Contemporary Social Research Articles

The Impact of Comprehending Islamic and Social Humanities Materials on Students' Perspectives on Resolving Contemporary Social Problems

This study aims to analyze the effect of understanding Islamic and Social Humanities material on student perceptions in addressing contemporary social issues in Indonesia. Using a mixed method approach, this study involved 100 2nd semester students of the Constitutional Law study program at UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta who were selected through the random sampling method. Data were collected through attitude scales, questionnaires, interviews, and documentation, and analyzed using descriptive tests, normality tests, linear tests, and hypothesis testing with regression analysis. The results showed a positive relationship between understanding Islamic and social humanities courses and students' perceptions of contemporary social issues. The correlation is based on a significance value of 0.000 <0.05 and a coefficient of determination (R Square) of 0.585. So this study reveals that the understanding of Islamic and Social Humanities material explains 58% of the variability of student perceptions in addressing contemporary social issues. Students who have an open and critical attitude towards social issues show a good understanding of the course. The process of student understanding develops through several stages, ranging from initial knowledge to the development of complex new ideas. The role of lecturers in providing space for discussion, reflection, and open dialog is very important in facilitating a critical and holistic understanding of contemporary social issues in the context of Islam and the social humanities. Keywords: Islam and Social Humanities, Contemporary Social Issues, Understanding, Perception

From Lenin To Leninism

In “From Lenin to Leninism,” Osvaldo Coggiola examines the evolution of Lenin's influence on the 20th century, as recognized by Eric Hobsbawm. Lenin's leadership during the October Revolution and the subsequent establishment of the Soviet state left an indelible mark on global history. This paper traces the transformation of Lenin's ideas into “Leninism,” a doctrine formalized posthumously, which became a foundation for the international communist movement. Coggiola highlights the contrast between Lenin's practical approach to revolutionary strategy and the rigid, bureaucratic interpretation that Stalin later imposed. The analysis delves into Lenin's theoretical contributions, particularly his views on the agrarian question and the proletarian revolution, while critiquing the subsequent misappropriation and mythologization of his legacy. This historical re-examination underscores Lenin's complex legacy and its implications for contemporary socialist thought and practice

Transformation of Humanities Education in Facing Contemporary Social Challenges

In the era of rapid globalization and modernization, humanities education faces significant challenges in responding to contemporary social changes. This article explores the transformations needed in humanities education to remain relevant and effective in the context of an ever-evolving society. This research aims to identify the main issues faced by humanities education as well as to formulate strategies and approaches that can be adopted to overcome these challenges. The method used in this study is qualitative, with a literature study and library research approach. Data were collected through an in-depth study of various academic sources, articles, and books relevant to this topic. The results show that humanities education needs to adapt its curriculum and teaching methods to respond to contemporary issues such as technological change, globalization, and increasingly complex social dynamics. The adjustments include the integration between traditional knowledge and modern skills, as well as an increased focus on critical and analytical skills. This article provides important insights into how humanities education can transform to meet today's societal needs, as well as offers recommendations for educational policies and practices that are more responsive to changing times.

Analysis of the Realistic Impact of the Explosion of Artificial Intelligence Application on Contemporary Social, Economic and Cultural Development

With the rapid development of science and technology, artificial intelligence (AI), as an emerging and extremely subversive technological force, is penetrating into every corner of the social economy at an unprecedented speed, and has had a profound and extensive impact on contemporary social, economic and cultural development. This paper aims to comprehensively analyze the social, economic and cultural changes brought about by the explosion of artificial intelligence application, deeply discuss the opportunities created and challenges faced by it, and propose practical countermeasures on this basis, in order to provide reference and inspiration for decision-makers, researchers and practitioners in related fields.

The Prophetic Voice of Amos on Contemporary Social Justice, written by Patrick Kofi Amissah

The Prophetic Voice of Amos on Contemporary Social Justice, written by Patrick Kofi Amissah

Abstraction, Conceptualization, Disambiguation, Ideation, Innovation, Objectivization, Quantification, and Theorization in the Social Sciences: New Pillars for Contemporary Social Sciences Research

In many of our previous papers published over the years, we had developed and propounded concepts such as fuzzy logic, the theory of paradoxes, the certainty uncertainty principle for the social sciences, innovative methods for the social sciences, and had also explained the importance of inductive approaches, grounded theory, and nomothetic rule building. We had also stated the importance of practicalism as a core component of the philosophy of science. In this paper, we state the importance of abstraction, conceptualization, ideation, innovation, quantification, theorization, objectivization and disambiguation in the social sciences, and explain all of these concepts in detail. We also refer to them as the “pillars of social sciences research methods and techniques”, or “the guiding principles or the guiding forces in the use or employment of social science research methods and techniques, and social science research activity”. These approaches are necessary because social sciences research is mostly qualitative; these techniques could impart quality and objectivity to social science research in a way that other techniques cannot. These are different from the philosophy of science or the philosophy of social science, and these we anticipate would guide and drive much of social science research enterprise in the twenty-first century and beyond. These are also foundationally different from the objectives of social science research, examples of which could be cultural emancipation, inculcation of a scientific temper, etc. Needless to say, these can be gainfully employed in the non social sciences as well, though this is not our primary focus and emphasis here.

