Role In History Research Articles

‘Ofer eall wifa cyn’: Cultivating Female Agency in David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest and Cynewulf’s Juliana

ABSTRACT David Foster Wallace situates “Infinite Jest” within the tradition of English literary history by mirroring the narrative of Hamlet. This literary-historical grounding intensifies the critical allure of Wallace’s reference to Old English by way of Cynewulf’s “Juliana.” I contend that, in “Infinite Jest,” Joelle van Dyne’s struggle for an independent identity can be read as a parallel to Juliana’s cultivation of an autonomous self through social defiance. For both women, their struggles for autonomy are marked by continued reliance on male figures: Joelle must socially and psychologically maneuver male relationships in order to fashion a sense of independence; similarly, Juliana attempts to construct a strong identity founded on her Christian faith, but this is potentially undercut by her reliance on a specifically male God. The women’s narratives are distinguished by their successes rather than their failures, which are reinforced through tropological elements of Old English exile. The duality between Joelle and Juliana highlights Wallace’s attempt to depict the perpetuation of historical gender roles, while the self-consciousness of his postmodern prose indicates his deep desire to grapple with the social issues that not only pervade literature today but have been woven into the fabric of English literary and social history.

Reaffirming Loyalty and Legitimacy: Representations of Hui Multi-Layered Identity in Bai Lian’s “Mountain Pass”

In the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) left many writers severed from their cultural roots. Starting in the 1980s, literary authors sought to address this disconnection by turning their attention to rural communities. This tendency is exemplified by the emergence of two significant trends: root-seeking literature and new fiction from Tibet. Root-seeking authors focused on local customs, marginalized cultures, and minority groups to reinvigorate Chinese literature and fill the perceived cultural void. Around the same time, new fiction from Tibet featured diverse responses to post-Mao changes, with some idealizing Tibet as a repository of “authentic” traditions, while others criticized its perceived backwardness. Both trends have been interpreted in scholarship as responses, often critical, to state policies. The short story “Mountain Pass” (1985) by Hui writer Bai Lian intersects with these movements temporally and thematically. However, unlike them, Bai Lian’s portrayal of rural communities emphasizes the Hui’s historical role in resisting the Qing empire, pivotal to the emergence of the PRC, while also highlighting the group’s Arab and Persian origins. This three-layered identification with the local, national, and transnational enriches our understanding of the 1980s literary landscape, challenging the notion that this era was solely characterized by resistance to the central state.

The Impact of a Study Trip to Auschwitz: Place-based Learning for Bioethics Education and Professional Identity Formation.

There are increasing calls for coverage of medicine during the Holocaust in medical school curricula. This article describes outcomes from a Holocaust and medicine educational program featuring a study trip to Poland, which focused on physician complicity during the Holocaust, as well as moral courage in health professionals who demonstrated various forms of resistance in the ghettos and concentration camps. The trip included tours of key sites in Krakow, Oswiecim, and the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps, as well as meeting with survivors, lectures, reflective writings, and discussions. In-depth interviews and reflective writings were qualitatively analyzed. Resulting themes centered on greater understanding of the relationship between bioethics and the Holocaust, recognizing the need for moral courage and social awareness, deeper appreciation for the historical roles played by dehumanization and medical power and their contemporary manifestations, and the power of presence and experiential learning for bioethics education and professional identity formation. These findings evidence the significant impact of the experience and suggest broader adoption of pedagogies that include place-based and experiential learning coupled with critical reflection can amplify the impact of bioethics and humanism education as well as the process of professional identity formation of medical students.

Differentiation of the Anammox core microbiome: Unraveling the evolutionary impetus of scalable gene flow

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation bacteria (AAOB), distinguished by their unique autotrophic nitrogen metabolism, hold pivotal positions in the global nitrogen cycle and environmental biotechnologies. However, the ecophysiology and evolution of AAOB remain poorly understood, attributed to the absence of monocultures. Hence, a comprehensive elucidation of the AAOB-dominated core microbiome, anammox core, is imperative to further completing the theory of engineered nitrogen removal and ecological roles of anammox. Performing taxonomic and phylogenetic analyses on collected genome repertoires, we show here that Candidatus Brocadia and Candidatus Kuenenia possesses a more compact core than Candidatus Jettenia, which partly explains why the latter has a less common ecological presence. Evidence of gene flow is particularly striking in functions related to biosynthesis and oxygen detoxification, underscoring the evolutionary forces driving lineage and core differentiation. Furthermore, CRISPR spacer traceback of the AAOB metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) reveals a series of genetic traces for the concealed phages. By reconceptualizing the functional divergence of AAOB with the historical role of phages, we ultimately propose a coevolutionary framework to understand the evolutionary trajectory of anammox microecology. The discoveries provided in this study offer new insights into understanding the evolution of AAOB and the ecology of anammox.

