Biographical Study Research Articles

Exploring Gender Relations via Shakespeare: Students’ perspectives on Shakespeare’s life

In this article, we discuss the application of feminist theory and criticism in the teaching of Shakespeare in higher education institutions and consider biographical approaches to Shakespeare as instructive for pedagogic engagements with students. We present an analysis of students’ responses to a short YouTube video about Shakespeare’s life used in a second-year English course for pre-service teachers at a South African university. The design and implementation of the course was informed by feminist Shakespeare criticism and theory which challenges the misogynistic attitudes and patriarchal ideologies embedded in Shakespeare’s works, as well as the sexist images of women appearing in many of his plays and poems. The analysis of students’ responses to Shakespeare’s life reveals that students found him to be an absent and a fugitive father and husband as well as a misogynist. Students nevertheless expressed sympathy for Shakespeare, which was neither dismissive nor defensive of his absenteeism and sexism. We argue therefore that the students’ responses echoed feminist interventions that counter the masculinist perspectives dominant in many biographical studies of Shakespeare.

Bridlington Boulevard Revisited: New Insights into Pit and Post-hole Cremations in Neolithic Britain

The majority of excavated human remains from Neolithic Britain emanate from monumental sites. However, it is increasingly recognized that multiple funerary practices are often attested within these monuments, and that diverse treatment of the dead is evident contemporaneously at non-monumental sites. In this paper, we highlight such variation in non-monumental funerary practices in Neolithic Britain (c. 4000–2500 bc) through the biographical study of an assemblage from a large post-hole at Bridlington Boulevard, Yorkshire. Through osteological and taphonomic analysis of the human bones and technological and microwear analysis of the accompanying axehead, we infer complex funerary processes, with the expediently manufactured axehead potentially featuring in the funerary rites and subsequent post-raising before being deposited in the feature. Bridlington Boulevard represents one element of a varied funerary complex—cremations in pits and post-holes—at a time when most individuals were not deposited in monuments, or indeed were not deposited at all. Compiling these non-monumental cremations across Britain causes us to look beyond categorizing these assemblages as funerary contexts, and instead suggests important cosmological associations and forces were brought together in pit and post-and-human cremation deposits.

Первые леди в истории США: историко-библиографический обзор

The introduction of this article delves into the author’s contemplations on the role of the first ladies of US presidents in maintaining their image and electoral appeal. The author highlights that the general public’s lack of knowledge regarding the intelligence, education, mentality, and character of first ladies is an evident historical injustice. Currently, modern historians are actively rectifying this oversight. The purpose of the study is to analyze modern literature on the role and significance of first ladies in the history and political life of the United States and to provide a chronology of published biographical research on this issue in English-language and domestic historiography. The methodology employed is rooted in specialized historical research methods, including comparative-historical analysis, which allows for an exploration of research trends in this historical domain. Additionally, historical systemic and retrospective methods are employed, along with elements of the historical biographical method. The author’s historiographical analysis is founded on principles of historicism and historical objectivity. The materials used in the study are memoirs, biographical essays, documents, scientific monographs and articles, and Internet resources, including the official websites of the White House and the National First Ladies’ Library. The “Analysis” section contains the main part of the article’s text, that is, an analysis of literature and other sources, including autobiographies and memoirs of first ladies, interesting information about the authors of modern biographical studies, as well as the chronological order of published works of Englishlanguage and domestic authors. The results of the research are encapsulated in the author’s conclusions on the topic. It is determined that the historiography surrounding the role and significance of first ladies in American history is currently underdeveloped and, often, subjectively biased. Typically, more attention and subsequent publications are dedicated to the spouses of the most popular presidents, overshadowing other first ladies, even if they were remarkable individuals themselves.

Life outcomes after paediatric kidney transplantation: a qualitative, biographical study in long-term survivors

ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to analyse the narrative life stories of children with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) and their families to determine how health professionals can effectively support...

