British Academics Research Articles

Compromise, Conflation and Contextualism in English Music(ology)

For much of this century within English (and, by often dubious extension, British) academe, musicologists of whatever cultural bent have tended to ply their trades according to oddly discrete, non-overlapping strategies of study and discourse. This curiously extreme form of epistemological apartheid, while by no means unique to the native tradition, has persisted long after many other subject fields within both the humanities and the sciences have embraced interdisciplinary interpretation with open minds. Indeed, Nattiez's widelydisseminated semiological tripartition notwithstanding, the division of intellectual labour still most typically operative is that represented by the current mainstays of home-based musicological publishing, namely, the 'Lifeand-Works' monograph and the 'Handbook'. Throughout its venerable existence, the former genre has been envisaged as a portmanteau attempt to engage in biographical, historical and (to a lesser extent) technical exploration of the elements that comprise the semiotic package represented by the phrase, 'the great composer' of which there are so many famous examples that it is invidious to single out a handful for inclusion here.l Studies of this kind have a distinguished English-language history that stretches back at least to Edward Dent's pioneering text on Busoni (1933), and have often been aimed at a readership of both enthusiastic amateurs and professional scholars. By comparison, the handbook has come to epitomise a more or less opposing kind of credo. Like the monograph, it is catholic in ethos, but tends rather more to focus on the technical detail exemplified by a specific work or group of works by one composer.2 As a consequence, the handbook's more rigorously textual and, by implication, esoteric approach, indicates that it is targeted primarily at the academic community, rather than the general public. Despite the imaginative possibilities inherent within both types, there have, to date, been few genuine syntheses, a fact which may explain a third, more recent tendency in British musicological publishing that of the 'Book of Studies'. As their titles would indicate, these symposia aim to bridge the philosophical gap between monographs and handbooks by illustrating a range of approaches germane to a particular composer (and perhaps with an element of the non-English tradition of the Festschrift thrown in). Consequently life,

Reshaping the European City and Territory

Gordon Cherry, Town Planning in Britain since 1900 (Oxford: Blackwell, 1996), 260 pp., £12.99, ISBN 0–631–19994–2.Mark Clapson, Invincible green suburbs, brave new towns (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1998), 242 pp., £45.00 (hb), ISBN 0–719–04135–X.Mark Clapson, Mervyn Dobbin and Peter Waterman, eds., The Best Laid Plans. Milton Keynes since 1967 (Luton: University of Luton Press, 1998), 142 pp., ISBN 1–860–20556–9.Gilles Massardier, Expertise et aménagement du territoire. L'Etat savant (Paris: L'Harmattan, 1996), 286 pp., 160 FF, ISBN 2–738–44903–4.Danièle Voldman, La reconstruction des villes françaises de 1940 à 1954. Histoire d'une politique (Paris: L'Harmattan, 1997), 488 pp., 270 FF, ISBN 2–738–45194–2.About one century ago, a movement was born which aimed at reforming the physical environment of cities in order to reform society. It greatly broadened the scope of the former, piecemeal Improvement Commissions which had begun to beautify the cities. Five recent and varied publications will be reviewed here, originating from both British and French academics and planners. We shall use them to make a second reading of ideas and processes contributing to the (re)shaping of town and country in two west European countries. Often described as entities with distinct political, social and economic agendas, both countries nevertheless developed strong confidence in the planning role of the state in cities as well as in ‘town and country’.

Africa - Ruth Weiss with Jane Parpart, Sir Garfield Todd and the making of Zimbabwe, xx, 234 pp. London: British Academic Press, 1999. £39.50.

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Ottoman and Persian Odysseys, James Morier, Creator of Haiji Baba of Ispahan, and His Brothers, Henry Mckenzie Johnston, London: British Academic Press, 1998.

<b><i>Ottoman and Persian Odysseys, James Morier, Creator of Haiji Baba of Ispahan, and His Brothers,</i></b> Henry Mckenzie Johnston, London: British Academic Press, 1998.

