumpists and 80 conservative professors who are anti-Trumpists. All 182 function as public intellectuals who advocate their views in print and digital media. Drawing on recent research in the sociology of intellectuals and particularly Pierre Bourdieu's analytical field perspective, this article proposes a fielding political identities and practices framework to show how these two groups of professors (Trumpists and anti-Trumpists) differ in where they teach, their intellectual orientations, their scholarly productivity, where they network with think tanks, scholarly professional associations, and government agencies, and their stances on key issues surrounding the Trump presidency. The academic Trumpists embrace the right-wing populist wave mobilized by Trump and the conservative academic critics resist this move. This polarization of views between these two groups of conservative professors is enduring and rooted in two distinct social networks that connect positions in the academic field to affiliations with think tanks, government agencies, and professional associations in the field of power that reinforce their respective political identities. This research contributes to political sociology, the sociology of intellectuals, and the sociology of conservative politics in American higher education.

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS IN SCIENCE AND HIGHER EDUCATION

The research possibilities of a qualitative approach have a long tradition in the social sciences and humanities, including different perspectives on theoretical foundations, research strategies, techniques, and data collection and analysis methods. The qualitative methodology first developed in cultural anthropology and ethnology, where the anthropological works of Malinowski, Strauss, Boas, and others marked the foundations of the field method of collecting data and conducting ethnographic studies. However, to date, there is no single definition of qualitative methodology, just as there are no studies that do not require the dimensions of different approaches. Starting from the observation that the question of the compatibility of qualitative and quantitative research methods is still a source of disagreement among researchers, arising from academic criticism of the quality and reliability of qualitative research, this study aims to highlight the role and importance of qualitative research in the scientific and educational process. Through the theoretical analysis of the relevant sources of methodological studies, the authors present some fundamental principles of the qualitative approach and its leading research strategies, illustrating the theoretical aspects with the most important constructs in this methodological area. The findings of this article show that despite the diversity of scientific literature and research on defining the value of qualitative research, a systematic and in-depth study of qualitative methodological issues is still needed to contribute to the improvement of the literature and increase the value of this approach in scientific and educational research practice. Accordingly, although the authors sustain a mixed research approach, they also emphasize the importance of qualitative methods, which should not be viewed separately from the research process.

Alternative Models of Electronic Literary Criticism: Intermedial and Ergodic

Electronic literature, known as cyber or digital literature, has elicited negative and favourable responses. Negative reactions centre on disagreements regarding its definition and the author's quality and authenticity. Positive reflexes include its rapid and massive distribution, publication, and subversion against the dominant establishment of printed literature. Its open space for creativity due to the addition of multimedia and its intensive interaction between writers and readers also become beneficial values. Despite the negative and favourable backlash, electronic literary criticism development has not yet been widely discussed. Electronic academic critique models are rarely debated due to a lack of consensus on their definitions, interdisciplinarity, and technological obstacles. This article attempts to propose alternate models for electronic literary criticism, viewing it as a new genre. This literary analysis offers alternatives based on its significant elements: technology (platform), immersive experience and interactivity (the reader’s involvement), literary work (various electronic types), and accessibility (wide range of readers). Considering that electronic literature combines literature, technology, and digital media to interpret works and investigate the relationships between technology, authorship, and readership, its criticism needs to broaden its area which includes technology. Intermedial and ergodic criticism can be the alternatives to approach this new genre.

The Method of Interpretation in Neglected Letters for Al-Hamzawi in his Interpretation of Dorr Asrar - A Critical Study


 
 
 
 When you read and write about a critical study, you must take into account the impartiality and objectivity, whether this study may have a negative or a positive side, and it is not correct to assert the results of that study.
 The academic criticism is to re-imagine the perception and understanding of the written text that the study underwent. So it is the process of showing the errors and advantages of literary studies because of the methods, ideas and perceptions it contains.
 My study was entitled (The Method of Interpretation by the Neglected Letters for Hamzawi in his Interpretation of Dar Al-Asrar) (a critical study), as the researcher wanted to clarify the new method in which the author worked, by studying these perceptions and ideas ,in a critical study, showing whether the author was able to succeed and excel, with this kind of Interpretation, or not, through the tools of constructive academic criticism.
 
