Introductory Works Research Articles

What Have Introductory Books on Legal Reasoning Ever Done for Us?

The purpose of this article is to investigate, and to review, a number of recent introductions to law with the emphasis being on those introducing students to legal reasoning. The investigation will have as its focus not just reasoning methodology but equally the ontological and epistemological foundations upon which the reasoning is based. The investigation will be comparative in its orientation; it will examine, in particular, works from common lawyers and French jurists, with references also to books produced by Roman law specialists (Romanists). It will show that many introductions are based on an ontological foundation that emphasizes rules—the rule model—and that, with regard to some of the introductory books, this emphasis has engendered what is arguably a simplistic view of legal knowledge and method. Are such books, it might be asked, epistemologically reliable? To help answer this question, another comparative orientation to be undertaken is to examine some introductory works in the social sciences in order to see not only how these works may differ in their approach to knowledge and methodology but also how methodological discussions in the social sciences could be valuable for lawyers. Keywords: analogy; epistemology; introductions; logic; ontology; perception; rule model; syllogism.

Medical Ethics: A Very Short Introduction

Medical Ethics: A Very Short IntroductionMichael Dunn and Tony HopeOxford University Press, 2018Let me begin by saying as a long-term advocate of more conscientious, deliberate, and compelling education in the ethical aspects of medical practice, this book is a most welcome contribution.Medical Ethics, a volume in the Oxford University Press series of Very Short Introductions is compact (fits in a jacket pocket), brief (10 chapters, 122 pages), brilliant (passim), and affordable ($11.95). Hence, efficacy in several dimensions.This book, now in its second edition, is the best elementary introduction to medical ethics we have. By “best” I mean the most successful combination of clear writing, accessible analytic acuity of central concepts and issues, pedagogical design, useful guidance to more advanced material, and brevity.Other introductory works in this area are sometimes better in one or more of these categories. One that comes to mind (also recommended for more depth) is Clinical Ethics: A Practical Approach to Ethical Decisions in Clinical Medicine by Albert R. Johnson, Mark Siegler, and William J. Linslade. However, none is as successful as a combination of all these criteria.If I were still teaching medical ethics to residents, when time efficiency is essential, I would certainly use Medical Ethics as a principal resource.The authors present a mix of philosophical insight, grounded in close study of foundational texts, and clinical observation, grounded in reflection on years of experience. The mix is at once intellectually elevating and clinically useful.The book opens with an explication of eight “tools of ethical reasoning” used by philosophers, which are then on display in consideration of a range of topics that challenge medical practitioners.These tools are: 1) Distinguishing facts from values; 2) Reasoning from principles; 3) Defining terms; 4) Elucidating concepts; 5) Case comparison; 6) Thought experiments; 7) Logic; 8) Spotting and avoiding fallacies in reasoning.While using these tools as guidelines, the authors advise it is important to remember: Ethical reasoning cannot be reduced to algorithms. Situations are complex and doing the right thing will often require flexibility. Rationality, if practiced in isolation from other virtues, can, like bureaucracy, become rigid and inhuman. Humane medicine will require in addition to rationality: wisdom, imagination, and creativity.This statement reflects the authors’ general and long-term approach to ethical problems, an approach that is a disciplined attempt to achieve clarity, rather than an opportunity to invoke a commitment to any sort of abstraction (theory, law, ideology, secular or religious tradition, and so on). Readers are encouraged to get rid of the fuzz and goo of careless thought, to achieve clarity about the issue or case at hand, before committing to a treatment plan. (As an aside—in many years of consulting with patients, their families, and attending caregivers, I found that most disagreements could be resolved simply by clarifying the language each party was using. Clarity alone often generated agreement; when it did not, at least differences were better defined and more amenable to resolution.)A variety of cases, laws concerning medical decisions, and “customs of practice,” are presented then followed by an evaluation employing all or some of the tools mentioned above, which discussion is in turn followed by an inquiry of the reader: “Would you use the explicated techniques differently, and perhaps reach a different judgment?” The approach, throughout the presentation of issues, is, again: What is the best way, all things considered, to reach a good judgment about the right thing to do? Reaching such judgment on solid, defensible grounds, all things considered, in a shared language, is the essence of applied medical ethics.The range of cases, laws, and customs considered includes, but is not limited to: assisted dying, people who don’t exist yet, inconsistencies about responses to mental illness, fair procedures for allocating medical resources, the myth of evidence-based value-free policy-making, the role of rescue according to statistics versus to known individuals, modern genetics testing and traditional confidentiality, cultural mores and consent, and the various support roles of medical ethics.The best summary of the book’s message I can offer is this: Attending to the particulars of individuals-in-context is always appropriate, if not mandatory while evaluating ethical aspects of clinical practice. After rational consideration of the kind outlined by the authors, forming different judgments in similar (but not identical) cases ought to be considered an achievement rather than an inconsistency to be avoided. The consistency to be most valued in clinical decision-making is not found in identical results, but rather in the application of rational processes, tempered with empathy and imagination. The particular elements of individual contexts matter and rational judgments will be, and ought to be affected by them.The Further Reading addendum is excellent, offering books, articles, journals, and institutions that have contributed to our—so far—only moderately successful effort in providing essential and continuing medical ethics education.

