Ideological Front Research Articles

Self-transcendence: Design Criticism in the 1928 Shanghai Exhibition of National Products

Abstract After establishing the Shanghai port in 1843, Western machine-made products inundated the Chinese consumer market, disrupting the local Chinese economic system. To foster the advancement of national industries, the Nanking nationalist government held the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Labour’s Exhibition of National Products in 1928, providing a platform for public discourse on the design of national products. This article analyses the progression of three representative types of early design criticism that emerged from the Exhibition of National Products. These criticisms examined the design’s economic benefits, responsiveness to cultural needs, and influence on shaping social consensus. Their progressive development can be characterized as a form of self-transcendence, indicating a move by critics beyond past limited understandings of the value, sphere of influence, and design’s role in society. Their focus transitioned from the economic interests of minorities to the diverse needs of broader social groups. In the process of self-transcendence, these design criticisms expanded the horizons of designers’ work. They facilitated collaborations between design and various industries, including production, consumption, and education, influencing broader socioeconomic and ideological fronts.

On the Christhood of Literature. Pretexts and Subtexts of Reflexivity.

After the end of the Second World War, concurrently with the massive arrests of intellectuals, the imposition of false notions and generally valid atheistic behavior, literature--and especially Romanian prose--faced a harsh ideological regulation, being given "major objectives" of combating the bourgeois-landlord scourge, on the one hand, and glorifying the unshakable alliance between the worker and the Soviet farm-worker on the other. Any deviation was severely rebuked from the very beginning, the literary censorship and political propagandists of the proletarian ideology would despotically control every sketch, story, short story, novel (alongside with their authors). Under such conditions, the theorization of the narrative model of the prose writer Fănuș Neagu can outline a critical synthesis image of the entire Romanian post-war prose--or of a spectrum as wide as possible--the lasting element of which is lyricism, as the main feature of the Romanian novel of that period, an epic species nourished artistically from the balladesque tradition of the folk literature, on the one hand, and from the "taking over" from and "fitting" to the narrative techniques of European literature, especially the French one as well. The rise in Romanian literature of Fănuş Neagu symbolized the "necessary adjustment" (Eugen Simion), the illustrious revenge in front of the totalitarian stigma, just as the debut of Ion Druţă in the ankylosing landscape of Bessarabian literature meant the proof of firm qualities of deep renewal of the undisguised epic, definitively abandoning the straitjacket of communist ideology. Fănuş Neagu, as Ion Druță, abolished the "ideological front", "unslaved" the post-war prose and removed the rigid dogmatic barriers.

Christian statesmanship as a panacea for social policy constraints on differing political ideological fronts

Christian statesmanship as a panacea for social policy constraints on differing political ideological fronts

The Changing Landscape of Medieval Chinese Customs: Focusing on Sitting Positions

Abstract From the Wei-Jin through Tang-Song periods, social structures and customs in China underwent great change. In the case of sitting positions, these periods saw a shift from the “floor-sitting era” prior to the Qin to the “era of raised sitting” following the Tang and Song dynasties. In the interim, there was a period where the seated squat (juzuo 踞坐) made an appearance. This position is depicted in the “Man seated on foreign stool” detail of the scroll painting, Bei Qi jiaoshu tu 北齊校 書圖. During the Liu Song dynasty, monks at the Qihuan Temple ate in a seated squat and were vehemently lambasted by scholar-officials led by Fan Tai, instigating political debate around the sitting position. From a Confucian point of view, sitting positions are divided into two categories based on whether the calves or the bottoms of one’s feet touch the ground: the first includes kneeling, the sitting kneel, and the lotus positions, while the second includes squatting, sitting with legs outstretched, and the seated squat positions. Shifts in sitting positions reflect not only subtle changes taking place across various aspects of Chinese social customs and daily life, but also structural change on a systemic level. On the ideological front, obscure learning of the Wei and Jin dynasties exposed abuses of Confucian ethics. Compounded with the onslaught of foreign cultural influences such as Buddhism, it is no wonder, in this context of great historical upheaval, that efforts to preserve Confucianism would end in failure.