 
 

Lessons for career guidance from return-on-investment analyses in complex education-related fields

ABSTRACT Return on investment (ROI) has become part of the policymaking toolkit, particularly pertinent for activities like school-based career guidance deemed optional by some policymakers. There are institutions supporting ideal ROI methods alongside an academic critique, but little research on how ROI has been applied in practice in a guidance setting. In this systematic review, we document 32 ROI studies across nine countries that address either school-based guidance or one of three congruent fields: widening participation in education, behaviour in schools and adult career guidance. We find the corpus highly heterogenous in methods and quality, leading to problems in comparability. We argue for a pragmatic approach to improving consistency and the importance of policymakers’ capacity for critically reading ROI studies.

Teaching critical hope with creative pedagogies of possibilities

ABSTRACT How can we teach critical hope, amidst contemporary challenges that seem intractable, within neoliberal educational institutions that work to foreclose transformative pedagogies and through academic critique that can result in cynicism and disillusionment among students? Here, I draw on the writings of Paolo Freire, J.K. Gibson-Graham and Sarah Amsler, as well as long-term research at the University of Sussex in the UK, to propose a critical-creative pedagogy that enables students to better understand global challenges and to imagine alternative responses to them. Consisting of whole-person learning, the use of arts and design methods and praxis, this pedagogy aims to nurture students’ critical hope. In this article I sketch an outline of its elements, advance philosophical arguments for their importance and share brief examples from my own teaching in International Development to show how it can be enacted in classrooms. Critical-creative pedagogy necessitates generative theorising that allows pedagogies of possibilities to emerge and grow, critical engagement with the neoliberal education system to find spaces for action, and a radical understanding of pedagogical creativity. It results in practices of pedagogical prefiguration that enable students, and educators, to collectively imagine heterodox responses to contemporary social, economic and ecological challenges.

Does reading aloud to a dog improve children’s reading outcomes? An academic critique

Educators are increasingly seeking innovative interventions to improve children’s reading skills through enhancing their reading enjoyment, motivation, and frequency. One such approach is through canine-assisted reading interventions in schools, which involve children reading aloud to therapy dogs and their handlers. The popularity of this approach is growing, with the development and delivery of numerous programmes and organisations worldwide. Given increasing interest in canine-assisted reading programmes in schools, there is a need to subject these interventions to scientific scrutiny, to evaluate the extent to which they are grounded in psychological theory, determine their efficacy for improving reading outcomes, and inform their implementation. In this critique, an overview of the theoretical underpinnings of reading aloud to dogs is first presented. Intervention effects are explained in terms of attachment theory, attentional control theory, and self-determination theory. The current critique also includes the first systematic review examining the effects of school-based canine-assisted interventions, compared to control conditions, on children’s reading outcomes. Findings from nine controlled studies are discussed. Currently, there is mixed and limited evidence for the efficacy of school-based canine-assisted reading interventions, compared to control conditions, on children’s reading skills, attainment, and attitude. Implications for practice and intervention implementation are considered.

Close, but No Cigar

Close, but No Cigar

An Opportunity for Expanding University-School Connections: Stakeholder Views of the Religion and Worldview Proposal

This article explores the results of an 18-month project exploring the opinions on Religious Education in schools and the religion and worldview’s proposal (CoRE 2018) with key stakeholder groups ‘outside the classroom.’ This article begins with a review of relevant academic critiques and then explores the key themes revealed by the stakeholder groups in the course of the research. We highlight three key thematic areas of challenge 1) structural and resourcing issues facing RE in schools, 2) conceptual debates about key words and areas of subject focus and pedagogical approach and 3) the perceived value of the subject. These issues are explored in some depth, noting that all groups thought that greater resource sharing and cooperation between the various stakeholders was important. It concludes by arguing that this discussion offers a unique opportunity for university engagement. Although academics in particular expressed concerns about a lack of conceptual coherence in the religion and worldview proposals, we suggest that university engagement with schools could effectively model constructive discussions across differences of academic disciplines and the various ways of understanding beliefs, practices and ethical choices.

How does criticism civilize: the possibility and limitation of literature criticism in university education

ABSTRACT Based on my teaching experience of nearly 20 years in the Department of Chinese Literature in mainland China, this paper discusses the functions of literary criticism, and how they differ between university education and secondary education. This paper has two main purposes: (1) by examining how Chinese literary criticism evolved since the 1980s, this article shows the important role it played in shaping the ways people think. (2) Through the observation of the new generation of young readers, this paper points out the inflexibility of the existing academic criticism. From my teaching experience, I have observed that the flourishing Chinese network literature represents, since the beginning of the new century, a whole new literary field and traditional literary criticism is facing new challenges. However, with the top-down reform of literature education, literary criticism is more related to the exam system than to the literary creation itself. This means that literary criticism still assumes a very important educational function, but is no longer adapted to the new commercial literary production. This new trend has forced academic criticism to make corresponding adjustments. This paper sees the possibility of establishing a new critical unified field.

