Historical Tradition Research Articles

Is God evolving? Totems in contemporary art

This article explores the evolution of totemic symbolism in contemporary visual art and its profound link with religious concepts, particularly the image of God. It examines how artists reinterpret sacred themes through totems, reflecting both historical religious traditions and modern societal transformations. Through a review of totemic representations from ancient to contemporary artworks, this study illuminates the evolving portrayal of divine figures – from traditional religious icons to more personalised spiritual symbols. This evolution not only signifies changes in artistic expression but also suggests a deepening societal understanding of divinity. The analysis highlights the totem’s role as a mediator between the human and the divine, offering insights into the spiritual connections that transcend conventional religious frameworks. This research not only enriches the discourse on the relationship between art and religion but also underscores the dynamic interaction between cultural heritage and contemporary artistic exploration.Contribution: This study enriches the field of art history and religious studies by tracing the transformative representation of totems in art from ancient symbolism to modern reinterpretations. It underscores the totem’s role as a dynamic symbol in contemporary visual culture, facilitating deeper spiritual connections and dialogues across various cultural and religious landscapes. The findings of this study provide a nuanced understanding of how contemporary art mediates complex theological concepts, thus offering new perspectives on the intersection of art, religion and spirituality.

Research on Regional Culture-enabled Ceramic-based Cultural and Creative Product Design

Regional culture is of great significance to the design of cultural and creative products. Regional cultural elements empower product design, on the one hand, they can promote the inheritance and innovative development of regional culture; on the other hand, they can design cultural and creative products with both historical and cultural traditions and in line with modern aesthetics. Currently, cultural and creative products are hot, but not many ceramic cultural and creative products are practical, artistic and cultural at the same time. Therefore, this paper explores the combination of regional culture and ceramic cultural and creative product design, and explores how regional culture can empower ceramic cultural and creative product design through the literature research method and case analysis method. What is more, it also puts forward the current problems including design homogenisation and lack of cultural connotation and practicality in the design of ceramic cultural and creative products, and puts forward coping strategies to further improve the regional cultural characteristics of ceramic cultural and creative product design, like the introduction of design talent, according to the group demand for design optimization.

Legacy and Traditions: Florence Nightingale, the Lamp Lighting Ceremony, the Nursing Pledge and Students Perceptive

The lamp lighting ceremony in nursing symbolizes the transition of nursing students into the professional realm, drawing inspiration from the legacy of Florence Nightingale, the pioneer of modern nursing. Rooted in deep symbolism, the ceremony incorporates the lighting of a lamp, reminiscent of Nightingale's iconic role as "the lady with the lamp." This act signifies enlightenment, the removal of ignorance, and a commitment to a lasting wealth of wisdom. As nursing students embark on their professional journey, the ceremony serves as a formal declaration of their entry into the nursing profession, marking the culmination of education and training. Unique to nursing, the ceremony fosters a sense of community, professional identity, and pride among students. It instills inspiration, motivation, and a reflective stance on values, connecting students to the historical roots and traditions of nursing. With a focus on the positive impact nurses can have on patients' lives, the lamp lighting ceremony becomes a memorable and impactful milestone in the educational and professional journey of nursing students.

The 6 Whats Coaching Model: A Practical Guide to Structuring Professional Coaching Conversations

Coaching practice, which occurs largely in organizational contexts, has traditionally been seen as forward-looking dialogue that moves clients from intentions to goal attainment. Extensive research can be found attesting to the value of coaching experiences for personal and professional development. Yet, with exponential growth in this field, what is represented as coaching may take a wide variety of forms,  thereby obscuring and problematizing what the nature of professional coaching is, especially as articulated by professional coaching organizations. As well, with such diversity in coaching approaches, how can organizations fully appreciate what they are inviting into their environment when they choose to employ coaching as an HRD strategy? The 6 whats model aims to recenter awareness on the essential elements of a coaching conversation in order that the coherence of coaching practice is more consistent and that practice boundaries for this relatively new profession can be reaffirmed. It builds upon historical traditions within the coaching field and articulates the core elements of coaching conversations that are required so that coaching relationships remain within their legitimate domain of professional endeavor.