ПРИЗАБУТИЙ ШЕВЧЕНКІВ ПРИЯТЕЛЬ – АНТОН АНДРІЙОВИЧ ГЛУШАНОВСЬКИЙ

Studies about Shevchenko traditionally remains one of the most priority directions of scientific studies in Ukraine. The scale of Shevchenko`s personality gives an opportunity for each of new generation of researchers to participate in the study of his iconic for Ukrainians figure and his environment. Since the formation of studies about Shevchenko, biographical studies which surrounding Kobzar, remains one of the most important directions. The article is devoted to reconstruction of Anton Andriiovych Hlushanovskyi (1815–1902) life path – one of the Shevchenkos contemporaries, who was considered as a friend of Taras Hryhorovych. Unfortunately, during recent decades, Shevchenko’s experts, have not demonstrated significant progress in the study of the figure of A. A. Hlushanovskyi. Also this thesis is confirmed by reference about him in the most authoritative publication about Kobzar – Shevchenko Encyclopedia. In return, Gogol scholars achieved certain success in studying of his biography as a contemporary of M. V. Hogol. O. Suproniuk discovered new materials in the archives of Ukraine and russian federation, which were used to write a biographical reference about Hlushanovskyi. A separate group is formed by researchers who integrate our character into the story Kyiv University. His surname is mentioned in the first stories of St. Volodymyr University (V. Ya. Shulgin and M. F. Vladimirskii-Budanov), but not as a contemporary of Shevchenko. On the pages of these publications, he becomes as one of the first graduation (1838) of the University and its syndicate. We see the task of the article in the reproduction of the most complete biography A. A. Hlushanovskyi with the help of all available materials, especially autobiographical. We hope that the information which has been made public will contribute to the intensification of the search for new documents that will help shed light on the little-known pages of the biography of T. H. Shevchenko, and on the early history of the University that now bears his name.

Ольга Кобилянська в кінематографічному дискурсі

The article emphasizes the need to supplement the literary discourse with the topical issue of intermedia poetics, namely the film reception of the biography and works of Olha Kobylianska. It is noted that cinematography had an organic impact on the life and works of the Bukovynian author. This is evidenced by her autobiographies, biographical studies, as well as the works written under the impression of cinema (“By Situations”), or which imply the cinema code in the plot (“Black Apostol”), or those that demonstrate a pronounced cinematic poetics (“Ghost”, “Battle”). The poetry and prose of the author are mentioned to become an integral part of the cinematographic discourse, that is traditionally activated in relation to writers on the eve of their anniversary. The analyzed documentaries “Valse Brillante. Olha Kobylianska” (2013) and “To be one’s own goal. Olha Kobylianska” (2014) present a receptive version of her biography, created in a productive collaboration of filmmakers and literary critics. The functional potential of the biographical films, that popularize and actualize the works of this outstanding personality, contribute to the full understanding of Olha Kobylianska as a complete artistic phenomenon. Emphasis is placed on the fact that compared to biographical projects, film reception of the writer’s works is significantly more productive, which contributes to the reconstruction of a holistic perception of her literary heritage. The films “Earth” (1954), “The Wolfhound” (1967), “The Melancholic Waltz” (1990), “The Princess” (1994), “Nature. The third film” (television series “The Island of Love” 1995–1996), “Early on Sunday, I dug a potion” (2019) are the film texts of different genres that demonstrate the occasional attention to the works by Kobylianska in the cinematic environment, due to a certain historical situation, another anniversary or the desire of filmmakers to reinterpret the works of the classic.

Congresses of natural scientists and mathematicians in the “Bulletin of experimental physics and elementary mathematics” (1886–1917): Analysis of publications

The article presents the results of a study of publications in the “Bulletin of Experimental Physics and Elementary Mathematics”, about the organization, conduct and results of domestic and foreign congresses of mathematicians and natural scientists, published in Kyiv and Odesa during 1886–1917. The magazine was an unofficial periodical printed publication of the mathematical department of the Novorossiysk Society of Naturalists. The research was conducted with the aim of carrying out a meaningful and quantitative analysis of the texts of journal publications, which highlights the materials of such meetings of scientists and teachers. The authors used scientific methods for meaningful analysis of the research subject, and in the process of quantitative analysis – text quantification, collection of empirical data, their generalization and mathematical and statistical processing. As a result of the research of the magazine’s materials on congresses of mathematicians and natural researchers during the entire period of its publication, the authors came to the following conclusions. The magazine’s materials on conventions and congresses for all the years of its publication accounted for slightly more than 4% of its total area. All National Congresses of Natural Scientists and Mathematicians, which met during the period of publication of the journal, were covered on its pages (this is almost 2/3 of the entire volume of information in the journal about such meetings of scientists and teachers). At the same time, the methods of presenting information and its volume differed significantly in different meetings, depending on the presence of motives of both members of the editorial board. The main motives for placing information were: a) the presence of a pedagogical component in the work of meetings; b) scientific (or pedagogical) significance of reports and meeting participants; c) availability of quality materials about meetings; d) availability of magazine space. International congresses were irregularly covered by the newspaper, the motives for placing information about such meetings in the magazine were similar. Starting in 1901, the editors of the Bulletin introduced the scheme developed during the previous years of the magazine’s existence into the practice of presenting materials about scientific and pedagogical congresses: a) announcement of the event; b) publication of the regulation (statute, program) of the event; c) description of preparation for the event; d) overview of the features of the event; e) presentation of the texts of important speeches. Such a scheme of presentation of meetings was introduced for the first time in popular science and educational periodicals of the Russian Empire. The pedagogical component was the most important motive for both staffs of the Bulletin editorial board when deciding on the features and scope of coverage of materials on the work of domestic and foreign congresses. The materials of Bulletin (and other similar publications of that time) covering the work of domestic and foreign congresses of teachers and researchers of nature and mathematics, which reveal the content of the educational activities of famous scientists and teachers, are an important element of the source base of biographical studies, which conducted by historians of science.