‘Solidarity of Action:’ Is Africa Reclaiming Its Historic Role as the Center of Palestinian Solidarity?

Solidarity against the colonial regime is one of the keys to overcoming the oppressor. This is why the 20th century, which is seen as the century of decolonization, experienced many demonstrations of solidarity from Africa to America. Palestine’s long resistance against the Israeli colonial project should be considered as another decolonization movement. Unfortunately, many Arab regimes have not shown solidarity with Palestine in recent years. While the Arab states have hesitated to show full solidarity, it is the African continent that has stepped in, internationalizing the debate regarding genocide. This is, indeed, not limited to Africa. South American states also show their support for Palestine and have halted their relations with Israel. How do we make sense of this solidarity, from Namibia to South Africa and from Nicaragua to Cuba? This commentary analyzes the evolution of Global South solidarity with Palestine since the foundation of Israel, with a more focused focus on the African continent. It demonstrates that as decolonial nations, African states have once again shown their solidarity with Palestine, even though there have been some hesitant times due to realpolitik and the U.S. role in protecting Israel’s status.

Bridging the gap(s): The importance of private law theory in the EU context

This article advocates for applying private law theories originating in the common law to EU private law. It argues that those theories can enhance the coherence and workability of EU private law, which currently lacks a comprehensive doctrinal structure. They can also help EU private law overcome the prevailing but flawed functionalist approach that suggests that EU private law primarily serves as a policy tool to achieve specific goals.The article unfolds in three parts: first, it compares the development of civil and common law private law theory, highlighting why thick private law theory only developed in common law jurisdictions and arguing that the same reasons apply to EU private law. Second, it contends that common law theories can enrich the discourse on EU private law, emphasising the need to consider both EU and national private law norms together. Lastly, it proposes that the common law-derived New Private Law theory offers a promising approach to interpreting EU private law, reconciling interpersonal aspects with instrumental objectives. This integration could foster a common language for discussing EU private law, akin to Roman law’s historical role. The paper encourages scholarly debate and adaptation of these theories to local conditions, aiming to bridge the gap between private law theory in common and civil law jurisdictions.

From twilight to starlight? Debating the role of chemoradiotherapy in gastric cancer in the D2 dissection era.

Patients affected by resectable locally advanced gastric cancer (GC) should receive perioperative chemotherapy as a standard of care. However, an additional benefit of adjuvant chemoradiation (CRT) has been negated by modern trials in the era of extended surgical dissection, and CRT is currently only considered on an individual basis in case of suboptimal resection. However, the dismal prognosis of GC and the modest treatment completion rates of perioperative chemotherapy have pushed to reconsider CRT, particularly as a preoperative treatment, in light of modern treatment techniques, advances in the understanding of the immune landscape and development of targeted agents. The aim of this review is to critically assess the historical role of CRT, the limitations of current evidence and to debate its potential role in an integrated neoadjuvant strategy for patients with resectable GC.

1920년대 대한민국 임시정부 주관 기념행사와 항일노래

This study examined the aspects and historical roles of anti-Japanese songs created and sung during the activities of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai, China, which resisted Japanese imperialism’s invasion of Korea. It is intended to clarify the reality and significance of cultural and artistic independent activities by analyzing the types and contents of anti-Japanese songs sung at various commemorative events held by the provisional government. First, the Shanghai Provisional Government celebrated March 1, the day of the declaration of independence, as a national holiday, and August 29 as a national Humiliation day. In addition, October 3 of the lunar calendar was established as “Foundation Day” and commemorative events involving temporary government factors were steadily held. At the site of this anniversary event, various anti-Japanese songs, including “The National Anthem,” were made and sang together to strengthen their will to resist Japanese. Second, the March 1st Independence Day event was held as a “celebration ceremony to commemorate the Declaration of Independence” in which lawmakers, government ministers, and students gathered within the parliamentarians. Participants sang “The National Anthem” based on the tune of “Auld lang Syne,” and mainly sang “Samiljeolga” and “Independence Army Song.” Independence Army Song is a representative Manchurian independence army song that was sung a lot in the 1910s, and the tune is borrowed from the American military song “Marching Through Georgia”. Third, on August 29th, the National Humiliation Day, “National Humiliation Song” and “National Humiliation Memorial Song” were mainly sung. On October 3rd of the lunar calendar, great religious figures and government factors attended the National Foundation Day and mainly sang “Shinga”. Fourth, various forms of memorial songs, including Requiem, were sung at an event to commemorate the martyrs who died during the independence movement. The memorial song was later sung at every event with a tune and was handed down as an anti-Japanese song.