Re-reading on the Conversion and Caste Supremacy among the Dalit Christians in Kerala

Religious conversion played a considerable change in the socio-religious life of Kerala, especially among the indigenous communities. The socio-religious upheaval movement was one of the landmarks in the history of Kerala during the 19th century. During this period, there was a considerable transformation in the socio-economic life in Kerala affected by the ‘civilizing mission’ of the protestant missionaries in the physical life of the natives, such as social, economic, political, educational, and cultural life. For that purpose, they used the tools of modernity, like fashion, food, rituals, beliefs, etc. It cannot be neglected that the missionaries in the 19th century played a notable role in the society. But we cannot read the history of Indigenous people regardless of the history produced by culture, politics, religion, and values. Conversion is a strong historical tradition that treats Christianity as an offshoot of colonialism. In the Indian context, Christianity is an integral part of the socio-cultural history of the nation, rather than as people are separated from it. During this period witnessed tremendous changes in almost all fields of socio-economic life. That is why historians considered, the 19th century as the decisive period as far as Indian history is concerned. These changes were visible in the traditional life of the native Dalit peoples and were mainly brought about by the colonial impact. The backward Christians, under the dominance of the ruling majority and the economic dominance of them, could not develop a proper ideology. There is an opinion that Dalit conversion was peripheral and one-sided. That is, it happened under the influence of British hegemony and missionary influence. Religious conversion gave the slave society a kind of religious unity. But it could not completely develop freedom. Today Christian congregations face the struggle for democratization.

The Research on “Shandong Image” and “Shandong Imagination” in Contemporary Film and Television Works

The “Shandong Image” and “Shandong Imagination” in contemporary film and television works not only reflect the profound heritage of regional culture, but also reflect the inheritance and innovation of regional culture. Shandong people are often portrayed as upright, forthright and indomitable in film and television works. These characteristics come from Shandong’s profound cultural heritage and historical tradition. With the development of society and the diversification of culture, the image of Shandong people also shows a more diversified trend in film and television works. The “Shandong Image” and “Shandong Imagination” have both traditional positive images and more complex and multi-faceted role shaping. The contemporary film and television works have shaped the “Shandong Image” and “Shandong Imagination” through the construction of geographical space, the portrayal of dialect characters, the rendering of historical background, local folk customs, regional culture labels, etc. These works reconstruct the “other” image based on the perception of Shandong cultural image. These “Shandong Image” and “Shandong Imagination” form the collective imagination with Shandong cultural characteristics and build the cultural identity of Shandong people.

Mandela and MK: situating South African history in the Black Radical Tradition

Mandela and MK: situating South African history in the Black Radical Tradition

Ngumpul Dingsanak Sebuah Tradisi Pra Pernikahan Di Desa Keban Agung Kecamatan Lawang Kidul Kabupaten Muara Enim

This research is entitled The Value of Local Wisdom in the Pre-Wedding Dingsanak Gathering Tradition in Keban Agung Village, Lawang Kidul District, Muara Enim Regency. This research aims to find out how the process and implementation of the Dingsanak gathering alms tradition and its implementation in Keban Agung Village, Lawang Kidul District, Muara Enim Regency and the values contained in the dingsanak gathering tradition in Keban Agung village, Lawang Kidul subdistrict, Muara Enim district. The results of this research are the history of the dingsanak gathering tradition, local wisdom values in the dingsanak gathering tradition, namely: religious values, mutual cooperation values, harmony values, cultural values, and responsibility values, time and process of implementing the dingsanak gathering tradition, tools and materials to make a typical food gathering dingsanak, the Islamic values contained in the gathering dingsanak tradition are: Aqidah values, worship values and moral values.

