Experimental science: Joseph Priestley’s influence in the infrastructure of the seventeenth-century science education

This paper discusses the emergence of science education in the seventeenth century with the influences of Joseph Priestley on the Dissenting Academies. Primarily, this paper analyses Priestley’s ideas from some of his letters to scientists during his time and his ideas from his books Miscellaneous Observations Relating to Education (1778) and the Essay on a Course of Liberal Education for Civil and Active Life (1765). As an expository essay, analysis shows that the inclusion of experimental science education dates back from the Dissenting Academies when they explicitly aligned science education for practical life. With Priestley’s advocacy on experimental learning in science, his idea of hands-on science education encouraged other dissenters to seek and understand the changing natural world. His advocacy states that knowledge and understanding of the natural world builds the foundation for rationally evaluating the developments derived from permissible scientific theories. Not setting aside religious studies, Priestley promoted a radical education which ended the restrictions to the privileged and powerful few so that it opened up the access of learning for everyone whose capacity may range from scientific, religious, political, or educational propensities.     

Memorizing a memory: Schwab’s the Practical in a German context

The paper outlines the reception of Schwab’s essay ‘The practical: A language for curriculum’ in German-speaking countries in the 1970s and 1980s. The story is a good demonstration of the ways in which different circumstances and phases of development determine transatlantic exchanges and the influence of concepts in the field of education, and especially of curriculum. The central ideas of Joseph J. Schwab’s concept of curriculum theory and curriculum-making were related to the traditions of general Didaktik in the German-speaking world. It would have been well suited for a reception. Nevertheless, the reception the essay received was at first not a story of success; on the contrary, we have to diagnose a historical neglect. Circumstances today are much better for rethinking Schwab’s analysis under the new conditions of standardizing and competence-oriented curriculum policies.     

Reading Schwab’s the ‘Practical’ as an invitation to a curriculum enquiry

In this retrospective essay reviewing the implications of Joseph Schwab’s essay, ‘The practical: A language for education’ (2013 [1970]), 40?+?years after its first publication, I identify two ‘practicals’. The first is a comprehensive ‘Practical 1.1’ embracing ends, subject matter, problem source and methods. This ‘practical’ has radical implications for curriculum studies, and for educational theory and research more generally. However, these implications have not been recognized. On the other hand, Schwab’s deliberation-centred interpretation of the ‘practical’, the ‘Practical 1.2’, has been widely discussed but has not captured the field of curriculum studies because it fails to map onto the structures of most school systems.     

TV,technology, and McCarthyism: crafting the democratic renaissance in an age of fear

One of the most watched political events in the United States at mid‐century, the Army‐McCarthy hearings coincided with the early period of the reception and evaluation of television as a force in society. Although optimistic rhetoric often attends the rise of new technologies, worries and fears about the power of television pervaded coverage of the hearings. The popular press expressed concern that Edward R. Murrow and Joseph McCarthy exercised unrivaled control over television viewers. Murrow and McCarthy became condensation symbols in a new struggle over control of the airwaves, and their highly publicized standoff established discursive rules for thinking about the power of audiences, journalists, and politicians.     

索尔贝娄小说中约瑟夫的哈姆雷特式解读

索尔贝娄第一部小说《挂起来的人》的主人公约瑟夫,在等待入伍的过程中用日记记录自己的生活。他是一个没有生活重心,挂起来的人。他与莎翁名剧《哈姆雷特》的主人公哈姆雷特王子有着诸多相似之处。文章分别以哈姆雷特式孤独、失语和延宕三个方面对约瑟夫进行了解读。     

“李约瑟难题”研究述评

“李约瑟难题”长期以来一直困扰着学术界，并吸引了许多学者孜孜不倦地去探求该难题的答案。有关这方面的研究归纳起来主要有三个方面：（1）对难题本身的真伪性讨论；（2）对难题的解答；（3）对难题意义的认识。我国学术界对“李约瑟难题”的研究对于我们如何进行学术研究，如何正确认识学术标准和学术价值，以科学的态度研究学术具有重要的借鉴意义。     

中国现代化的开端与资本主义起源问题--从"李约瑟文化难题"说起

"李约瑟文化难题"是个假命题,但这个文化难题却涉及到(1)在世界现代化进程中关于中国现代化的开端问题;(2)中国近代为何没有产生资本主义.在这一问题的研究上,应强调中国现代化进程的独特性,从而恰切地把握我国现代化进程与资本主义起源问题之间"度"的中介意向.     

约瑟夫·海勒的艺术观

约瑟夫·海勒的写作是想象力的产物,这种想象力取自美国后现代生活。本文考察约瑟夫·海勒的艺术观,借以解释美国后现代社会是如何产生海勒的具有怪诞效果的后现代艺术。     

论英国伦敦会传教士艾约瑟对太平天国态度的转变

太平天国运动是中国近代史上一次伟大的农民起义,建立了与清王朝对峙的政权——太平天国,它尊崇“拜上帝教”。此教与基督教颇为相似,而且传教士艾约瑟与太平天国领导人洪仁歼交往甚深,故而,艾约瑟坚信,太平天国会转信基督教,基督教最终会征服整个中国。拜上帝教是为太平天国能够正常存在而服务的,与艾约瑟所宣扬的基督教信仰存在着本质差别。     

李约瑟与史华兹眼中的老子“自然”观

从李约瑟与史华兹的作品来看，两人提出的共同议题主要在于老子的“自然”观是否可与西方之科学的自然主义寻获共通性。由此而展开如下的议题：1．道家之“道”，李约瑟认为有如希腊哲学中Heracletus(赫拉克利特)的主宰(logos)，史华兹却以为中国思想中不存在化约主义(reductionism)的倾向；2．“自然”的统一性和自发性；3．道家对自然之态度及其科学观察之心理一“静心”，李约瑟认为可与希腊Epicurean(伊比鸠鲁)和Democritus(德谟克利特)原子论的观念相提并论；史华兹则以为“静心”虽可与科学家处理自然的态度共同使用，但事实上并不能提供任何有力的证据，说明老子从事“自然的观察”或“科学的探究”。而史华兹除了以多元的角度来反思李约瑟的观点，又提及老子的二元对立说可与希腊哲学中Anaximander(阿那克西曼德)与Heracleitus(赫拉克利特)的二元辩证法作比较。