Political Biography and the Agency of Audience

Abstract Development as Rebellion, the massive biographical study of Julius K. Nyerere, written by three leading Tanzanian scholars and published in 2020 by the august Dar es Salaam imprint Mkuki na Nyota, illustrates how authors and audience are entangled in discursive practice. Jacques Derrida’s postmodern concept of iterability suggests that any message, let alone a nationalist biography, never exists in a stable univocal state, but that its meaning takes form, continually mutating, in an interactive social context between author and audience. It is not merely that the authors address an audience imprinted with the intellectual traditions known as the “Dar es Salaam School” of the University of Dar es Salaam; they engage not just the concerns of that audience, of which they are themselves members, but their priorities and categories of thought. This essay offers a review of Development as Rebellion as evidence for a theoretical argument about how an audience shapes the composition of a piece of writing, and how this helps us address the ongoing debate about the way scholarly authority in African studies tends to reside outside Africa. Addressing this circumstance must begin counterintuitively with questions about the audience of Africanist scholarship rather than its authors.

Dostoevsky in Nagoya: The XVIII Symposium of the International Dostoevsky Society

For five days, the Japanese city of Nagoya became the world’s Dostoevsky capital. The XVIII Symposium of the International Dostoevsky Society (IDS) was held here on August 24–28, 2023 For the first time since the establishment of the IDS in 1971, it took place in Asia. This happened despite the pandemic and the aggravation of international problems and thanks to the great efforts of the organizers from Nagoya University of Foreign Studies, who carefully thought out the program of the event, as well as of the Symposium participants from all over the world, who represented several research generations and scientific schools and demonstrated a variety of approaches to the study of scientific biography and creative work of the classic of Russian and world literature. The XVIII Symposium was dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the novel “Demons,” the most political and religious work of the great Russian writer, published in 1871–1872. Therefore, the main focus of the Symposium was “"Demons" in their time and 150 years later.” The participants of the scientific forum paid considerable attention to the topic “Dostoevsky in art (music, cinema, theater, painting).” Among other topical issues of modern Dostoevsky studies, the following were considered at the Symposium: new methods of studying the writer’s work, including those related to the development of Digital Dostoevsky, problems of poetics and textual criticism of his legacy, new biographical studies and archival materials, Dostoevsky in the works of M. M. Bakhtin and, of course, Dostoevsky’s reception in Asia and the influence of his ideas and images on Asian culture and literature. The final event of the Sympo-sium was the round table “Dostoevsky and modern Japanese writers,” at which popular prose writers Fuminori Nakamura, Risa Wataya and Keiichiro Hirano spoke. Each of them spoke about the influence of the Russian writer’s work on his texts and discussed the incredible popularity of Dostoevsky’s ideas in today’s world. This article provides an overview of the reports, cultural events and the main results of the XVIII Symposium of the International Dostoevsky Society in Nagoya.

Confluences Between Theater and Visual Arts: Van Gogh and Edvard Munch or From Tragedy to Dramaturgy

Between the performing arts and visual arts, for example between theater and painting or graphics, there are multiple interferences, which are not limited to scenography and costume. Cultural references and visual quotes are just two directions of development of modern and contemporary theater. Artists can support plays through images, but they can just as well inspire dramaturgical texts, either through life and professional activity, or through their creation, in itself. From books such as “The Lives of Painters, Sculptors and Architects” signed by Giorgio Vasari or Giovanni Pietro Bellori, or from various works and biographical studies dedicated to artists, we can find out a lot of information that explains or completes what we know or what we can deduce directly from their work, but most of the time those aspects are conjunctural, explaining only the context of the professional training, the orders or the game of chance that led to the realization of their works, as they came to be known. About artists such as Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Claude Monet, Tolouse Lautrec, or more recently about Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali one can say that they have put themselves in their work, in addition to unparalleled mastery and personality. Rarely, however, there is such a continuity between life and artistic work, as in the case of Van Gogh and Edvard Munch.