Emotional palette: a computational mapping of aesthetic experiences evoked by visual art

Despite the evolutionary history and cultural significance of visual art, the structure of aesthetic experiences it evokes has only attracted recent scientific attention. What kinds of experience does visual art evoke? Guided by Semantic Space Theory, we identify the concepts that most precisely describe people’s aesthetic experiences using new computational techniques. Participants viewed 1457 artworks sampled from diverse cultural and historical traditions and reported on the emotions they felt and their perceived artwork qualities. Results show that aesthetic experiences are high-dimensional, comprising 25 categories of feeling states. Extending well beyond hedonism and broad evaluative judgments (e.g., pleasant/unpleasant), aesthetic experiences involve emotions of daily social living (e.g., “sad”, “joy”), the imagination (e.g., “psychedelic”, “mysterious”), profundity (e.g., “disgust”, “awe”), and perceptual qualities attributed to the artwork (e.g., “whimsical”, “disorienting”). Aesthetic emotions and perceptual qualities jointly predict viewers’ liking of the artworks, indicating that we conceptualize aesthetic experiences in terms of the emotions we feel but also the qualities we perceive in the artwork. Aesthetic experiences are often mixed and lie along continuous gradients between categories rather than within discrete clusters. Our collection of artworks is visualized within an interactive map (https://barradeau.com/2021/emotions-map/), revealing the high-dimensional space of aesthetic experiences associated with visual art.

Review and Reflection on Individualism

Individualism is the core value of the western world, which is rooted in the western culture and philosophy and possesses a long history. Individualism guides people’s thought and life, reflecting the spiritual outlook of the people in the western world. The values of individualism and the Eastern world are rooted in different historical and cultural traditions, and there are differences in their value connotations. This paper reviews the concept of individualism from the perspective of its origin, development process, rationality and limitations, so as to enhance the understanding of the individualism. And then the paper goes on to the discussion of the measures in dealing with the impact of western individualism by the promotion of community values in the new era and the construction and development of socialist core value system. It is hoped that this paper may provide reflections on the interactions between the collectivism and individualism.

The Organisation of Women of Asian and African Descent, Prostitution and Pornography: The British Black Women’s Movement and Sex Work, 1970s-1980s

In recent years there have been some noteworthy attempts to remedy scholarly silences on the Black women’s movement. The issue of sex work, however, is only mentioned in passing despite the so-called ‘sex wars’ preoccupying the white feminist scene at this time. Grappling with the methodological issue of silence on multiple interconnected levels, this this article attempts to fill this gap by interrogating how, and indeed whether, activists in the Organisation of Women of Asian and African Descent (OWAAD) approached issues of sex work. It asks why these activists rejected the interpretation of sex work as work taken by their contemporaries in the sex workers’ rights movement. It firstly proposes that Black woman activists made a conscious decision to remain silent on issues of commercial sex, dismissing prostitution, alongside other issues of sexuality, as the ‘luxury’ preserve of white middle-class feminists that were distinct from, rather than integral to, Black women’s ‘survival’. Piecing together activists’ increasing but piecemeal discussions of pornography from the early-mid 1980s, the second section of this article demonstrates how activists analysed pornography and prostitution as part of a historical tradition of the sexual exploitation of Black women. In doing so, it proposes that their approach to commercial sex was fraught with contradiction – they viewed prostitution, an issue with real-life implications, in symbolic terms. Overall, it argues that Black woman activists to turned a blind eye to the tangible implications of prostitution legislation for Black women as they navigated tensions and challenges around post-war British racism, respectability politics and the gendered legacy of colonialism. Together with work on the experiences of lesbian women, it raises questions about which women were welcome in the movement, reminding us of the need to push scholarship on Black women’s history beyond the act of recovery.

Exploring the Legacy of Tibetan Mapmaking

At the 2019 International Conference on the History of Cartography (ICHC) in Amsterdam, the map historian Peter Barber stated in his ground-breaking keynote speech that ‘with a few exceptions, the emphasis in the traditional history of cartography [before 1980s] was on European mapping. In the age of European empires, it was assumed that, on grounds of technological skill as well as cultural superiority, European map making set the standard and that indigenous mapping in other parts of the world, with the partial exceptions of the medieval Arab world and China, was ipso facto inferior and hardly worth consideration.’ In recent decades the approach to the study of maps has changed and the field has been transformed. Researchers from different academic backgrounds have discovered the relevance of maps to their disciplines, and the primacy of the essentially European concepts of scale and accuracy as the sole criteria for assessing the quality of maps has been questioned. Finally, non-European indigenous mapping has been brought into the field. This paper makes a significant contribution to this development by presenting an important collection of Tibetan maps, namely those of the Harrer Collection held at the Ethnographic Museum at the University of Zurich, probably the largest corpus of Tibetan geographic regional maps outside of Tibet. For the first time, we show the entire set of maps and describe their cartographic characteristics. We also provide the Tibetan spelling, transliteration and translations for the numerous Tibetan inscriptions and explanations. We have endeavoured to study the maps using a comprehensive approach, and we discuss what we can learn from them in various respects: the human and geographic landscapes they show; their makers; the role they might have played within the historical context and the society in which they were produced; their circulation; and their role as historical sources.

