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The science-studies approach seeks to go beyond a history of scientific concepts and their developers; rather, its practitioners want to unravel the cultural and ideological influences that shape the content of those theories. A new science-studies program was initiated at the University of California at San Diego. (MLW)

In answer to the question "Should ethnobiology and ethnomedicine more decisively foster hypothesis-driven forefront research able to turn findings into policy and abandon more classical folkloric studies?", in this essay I argue that a major strength of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine is their ability to bridge theories and methods from the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities. Hypothesis-driven research is a powerful way to structure thinking that can lead to forefront research findings. But hypothesis-driven research is not the only way to structure thinking and is not a necessary condition to impact policymaking. To increase policy impact, ethnobiology and ethnomedicine should continue nurturing a mixture of complementary methods and inclusive approaches as fragmentation through opposing different approaches might weaken the discipline. Moreover, with the aim to play a fundamental role in building bridges between different knowledge systems and co-producing solutions towards sustainability, the discipline could benefit from enlarging its epistemological grounds through more collaborative research. Ethnobiologists' research findings, hypothesis-driven, descriptive, or co-constructed can become leverage points to transform knowledge into actionable outcomes in different levels of decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tackling aversions to theory in the social sciences and humanities, this piece unpacks the bad faiths and myopic commentary directed at non-positivist and conceptually driven texts. Drawing on critiques and defenses mounted in the 1980s, 1990s, and the present—alongside exchanges inside and outside the classroom—it mounts an unapologetic defense of theory centering the skillful labors that allow us to compare, argue, distill, critique, abandon, rework, and interpret phenomena. Zeroing in on the empirical and theoretical moves always at play in ethnography, it argues on behalf of the value of allowing lines of thought to carry us obliquely along as much as explicate things. Some closing injunctions around foregrounding what is exciting and nourishing about theory and the pleasures and possibilities of adopting an experimental ethos toward it are put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article titled "LIVED FUTURES: ORIENTATIONS AND FUTURE PRACTICES IN UNCERTAIN TIMES" presents a dossier on the orientations and practices of the future in uncertain times. The editors of the dossier were surprised by the amount of articles received that addressed the theme of future time, as they considered that this topic did not have a significant presence in the Spanish-speaking academic debate. The article highlights the diversity of perspectives and approaches present in the dossier, as well as the importance of exploring the multiple futures that are constantly contested in society. It also mentions the temporal turn that the field of social sciences and humanities has experienced in recent decades, where greater attention has been paid to future time. [Extracted from the article]

The debate on Medical Humanities, which is beginning to be historically dated, is still far from having exhausted the potential of its discussion. These editorial aims to overview the current situation of MH and explore new paths for MH opened up by transdisciplinary collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes the works related to the understanding of performative practices as a phenomenon of modern culture and art; it highlights the principal trends of the studies of this phenomenon. The reasons for the growing interest in the study of performative practices were clarified, the complexity and ambiguity of this phenomenon as a special socio-cultural communicative action, having the appearance of an "artistic event," a theatrical action, a dynamic symbolic action affecting all channels of human perception, was emphasized. The work is aimed at the analytical study of the essence of specificity of performative practices within the framework of various study optics from the standpoint of social and cultural anthropology and art history, in direct connection with social and cultural life, human emotions, cultural patterns, etc. The aim of the paper is to identify the theoretical definition of the "performative practices" concept in the contemporary humanities, which will allow solving the scientific problem of determining the essential specificity of performative practices as a modern cultural phenomenon. General scientific approaches, principles, and methods employed made it possible to consider the phenomenon of performative practices from different angles: theoretical interpretations of the basic forms of performative practices were compared using the comparative method; the use of the structural-functional method helped to determine the components creating an idea of the meaning of certain performance elements as the forms of manifestation of performative practices in modern culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article titled "Emotions in research in the humanities and social sciences" analyzes the importance of emotions and the body in research in the humanities and social sciences. The book's directors, Stéphane Héas and Omar Zanna, highlight the relevance of these themes in scientific production and their relationship with cognition and learning. Additionally, the ethnographic work carried out worldwide in the study of representations of colonial empires and decolonized peoples is mentioned. The theoretical and methodological approach proposed in the book considers emotions as useful guides in the research and analysis process, and not as obstacles to rationality. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Rheinische Vierteljahrsblatter is the property of Universitat Bonn, Inst fur Geschichstwissenschaft, Abt Fruhe Neuzeit & Rheinische Landesgeschichte and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The present work represents the Laudatio for the Laurea Doctor Honoris Causa of the "Ştefan cel Mare" University of Suceava, bestowed upon dr. Otilia Hedeşan, a professor at the West University of Timişoara. A prestigious personality in the Romanian academic environment, with an excellent scientific and teaching career in the field of humanities in general, but particularly in the field of ethnology and anthropology, professor Hedeşan is an intellectual role-model, always concerned with her professional achievement. This text reveals the most significant aspects of her scientific and teaching activities or her membership to various relevant investigation projects; all of the above testify to the passion, devotion and vocation of a personality that increases the visibility of Romanian humanities within the international cultural environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a historical ethnography of an imaginary road. Drawing on printed sources, archival material, and new field research, the article analyses the Icelandic folktale of 'Loss of Men on Heiðarbæjarheiði' (Manntjónið á Heiðarbæjarheiði), a story of regional importance in the Strandir district of the Icelandic Westfjords, especially the fjord of Steingrímsfjörður. The article shows the shape this story takes when encountered locally, where it appears in the form of minimalist place-storytelling that is actualized in the engagement with particular places. It thus contributes to our understanding of how legends work 'on the ground'. In this local form as place-storytelling, the narrative shows considerable variation and a strong focus on the interpretation of local place names. Based on the contexts and variation observed between the different variants of the story, this article reads 'Loss of Men' as a formulation of collective fears, thereby contributing not only to research on legends, but also to the current discourse on emotions in the humanities more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Historical Journal / Historijski Zbornik is the property of Drustvo za Hrvatsku Povjesnicu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article focuses on East–West cultural discourse as seen by Georgian poets of the nineteenth century such as Grigol Orbeliani and Ilia Chavchavadze. It mentions two empires, the Persian and the Ottoman, conquered Georgia many times over the centuries and had significant impacts on its historical and cultural development. It also mentions information contained therein using the approaches of various fields in the humanities in ethnography, literary criticism, and culturology.