Vorscholastik: The contribution of the Carolingian monk Paschasius Radbertus of Corbie (c. 790–860) to early medieval philosophy

This article reconsiders the historical–philosophical significance of the monk and abbot of Corbie Abbey (est. 657), Paschasius Radbertus (c. 790–860). Radbert is contextualised within the cultural and academic setting of the Carolingian period of the eighth and ninth centuries while taking into account the diverse scholarly accomplishments of his contemporaries such as Alcuin of York (c. 740–804), Rabanus Maurus (c. 780–856), Walafrid Strabo (c. 809–849) and John Scottus Eriugena (815–877). The characteristic absence of contributions regarding Radbert in otherwise comprehensive introductions and editorial works in medieval philosophy is subsequently surveyed. It is shown that only a few introductory works of note contain references to Radbert, while the current specialised research is also relatively limited. Reconsidering depictions of Radbert in several older commentaries, notably Martin Grabmann’s (1875–1949) Die Geschichte der Scholastischen Methode I ( 1957 ), it is suggested that Radbert’s philosophical importance could be traced to Vorscholastik or the earliest development of scholasticism, as presented in his extensive commentary Expositio in Matheo Libri XII – without diminishing the ecclesiastical weight of his dispute with Ratramnus (d.c. 868) regarding their interpretation of the Eucharist in their similarly titled but disparate treatises De corpore et sanguine Domini , for which Radbert is generally better known and accordingly reflected in studies of early medieval intellectual history. Contribution: This article contributes to scholarship in early medieval philosophy by reassessing the philosophical influence of Paschasius Radbertus, based on the most recent specialised analyses and older modern receptions of his texts De corpore et sanguine Domini and Expositio in Matheo Libri XII .

Maple-based introductory visual guide to Gröbner bases

In 1975 the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (the main Spanish institution for scientific research) published the monograph [14] by the second author (by the way, father and Ph.D. advisor of the first author). Its title could be translated as "Geometric Interpretation of Ideal Theory" (nowadays Ideal Theory is not normally used, in favour of Commutative Algebra). It somehow illustrated the geometric ideas underlying the basics of the classic books of the period (like [2, 11, 16]) and was a success: although written in Spanish, the edition was sold out.Of course there are much more modern books on ideals and varieties than [2, 11, 16], such as the famous [7] or [8], that illustrate the theory with images. Moreover, there are introductory works to Gröbner bases such as [3, 9, 12, 13, 15], as well as books on the topic like [1], and articles about applications, like the early [4]. Even a summary in English of the original Ph.D. Thesis by Bruno Buchberger is available [5].
 Nevertheless, we believe that there is a place for a visual guide to Gröbner bases, as there was a place for [14].
 For instance, statistical packages are probably the pieces of mathematical software best known by non-mathematicians, and they are frequently used as black boxes by users with a slight knowledge of the theory behind. Meanwhile, Gröbner bases, the most common exact method behind non-linear polynomial systems (algebraic systems) solving, although incorporated to all computer algebra systems, are only known by a relatively small ratio of the members of the scientific community, most of them mathematicians. This article presents in an intuitive and visual way an illustrative selection of ideals and their Gröbner bases, together with the plots of the (real part) of their corresponding algebraic varieties, computed and plotted with Maple [6, 10]. A minimum amount of theoretical details is given. We believe that exact algebraic systems solving could also be used as a black box by non-mathematicians just understanding the basic ideas underlying commutative algebra and computer algebra.

