Popular Reading Research Articles

Husserl's Analogical Axiological Reason: A Phenomenology of Wish Feeling Fulfillment

AbstractThe most contentious tenet of Husserl's phenomenology of feelings is his conclusion that there is an analogy between axiological reason and theoretical reason. Simply, Husserl asserts that the axiological validation of feelings is analogical to the theoretical validation of judgments. While the scholarship has debated the merits of Husserl's analogy over the last 120 years, this paper presents a new accurate interpretation, because it is the first to highlight how Husserl develops this analogy by most often comparing the fulfillment of judgments to the fulfillment of wish feeling intentions. Specifically, I examine how Husserl analogizes wish fulfillment to theoretical fulfillment at different times; in the 1901 Logical Investigations, in his 1908 Lectures on Ethics, and in 1910 manuscripts from Studien zur Struktur des Bewusstseins. In light of this original interpretation, I conclude by arguing – contra popular readings – that Husserl does not over‐intellectualize feelings and their validation.

The leisure reading habits of undergraduate business students

While literature on undergraduate student reading behavior is prevalent, there has been limited research on subject-specific leisure reading. Additionally, this type of research is often underrepresented in Library and Information Science (LIS) literature, despite its relevance. The authors of this study recognize the value of popular business reading titles. As such, the authors were interested in exploring the perspectives of students studying business to understand current attitudes toward popular reading. Consequently, this study aims to investigate the leisure reading habits of undergraduate business students and how this information can inform aspects of business librarianship. The authors surveyed business students enrolled in a required pre-major business course at Pennsylvania State University. The results reveal that a substantial proportion of business students enjoy leisure reading, often choosing books that align with their academic pursuits and personal interests. However, they frequently forgo reading due to the time constraints imposed by their studies. Overall, this study contributes to the literature on subject-specific leisure reading and seeks to determine whether popular business titles have a meaningful place in academic business libraries. Recommendations are provided on how to integrate such texts into librarianship and how to further investigate popular business titles and leisure reading among academic students.

Exploring the relationship between extensive graded book reading and writing performance among third-grade students: a correlation analysis

This study examines the impact of long-term extensive book reading activities on students’ writing skills in a distinct context lacking prior research. Employing technology to monitor students’ reading, the research focuses on first language long-term reading activities, a domain unexplored in Taiwan’s education system. Tracking book reading over three years, the study unveils the gradual fulfillment of reading goals and explores the connection between extensive book reading and writing performance. The investigation also found that graded reading and Bridge Books’ roles in enhancing students’ reading and writing outcomes. Employing rigorous data analysis, the study offers a comprehensive understanding of the intricate relationship between extensive book reading and writing performances. Findings reveal Picture Books and Basic Books as popular reading categories, influencing writing quality and word count during the revision process. However, there are potential trade-offs between quantity and quality of the writing performances, specifically observed in Bridge Books’ impact on initial draft and revision quality. The complex interplay between different grades of the book and writing performance emerges, suggesting implications for educational interventions and further research in enhancing writing performances through extensive reading.

Madhyamaka and Ontic Structural Realism

I’ll argue that one particular argument of Nāgārjuna’s against causation in the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā deserves careful consideration from the perspective of contemporary western metaphysics. To show why this is the case, I’ll offer an interpretation of the key passages which differs from at least one popular reading. I’ll then aim to show that a whole swathe of metaphysical views about causation are problematic in light of Nāgārjuna’s argument, so interpreted. I’ll conclude, however, that one contemporary view in metaphysics has the means to respond to this argument: Ontic Structural Realism.

Revamping and Rethinking Popular Reading at an Academic Library

Revamping and Rethinking Popular Reading at an Academic Library

Марсианские хроники «прекрасной эпохи»

The French literature from the late 19th and early 20th centuries that can be classified as “space fiction” centered on missions to Mars and making contact with Martians. The topic’s appeal stems from scientific findings of the time (particularly the so-called Martian canals) as well as the traditional symbolism of the Roman god who gave the Red Planet its name. All authors who wrote about Mars during the “Belle Époque” were inspired, to varying degrees, by the writings of the eminent astronomer Camille Flammarion (both scientific and fictional). The article delves into the specifics of how Joseph Rosnyaîné, André Laurie, Georges Le Faure, Henry de Graffigny, Arnould Galopin, Gustave Le Rouge, and Jean de La Hire interpret the Martian theme in their works. It is demonstrated that the use of traditional materials for popular novels is mixed with a desire to update popular literature’s narrative strategies. Thus, The Extraordinary Adventures of a Russian Scientist Across the Solar System by Le Faure and Graffigny, written between 1888-1896, contrasts the “intergalactic” theme, which was novel in French literature, with its archaic interpretation. The tendency to mix genres, to combine the “merveilleux-scientifique” (scientific marvelous) with Gothic and vampire literature approaches, as well as to augment the story with the occult component, increases. The so-called “martian duology” by G. Le Rouge, which lays the foundation for the poetics of horror – so vital to the 20th-century popular reading – is among the most significant literary works. The modernist bent is particularly evident in J. de La Hire’s 1911 book The Mystery of the Fifteen, which foresaw the rise of the superman hero, a new type of hero for the popular novel (however, this hero did not gain popularity in France).

