Return to the crossroads: Maritain fifty years on

Abstract:

Writing a little over a decade ago of developments in educational philosophy, R. F. Dearden remarked on the dearth of alternative approaches to that of conceptual analysis which predominated, at least in Anglophone cultures, at that time. One possible avenue of enquiry which he identified as conspicuously absent in this respect was the development of a distinctively Catholic approach to problems of educational philosophy, observing that a work of the mid‐war years, Maritain's Education at the Crossroads (1943), appeared to be well nigh the only modem effort in this direction. More than a decade on from this, in a climate no longer exclusively dominated by conceptual analysis – indeed, in which there is unprecedented interest in a wealth of different schools, traditions and approaches to philosophy of education – Dearden's remarks about the absence of a distinctively Catholic perspective still apply. In the following essay, therefore, the authors have undertaken, via a critical analysis of Maritain's educational speculations of half a century ago, to try to discern some of the principal issues and considerations which would need to be addressed in the interests of identifying a distinctively Catholic educational philosophy.     

Pedagogical conferences and stillborn professionalism among nineteenth century instituteurs, 1830–1848

By the time of the July Revolution of 1830, the matter of training elementary school teachers had become important in French politics. But the literature on teacher training does not properly examine the linkage between training institutions and professionalism. The standard narrative of the development of primary education suggests that the July Monarchy (1830–1848) was a key time for the development of secular teachers’ professional status. However, if we accept Andrew Abbot’s notion of professionalism as conflict over legitimate jurisdiction over service provision, then the instituteurs of this era were not professionals. Not only was the Catholic Church an important competitor to the secular schoolteachers but, just as importantly, the persistence of localism and lack of central coordination of training institutions ensured that no professional esprit de corps would be possible among the teachers. After examining the historical literature and outlining the significance of Abbot’s notion of professionalism, I devote the longest section of this paper to a less‐studied teacher training instrument of the era: the pedagogical conferences. The conferences were opportunities for working teachers to meet and learn to improve their pedagogical skills and knowledge. However, they display both of the dilemmas that prevented secular schoolteachers from being professionals: the presence of a more legitimate competing authority, the Catholic Church, and the persistent tension between centre and periphery.     

罗曼·英伽登文论在中国的接受

西方现象学文论作为20世纪文学理论的重要流派,对文学理论、美学的发展产生了深远的影响。其中波兰哲学家、现象学美学家罗曼·英伽登将现象学的研究方法运用于美学研究,成为现象学美学的重要代表。本文拟从英伽登的现象学文论在中国的接受情况入手,运用比较研究的方法,从上个世纪80年代开始,每十年为一个阶段浅谈其接受过程中产生的变化。     

论英诺森三世对第四次十字军东征转向的态度

根据现存原始资料的记载,英诺森三世没有参与促使第四次十字军东征转向的阴谋,但他知道这次东征转向攻打扎拉和君士坦丁堡的阴谋的绝大多数事实。对这次东征的转向他采取表面上禁止、实质上支持的态度,目的是为了替自己开脱责任,避免因公开支持十字军攻打基督教徒而受到质疑和指责,万一十字军未能攻下君士坦丁堡也能够置身事外,更重要的是为了进一步扩张罗马教会的势力范围。     

诗人已逝 神话犹存——略论罗曼·雅各布森的神话诗学

罗曼·雅各布森不拘一格地将作者、文本与语境统一起来,服务于生平与作品关系的研究,揭示出诗人的诗歌神话即诗歌文本潜在的深层结构所在,一定程度上复活了被形式诗学所抛弃的"作者"和"语境"要素的决定价值,实现了对当时盛行的"庸俗生平主义"研究和"反生平主义"研究的超越。雅各布森的神话诗学既不同于"以作者为中心"的传统文论,也不同于纯粹"以文本为中心"的形式文论,而是综合运用历史主义、结构主义和科学实证主义的方法,探究诗歌文本意义生成的条件机制。     

The teacher as moral educator: comparative study of secondary teachers in Catholic schools in Australia and Ireland

This paper considers the role of the teacher in relation to moral education in Catholic schools in Australia and Ireland. Literature pertaining to faith-based schooling, the moral role of the teacher and moral education across the curriculum in both countries is outlined. The paper draws on a small-scale study involving a survey with 154 respondents and individual interviews with nine teachers. Some interesting country differences emerged that are indicative of cultural settings. These include pedagogical practices, the nature of teacher–student relationships and levels of awareness of schools' founding charisms. Some implications for moral education in faith-based schools are identified.     

Uncovering a masterpiece of Roman engineering: The project of Via Appia between Colle Pardo and Terracina

Via Appia, built around 312 BC, is an engineering masterpiece, its most striking feature being the segment between Colle Pardo and Terracina, which goes “straight” for about 61 km. We investigate this segment by GPS techniques: results lead to uncover that the original project of the road was based on a complex interplay between geometry and astronomy. The project was indeed carried out with the help of an orthogonal centuriation grid, with all probabilities starting from a node located at the south easternmost point of the grid itself. The road however does not run along the grid's diagonal: it was orientated astronomically to the setting of the star Castor at the time of construction. Since the Gemini twins were patrons of the Roman army, the project turns out to be a work entertained for both practical and symbolic reasons, during a key moment of the Roman history.     

Modeling the thickness of vaults in the church of santa maria de magdalena (Valencia,Spain) with laser scanning techniques

Restoring cultural heritage is an extremely important job due to its immeasurable value. However, it also requires even greater attention in the case of a building. The actions taken on these constructions not only guarantee their preservation from the point of view of their historical value, but they also guarantee their stability as structures. The need to control historic buildings, analyzing their defects and their possible consequences, is decisive in preventing significant damage. This work demonstrates calculating the thickness of vaults in a church. It is easy to determine the interior and exterior 3D geometry of the church using scanner laser techniques. By combining both geometries, it is easy to determine the difference between the interior vaults and the roof of the church. However, the interior of both geometries is completely unknown, and it is not possible to act on their condition for structural consolidation purposes. This work shows the methods used to determine the interior sections of the vault thicknesses by referencing the internal geometry of both models with the interior of the church, using plumb line system scanning. The results obtained show accuracy better than 6 millimeters.     

Creating spaces in a male domain: Sister Principals in Catholic schools, 1850–1974

This paper builds on recent scholarship on the gendered nature of educational work to argue that while conceptualisations of the principalship are underpinned by scholarship and policy assumptions that construct the work of the principal as a male domain, women have responded to opportunities presented by changing historical, political and social contexts, creating professional spaces for themselves as principals in primary and secondary schools within both state and Catholic school systems. It details how in the years prior to 1975, a time when the majority of state primary and secondary schools were led by men, the principalship of New Zealand Catholic schools was a largely female endeavour. The experience of Catholic Sister Principals was framed by the fact that they were women leading schools in a world dominated by men. Implicit in this arrangement were the ecclesiastical authority structures and their subjection to the convent hierarchy. Nevertheless, Sister Principals learned a range of strategies that enabled them to negotiate with Church and religious authorities and to undertake the diverse tasks associated with the leadership of Catholic schools.     

Library Services for the Poor: Implications for Library Education

This article deals with the historical role of public libraries in the United States especially relating to the poor; the commitment on the part of libraries to serve the underserved growing out of the turmoil of the sixties and the War on Poverty, and the effect of changing inner‐city populations on the future role of libraries.