FORMATION OF NATIONAL VALUES OF FUTURE TEACHERS

The article examines the theoretical foundations of the formation of national values of future teachers in the conditions of martial law. The purpose of the article is the disclosure of the peculiarities of the formation of national values of future teachers in the conditions of martial law. In the process of solving the tasks, a number of general scientific and pedagogical methods were used: analysis, systematization, comparison of scientific approaches, provisions, definitions and generalization to clarify the essence of the main concepts of the study. The necessity of forming the civic consciousness of future teachers, confirming their convictions about national value priorities, about the value of language, history, and faith in strengthening the Ukrainian state is substantiated. It is substantiated that humanitarian training of future teachers is important in this context. It is proven that a modern institution of higher pedagogical education should not only provide quality educational services, but also become a kind of outpost for the formation of national-value orientations of future teachers, and ways of improving this process are given.Therefore, this educational definition in the conditions of martial law should be formed in the process of classroom and extracurricular work. The main task of higher education institutions is to popularize national consciousness and increase the level of patriotism among young people, to stimulate students to form national self-awareness, civic and national identity, ideals of freedom and equality, the newest ideological front, awareness of the value of human dignity, to build their own value system, in the hierarchy in which the main place will belong to the values of the highest spiritual level, namely, national values. We see the prospect of further research in the study of the mechanisms of formation of the national consciousness of educators, both during the war and in the post-war period.

История древнего мира в советских школах в годы Великой Отечественной войны: содержательные рекомендации учителям

This article analyses the advisory articles by V.I. Avdiev and A.N. Pankratova on ancient history lessons at school during the Great Patriotic War. According on these works, as well as other explanations of the evacuated professors, the local authorities published their own methodical manuals in 1942-1943. Based on these materials, the author concludes that Soviet teachers turned out to be essential workers on the ideological front. The events of antiquity were presented in a simplified way - states waging wars in antiquity were declared either explicitly “good” or explicitly “bad”, depending on the aims of the teacher. This dichotomy created room for historical analogies: comparisons were made with modernity, which were also simplified as much as possible for the sake of clarity. Lessons on the history of the ancient world had different objectives which helped to instill confidence in the younger generation that the Soviet Union was on the right side in the unfolding events. The struggles of the Soviet Union were compared to the liberation wars of antiquity. The teacher, when comparing it to the events current in the country, should have emphasised the complete political freedom of the citizens of the socialist homeland, where all forms of exploitation of man by man had been destroyed and thus attempts to turn the free proletariat living under socialist formation into slaves that existed exclusively within slave-holding societies were contrary to all the laws of historical development.

На идеологическом фронте Крымской войны: образ России во французской литературе и публицистике

На идеологическом фронте Крымской войны: образ России во французской литературе и публицистике

Linkage Between US invasion of Iraq, Arab Spring and Emergence of Daesh: Beginning of New Era for Iran

The role of Iran is essential to analyze the politics of the Middle East. Post 9/11 few events such as the USA invasion of Iraq, the Arab spring and the emergence of Daesh has altered the traditional power structure of the region and also enhanced the role of Iran in the politics of the region. This study analyzes the role of domestic and structural factors in the shaping of the foreign policy behavior of Iran. Iraq remained a strong power under Saddam till the US invasion of Iraq in March 2003. Though, the US invasion ended a dictatorship but failed to provide stability, peace and a unified government in Iraq. The empowerment of the Shiia government in Iraq is also a victory of Iran on the ideological front as the US invasion has enabled Iran to achieve its targets without confronting directly with Saddam. . Since 2000 few events such as the US invasion of Iraq, Arab Spring and rise of Daesh transformed the traditional balance of power in favor of Iran. All these events helped Iran to enhance its ideological influence throughout the Middle East

Existentialism in Slovenian Drama and Theatre in the Period after the World War II

The artistic poetics that significantly define Slovenian drama and theatre after World War II were existentialism and existentialist drama. Authorial influences from the western side of the Iron Curtain were, above all, of Francophone or Anglo-American origin appeared in various directions within Slovenian drama. Existentialist drama experienced a sharp response from the political establishment, along with several polemics in mainstream magazines. The political establishment always had a say and opinion about artistic disciplines and genres. One of the most prominent examples that led the ideological front against the new artistic practices was Boris Ziherl. The article introduces his views alongside critical and playwrights’ reception of the existentialist drama. The period between 1945 and 1970 was a time of changes, as government policy, culture (and attitudes towards it), and the cultural situation changed over the course of the twenty-five years.