From Medieval Religious Pageantry to Contemporary Social Messaging: The Medieval Cycle Plays in Honduras’ Teatro La Fragua

Using medieval religious drama as a model, Honduras’ Teatro La Fragua has developed a Gospel dramatization program that both reflects the practices of medieval theater in style and expresses the issues of a modern-day world in message. Their vernacular cycle plays are performed in public spaces by local people, written by and for the community, and staged in the streets and public spaces for ordinary people in both urban and remote rural areas. Medieval vernacular drama thus maintains an enduring stylistic presence in a modern-day counterpart as it underscores the Gospel’s message of inclusion, equity, and diversity while incorporating elements of agency and native culture.

Components of Contemporary Social Work Education and Practice

Components of Contemporary Social Work Education and Practice

Pedagogical Innovation with Sense? A Seminal Experiment of Service-Learning in Gerontological Social Work

Higher education institutions have been investing in teachers’ professional development and pedagogical innovation, on the one hand, aiming to promote the quality of institutions and, on the other hand, aiming to promote students’ personal and academic development. One of the methodologies that has received particular attention is service-learning, which aims to promote students’ learning by providing a service to vulnerable community groups. In this study, we aim to present the results of the application of this methodology in a fourth-year social work course. To this end, a mixed-methods study was conducted with 10 students in the Contemporary Social Work III course using the service-learning methodology. Students experienced between 15 and 30 h of service-learning, most of them for 7 weeks or more in an elder care institution, with varied activities such as social consulting and home visits. When we tried to understand the students’ perceived impact, we found higher mean scores in the post-test, with statistically significant differences on several dimensions, particularly self-confidence, problem solving, adaptability and flexibility, dealing with diversity and multiculturalism, understanding complex social issues, and a sense of purpose and life. These data are aligned with the qualitative analysis, which identified six themes such as the integration of practice and theory, development of skills, positive impact on academic training, valuing practical experience, reflective and meaningful learning, and support and guidance. The results highlight the value of pedagogical innovation for students’ skills, especially when it is aligned with the identity and mission of the institution and the values of the study program.

Socialized into depression – toward a social phenomenological psychopathology

ABSTRACT The article aims at expanding the horizon of phenomenological psychopathology of depression from a social theoretical perspective. Based on Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenological ontology, in the first section, depression is reinterpreted as a disruption of chiasm: it is not merely the illness of the body, the disorder of the mind, or a specific form of social suffering, but the interrelated distortion of time consciousness, agency, and interaffectivity. The phenomenological clarification of these components provides opportunity for connecting sociological and psychopathological insight. In the second part, contemporary critical theories of acceleration, globalization, biopolitics, and system colonization are reinterpreted to highlight the structural and cultural context of late modern time consciousness, agency, and interaffectivity. In the third section, it is analyzed, how these social constituents shape the space of contemporary socialization processes, including the emergence of those intersubjective distortions, which potentially affect the entirety of chiasm in a depressive way. In the final section, the conclusions for therapy are explored, including the potentials for expanding the epistemological, substantive, and emancipatory horizon of phenomenological psychopathology.

Applied Ethics and Contemporary Social Philosophy

Applied Ethics and Contemporary Social Philosophy

Ilektra Apostolou: A Greek female resistance fighter and a heroine of the left

The Greek resistance fighter Ilektra Apostolou was executed on 26 July 1944, by the collaborationist security forces in Greece during the Second World War. Apostolou was a member of Kommounistiko Komma Ellados (KKE, Communist Party of Greece) and of Eniaia Panneladiki Organosi Newn (EPON, United Panhellenic Organisation of Youth), and was involved in pre-war antifascist action. During the resistance, she tried to pass on the mentality she had developed from this early involvement to young women in EPON and Lefteri Nea (LT, Free Young Woman): that women would be liberated only by actively participating in social struggles. Her biography is examined with a critical eye, taking into consideration that it was largely written after the war. This means that it not only provides a factual representation of Apostolou: it also functions as a lieu de memoire, a site of memory. The politics of memory influences how her biography is constructed. The second part focuses on the memorialisation of Apostolou, examining it through the lens of intersectionality. Identity criteria – such as gender, race, age and political identification – and the changing relative significance attributed to them are important both for shaping and understanding, memorialisa- tion processes. An intersectional approach seeks to reveal the hidden dimensions behind the memorialisation process. The last part focuses on Apostolou's post-war legacy and explores how her memorialisation was intertwined with political developments from 1944 to the present, with a particular focus on the contestation over Apostolou's memory between the right and the left at various points in modern Greek history. The article draws on a combination of secondary and primary sources, the main primary sources being those found in the Educational Centre of Charilaos Florakis (Archive of the Greek Communist Party) and the Contemporary Social History Archives (ASKI).

Saint Poetry and Contemporary Social Awareness

In today's Indian society, hysteria, hatred, malice and communal prejudices and narrow-mindedness are prevalent due to people doing vote politics in the name of religion and caste. At such times, it becomes necessary to remember the saints and the supreme leader of saints, Kabir. The time when Kabir appeared was an era of transition and upheaval.