Raspravljanja sa Mnemosinom - pregled važnih tokova studija pamćenja

This paper presents an overview of the most important European approaches to the study of collective memory. It will first discuss the theses of the founder of the discipline, the French sociologist Maurice Albvachs. After that, the paper will present the most important ideas and concepts of other classics of memory studies, such as those of the French historian Pierre Nora and the German professors Jan and Aleida Assmann. Alongside their concepts, contemporary academic criticism of their work will also be presented. Finally, attention will be paid to contemporary approaches to memory studies - transnational memory and media studies of collective memory. The paper will include a proposal for a systematic Serbian translation of several key concepts of memory studies.

Greenpeace, Political Purposes – “There and back Again”; Reflections on New Zealand Charity Law

Abstract The political purpose doctrine, a key part of the charity law landscape for many common law jurisdictions, has been subject to much judicial and academic criticism over the years. Its continued influence on the charity sector in relation to whether or not charities can operate effectively, or indeed, whether they may lose their registered status, gives rise still to such criticisms. It is against this backdrop that this article critically assesses the doctrine in light of newly-emerging decisions from the New Zealand courts that have fundamentally changed the charity law landscape from a national perspective, and considers some of the issues associated with this newly-evolved doctrine. Thus, what can be said is that New Zealand charity law jurisprudence is evolving and this article provides some useful insights in to contemporary charity law issues predominantly through the New Zealand lens as but one legal approach, and also compares some of these issues against two international perspectives.

The Novel and the New Ethics by Dorothy J. Hale

Reviewed by: The Novel and the New Ethics by Dorothy J. Hale Jesse Rosenthal HALE, DOROTHY J. The Novel and the New Ethics. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2020. 360 pp. $90.00 hardcover; $30.00 softcover. Novel theory is well past the point where declaring an “ethical turn” would raise many eyebrows. The last two decades or so have proven particularly accommodating to critics who wish to assert the presence of some variation of ethical thought in the formal working of the traditional novel. Part of the compromise of the turn back to ethics has lain in stressing the formal nature of it all: as if to say, we’re not just looking at old-fashioned morals or narratorial lectures. What makes Dorothy J. Hale’s The Novel and the New Ethics different is that its analysis does assume design and intention from the start. Looking specifically at novelists who are directly concerned with the academic study of literature—Toni Morrison, Zadie Smith, and J. M. Coetzee, among others— Hale short-circuits the divide between literary production and analysis. In the works of her authors she locates a set of varied ethical projects that share an awareness of the poststructuralist critique of the individual subject. These critiques, and the related attack on a hoary novelistic ethics based around a stable central subject, succeed for Hale in producing a “new ethics”—one which takes the central human subject not as a given, but as a question. This new ethics moves away from one based on coherent subjectivity: the experiences of other intelligences and points of view. In place of this by-now familiar alterity, it finds instead more modern forms, which include experiences outside of the human: “the lives of animals, states of divinity, or even the nature of fiction” (6). The Novel and the New Ethics continues the project of Hale’s extraordinary 1998 Social Formalism, which charted the ethical stakes of novel form from Henry James through poststructuralism, postcolonialism, and race theory. The argument of that book— one which seems to be every bit as indisputable as it was twenty-five years ago—was that the Jamesian model of novel theory, centered around the figure of the author, cast such a large and inescapable shadow that it would be felt in criticism for a century to come. And in spite of the novelty of the ethical approaches The Novel and the New Ethics describes, it quickly becomes clear that the point of departure has not changed. As Hale puts it, “The novelist who most inspires and authorizes this tradition within the Anglo-American context is Henry James” (25). So we are still looking at the same strong influence, and, just as in Social Formalism, this influence persists whether or not we know it: [E]ven if no one thinks they give a damn about what Henry James knew, the modern novel that James helped to invent and the tradition of novel theory that he inaugurated provide a foundational aesthetics for the novel that underlies [both ethics of alterity and] the poststructuralist new ethical theory that has [End Page 450] developed in the attempt to articulate the positive social value of literature for our postmodern age. (181) In this way, Hale’s work extends her previous argument about the Jamesian tradition into a twenty-first century that might seem to have little to do with him. Where this book parts company with Social Formalism, though, is in its shift of focus from the history of academic novel theory to what Hale refers to as “novelist-critics”: modern novelists who are in explicit conversation with academic criticism (89). Foremost among these are Morrison, Smith, and Coetzee. Though Hale is interested in the intersection between theory and practice in these authors, it often seems that theory is dominant. When she discusses Morrison, she does so in the context of Morrison’s writing on James and William Faulkner; when she turns to Smith, it is in her invocation of Elaine Scarry; and in writing on Coetzee, an academic himself, she focuses on his Elizabeth Costello—a novel that draws centrally on a novelist’s relation with academia. The Novel and the New Ethics...