Examining the Anecdotes of Tha’labī's Book "Qatla al-Qur'an" from Propp's Morphological Perspective

One way of examining fiction texts in literature is to analyze the structure of anecdotes from Vladimir Propp's morphological point of view. For fairy tales, Propp has defined functions that are applicable to a variety of other tales and stories. The book "Qatla al-Qur'an" by Abu Isḥāq al-Tha’labī is a collection of anecdotes, all of which have a common point and they are all about the stories of those who lost their lives after hearing a verse or verses from the divine book. Examining the narrative structure of these short stories reveals the hidden relationships between the anecdotes in their infrastructure and reveals the structure and form of the stories better. In this article, this attractive Tha’labī’s work has been analyzed from a morphological point of view by descriptive-analytical method. As a result, the introductory works and the climax of the story, which usually marks the end of it, are the most important design of Tha’labī for creating a single and uniform structure in the anecdotes of this book.

A Classified Bibliography on Ecclesiastes

For anyone researching a topic from Ecclesiastes, a comprehensive bibliography on Ecclesiastes for this OT book is a wonderful but rather overwhelming resource. The book is a classified listing of the publications on the book of Ecclesiastes from 1900 to 2015 as selected by Russell L. Meek and David J. H. Beldman. This book originates from a 99-page bibliography compiled by Beldman for Craig Bartholomew’s Ecclesiastes commentary and Stuart Weeks’s contribution of his own bibliographical sources, ultimately resulting in what Katherine Dell evaluates as “a must have” in her endorsement.The book continues the work of Stuart Weeks, The Making of Many Books: Printed Works on Ecclesiastes 1523–1875 (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2014), by gathering and organizing articles, essays, and monographs published in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish since 1900. Without annotations, the book provides a categorized bibliography based on various topics and subjects. Chapters include wide-ranging topics such as death, fear of the Lord, joy, hebel, language, and history of interpretation. Some chapters reflect scholarly issues in Ecclesiastes such as frame narrator/narrative and wisdom/pedagogy of the wise/wisdom “school.” The book also has a helpful section on methodology, which is subdivided into 7 specific methods, including newer approaches such as deconstructionism and film studies. Unexpectedly omitted from this bibliography are introductory works that discuss OT wisdom literature, such as Old Testament Wisdom Literature: A Theological Introduction (Downers Grove: IVP, 2011), by Craig Bartholomew and Ryan O’Dowd, or Old Testament Wisdom: An Introduction, 3rd ed. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2010), by James Crenshaw. Furthermore, Choon-Leong Seow’s “Theology when Everything is Out of Control,” Interpretation 55 (2001): 237–49, which discusses Qohelet’s theology—and therefore perhaps other significant essays—is also missing.The categories are similar to the organization of theological dictionaries in that they are wide-ranging and alphabetically ordered. Works that relate to more than one category are listed in multiple relevant sections. For example, “Fear God and Enjoy His Gifts: Qohelet’s Edenic Vision of Life,” CTR 14 (2016): 23–34, by Russell Meek, appears in three different chapters, “God/The Divine/Fear of the Lord,” “Joy/Enjoyment/Carpe Diem,” and “Intertextuality/Inner-Biblical Allusion.” As a result, it is easy to find resources without missing related works.Since the topics are arranged in alphabetical order, the section covering the individual chapters of the book of Ecclesiastes (appropriately titled “Chapters”) follows sections titled “Authority,” “Biblical Theology,” and “Canonicity.” Although a minor incongruity, this diverges from what the preface indicates: “The layout of the bibliography is straightforward. The first category is the chapters of Ecclesiastes, where readers will find works that address—not surprisingly—particular passages in Ecclesiastes” (p. viiii). Nevertheless, the simplicity, clarity, and the expertise reflected in these categorized bibliographical lists facilitate an “easier and more efficient” scholarly engagement with secondary sources on Ecclesiastes written in multiple languages (p. viiii), commendably accomplishing the goal of the project.