Presupuestos teóricos en torno a la Historia en la Educación Superior Cubana

The article presented constitutes a new look at the place and role of History as a science in Higher Education in Cuba. Its objective is to offer some theoretical assumptions about this problem and the essential elements that mark the historical trend through which the links with society run to account for behaviors, attitudes and social relationships. Higher Education is directed towards a new interpretation of History, framed in the demands that Cuban society demands. Theoretical level methods were used such as: logical historical and dialectical hermeneutics, which allowed the understanding, explanation, interpretation of History as a science and its importance in the training of the university professional. The main results are framed in some assumptions that from a theoretical point of view allow us to take a new look at History. The conclusions are that History as a science must be analyzed with a comprehensive, totalizing vision, always respecting the space or context of coexistence and study. With this, achieving a new awareness that overcomes dogmas and mechanistic positions about this science.

Beyond victimhood and perpetration: Reconstruction of the ingroup's historical role in eight Eastern and Western European countries under Nazi occupation

AbstractThe Nazi regime's aggressive expansion across Europe during WWII created a landscape of suffering, resistance, and collaboration. How do lay Europeans today reconstruct their ingroup's roles during Nazi occupation, and how do different role representations relate to defensive responses aimed at protecting the ingroup from threat? We tested two theoretical predictions: Following the identity threat prediction, we expected that denying culpability but endorsing morally favorable group representations (e.g., victim‐heroism) would represent an ingroup‐defensive strategy, correlating with other defensive responses, such as victim‐directed negativity or victim‐blaming. Following the identity management prediction, we expected that precisely accepting culpability and acknowledging threatening representations (e.g., willing collaboration with Germans) would form the basis for a defensive stance and thus correlate with defensive intergroup reactions. Analyzing data from nine European samples spanning eight countries (N = 5474), we found support for the identity management prediction in six contexts: Lay representations as willing collaborators were associated with negative collective emotions and correlated with victim‐directed negativity, whereas victim‐hero representations showed no such connections. The remaining three countries revealed a mixture of the two identity accounts. We discuss implications for understanding historical representations and identity protection in groups that were both victims and perpetrators of massive intergroup atrocities.

Making climate finance: toward everyday, historically informed, and reparative understandings

The centering of climate finance around a narrow set of institutions, sites, instruments, practices, and technologies is an achievement made possible by the domination of finance capital and policy elites. In this intervention, we shift the spotlight away from such elite projects and practices in favor of a wider understanding of urban climate finance—one that includes a more diverse set of sites, activities and participants. A wider and more inclusive conceptualization of urban climate finance requires accounting for the historical and ongoing role of finance in the production of climate vulnerability. Reconceptualized in this way, urban climate finance expands to include everyday financial life in cities around the world. Everyday climate finance is thus generated in places where the risks and uncertainties of climate change are currently unrecognized by policy elites as such, yet are being managed through improvised repertoires of financial practices. Additionally, (re)considering past financial practices as climate finance (e.g. historical residential redlining that produces climate vulnerability today), provides a rationale for demanding that past and present financial actors account for today’s climate injustices, and contribute to future reparative and abolitionist climate action.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Framework in the Cultivation and Consumption of Kalanamak Rice: A Case Study

This research article examines the dimensions of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) in the cultivation and consumption of Kalanamak rice (KNR), a heritage and indigenous agricultural product of India. It explores the historical and contemporary roles of KNR in promoting or hindering DEIB within its cultural and agricultural contexts. The research is a unique attempt to construct the DEIB framework in KNR by using secondary resources and qualitative personal interview data, applying the grounded theory approach. The study provides insights into a rarely studied heritage/indigenous crop in India concerning the DEIB framework in its cultivation and consumption. The case study of KNR indicates that the equity and integration of marginal communities in KNR fall short of the desired level. Nonetheless, there is an acknowledgment of the necessity for progress in establishing a DEIB framework. Challenges such as insufficient financial resources and expertise, stemming from a prevailing power and privilege imbalance, are a threat to DEIB in KNR and need to be addressed by policymakers for the benefit of stakeholders. The article also highlights some of the government interventions to improve the DEIB of the KNR farmers and communities.