What Social Workers Need to Know about Muslims: An Analysis of the Contemporary Social Work Scholarship.

This article analyzes peer-reviewed English-language social work scholarship on Islam and Muslims published between 2011 and 2021. Of these 127 articles, 70 journal venues are represented, and first authors are primarily American (44 percent), followed by British (15 percent) and Canadian (11 percent). A total of 70 journals published studies analyzing data related to Muslims/Islam and social work, with 46 consisting of only one publication between 2011 and 2021. A total of 13 of these journals had a SCImago Journal Rank indicator of over 0.5, and three with rankings over 1.0. The volume of publications was high in 2015 and 2020, in particular. Major themes include faith-aligned and strengths-based approaches, the importance of mosques in the lives of Muslims, the relevance of the hijab in the lives of Muslim women, and the prevalence and impact of sociopolitical stereotypes. The conclusion calls for still greater culturally respectful approaches to the profession that include Islam and Muslim individuals/communities and ensuring that ethics and practice/research continue to evolve in ways that are culturally relevant to diverse communities.

Current Social Studies Learning: Technology-Based Learning Media for Character Education

Technology-based learning mediums should include character education to ensure that students' character and technical and academic skills are built. Character education in technology-based learning media will improve students' learning experiences, promote a holistic understanding, and produce a moral generation. This article focuses on optimizing the use of technology-based learning media as a contemporary learning tool for professional social studies teachers, its use in implementing student character education, and its role and challenges in using it. This qualitative descriptive employs a literature study to gather academic data on "Optimal Utilisation of Technology-Based Learning Media in Contemporary Social Sciences Education for Character Development Towards Society 5.0." Scopus-indexed 2013–2023 academic publications were used for the literature analysis. This study technique synthesizes and analyses literature to determine how technology-based learning media are employed in character education in current social studies education and how to prepare students for society. 5.0. This research examines how professional social studies teachers advance national education, how technology-based learning media can create a character-based, moral, and culturally rich educational environment that maintains and expands local cultural wisdom in students' character education, and how professional social studies instructors use technology-based learning media to develop students. Full discussion in this article. Teacher information and technology literacy are needed to implement technology-based learning and address social issues. 5.0. Instilling active, creative, inventive, and critical thinkers requires a learner-centered strategy and effective instruction.

Bezrobocie jako współczesna kwestia społeczna – wybrane aspekty socjologiczne i ekonomiczne

Bezrobocie jako współczesna kwestia społeczna – wybrane aspekty socjologiczne i ekonomiczne

Drinking from a Full Cup: Race, Racism, and Discrimination in Contemporary Social Psychological Research

Drinking from a Full Cup: Race, Racism, and Discrimination in Contemporary Social Psychological Research

Counter-Mapping for Resistance and Cultivation of Counter-Memory: Contemporary Social Life of Some Historical Nagorno Karabakh Maps

Counter-Mapping for Resistance and Cultivation of Counter-Memory: Contemporary Social Life of Some Historical Nagorno Karabakh Maps

THE SECULAR STATE: THE VIETNAMESE EXPERIENCE

In state atheism, the issue of secularism is frequently deemed a matter not of “separating religion from the state”, but “separating religion from society” or “rejecting religion from society”. Case studies help in effectively evaluating the extent to which this philosophy can be realized. In this regard, the present article is about a case study on the construction of the secular state in contemporary socialist Vietnamese society. The article is mainly based on the provisions of Vietnam’s legal documents on belief and religion. Analyses of Vietnamese, Russian, and Western scholars on the atheistic state and the secular state have been duly conducted. In addition, the placement of state-religious relations within the cultural framework has created opportunities for studying, visualizing, and illustrating the secular state in its various aspects and in a detailed manner. The author has adopted socio-cultural approaches, which employs logical, historical and legal research methods to analyse, synthesize, compare and clarify the following three issues: (1) the formation and transformation of the secular state in Vietnam; (2) the relationship between the atheistic state and the secular state in Vietnam; and (3) solutions to the problems posed by state secularism in the country. The results indicate that from its establishment in 1945 to the present day, the socialist state in Vietnam has issued legal documents aimed at building a “cooperation” model of a secular state. The model faced certain challenges from 1960 to 1980 due to the influence of other socialist countries, but since the 1986 reform of Vietnam it has increasingly evolved characteristics of a “cooperation” model, which has contributed remarkably in resolving the issue of conflict between the atheist state and the secular state. The harmony between the two types of state, the secular and theatheistic in Vietnam is related to the traditional and cultural elements of Vietnamese society. The cooperation model of a secular state is regarded as the key to building state-religious relations in Vietnam, while a culture of tolerance is fundamental to its construction.

Notes from the Editors, July-August 2023

buy this issueWriting at the end of the nineteenth century, Frederick Engels foresaw that without disarmament, Europe would soon be plunged into war. Modern weaponry has made the question of disarmament even more urgent. In this month's "Notes from the Editors," the editors put forward the objectives for a contemporary socialist disarmament strategy.