In Stone and Story: Early Christianity in the Roman World

In Stone and Story: Early Christianity in the Roman World

TEXTBOOKS AND TEMPLATES IN BYZANTINE STUDIES

Though the modern study of Byzantine civilisation and history dates back to the late 19 th century, the establishment of a definitive introductory textbook in the English language would be a slow process that would not culminate until the 1950’s. Due in part to the enormous chronological termini of Byzantine History, and major primary sources in at least five different languages, the number of introductory works is much smaller than in other historical disciplines. As a result, Byzantine history textbooks are still very closely welded to two initial templates established in 1892 and 1925. This article will briefly examine the initial templates laid down by the early authors of Byzantine textbooks. Following the examination of these templates, we will move chronologically through some of the main publications of the long 20 th century, concluding in the present day, gauging the impact of these works through scholarly reaction and publication information.

From Rulings to Rules: The Formation of (Some) Halakhic Rules

It was the accepted practice to issue rulings in cases argued by Tannaim in the Mishnah and elsewhere on a case-by-case basis. Beginning in the time of Rabbi Yoḥanan, the manner in which rulings were given changed fundamentally, to jurisprudential rules. The new style of rulings brought with it a need to establish additional rules to supplement the basic principles produced by Rabbi Yoḥanan and his school. A highly surprising phenomenon that emerged from the demand for jurisprudential rules was the transformation of dicta specifying the law in specific cases into rules to be followed on a general basis. In this essay, I seek to characterize these specific jurisprudential dicta and to identify a number of legal principles that initially were nothing more than specific rulings, yet were then altered in significance and scope as a result of their inclusion in introductory works and compendia of jurisprudential rules.

草創期の『初歩のラジオ』の記事内容の特質とその教育的意義 : 科學寄稿家・泉弘志著作記事の内容分析を通して

草創期の『初歩のラジオ』の記事内容の特質とその教育的意義 : 科學寄稿家・泉弘志著作記事の内容分析を通して

The Evolution of the Law of Torts in China: The Growth of a Liability System

During the “Reform and Opening-up” years, tort disputes have become one of the main types of cases litigated in Chinese courts, and tort law has been playing a significant role in carving out the incentives of businesses and individuals in China. Since the formal legal rules on torts came into being in 1986, a large number of changes have occurred in the law of torts. The transformation of the rules, however, has eluded previous introductory works on Chinese tort law written in English. This paper is devoted to delineating these changes, which present the growth of a liability system moving predominantly in favor of tort victims. Unlike most existing English literature on Chinese tort law that survey primarily the major civil statutes, this paper places commensurate emphasis on the rules dealing with tort liabilities embedded in the administrative laws and regulations as well as the judicial interpretations. In addition, this paper also makes a rough assessment of the efficiency implications of the evolution of tort law in China. Given the exceptionally low point where the increment of victim protection in tort law started, the change of rules in China is, by and large, moving in the direction of cost internalization as required by efficiency. However, the potential improvement in efficiency is perhaps a byproduct of the development of tort law in China. The motivation behind the rule change is more likely to be loss redistribution rather than efficiency upgrade. In light of the policy-implementing orientation of the Chinese legal system and the collectivistic propensity rooted in the law of torts, political and institutional perspectives might bring us better insights into the driving force of change of law in China.