The role of historical knowledge among contemporary Druze in Lebanon: applying anthropology to preserve intangible cultural heritage

The millennium-long history of the Druze continues to shape members’ sense of ethnoreligious particularism and relations with other groups in Lebanon. Their contemporary heritage narrative and processes of enculturation are associated with basic knowledge of community history in the region. Participant interviews provided insight into the role that knowledge of history and dogma plays in shaping the identity politics of the Druze community. An applied anthropological and political economy approach offers contextualization of the factors that shape contemporary Druze cultural heritage. This work seeks to identify the connections among the community’s social problems, including exogamy, apathy, poor relations with other religious groups, and a self-described knowledge gap. By exploring the role of formal and informal cultural resources among the Druze, this study offers new insights into the role of history in shaping attachment to ethnoreligious community identity.

Non-aligned common front: strategic imaginaries of the new international economic order (NIEO)

ABSTRACT Fifty years after the Sixth Special Session, the Progressive International (PI) has declared a strategy of "renovating the NIEO". However, key questions remain about the decisions that created and led the original campaign. The NIEO's draft declarations were brought to the UN General Assembly by the leaders of 95 states, caucused as the G77. Their solidarity was necessarily pluralistic, drawing on Marxist and Liberal visions of what Adom Getachew called “post-imperial worldmaking”. This raises the question of how this global "common front" was possible, and what the PI might do differently this time. As a partial explanation, I compare two of the project's strategic imaginaries, showing that they were successfully synthesised in practice. As this legacy inspires the PI's focus on the possibilities of sovereign debt crises, the NIEO continues to play an important historical role. It alludes to possible options, or alternative futures, of world order and global development.

Navigating Mental Health and Wellness in Communities: A Review of the Literature and Implications for Libraries, Librarians, and Library Workers

ABSTRACT Through a review of current literature and by providing statistics regarding mental health and its impact on people, this article emphasizes the critical role of reference librarians in supporting mental health and wellness within the different types of communities they serve. Furthermore, the article highlights the global and national context of mental health, stressing the importance of understanding this background for librarians to better meet the health and wellness needs of the communities they serve. The author summarizes recent wellness initiatives by various types of libraries to serve as an inspiration for librarians considering implementing new wellness efforts. The historical role of libraries in supporting mental health, including through the practice of bibliotherapy and how that role has expanded over time, is also shared. The author advocates for librarians and library workers to pursue professional development that is specific to trauma-informed librarianship and related areas. Special emphasis is placed on reference librarians and library workers becoming certified in Mental Health First Aid. The author also recommends resources from library science literature that emphasize the need for whole-person librarianship, the importance of librarians and library workers’ mutual support for each other, and other relevant topics.

The photography of José Gómez de la Carrera and the construction of the territorial image of the early Republic of Cuba

This article studies the group of photographs by José Gómez de la Carrera, active in Cuba between 1885 and 1909, which entered the University of Navarra Museum Collection in 2018. With a multidisciplinary approach (heritage studies, art history, visual studies, and history of education), the article addresses the photographs as a visual testimony of important technical, political and cultural changes. After presenting the biography of the photographer – a pioneer of photojournalism and an outstanding war journalist – we study the material, technical and visual characteristics of the subgroup of photographs taken when he accompanied Carlos de la Torre on his scientific expeditions in Cuba. The essay describes the historical and cultural role of these images, which became part of the visual repertoire of the time through educational projects. Taken in a context of struggle for independence, and visually reliant on parameters forged in Romanticism, eventually these photos were featured widely in the first geography textbook of the island for use in primary schools, which, through multiple editions, contributed to the formation of the territorial image of the new Republic.

The making of cheese in the Orkney Islands

ABSTRACT This paper explores the meanings of cheese production and consumption in the geographical branding of the Orkney Islands. Based on both traditional and innovative techniques, the making of cheese in the Orkney Islands is rooted in the historical farming role of its inhabitants but also in its strategic position in the North-Atlantic Ocean. This article explains the origins and evolution of the production of cheese on the islands and connects it to the contemporary consumption on the islands’ restaurants, that award tourism value to cheese people, places and practices.