About circular chemical processes in the cell

In No. 11-12 of the Kazan medical journal for 1931, in the editorial article that opens the issue, a rather significant place is devoted to an assessment of two of my works that appeared in the same journal (1,2). Completely and completely in solidarity with the guidelines of the Editors developed at the beginning of the article, which, as the very title of the article indicates, takes as the basis of all its work the practical implementation of the instructions of Comrade Stalin on the fight against alien theories and on vigilance on the ideological front, I cannot agree with the assessment of my works given in the article, as allegedly imbued with theories alien to dialectical materialism, and revealing mechanistic attitudes.

Promotion of Atheism as a Principle of the Communist Ideology - Case Study: Romania

The Communist ideology called for the denial of Christianity as a form of "mysticism" filled with "superstitions", but particularly as one of the factors that impeded social, economic and cultural progress. Scientific socialism, however, was meant to awaken class consciousness, setting Romanian society on a path towards true modernity. Thus a real battle ensued on the ideological front between two entities, the secular and ecclesiastical authorities, arising from the divide between traditional religious beliefs and atheist Marxism. The actions of the authorities against religious propaganda included both practical measures, which involved activities that filled the free time of the villagers, but also coercive measures consisting in political pressure or arrests. In spite of the communist regime's efforts to impose its own cultural agenda, the effects were long overdue, with rather modest results. Romania's forced development was faced with some inherent problems of the process of modernization and industrialization. The forced imposition of a foreign ideology to a conservative Eastern European area relying on obsolete mindsets, a society where 80% of the population lived in rural areas as of the end of the Second World War, required a longer period of time than the regime had originally planned.

Спасательный круг культуры

How can our contemporaries psychologically stand firm under the pressure of communication battles in the public space? And how not to contribute to such type of confrontation, even if acting only as a passive participant — an observer, the number of whom in the information world is so significant? The author of the article connects the answers to these questions with the daily work of an individual to comprehend both positive and negative experience in terms of its effectiveness. The significant help for this kind of effort comes from culture since it is eclectic (M. Gasparov), open to the difference. The support of culture contrasts with the impact of ideological intentionality, which is considered to be a fairly common attitude in society, inherent not only to the social subjects of the "ideological front". Particular attention is given to the building of bridges between one’s own inner and outer worlds, what allows a person to help himself/herself and the Others to work with diversity as the ends and means. A differentiated approach, tolerance, attention to positive experience support our contemporary in solving both individual and social problems debated in the space of communication.

India and the Baltic States: Strengthening the Partnership

The Baltic Sea Region existing on the crossroads of Europe and Central Asia holds a greater geopolitical significance. The region holds a strong potential to deepen India’s ties with the Europe and Central Asian countries. This article will discuss the prospects of near future areas of cooperation to increase India’s engagement with the Baltic states in terms of Trade, Investments and Strategic partnership. The article will also provide quantitative analysis of the bilateral trade between India and Baltic states while focusing on the scope for trade and investment in specific sectors. Distance being one of the major barriers for increasing cooperation between India and the Baltic states, the efficacy of the Northern Sea route passing through the Bering Strait has been discussed in the paper. Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania are entrapped between the power politics of US, Russia and now China in the region. Therefore, in terms of extended security and cooperation India could play a significant role in the Baltic economy as well as in its strategic aspirations. The convergence of Indo-Baltic interests lies in multilateral rules-based order, maritime security, terrorism and protecting the freedom of navigation, wherein, India is presently targeting the Indo-Pacific region and the Baltic states are focusing upon the Baltic Sea. In terms of India, developing a stronger Indo-Eurasian ties is yet to become its top priority. However, assessing near future developments in the Baltic states is crucial for India’s future policies in regard to Central Asia, Europe, Russia and even the Arctic Region. But it is evident that the Indo-Baltic principles converge on an ideological front that could further strengthen their partnership.