The Renumeration of British Academics

The Renumeration of British Academics

The JLO 10th British Academic Conference in Otolaryngology Fellowship

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“THE DISTURBANCES OVERSEAS”: A COMPARATIVE REPORT ON THE FUTURE OF ENGLISH STUDIES

This is an adaptation of a talk first presented to the Council for College and University English (CCUE) conference on English for the Millennium, Sept. 1996. CCUE is the British professional body that represents the discipline and departments of English in England, Scotland, and Wales. The talk was meant to provide a transatlantic perspective on the future of the discipline. Originally it was published in CCUE News (June 1997) and later adapted to presentations throughout the U.K. The excerpts here focus on issues of multiculturalism, interdisciplinarity, and cultural studies.WHEN I DRAW ON MY EXPERIENCE in the United States it is not because I am unaware that the centrality of English literary history is less controversial in England than in its former colony, but because the areas that I see as fundamental to the future of English — a diverse Anglophone population and the demands of the marketplace — are fundamental to both. Twenty years ago, American and British academics were different worlds. The formal democratization of the university and official ideologies of neoliberalism, or market orientation, have brought them closer together. My argument is that the future of English depends less on theories or ideas than on human geographies, institutional conditions, and our embeddedness in market society.

The Tenth British Academic Conference in Otolaryngology

The Tenth British Academic Conference in Otolaryngology

Britain faces up to transparency review

london British academics are reacting warily to the prospect of increased paperwork as a result of the introduction of a so-called 'transparency and accountability review' of research.

BOOK REVIEWS

Journal Article BOOK REVIEWS Get access Ottoman and Persian Odysseys: James Morier, Creator of Hajji Baba of Ispahan and his Brothers By HENRY MCKENZIE JOHNSTON. London: British Academic Press. 1998. Pp. xiii + 258. Price HB £29.50. 1-86064-330-2. Ahmad Gunny Ahmad Gunny University of Liverpool Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of Islamic Studies, Volume 10, Issue 3, September 1999, Pages 357–359, https://doi.org/10.1093/jis/10.3.357 Published: 01 September 1999

Book Reviews

BOOK REVIEWS de Hartog, Leo, Russia and the Mongol Yoke: The History of the Russian Principalities and the Golden Horde, 1221-1502 (London and New York: British Academic Press/I. B. Tauris Publishers, 1996), xi + 211 pp. $65 ISBN 1 85043 961 3. This useful new study intended for the general reader provides a fairly comprehensive overview of Russian-Mongol relations during the period of Mongol domination. After an introductory chapter outlining Rus' history until the early thirteenth century, de Hartog explores the emergence of the Mongol empire under Ghenghis Khan and the ini- tial Mongol campaign of 1221-22 into southern Russia

The Imperial Kaleidoscope - Contesting Colonial Hegemony: State and Society in Africa and India. Edited by Dagmar Engels and Shula Marks. London: British Academic Press/German Historical Institute, 1994. Pp. viii+349. $59.50. - The White Woman's Other Burden: Western Women and South Asia during British Colonial Rule. By Kumari Jayawardena. New York and London: Routledge, 1995. Pp. x + 310. $62.95.

The Imperial Kaleidoscope - Contesting Colonial Hegemony: State and Society in Africa and India. Edited by Dagmar Engels and Shula Marks. London: British Academic Press/German Historical Institute, 1994. Pp. viii+349. 35.00. - Volume 37 Issue 4

Austria 1945-1955: Studies in Political and Cultural Re-Emergence

The year 1995 marks two decisive anniversaries in the history of modern Austria: 50 years since the ending of the German occupation and 40 years since the signing of the State Treaty and the ending of the Allied occupation. This book will focus on the first ten years of post-war Austria at a time when this period is under critical and popular scrutinity (Modern Austria was this year's main theme at the Frankfurt Book Fair). We expect to meet a demand in university departments of history and german for material covering this era and some of the leading names in Austrian studies have contributed to the book. Dr Robert offers a major re-assessment of this period in is essay Narratives in post-war Austrian historiography. The remaining essays deal with some of the major literary figures from this era: Heimito von Doderer, Franz Theodor Csokor, Hilde Spiel, George Saiko and Albert Paris Gutersloh. The book is prefaced by an introduction by the editor to the historical and literary context of the first decade of the Second Republic, showing how the early post-war situation in Austrian differed from that of Germany. Most books in this field are in German. This book will offer the perspective of British academics working in the field of Austrian studies and will be attractive not only to an English-speaking readership but also to the large number of English-speaking Austrian and German scholars in this field who have traditionally shown a keen interest in the international response to their own literature and history.