Introductions and Histories: How, When, and Where of Race in Philosophy

AbstractIntroductions and Histories: How, When, and Where of Race in Philosophy Africana Philosophy has successfully argued itself to be an important area of philosophical discourse. Fundamental to this effort is Africana Philosophy's work to bring race, race thinking, and racism to the fore of philosophical examination. In the wake of Africana Philosophy's influence, discussions of race, race thinking, and racism are becoming central to regular philosophical discourse. The production of introductory works on race and philosophy and works examining the place of race and race thinking in the history of European canonical philosophy points to philosophy's growing self awareness of race as foundational to what philosophy as a body of knowledge is and its self awareness of how race and race thinking informed the development of the field. These types of texts contribute to the normalization of race as a subfield of philosophy. Specifically, this essay will analyze four contemporary texts that exemplify this trend and what they contribute to mainstream philosophy's evolution as a site that understands race and race's role as a part of human experience and a necessary part of the larger philosophical project.

The Study Qurʾan: A New Translation and Commentary by Seyyed Hossein Nasr et al.

Reviewed by: The Study Qurʾan: A New Translation and Commentary by Seyyed Hossein Nasr et al. Louis Medoff The Study Qurʾan: A New Translation and Commentary, by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Caner K. Dagli, Maria Massi Dakake, Joseph E. B. Lumbard and Mohammed Rustom, 2015. New York: HarperCollins, lix+ 1988 pp., maps, $59.99. ISBN: 978-0-06-112586-7 (hbk) One of the most difficult and often underappreciated tasks in Islamic Studies is translating foundational and classical texts in an accessible, engaging and reasonably accurate manner. In recent years, translation of the Qur'an has received a remarkable amount of attention, and as result there are now some excellent readings available, notably Ali Qaraʾi's The Qur'an: With a Phrase-by-Phrase English Translation (ICAS Press, 2003), Muhammad Abdel Haleem's The Qur'an: A New Translation (Oxford University Press, 2004) and most recently Arthur Droge's Qur'an: A New Annotated Translation (Equinox, 2013). With so many renditions of Islam's sacred text currently on the market, it is natural, whenever another is published, to question what need it serves. This enquiry is especially pertinent when related fields, such as proper translation of Qur'anic commentaries, are still seriously neglected. The Study Qur'an: A New Translation and Commentary, written by an editorial board headed by Seyyed Hossein Nasr and assisted by Caner Dagli, Maria Dakake, Joseph Lumbard and Mohammed Rustom, is a monumental work ten years in the making that has received copious praise. Those familiar with Christian and Jewish study bibles will no doubt recognize the format of The Study Qur'an as an elegantly presented translation paired with extensive annotations, scholarly essays, detailed indices and maps printed on very thin paper. The Study Qur'an starts with introductory essays in which Professor Nasr gives an overview of the meaning of the Holy Book to Muslims and how it relates to their personal and social lives. This discussion is similar in substance and tone to Nasr's other introductory works on Islam and is clearly aimed at the non-Muslim novice. This is followed by a lengthy [End Page 367] discussion of the origins of The Study Qur'an, its aims, and the editorial board's translation and annotation philosophy. Nasr gives an important insight into the rationale of The Study Qur'an when he reveals that he stipulated with the publisher that all the contributors believe the Qur'an to be the verbatim word of God, not merely the central text of Islam. Furthermore, Nasr rejected the participation of secular Orientalists, Muslim modernizers and (that unfortunate and imprecise term) 'fundamentalists'. These strict conditions obviously leave the editors open to the accusation of not being critical enough, although such a claim seems misplaced. First, the point of a study scripture is to inform sympathetic readers about the meaning of the sacred text to its learned adherents, not to drastically deconstruct and revise that understanding. Second, as the annotations of The Study Qur'an amply demonstrate, pre-modern Muslim Qurʾanic commentary is hardly uncritical, unless criticism is arbitrarily confined to historicism and revisionism. That The Study Qur'an has received so much praise from recognized academics is a positive sign that the insider's view is increasingly becoming an integral part of Islamic Studies. The Qur'an translation of The Study Qur'an is a straightforward affair and rarely diverges from conventions established by the seminal renditions of Muhammad Pickthall, Yusuf'Ali and - especially-Arthur Arberry. Thus, the basmala is translated as 'in the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful', subḥān Allāh is rendered as 'glory be to God' and laylat al-qadr is 'night of power'. One apparently new choice is the translation of taqwā as 'reverence'. As one of the editors points out, the root w-q-y linguistically means wariness and care, while in the Qur'an it denotes 'fear, mindfulness, and a constant awareness of God's Presence and Power' (pp. 14–15). It is questionable whether translating the (admittedly difficult) phrase ittaqi Allāh as 'reverence God' expresses these ideas better than previous proposals. It is unfortunate that more novel suggestions, along the lines of...