"One of the Grand Works of the World": Walt Whitman's Advocacy for the Brooklyn Waterworks, 1856-59.

When the Brooklyn Waterworks opened in 1859, it was one of America's most advanced water and sewer systems. Yet after Brooklyn was annexed by New York City, the waterworks' history slipped into obscurity, despite having a now-famous champion: the "poet of America," Walt Whitman, whose brother worked on the project. This article shows the Brooklyn poet's fierce, multiyear lobbying effort for the waterworks in various newspapers and introduces a wealth of newly recovered Whitman writings on the issue. As a journalist, Whitman exemplifies the nineteenth-century press as an intermediary between expert engineers and popular readers. The poet brought precise expertise, translated engineers' technical arguments into everyday language for his readers, and fought the resulting day-to-day political battles over construction in print. Whitman, then, is an underappreciated case study of the confluence of technology, public health, and local journalism.

A leitura popular da Bíblia

The popular reading of the Bible proposed by Ecumenical Center for Biblical Studies (CEBI) is a concrete way of approaching the text based on the demands of reality, thus fitting into what the Pontifical Biblical Commission calls the Liberation Approach. In celebration of the 30th anniversary of the document on The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church, we bring to reflection the memory of the work of popular reading of the Bible carried out in the Catholic Diocese of Mossoró-RN within the methodology proposed by the CEBI. Examining the reports of the meetings that took place in the seventies and eighties of the twentieth century, we can see the strong presence of women, the relationship with ecclesiastical and base communities and popular movements and the resistance of the group that remains active even in the face of a adverse ecclesiastical situation.

Проблема взаимоотношений с народом в деятельности Императорского Православного Палестинского общества (конец XIX – начало XX в.)

The activities of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IOPS), founded in 1882, reflected important trends in the socio-political and ideological development of Russia in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Created mostly on order to strengthen the political influence of Russia in the Holy Land, and to assist the pilgrims arriving there, the IOPS, from the point of view of its founders, had another extremely important task – to develop the contacts between the power structures and the conservative upper classes of society with the masses of the common people. Seeking to reach this goal, the IOPS launched the extensive publishing activities, established its local departments in the dioceses and organized there the so-called popular readings dedicated to the Holy Land. In the course of these activities, a number of problems emerged related to the question of the ways and mechanisms of interaction between an educated society and the masses. It was necessary to realize what subjects and forms of presentation of the material would attract the people to the greatest extent, what forms of communication should be used, how much the consciousness of the intelligentsia differs from the system of ideas of the social lower classes. The solution of these issues was supposed to help strengthen the religious foundations of people's self-consciousness in the period of growing socio-political turbulence. The conservative leaders of IOPS also believed that developing of the above-mentioned activities would give them the opportunity to comprehend the peculiarities of the common people’s worldview. The beginning of the revolution in 1905, the development of secularization tendencies and the aggravation of social contradictions did not allow the IOPS to fulfill the intended program. However, its activities became an important page in the history of Russia in the pre-revolutionary period.

Popular readings in parochial schools of the Russian Empire in the late XIX — XX centuries (on the example of Tambov diocese)

Popular readings in parochial schools of the Russian Empire in the late XIX — XX centuries (on the example of Tambov diocese)

Zhuangzi’s ethical nihilism

ABSTRACT Zhuangzi often is portrayed as a kind of ethical relativist. This popular reading has been challenged by Philip Ivanhoe, who argues that Zhuangzi is not a relativist but rather that Zhuangzi articulates a normative theory of benignity. In this paper we argue against Ivanhoe’s interpretation. We further argue that Zhuangzi is an ethical nihilist, who rejects all ethical positions.