Modern African Spirituality: The Independent Holy Spirit Churches in East Africa, 1902–1976

Book Review| October 01 1998 Modern African Spirituality: The Independent Holy Spirit Churches in East Africa, 1902–1976 Modern African Spirituality: The Independent Holy Spirit Churches in East Africa, 1902–1976. By Ane Marie Bak Rasmussen. British Academic Press, 1996. $59.50 cloth. H. Chrissie Steyne H. Chrissie Steyne University of South Africa Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Nova Religio (1998) 2 (1): 169–170. https://doi.org/10.1525/nr.1998.2.1.169 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation H. Chrissie Steyne; Modern African Spirituality: The Independent Holy Spirit Churches in East Africa, 1902–1976. Nova Religio 1 October 1998; 2 (1): 169–170. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/nr.1998.2.1.169 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentNova Religio Search This content is only available via PDF. © 1998 by The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.1998 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Russia and the Mongol Yoke. The History of the Russian Principalities and the Golden Horde, 1221–1502. By Leo de Hartog. London and New York: British Academic Press, I. B. Tauris Publishers, 1997. 211 pp. £29.95.

Russia and the Mongol Yoke. The History of the Russian Principalities and the Golden Horde, 1221–1502. By Leo de Hartog. London and New York: British Academic Press, I. B. Tauris Publishers, 1997. 211 pp. £29.95.

Student–authored Hypermedia in Veterinary Anatomy: Teaching and Learning Outcomes of Group Project Work

The Directed–Self Education programme (DSE) in the first year undergraduate course in veterinary anatomy seeks to support students in developing personal study and information technology skills. It also aims to move computer–assisted learning (CAL) towards offering tools for students to create a variety of computer–based materials of their own which subsequently can be repurposed by staff as teaching resources. This aspect addresses the issue that many British academics have little incentive to devote time to improving teaching through CAL methods, as innovation and excellence in teaching is not rewarded in career terms on par with excellence in research. The programme seeks to integrate a modest type of “problem–based learning” (PBL) methodology without demanding the total integration of pre–clinical with clinical teaching advocated by full–scale PBL. Since 1993 the outcomes of the programme have been that lectures in the first year veterinary anatomy course have been reduced by a third, with a slight change in the mean value of the final grades in the first year final examination in veterinary anatomy during 1994–5, as compared to the years 1991–3. Other benefits have included the rapid creation of a library of student–produced CAL which is recycled by staff into other forms of computer–based teaching. It has also led to involvement in the use of CAL by lecturers hitherto resistant to applying technology to teaching, and the vacation employment of current BVSc undergraduates from the programme in university and national projects producing CAL for medical teaching.

MALE-FEMALE SALARY DIFFERENTIALS IN BRITISH UNIVERSITIES

The average salary differential between male and female academics in Britain in 1992 exceeded 15%. Using individual data covering all full-time academic staff in the old universities for the years 1975, 1985, and 1992, we find that a significant part of the differential is explained by the fact that women are under-represented in senior ranks. However, even after controlling for rank, age, tenure, and faculty, a gender effect in the remuneration of British academics remains. Moreover, neither the average salary-gap nor that part attributable to an independent gender effect have fallen since 1975.

The Near and Middle East - Eugene L. Rogan and Tariq Tell (ed.): Village, steppe and state: the social origins of modern Jordan. xxvii, 226 pp. London: British Academic Press, 1994. £39.50.

The Near and Middle East - Eugene L. Rogan and Tariq Tell (ed.): Village, steppe and state: the social origins of modern Jordan. xxvii, 226 pp. London: British Academic Press, 1994. £39.50. - Volume 60 Issue 1

Ethiopia in Change: peasantry, nationalism and democracy edited by Abebe Zegeye and Siegfried Pausewang London, British Academic Press, 1994. Pp. xii+333. £39.50.

Ethiopia in Change: peasantry, nationalism and democracy edited by Abebe Zegeye and Siegfried Pausewang London, British Academic Press, 1994. Pp. xii+333. £39.50.

Denis MacEoin, Rituals in Babism and Bahaʾism, Pembroke Persian Papers, Vol. 2, published in association with the Centre of Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge (London: British Academic Press, 1994). Pp. 204.

Denis MacEoin, Rituals in Babism and Bahaʾism, Pembroke Persian Papers, Vol. 2, published in association with the Centre of Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge (London: British Academic Press, 1994). Pp. 204. - Volume 28 Issue 3