The Cambridge Companion to Roman Law ed. by David Johnston

Reviewed by: The Cambridge Companion to Roman Law ed. by David Johnston Zachary Herz David Johnston (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Roman Law. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2015. Pp. xiii, 539. $36.99 (pb.). ISBN 978–0-521–71994–0. The Cambridge Companion to Roman Law serves as an excellent introduction to this highly technical subfield of Roman history, while offering a surprising amount to those already versed in the subject. As is the standard, the Companion is divided into short chapters, organized around a series of themes. The book breaks down roughly into three sections: Parts 1, 2, and 3 provide background on the surviving sources and intellectual context of Classical Roman law; parts 4 and 5 contain subject-matter-specific overviews of different legal topics covered in the Corpus Iuris Civilis; and part 6 discusses Roman law’s later reception. Each part includes several chapters, written by experts in a variety of fields. The Companion’s editor, David Johnston, has assembled a slate of distinguished scholars, including law faculty on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as traditional historians, classicists, and medievalists—although I should note that only two of the Companion’s nineteen contributors are women. The text that results from this confluence of perspectives is as insightful and useful as one would hope, albeit occasionally disjointed. Part 1 is largely prefatory, consisting of Johnston’s introduction and a thoughtful discussion by Laurens Winkel of the different analytic frameworks one might apply to Roman legal study. Winkel’s piece is a standout of the volume; such a complex topic requires a focused approach, and those who are beginning to study the field in earnest would be well advised to think seriously about the questions with which they hope to engage. Winkel’s brief history of [End Page 420] the major strands of Roman legal scholarship will also be enormously helpful to those entering the discipline. Part 2 discusses basic features of Roman law and legal production, with David Ibbetson providing a diachronic history of Roman lawmaking from the Twelve Tables to the fifth century ce, and John Richardson focusing more narrowly on the imposition of Roman law on provincial subjects from the late Republic on. Each piece is clarifying, although Ibbetson’s portrayal of the shift from juristic to imperial lawmaking cries out for more nuance than length and genre permit. Part 3 introduces the types of evidence on which scholars must rely in order to reconstruct Roman legal practice, and the different problems these sources present. Of these, Wolfgang Kaiser’s discussion of the Corpus Iuris Civilis is probably the most useful for the nonspecialist, since the Corpus makes up so much of our surviving legal material and presents so many specific problems. Those already immersed in the field, however, may particularly benefit from Caroline Humfress’s introduction to law and early Christian literature. Parts 4 and 5 (on private and public law respectively) perform a very different role than does the preceding material; these chapters are brief, descriptive overviews of doctrine. These sections of the Companion seem less essential, since this type of work has been done often and well: readers looking for straightforward introductions to Roman legal rules already have J. A. Crook’s Law and Life of Rome: 90 b.c.–a.d. 212 (Ithaca 1967), Jill Harries’ Law and Crime in the Roman World (Cambridge 2007), or David Johnston’s own Roman Law in Context (Cambridge 1999), plus innumerable casebooks and sourcebooks. The best contributions to this section take a more historical approach: in particular, Ernest Metzger’s chapter on litigation and procedure shows how Roman court rules changed over time to account for broader shifts in the structure of Roman state power. The last part of the Companion considers the afterlife of Roman law, raising some questions about the text’s audience. These sorts of introductory reference works are often meant for nonspecialists who are either just encountering a discipline as undergraduates or who are engaging with it in the service of other projects. While these chapters are thought-provoking and diverting—I particularly enjoyed R. H. Helmholz’s introduction to Canon Law—they appear to be aimed at...