Beyond God, Country, and Empire: The United Kingdom and the Transnational Turn in the First World War

Even after the war’s centenary from 2014–2018, many English-speaking popular readers and students retain a static and narrow conception of the First World War, much of it focused around the British experience in a section of trenches on the Western Front. This narrative of the war with its focus on the Battles of the Marne, Ypres, the Somme, and Passchendaele, is certainly significant, but it has played an outsized role in shaping the war's history for generations of people. This brief article provides an overview of resources and approaches that relate a different story about Britain's global war and offers concrete suggestions for reframing the story for students and public audiences alike. By broadening the British war story, beyond country and empire, to a global, transnational story, we can narrate a history that aligns more productively with the reality of the conflict as it was experienced. Rather than focusing only on a small slice of the rich wartime tapestry, such a global history re-centers the experiences of non-combatants, imperial citizens, non-citizens, and expatriates – telling a more holistic story of “Britain” at war.

Understanding gender inequality in children's reading behavior: New insights from digital behavioral data.

This study examined gender differences in reading behavior of 2652 Danish 5th-grade students (age 10-12 years, girls 51%, 14% immigrant background) observed for 218 days in 2019/2020, using data from a popular reading app. Reading behavior was operationalized as time spent reading. Analyses of timing of reading behavior and models of day-to-day reading time were employed to investigate the gender gap in reading behavior. Results show that girls read more than boys. This differential can be attributed to girls reading more outside school hours, during weekends and holidays than boys while there are no gender differences in reading activity during school hours. Results suggest that girls with positive academic attitudes were more inclined to read than boys with similar attitudes.

Locke on Prerogative

John Locke’s role in the advent of modernity has been debated widely. His work has been (ab)used by those arguing from libertarian, democratic, communitarian, socialist, feminist, or postcolonial points of view, either portraying him as a forefather of their preferred political theory or as an antagonist to their avowed political and philosophical goals. In this paper, we are primarily concerned with highlighting the importance of the executive’s prerogative in Locke’s philosophy, as we argue that this concept, often banished to the side-lines, is indeed central to Locke’s political theory. This partial neglect entails that some of the most popular readings of Locke are potentially based on faulty premises. We focus on how Locke’s prerogative is antithetical to the project of seeing Locke as a forefather of libertarianism. Furthermore, this paper’s arguments could also support challenges to interpretations of Locke as an early and important proponent of democracy. Rather than seeking to find support for modern theories through anachronistic and dubious readings of Locke, we focus on how he conceived of an exceedingly strong executive whose actions are exclusively restricted by the public good. We conclude that there is good reason to consider his philosophy proto-utilitarian, something that further highlights the conflict with libertarianism. As such, we conclude that libertarian or democratic theories postulating Locke as their direct predecessor should be re-examined to account for these findings.

Representations of Terror and Horror in the Frontispieces to Thomas and Robert Hughes’s Gothic Chapbooks

ABSTRACT Chapbooks are versatile print media that, more than any other print form, made available a wide variety of texts intended for popular reading to a broad and diverse readership. Gothic chapbooks or bluebooks, in particular, occupied an intermediary position between expensive editions of belles lettres and cheaply produced ballads and other literary ephemera. Adapting and appropriating genre conventions and narrative strategies, they both capitalised on and further contributed to the popularity of the Gothic genre in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. To date, however, little scholarly attention has been devoted to the frontispiece illustrations included in these chapbooks. This article examines the frontispieces to the Gothic bluebooks issued by Thomas and Robert Hughes in 1807 and 1808. Exploring the multifunctionality of the illustrations, it explores the ways in which they developed visual interpretations of Gothic horror and terror, generated metageneric reflections, and participated in a visual culture shared across different media networks. Functioning as a critical access point for readers, the frontispieces represented an integral part of the paratextual framing of the bluebook texts, generating meaning and affecting the Gothic reading experience.

Beyond sexual deviance: Elevating the expansive intimacies of Chicana lesbian life in Chicana Lesbians: The Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About

In this article, I expand popular readings of Chicana lesbianism focused on sexuality by tending more deeply to the affective terrains of love and kinship represented in the 1991 anthology Chicana Lesbians: The Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About edited by Carla Trujillo. Countering the (il)logics of white supremacy and Chicano nationalism which reduce Chicana lesbians to symbols of sexual deviance, I argue that Chicana Lesbians embodies an expansive matrix of intimacies that reconstruct the Chicana lesbian figure from a one-dimensional symbol of sexual deviance to a multi-faceted figure who redefines what it means to love one’s people and culture beyond colonial paradigms that privilege heterosexuality. Drawing upon theories of decolonial love and queer asexuality, I examine the expansive inner lives and intimacies of Chicana lesbians to construct a more thorough portrait of how we love and relate to each other. While many studies foreground the sexual lives and politics of Chicana lesbians as subversive to the heteronormative status quo, I elevate the equally powerful forces of love and kinship in our struggle to transform the legacies of colonialism and Chicano nationalism.