An Alternative on the Ideological Front: Petrograd University and Power in the Context of the Civil War

The article deals with the situation in Petrograd University (St. Petersburg State University) which developed during the Russian Civil War. The University was one of the biggest centers of science and education at the beginning of the First World War. The Bolsheviks’ coming to power was not accepted by professors and students, and during 1917–1919 they awaited the fall of the Bolsheviks in Petrograd. Thus, the University corporation was an ideological enemy of the Bolsheviks. This antagonism further intensified during the realization of high school reform by Narkompros. The University did not want to lose its autonomy; however, the Bolsheviks perceived it as a source of counterrevolutionary activity. This led to repression of University professors in 1919 during the offensives of General Yudenich against Petrograd. Further, attention is paid to how the University community perceived the Civil War. The infamous “philosophical steamboat” was the last act of state terror against the Petrograd University during the Civil War. The University became a symbol of an alternative to the reform of higher education, based on autonomy and opposed to the position of the Bolshevik authorities, that remained unrealized.

Проблема выявления политической реальности в документах О.Э. и Н.Я. Мандельштамов о М.Б. Вольфсоне, В.И. Нарбуте, Н.И. Бухарине

The work is devoted to the analysis of Osip Mandelstam’s articles “Streams of hackwork (khaltura)” and “On translations” in the broad literary and political context of the 1920 – 1930s. The author suggests comparing these articles with the work and publications of the head of the conscientious political censorship Miron Volfson (1880 – 1932), a member of the board and editor-in-chief of the Gosizdat (State Publishing House), whose name appears several times in Mandelstam’s letters. Analysis of official contacts that Mandelstam had with the leadership of conscientious ideological bodies and highest Soviet ideological authorities, allows us to shed a new light on the origin and meaning of the Mandelstam’s anti-Stalinist “epigram” “We live without feeling the country...” In particular, the author reveals a direct reference to Mandelstam’s article “Streams of hackwork” in Wolfson’s 1929 book “The Ways of the Soviet Book”, where the author, on one hand, sums up the NEP period of the Soviet book publishing history, and on the other, sets the task of a new total centralization of book publishing as an important section of the ideological front. The study allows to put the poet’s articles “Streams of hackwork” and “On translations”, which at first glance are devoted exclusively to the problem of translation, in political context of the second half of the 1920s and early 1930s. The observations and conclusions based of the analysis give the opportunity to substantially correct the information about this period of Mandelstam’s biography, which is contained in the memoirs of his widow N.Ya. Mandelstam

ВІЙНА НА "ІДЕОЛОГІЧНОМУ ФРОНТІ". РІК 1968-й

The ideological struggle against the "counter-revolutionary manifestations" accompanied the entire history of Soviet society. However, there have been times when the war on the "ideological front" has intensified. For the most part, this was under the influence of major external shocks or during major ideological campaigns in the middle of the country. One of the episodes when foreign perturbations influenced the ideological confrontation within the USSR was the events of 1968 in Czechoslovakia. The special impact of the Prague Spring was felt in Ukraine, which was directly bordered by the Czechoslovak Republic, and had its powerful traditions of anti-Soviet ideological struggle. It is not surprising, therefore, that the State Security Committee of the USSR Council of Ministers has been particularly vigilant about the "ideological front" in Ukraine. Based on their understanding of the "ideological war" as an external sabotage, KGB analysts prepared relevant documents for top party leadership. The readers are invited to submit an archaeographic publication of the KGB document: "Memorandum. On some trends in the ideological diversion that is being carried out by the enemy in Ukraine". Separate 17-page typewritten document prepared specifically for the needs of the Communist Party Central Committee on September 11, 1968. The document contains six major challenges to the "ideological war" in Ukraine - confrontation with foreign "nationalist centers", confrontation with "internal ideological enemy", confrontation with "opposition" »Increase in the number of educated youth among anti-Soviet groups, opposition to the emergence of such phenomenon as anti-Soviet postcards, opposition to a part of the“ pro-stalinist ”society, confrontation organized strike of workers and farmers.