Quranic Studies and the Literary Turn


 
 
 This review essay examines current trends in the field of Quranic studies, as expressed in recent introductory works on the Quran, which in turn reflect developments in more specialized publications. A prominent characteristic in this body of scholarship is an increased emphasis on approaching the Quran as a literary text, as conceived within the structures of textual criticism. Much of this work strives to bypass the autochthonous exegetical corpus developed by Muslim authorities and read the Quran on its own terms, as a text best situated within a sectarian milieu of late antiquity. Particular attention is given here to the configuration of literature as a secular category of analysis and the implications it bears for this growing field.
 
 

Familiar Science in Nineteenth-Century Britain

Our opinion is, that cannot be too familiarly dealt with... Punch (1841)'INTRODUCTIONThe word appears in the titles to scores of introductory scientific works from late eighteenthand early nineteenth-century Britain. From letters on chemistry to A compend of geology, geography, A history of birds and conversations on interesting topics, many different disciplines were presented to new audiences in supposedly ways, exploiting everyday situations, objects, and language for explanatory ends. Indeed, by 1841 Punch was proposing a Very Familiar introduction to astronomy, a comic conflation of the banal and sublime which claimed that cannot be too familiarly dealt with. This paper takes seriously the ubiquity of avowedly writings and experiences in the mid-nineteenth century, to propose a new category for historians of science, that of familiar science. Through close readings of selected sources it introduces contemporary engagements with and representations of objects and familial life, and suggests one alternative way of examining a period for which the concept of the popular has become a disputed and unsatisfactory historical tool for understanding scientific practices.A monstrous and precocious child holds an everyday object, and addresses his rather myopic grandmamma (Fig. 1 ). Behind him a table overflows with experimental apparatus; she is pushed into a darkening comer. She holds a copy of Who Killed Cock Robin?; his toy basket contains Milton and Shakespeare, Newton and Boyle; his Algebra and Bacon lie on the floor. You see Gran 'Ma, the boyish brat explains, you Suck this Egg, or, more properly speaking, before you extract the matter contained within this shell by suction, you must make an incision at the apex & a Corresponding aperture at the base. Aye Dear! replies his beleaguered ancestor, How very clever! - they only used to make a hole at each end in my time. She ends with an exclamation: Well I declare they are making improvements in every thing!! George Cruikshank's 1828 caricature, The Age of Intellect, plays on the conflations and tensions I will analyse in the following article: of the everyday and of the childish with the scientific and technical; of the known and the unknown. It captures a desire to educate the rising generation of soon-to-be Victorian Britain in new language and sensory practices, and highlights the relationship between the childish tales of old and natural science, philosophy, mathematics and literature. And, of course, its humour relies on punning reference to the criticism that this type of what I shall call familiar science was indeed teaching your grandmother to suck eggs.2Recent academic work has made it increasingly clear that the simple designation of popularisation does not do justice to the rich variety of activities, sites and experiences in the heterogeneous culture of the nineteenth-century sciences; both to the importance of these practices and publications to defining and articulating what was, and also to its range of active participants and types of participation, not only its passive recipients.3 Once a useful rhetorical counterpoint to the overwhelming academic emphasis on the history of a few expert discoverers, the analytic category of the popular is also, now, a disputed historical tool for understanding scientific practices, yet few constructive new ways of mapping the landscape have been proposed.4 Rather than being predicated on a simple popular-professional dyad, and championing privileged places such as laboratories and observatories, the new history of the nineteenth-century sciences is focused on practical processes and all kinds of objects, on societal relationships and literary representation.5 Hence, historians of require new vocabularies to differentiate types and levels of participation and expertise in introductory engagement with the sciences, as well as strategies of presentation and kinds of audiences. …