Scott S. McKenna, George Matheson and Mysticism – A Biographical Study: Mysticism in the Scottish Presbyterian Tradition

Scott S. McKenna, <i>George Matheson and Mysticism – A Biographical Study: Mysticism in the Scottish Presbyterian Tradition</i>

Urzędnicza kariera Bonifacego Witkowskiego (1800–1840) – przyczynek do dziejów biurokracji budowlanej w Królestwie Polskim

The Administrative Career of Bonifacy Witkowski (1800–1840) – A Contribution to the History of Building Bureaucracy in the Kingdom of Poland Biographies of architects have a well-established tradition in the Polish historiography of architecture. This also applies to the historiography of Polish architecture at the turn of the 19th c., which predominantly revolves around biographical studies. However, architectural biographies of this period often concentrate on the architects active in big cities, while their colleagues working in provincial areas receive comparatively less research attention. The lack of in-depth exploration of this subject has a detrimental impact on our comprehensive understanding of the Polish architectural culture of that period, particularly its social aspects. Another notable trait of Polish architectural biographies concerning the turn of the 19th c. is the focus on the architects’ creative output (e.g. projects, buildings). Researchers have hitherto paid relatively less attention to tracing the trajectory of individual careers and specific conditions that shaped their development. The inclusion of these aspects in academic discourse offers valuable insights into the social and political backdrop that influenced architectural activity. This holds particular significance in relation to the era of the constitutional Kingdom of Poland (1815–1830), which witnessed a rapid development of modern bureaucracy in the field of building and architecture. This article delves into the well-documented case of Bonifacy Witkowski. Notably, he was among the first graduates of architecture from the University of Warsaw, and within a few years of his graduation, he attained the position of a chief provincial builder in the Province of Mazovia.

Bratislava School of Musicology as a Centre of Slavic Way of Thinking in Scientific and Artistic Work

The purpose of the work is to highlight the history of the formation and development of the Department of Musicology at Comenius University in Bratislava from its foundation in 1921 to the present day. The research methodology consists in the application of the historical method to study musicology as an academic discipline in relation to the historical context and to present a holistic picture of its development; biographical studies to outline the figures of the Slovak general cultural and special musicological school. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the characterisation of the Bratislava School of Musicology, which in the nineteenth century became the centre of musicology in Slovakia, developing traditional musicological problems and the methodology and practice of modern musical research. Conclusions. The article highlights the development of musicology as an academic discipline at Comenius University in Bratislava, its national and European musical traditions, which led to the emergence of the Slovak school of musicology, founded by Dobroslav Orel. The activities of the Czech D. Orel led to the emergence of a galaxy of Slovak musicologists and music historians who were brought up on the principles of the educational and scientific methodology of European academic education. This was the first generation of musicologists to receive a thorough professional education of the European model in their homeland. As a result of the active interaction of scholars of several generations, the traditions of a powerful scientific centre, Bratislava, strong in its combination of Europeanist breadth of education and pro-Slavic patriotic focus of its professional activities, were formed.&#x0D; Key words: Department of Musicology at Comenius University in Bratislava, student, lecturer, musicology education, European academic education.

Neutral Northerners during the Irish Civil War: A Biographical Study

Neutral Northerners during the Irish Civil War: A Biographical Study

A Biographical Study on the Health of Workers with Disabilities

A Biographical Study on the Health of Workers with Disabilities

A biographical analysis of Spanish athletics coaching pioneers (1939–1992)

ABSTRACT Athletics in Spain was a very minority practice until the 1950s, when athletics underwent a progressive development and institutionalisation that included the appearance, for the first time, of the role of the coach. Through the biographical study of five coaches of the first generation, this research aims to illuminate how the figure of the coach was built. Thus, the profession of coach arises first from the few existing athletic clubs, and later through the profession of physical education teacher. Starting in the 1960s, coaches had access to greater institutionalisation through the growth of the federation and the internationalisation of Spanish sport. The arrival of democracy also allowed them to enter the new regional institutions and take over new power positions in local politics. Finally, the organisation of the Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992 meant the final athletics institutionalisation.

How to Study the Childhood of the Prominent? The Conceptual Framework of the Project

The article presents the conceptual framework of descriptive biographical studies on childhood among 114 prominent Poles. It discusses the methodological dilemmas related to the use of biography in the reconstruction of the past, and characterizes the applied research procedure as well as the categories for describing childhood, the Polish historical context, and the environment of the outstanding youth.