«Мы – работники идеологического фронта»: 70 лет советской цензуры в Пермском крае: рецензия на монографию С. А. Дианова «Не политическая цензура: региональные органы Главлита в Пермском крае, 1922–1992 гг.» (Пермь, 2017)

«Мы – работники идеологического фронта»: 70 лет советской цензуры в Пермском крае: рецензия на монографию С. А. Дианова «Не политическая цензура: региональные органы Главлита в Пермском крае, 1922–1992 гг.» (Пермь, 2017)

Empowerment, Declined: Paradoxes of Microfinance and Gendered Subjectivity in Urban India

Microfinance today constitutes a gendered frontier of global capital, targeting working-class women for small loans through commercial microfinance institutions (MFIs). Drawing on ethnography and interviews with for-profit MFIs in India and their clients, this study aims to understand the mechanisms through which microfinance shapes gendered subjectivities at the outer edge of the global financial system. Through training programs that often accompany microloans, MFIs encourage clients to identify as working mothers who are primary caregivers for their children but are also engaged in productive work through microenterprise or waged work. This identity serves MFIs—and global finance more broadly—by leveraging motherhood as collateral while also ostensibly “empowering” women by encouraging them to provide for their families though work and loans. A few exceptional, well-off clients see value in the teachings of these training programs and are celebrated by MFIs, but many more ignore or reject such programs, insisting that they are “only” housewives or mothers. Better-off women, then, may be more “vulnerable” to MFI discourses aiming to transform them as individuals. Clients’ widespread dismissal of MFI empowerment programs also suggests that MFIs, far from having totalizing power, are beholden to women who use the loans for their own purposes, while “declining” the models of gendered subjectivity on offer. Thus, the expansion of the global financial system, which requires cooperation from working-class women on both material and ideological fronts, may be a contested, uneven process, rather than a linear process of financial inclusion.

Spiritual Aspects of Formation of a Threatening Resistant Society

Spirituality protects both the freedom of the individual, and freedom, the independence of the nation. The study of social evolution, the logic of social processes creates the opportunity to identify changes in the system of historical, spiritual, cultural and moral values-accordingly-the dynamics of the development of the society in situations of risks, challenges and threats. To date, mankind has accumulated so many weapons and ammunition that it is enough to destroy the globe several times. However, the greatest danger today is the ongoing ideological struggle for the souls and consciousness of people, especially the younger generation. Today, the decisive role is played not by battles at nuclear test sites, but by fighting on the ideological front. Never forget this bitter truth. The formation of ideological immunity is determined by the degree of its conformity with the nature of the people, the way of life and thinking, and most importantly-how it reflects the national interests and aspirations of society. Only such an ideology will stand the test of time and life, people will believe it and accept it as a belief.

Pacifists and Opponents of Military Service in Poland between 1918 and 1939

The aim of this article is to show differing attitudes (radical and moderate) among Polish pacifists and individuals opposing military service. It devotes special attention to the role of Polish writers who were supporters and critics of pacifism. Within the chapters of the article, their thoughts are repeatedly called in mind as this issue represents a gap in Polish academic research. The paper also describes the difficult conditions in which Polish pacifism functioned after Poland regained its independence in November 1918. Polish pacifists were subject to various political and social criticism. Those who denied the sense of, and refused to perform, military service suffered even greater ostracism. In this study, the most important thesis is that the Polish pacifist movement, despite representing varied political views, was weak and unable to play a serious role in Poland. Another key thesis is that the Polish tradition of armed struggle for independence in 1914-21 caused any objection to military service in pre-war Poland to be met with disapproval. The article is based on a variety of books, among them memories, diaries and belles-lettres from various times and origin, and archival sources. Newspapers and journals are a very important source as well because they represent different political views; for example, the socialist: Głos Kobiet (Women’s Voice), Robotnik (Worker), the nationalist: Wielka Polska (Grand Poland), Szczerbiec, the pro-government: Polska Zbrojna (Polish Armed), Ostatnie Wiadomości Krakowskie (Recent Krakow News). Information from newspapers are complemented by archival documents. Most of them come from the Central Archives of Modern Records in Warsaw (Centralne Archiwum Akt Nowych w Warszawie, AAN). Polish pacifists in the period 1918-39 were unable to bring their activities to success. Too many of them were individualists. Worse yet, they never presented a unified ideological front. Pacifists from Catholic organisations were not able to find a compromise with the communists. The weakness of Polish pacifism in 1918-39 did not stem exclusively from the major differences in ideological and political standpoints among its representatives. Only a part of the Polish intelligentsia consisted of active propagators of pacifist ideas. Very rarely did pacifist ideas reach and capture the interest of the predominantly poorly educated masses of workers and peasants. Additionally, the Roman Catholic Church, which enjoyed enormous influence in the Polish countryside, turned out to be, for the most part, unfavourably disposed towards the propagators of pacifism.