Algologies: an artistic exploration of the entangled relationship between seaweed, women and science through a BioArt methodology

ABSTRACT This paper describes the “Algologies” project, an art project about seaweed exploring the entangled relationships between seaweed, women and science. The project was created in 2021, during the COVID-19 Pandemic, through the Living Coast Art Residency awarded by Fabrica Gallery and The Living Coast UNESCO World Biosphere and the coastline to the East of Brighton. The project plays with the Victorian word algology which used to mean the study of seaweed and its contemporary meaning as the study and medical treatment of pain and highlights the calming nature of the coastal environment during a time of collective global trauma. The “Algologies” project drew links between Victorian seaweed collectors, the use of seaweed-based agar jelly in contemporary biology, and seaweed growth as a barometer of climate change and the environment as well as a strategy for carbon capture. The transdisciplinary project fused fine art, performance and BioArt techniques with biohacking and DIY science, as well as digital technologies and resulted in a series of outputs including a public sculpture. Central to “Algologies” was the examination of the historical role of women in seaweed collection and scientific observation. In Victorian Britain, where patriarchal norms prevailed, women were often relegated to domestic roles but found opportunities for scientific engagement through activities like seaweed collecting. Figures such as Mary Philadelphia Merrifield and Anna Atkins emerged as pioneers in the study of seaweed, making significant contributions to botanical research and early photographic techniques. Notably, the project highlighted the pivotal role of Angelina (Lina) Fannie Hesse in suggesting the use of seaweed-derived agar in microbiology, a contribution that continues to impact scientific practices today. Beyond historical perspectives, “Algologies” addresses contemporary issues such as climate change and invasive species of seaweed and how the public can be engaged in these topics through art. The paper concludes by discussing the potential of seaweed for carbon capture and its role as a barometer of environmental health, as well as its use biotechnology

Women and medicinal plants: a systematic review in the field of ethnobotany

This study delves into the intricate relationship between women and medicinal plants, underscoring their historical and cultural roles mainly in 11 different countries. By specifically examining the impact of social impositions on gender in healthcare and the use of medicinal plants, the research critiques the perspectives that have marginalized both women and nature. To address these issues, ethnobotanical studies should promote research that encompasses the gender. Conducting a systematic review on Women and Medicinal Plants, the research explores key aspects in ethnobotanical studies: botanical knowledge, transmission of knowledge, medicinal plants used in women’s reproductive health, access to healthcare, and the primary knowledge holders. The bibliographic survey, utilizing the Capes database, reveals 205 plant species with 32 medicinal uses for women's health. Rute chalepensis L. (rue) was mentioned four times for abortion, labor contraction, facilitating childbirth, and placental expulsion. In relation to women’s reproductive health, different plants have been used by women and traditional practitioners worldwide. The use of medicinal plants can be associated with social vulnerability in marginalized communities by society which do not have easy access to public health, so they rely on alternative methods such as homemade remedies. Although knowledge about medicinal plants is an intellectual task developed by women, in some societies, such as capitalist societies, gender roles will evolve into specific knowledge, such as the task of family health care. The triple workload is not beneficial to women. Traditional knowledge, when allied with sustainability, can promote gender equality by transmitting intergenerational botanical knowledge without gender distinction and by reclaiming cultivation practices beneficial to the environment, biodiversity, and human health. The study invites ethnobotanical researchers to investigate gender dynamics within their studies. The results of this work can contribute to future research on women and medicinal plants.

Association of ACT-guided anticoagulation with complications during ECMO support: A systematic review and meta-analysis: ACT monitoring and haemostatic complications during ECMO

ObjectiveExtracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) requires systemic anticoagulation to reduce the risk of thromboembolic events. Despite its historic role, activated clotting time (ACT) remains a widely used heparin monitoring method. Systematic evidence on the association of ACT-guided monitoring with hemorrhagic or thromboembolic complications does not exist. DesignSystematic literature review and meta-analysis (Scopus and PubMed, July 2023) SettingAll cohort studies ParticipantsPatients receiving ECMO support InterventionAnticoagulation monitoring with ACT Measurements and maim resultsWe identified 3177 publications, with eight studies reporting the average ACT values for patients with and without bleeding. Meta-analysis revealed no significant difference in the compared groups (SMD = 0.69; 95% CI: −0.05; 1.43, p = 0.069; I2 = 87.4%). Three studies (n = 117 patients) reported on the average ACT values for patients with thrombosis, without significant differences in ACT values between patients with and without thrombosis (SMD = 0.47; 95% CI: −0.50; 1.44, p = 0.342; I2 = 81.1%). ConclusionsEven though ACT is a widely used heparin monitoring tool, the evidence on its association with hemorrhagic or thromboembolic events is still controversial and limited. Further studies are essential to elucidate the role of ACT in anticoagulation monitoring during ECMO support.