THE INFLUENCE OF CULTURE AND HERITAGE ON ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN

Institute of Najaf Technical,Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University, Al-Najaf 31001, IraqCultural and historical settings play a significant role in shaping architectural design. This article delves into the relationship between cultural heritage, architecture, and cultural narratives, looking at how physical environments reflect and shape social practices, historical traditions, and cultural practices. The study emphasizes how architects integrate indigenous materials, cultural symbols, and historical allusions into their designs by comparing and contrasting diverse architectural styles and movements across different areas and eras. A hybrid architectural language incorporating multiple cultural aspects is also addressed in the article, delving into the impact of globalization in this regard. Modern design approaches emphasize cultural sustainability and heritage protection, as seen in case studies from the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia, demonstrating the interconnected nature of culture, history, and architecture. To promote a more sophisticated and context-sensitive method of design that pays tribute to and breathes new life into cultural heritage, the results stress the significance of cultural literacy in architectural training and practice.

Humorous methodologies for African geographies: refusing deficit- and damage-centered research

ABSTRACT An experimental workshop brought together 20 stand-up comedians, environmental advocates, artists, researchers, and professors in Yaoundé, Cameroon on 27 and 28 March 2023. Building upon historical traditions of les griots and the popularity of contemporary comedic oration in Cameroon, our collaborative and interactive workshop centered efforts to move beyond dominant and colonial formulas to think creatively about the potentials, limitations, and logistics of humor as a methodological orientation. In this coauthored reflection, we build on the emergent insights generated during our workshop and propose future directions for social scientists and geographers keen to mobilize humor in their intellectual projects. We consider (a) the relations between humor and socio-political and socio-ecological dynamics (including in political contexts of authoritarianism); (b) the need to ground an academic methodology of humor in nuanced and place-based knowledges; and (c) the possibilities and dangers of humor in a wider intellectual praxis seeking to decenter and deprivilege power in research relations and to motivate certain forms of self-critique during research. More broadly, we argue that humor might contribute in the larger ongoing project of moving African geographical scholarship toward practices of creativity, experimentation, and joy beyond ‘damage-centered, deficit-centered, and extractive academic approaches.

IMPACT OF POLITICAL CULTURE ON THE POLICY-MAKING PROCESS: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM AND TÜRKIYE

Questioning the codes, sociological tendencies, fields of social conflict/ harmony of a country’s political culture is essential in identifying the problems of that country’s political, social, and human life. All these parameters, such as determining values, symbols, and tendencies in political culture, directly or indirectly affect the policy-making process of countries. This study focuses on the effects of political culture on policy making in the United Kingdom (UK) and Türkiye, trying to understand the differences and similarities in this area and includes extensive comparative analysis. The main problem of this research is whether phenomena can be transferred from the UK to Türkiye in terms of political culture to solve political and social issues in Türkiye. The hypothesis derived from this research question is that Türkiye’s political culture and institutions have been politicized as a historical tradition, especially in recent years. In this context, the study aims to contribute to an under-researched area of comparative political science and literature by providing insights into the political dynamics of Türkiye and the UK. The study’s methodology and explanations of the literature on political culture, integrated with analyses of selected cases, provide a framework for understanding and comparing Türkiye’s political culture with that of the UK. These efforts can be seen as an insufficient but essential step towards solving the problems of Türkiye’s political culture.