«It was a great, noble work of a selfless worker» (to the biography of P.A. Preobrazhensky)

The paper examines the main stages of the life path, scientific and socio-pedagogical activity of Pavel Aleksandrovich Preobrazhensky, a teacher, historian and public figure who lived in Samara at the turn of the 1920 centuries. The biographical study was built with the involvement of archival materials, published sources and memoirs of P.A. Preobrazhenskys students. The author notes the circumstances of the formation of the character and life principles of the future teacher, and the significant role of the family and the father-priest in this. The half-century pedagogical practice of P.A. Preobrazhensky left a memory of him not only in the hearts of the students, but also among their parents and colleagues, as evidenced by the statements given by the author. The paper also examines socio-cultural activities of P.A. Preobrazhensky, who during his life was a member of many scientific and cultural societies and actively worked in the field of education and dissemination of scientific knowledge among the Samara population. The author highlights the university period in the biography of Pavel Aleksandrovich, noting that it was the heyday of his scientific and teaching career. It was during this period that his life was filled with various types of activities scientific, teaching, administrative and social.

Portrait Gallery of an Era: on the Pages of Bibliotekovedenie Journal (1952—2021)

The article is devoted to the study of the publications of biographical direction of the “Bibliotekovedenie” — Russian Journal of Library Science in 1952—2021. The most attention is paid to the analysis of the materials published in the 20th century. It reconstructs the history of the development of biographical materials on the pages of the periodical edition, defines the stages and characteristic features of each of them, presents the forms of biographical publications, reveals the circle of persons engaged in studying biographies of outstanding librarians, as well as the persons who became the objects of the authors’ and editors’ attention. The scientific discipline of humanitarian cycle, biography, is discussed. The authors cite the opinions of scholars (Yu.N. Stolyarov, V.S. Kreydenko, A.N. Vaneev, I.L. Belenkiy, G.G. Silnitskii, etc.) which emphasizes the necessity and significance of studying history through biographical studies. In the 21st century the library and book community has entered with a very developed direction of historical research on biography. While before 1970 there were sporadic publications on people of the library profession, by the end of the 20th century the number of biographical materials had increased significantly. Books and monographs dedicated to librarians appeared, name conferences began to be organized, autobiographical genre began to form, memoirs “in the first person” were published. Various factual and biographical materials have been collected in the journal.During the 15-year period of publication of the collection (bulletin) “Libraries of the USSR. Work Experience” (1952—1966) it published four articles of biographical genre: on the bibliographer A.P. Sokolov; on V.I. Lenin’s elder brother A.I. Ulyanov; the writer V.G. Korolenko and his library; the librarian A.A. Pokrovsky. During the six years (1967—1972), when the collection was published under the title “Libraries of the USSR”, nine articles dedicated to individual outstanding people were published in it. In 1973 the collection was transformed into the scientific and practical journal “Soviet Bibliotekovedenie” (Soviet Library Science). During the twenty years between 1973 and 1992, 128 biographical materials were published, and 96 persons were the subject of attention. Since 1993 the journal has been published under the title “Bibliotekovedenie” (Russian Journal of Library Science). From 1993 to 2000, 59 biographical materials were published in it. Articles of autobiographical genre appeared. For the first time, the interview genre was used. Between 2001 and 2021, 298 biographical materials were published in the journal, and more than 200 persons received attention. Of these, material on 165 persons appeared for the first time.Between 1952 and 2021, a total of over 280 authors published articles of biographical genre. The librarians about whom the greatest number of materials has been published: O.S. Chubarian, N.I. Tyulina, Yu.V. Grigoriev, N.S. Kartashov, K.I. Abramov, A.A. Pokrovsky, M.Ya. Dvorkina, N.A. Rubakin, Yu.N. Stolyarov, L.B. Khavkina, etc.The materials presented in the journal may serve as a basis for further research. The article may be useful for library professionals to intensify research activities in the field of library history through the study of biographies of prominent people.

"Profoundly Cosmopolitan of Heart and Spirit"?

Germany was a member of the League of Nations from 1926 to 1933. During that time, there were Germans employed at the Secretariat, and its Information Section, which had the greatest German presence, opened a small office to represent the League in Berlin. The League was founded on liberal internationalist ideals and its Covenant included a revolutionary article that opened all positions up to men and women equally. A biographical study of three German individuals associated with the Section and office reveals that ideological commitment to the League was not a given among all German employees, and gives insight into the interplay of gender, class and national – or international – identity. It also shows how the realities of who was employed in the Secretariat, and why, often hinged – despite the League’s ideological basis and the Covenant’s promise – on pragmatic and political considerations.