Beatriz Allende: A Revolutionary Life in Cold War Latin America

Beatriz Allende: A Revolutionary Life in Cold War Latin America

Looking Back on Problems of Transcultural Methodology in Asian Studies

In previous issues of the journal, its authors have often made it clear that creative philosophers will always seek to improve their own methods. Even those who sincerely respect other cultural values, epistemologies, and methodologies will always retain some of their own preferences, subjective insights, and blind spots (Bunnin 2003, 352). What really matters is only their equality of opportunity, their evaluation regardless of the seemingly pervasive economic, political, and cultural power relations. Regardless of where they originate, and of their individual originators, such subjective inclinations should be checked by an equally reliable culture of academic critique and discussion, rather than silenced by demands for strict conformity in methods, theories, and doctrines.

A Multiscale Overview of Modelling Rolling Cyclic Fatigue in Bearing Elements.

During service, bearing components experience rolling cyclic fatigue (RCF), resulting in subsurface plasticity and decay of the parent microstructure. The accumulation of micro strains spans billions of rolling cycles, resulting in the continuous evolution of the bearing steel microstructure. The bearing steel composition, non-metallic inclusions, continuously evolving residual stresses, and substantial work hardening, followed by subsurface softening, create further complications in modelling bearing steel at different length scales. The current study presents a multiscale overview of modelling RCF in terms of plastic deformation and the corresponding microstructural alterations. This article investigates previous models to predict microstructural alterations and material hardening approaches widely adopted to mimic the cyclic hardening response of the evolved bearing steel microstructure. This review presents state-of-the-art, relevant reviews in terms of this subject and provides a robust academic critique to enhance the understanding of the elastoplastic response of bearing steel under non-proportional loadings, damage evolution, and the formation mechanics of microstructural alterations, leading to the increased fatigue life of bearing components. It is suggested that a multidisciplinary approach at various length scales is required to fully understand the micromechanical and metallurgical response of bearing steels widely used in industry. This review will make significant contributions to novel design methodologies and improved product design specifications to deliver the durability and reliability of bearing elements.

Peter Lawler, Public Thinker

The late Peter Lawler devoted a great deal of time and effort to public writing—work drawing on his deep knowledge and professional academic expertise but intended to shed light on events of the day for a wide, nonacademic readership. The purpose of that work was highly unusual: Lawler sought not so much to bring the tools of elite academic criticism to bear on the public situation as to bring the common sense of American culture (albeit refined and elevated through a learned Christian sensibility) to bear on the thought and behavior of American elites. If Lawler could be called a public intellectual, it is because he was an intellectual thinking on behalf of the public, and in ways that take seriously both the enormous benefits and the fundamentally tragic character of modern life. There is great value in such public writing, and Lawler offered an exceptional example of the kinds of virtues it involves.

Study on Symbolic Features of On the Road

Jack Kerouac’s On the Road is considered as one of the most important novels in the twentieth century. It holds a great deal of historical significance, showing a picture of American subculture which is characterized with sex, drugs, and lost youth, but this kind of subculture attracted little public attention of academic critics during the 1940s and 1950s.

Creative Hubs in Hanoi, Vietnam

Creative Hubs in Hanoi, Vietnam

Religion and Its Public Critics

To have the right and possibility to criticize religions in public life is crucial for developing a healthy liberal democratic society. However, this criticism could take many different forms with respect to who offers the criticism, on what grounds it is based, its aim, what the target of the criticism is, and whom the critics try to convince. In this article, I develop a theoretical framework we can use to distinguish and assess different forms of criticism, focusing primarily on secular criticism of religion. Furthermore, I argue that in performing such a meta-study of criticism, it is vital that we reflect more carefully on how to develop plausible ethics of criticism. Finally, by comparing public criticism and academic criticism, I show that such ethics must be developed in a way that is sensitive to discourse.