Contemporary France

Part of a series of introductory works ‘conceived to meet the needs of today's students’, Contemporary France shares a common structure with other Palgrave titles covering countries as disparate as India, Russia, and Japan. In a couple of hundred pages authors are expected to range well beyond their specialist domain to provide an accessible survey of history, politics, socio-economic arrangements, and cultural life. Here Helen Drake, whose own research has been particularly concerned with France's relationship to European integration, has succeeded in producing a well-balanced and coherent sweep of the field. The book is divided into eight chapters, beginning with a historical overview that considers the legacy of past events and sets up classic themes such as grandeur, exceptionalism, and the republican tradition. Subsequent chapters focus on the Fifth Republic and are weighted towards the present, addressing image and identity, politics, the state and policy-making, social structures and education, culture, the economy, and France's international relations. Linked by frequent cross-referencing, the sections do a pretty consistent job of condensing large amounts of information into convincing and readable syntheses. The main analytical thread is that of ‘challenges’, and how France has adapted to change over the last half century. This allows Drake to consider both how republican ideals have fared as a template, and how national cohesion and identities have been affected by decades of transformation. With space and therefore nuance at a premium, Drake navigates this terrain skilfully. Avoiding undue reverence and excessive pessimism about France in the twenty-first century, her even-handed analysis nonetheless succeeds in conveying something of the peculiar urgency and intensity of French debates over identity and the state of the nation. Periodic references to English-language scholarship introduce readers to the wider literature, notably concerning the idea of exceptionalism. The latter theme is also woven into the book, sometimes as a framework for comparison — for example, with other European states buffeted by the same macroeconomic forces — and at other times as normative discourse — for instance, during the 2005 referendum debate. Published in 2011, the book does not quite reach Marine Le Pen's succession as Front National leader, but it clearly traces the trajectory of the last quinquennat. As Drake wryly notes, ‘France expects something special, almost other-worldly, from its presidents, and presidents do not come much worldlier than Nicolas Sarkozy’ (p. 223). One minor criticism concerns the bibliography and referencing. Bearing in mind the publisher's pitch, some suggested further readings organized by chapter theme might have been welcome, and would certainly have been more useful than the rather superfluous UK press articles (often secondary sources for well-established information) that accrue in the bibliography. That small point aside, this book is a lively and accessible guide to contemporary France that will be a valuable resource for students. Drake opens her Conclusions by observing that ‘it is impossible to take a neutral stance on France’ (p. 220), but she has produced an admirably balanced survey that should equip and inspire its readers to continue exploring the subject.

Teaching and Learning Guide for: Ecocriticism and Eighteenth‐Century English Studies

Teaching and Learning Guide for: Ecocriticism and Eighteenth‐Century English Studies

Fredric Jameson on the Reserve Army

In the opening pages of The Limits to Capital , published in 1984, David Harvey jokes that everyone who reads Marx’s Capital seems bound to write a book about it. In 2012, we might well ask: Just one? Last year, many of the long-standing academic Marxists unleashed new introductory works, including Terry Eagleton, David Harvey, Eric Hobsbawm, and, unsurprisingly, Fredric Jameson. In Representing Capital , Jameson has written the best of the bunch: a surprising, energetic, and concise representation of the “totality” of capital. This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website , where most recent articles are published in full. Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.

General Happiness or Human Bliss: Jane Marcet's Political Economy in James Morier's Persia

General Happiness or Human Bliss: Jane Marcet's Political Economy in James Morier's Persia