Japanese Philosophy as the Result of History of the National Spiritual Tradition

This article explores the essence of Japanese philosophy, which has evolved through the convergence of various intellectual traditions, including Shintoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. These spiritual foundations have deeply influenced Japanese self-perceptions, societal relations, and governance structures. Employing a dialectical method combined with the principle of complementarity, this study examined the development of Japanese philosophy, particularly during the Meiji (1868-1912) and Taisho (1912-1925) periods, highlighting the integration of Western philosophical ideas. Key contributions from thinkers such as Nishida Kitaro, who sought to merge Western concepts with Eastern traditions, are discussed. This study also emphasizes the importance of traditional Japanese arts and bodily synthesis in shaping philosophical thought. The unique ability of Japanese philosophy to adapt and transform diverse intellectual traditions is a central theme, illustrating its capacity to generate new meanings and approaches. The continuous influence of medieval categories and modern developments showcases a holistic approach that integrates both old and new perspectives. This adaptability is crucial in addressing contemporary issues such as the interaction between information culture and historical spiritual traditions. The study concludes that the flexibility and integrative nature of Japanese philosophy, exemplified by figures such as Nishida Kitaro and Imamichi Tomonobu, remain vital for contemporary philosophical discourse.

Rescue of the historical-cultural heritage of the Yanesha: interculturality and inclusive education of the oral traditions

Interculturality based on customs, dialects, historical, linguistic and oral traditions are essential for the construction of a just, inclusive and equitable society. Hence the importance of the diverse participation of children from original families who through their own expressions exercise their learning of citizenship in schools, which is usable from an early age and also based on sharing these through their parents with the aim of settling in the child. However, there has been little progress in practical experience of this inclusion and reassessment at the pedagogical level. This article sought to open reflective spaces and deliberation about the importance of oral traditions within the rescue of the historical cultural heritage of the Yanesha under an intercultural approach and inclusive education. The research was carried out in a case study of ethnographic methods carried out throughout the academic year 2019-2020, which hovers over participatory observation, unstructured interviews and documentary analysis, taking into consideration 5 oral traditions narrated by Ayllu parents of the Yanesha people of the Hauswald Initial Educational Institution. The results indicated that it is possible to establish actions focused on oral traditions to favor the teaching of values and nurture cultural inclusion in the children of the institution. Thus, the inescapable attention to interculturality from an external level of the Initial Educational Institution Hauswald is an enriching opportunity for established educational trends that value diversity, especially for being in a country diverse in culture, language and ethnicity and because it is one of the competencies of future generations

Digital construction

The traditional linear narrative of historical concepts is currently facing significant challenges and is being partially supplanted by digital media. Historical games hold immense educational potential, offering a unique digital space that compensates for the shortcomings of traditional history education. Their value lies in open narratives, situational immersion, experiential learning, and the ability to contextualize historical events through avatars. Moreover, well-designed games align with principles of effective learning, enabling seamless integration with classroom education.

Assessment of Ornamentation as a Cultural Identity of Mosques in Lagos State, Nigeria

Nigeria's distinctive indigenous architecture is influenced by many historical traditions. The mosque, as the community's principal place of prayer, stands out as a unique architectural style. This research aims to investigate and evaluate the role of ornamentation in mosques throughout Lagos State as a significant element of cultural identity. By analyzing the intricate decorative elements, this study illustrates the various cultural influences shaping these sacred spaces. Focusing on select mosques in Lagos, this work highlights the architectural evolution and its contribution to defining cultural identity in the region.

Misadventure in Little Lon: augmented reality and the question of historical ’presence’

ABSTRACT True Crime Games is an award winning Melbourne-based game company headed by artist and designers Andy Yong and Emma Ramsay. This paper explores the first of their games–Misadventure in Little Lon – a case study that brings to light local histories that have been lost, elided or marginalized in traditional accounts of Melbourne and its development around the time of Federation. Drawing upon the phenomenology of Vivian Sobchack and the microhistory of Carlo Ginzburg, the article argues that implementing AR in historically driven game contexts allows for an improved grasp of the microhistory of a specific area. It does this by bringing the agency to the ‘ghost in the machine’ –characters in the AR game who enable players to resituate themselves and reorientate themselves to city streets through game play. This method of resituating historical sources so that players discover ‘opaque zones’, new ways of viewing located history that encourages reading ‘against the grain’ , is coincidental with important archaeological work that has been undertaken in the Little Lon district of Melbourne. Misadventure in Little Lon therefore joins a larger effort to reveal, circulate and celebrate the communities, individuals, and stories that traditional histories have ignored.