Of the Zenana: Ismat Chughtai and the Feminist Utopia

A zenana is generally read as a metaphor of male dominance over women. Marking a radical departure from this normalised perception of Zenana. Ismat Chughtai in her Lihaaf presents an alternative view. She destabilizes the association of a zenana with male governance and attempts to give it an altered dimension. While the popular readings of a zenana offer an understanding of it as a space to alienate women from the rest of the world, Chughtai in her Lihaaf uses the space as a microcosmic representation of her own world. This paper is an attempt to show Chughtai subverts a gendered space and establish a feminist Utopia around it. It muses on how patriarchy’s own intrinsic disparities produce it as a site of agential possibilities for women and create rooms for a feminist Utopia.

“You have my sword.” “You have my bow.” “And my axe.”: Creating a popular reading collection through interdepartmental collaboration

In Spring 2021, the Georgia Tech Library received unexpectedly robust support for the redevelopment of the Library’s previously removed Popular Reading Collection. The project had a strict four-month deadline to encumber funds and to ensure that materials were available before the Fall 2021 return to campus. A cross-functional team was established to create and implement a plan to achieve this goal. The successful project resulted in widespread positive feedback from students, Institute partners and leaders, and Library leadership. This case study demonstrates the importance of context in deciding library projects, the utility of cross-functional teams in establishing new collections, and the psychological value of physical materials to campus communities.

А.П. ЧЕХОВ И «БИОГРАФИИ С БОРОДАВКАМИ»: ГЕНЕЗИС, АЛГОРИТМЫ СОЗДАНИЯ И СПЕЦИФИКА ЖАНРА

The article is devoted to the phenomenon of “desacralizing” biography at the example of several studies of A.P. Chekhov’s life and works, and to the reasons of popularity of such biographies among the mass readers. This way to describe Chekhov’s life is partly connected with the memoir tradition, in particular, with the essay by N.M. Yezhov “Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (An attempt of characteristics)” (1909). N.M. Yezhov tried to create an objective yet creative psychological portrait of the writer, based on the experience of personal communication with A.P. Chekhov. The attempt was reduced to a many unprovable invectives and was perceived by the majority of contemporaries with a lot of skepticism. Today this genre of Chekhovian studies and literary criticism can be considered as an example of a postmodern approach to culture, which is characterized by de-canonizing of studies and depiction of classical cultural heritage. A book, which demonstrates all peculiar treats of the postmodern “desacralizing” way of cultural research, is the book written by D. Rayfield “Anton Chekhov: a life”. On the example of D. Rayfield’s book, we can see all the specific features of the phenomenon of “warts-and-all biography” (as the author describes the essence of this approach in one of his interviews): polemical references to the Chekhovian studies researches, quasi-scientific way of the presentation of the facts, the illusion of an objective presentation, combination of proven facts with the biographer’s unprovable assumptions. A careful analysis of all the components of desacralizing biographies allows us to conclude that the main target audience of their creators is the popular readers, which perceive de-canonizing works (pretending to be academic books) as a fully scientific evidence-based new look at certain aspects of Chekhov’s biography. In D. Rayfield’s work, this impression is also formed by the purposeful transformation of some ordinary facts of Chekhov’s biography into the crucial events in the writer’s life. The study of such works and the reaction of the wide readers to them is necessary for academic science to approach theoretically the contemporary cultural trends.

Either War Is Finished or We Are: Why Herman Wouk’s Duology Deserves a Second Look

AbstractThis article seeks to reinvigorate critical discussion of Herman Wouk by focusing on his two massive war novels, The Winds of War (1971) and War and Remembrance (1978). Although well known in his lifetime, Wouk has received only limited academic exposition. His memory is bifurcated between a popular readership that continues to turn to Wouk for entertainment and instruction, and his reception in academic reviews, which is primarily critical, and sometimes hostile. Missing is an account of the methods Wouk used to fuse history and fiction, as well as an exploration of how Wouk’s novels expressed his values. Addressing this gap, this article explores (1) the difference between the image of Wouk and the record of his writing; (2) his adoption of a stance based on biblical prophetic ideals, done to expose a “Thucydidean” political world; and (3) the seriousness of his commitment to using war novels in the service of future peace. Wouk earned an important place in American Holocaust literature. His duology also provides Jewish American letters of an interesting example of the reconceptualization of tropes of Victorian fiction as a means of confronting the contemporary world’s grimmest realities. He deserves a second look.