The history of Russian social anthropology has long been best known for the work of three, late nineteenth‐century "exile ethnographers," each sent to the Russian Far East for their anti‐tsarist activities as students. All three men—Vladimir Bogoraz, Vladimir Iokhel'son, and Lev Shternberg—produced voluminous and celebrated works on Russian far eastern indigenous life, but it was the young Shternberg who had perhaps the most profound effect on setting the agenda for the canonic evolutionist line soon to take hold in late Russian imperial and early Soviet ethnography. This essay draws on archival, library, and field research to revisit the life and work of Shternberg in order to tell the story of "group marriage" that he documented for the life of one Sakhalin Island indigenous people, Gilyaks (or Nivkhgu, Nivkhi). Documented in this way by Shternberg, the Nivkh kinship system proved a crucial "missing link" for Friedrich Engels, who had long been eager to provide evidence of primitive communism as man's natural state. For Gilyaks, the die was cast. Their role as the quintessential savages of Engels' favor made them famous in Russian and Soviet ethnographic literature, and significantly enhanced their importance to Soviet government planners. This essay tracks that episode and its aftermaths as a pivotal moment in the history of Russian social anthropology and of evolutionist thought more broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This text derives from a recording, and transcripts, of the introduction which Althusser gave on 6 December 1963, to a seminar for students in the École Normale Supérieure, Paris, offered at his invitation by Pierre Bourdieu and Jean-Claude Passeron. Althusser takes the opportunity to raise questions about the status of social science and suggests that Bourdieu and Passeron represent slightly different strands of contemporary research practice, partly as a result of their different formation and practice since themselves leaving the École. Althusser first considers the relation between the human sciences and the traditionally instituted Faculty of Letters or Humanities. What is the origin of the compulsion to constitute a science of human relations? Given that the social sciences have established themselves, Althusser then tries to define their nature. He suggests that they have three forms: as abstract and general theory, as ethnology, and as empirical sociology. He discusses the pros and cons of each in some detail. Althusser then asks what are the features which constitute sciences and concludes that they must always possess discrete theoretical perspectives corresponding with discrete components of reality but must also possess an element of self-referentiality or, as he puts it, must be objects to themselves. Althusser suggests that his contemporary social sciences are not philosophically adequate by the criteria which he advances. He proceeds to introduce Bourdieu and Passeron in such a way as to invite consideration of whether their practices meet his criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To mark Lithuania's centenary, this issue is dedicated to the genesis of anthropology, ethnology, ethnography and folklore. This interdisciplinary issue covers the history of ideas, or the science of ideas in the 19th and early 20th centuries and beyond. Lithuanian scientists who graduated from universities in the Russian Empire and Europe developed theoretical concepts of Enlightenment in the humanities and the social sciences. The emerging study of Lithuania integrated and interpreted the concepts of ethnic research that prevailed in Europe and Imperial Russia at that time. Using a comparative approach, the thematic articles reveal the links between the genesis of Lithuanian ethnology and anthropology, and the research into ethnic groups in the Russian Empire, the Other, the study of people and nations in the West, and the ideas of Völkerkunde. The focus is on the following issues: the reception of ethnography and Lithuanian studies, the comparative study of people and nations, and ideas of nationalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Tabayyun is the property of Arab Center for Research & Policy Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paper will examine two cases studies regarding collection development within Florida Gulf Coast University's Archives and Special Collections to highlight the department's efforts to curate collections that challenge gender and cultural bias. Librarians can influence the common historical perspective by collecting primary resources, such as oral histories, that challenge established norms. In recent decades, librarians have sought more diverse and inclusive collections to augment the resources available to scholars and storytellers. Oral histories are a powerful resource capable of providing valuable and differing perspectives of history and the human experience. This paper will discuss the rewards and challenges of collecting, cataloguing, and providing access to two oral history collections: a collection of ethnographies regarding sexual assault (S(he) Will Fade) and a collection of testimonies from people who dealt with the reality of abortion pre- and post-Roe v. Wade (Histories of Choice). The case studies address the importance of academic institutions' engagement with such collections, faculty and students' role in the collection of the oral histories, potential legal issues, and the impact of letting their voices be heard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The annual ethnographic performance SJS-Who? is an example of how theatre may survive or even thrive in an educational/institutional environment that seems increasingly indifferent to the arts and humanities. In addition to being a meaningful educational experience for many students, SJS-Who? has successfully increased the profile of performance work within the department, college, and university. It also offers an opportunity to publicly critique university policy and campus climate. However, there are risks to aligning theatre with social science, and about the work's efficacy as an activist tool within a larger institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autoethnography is a research methodology that employs conscious becoming as a strategy for producing academic knowledge. As it grows in popularity across disciplines in the social sciences and humanities, should those who employ the methodology start thinking through the consequences of such becoming for the person engaging in it? This essay draws from the author's long-term work on street style bloggers to argue that autoethnography is a practice with risks both practical and existential, and it suggests that social scientific training should begin to take into consideration the kinds of people ethnographers have to become in order to do their work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I analyze the methodological contributions of Michel FOUCAULT, highlighting his affinity with qualitative strategies of research in the human and social sciences. I propose a theoretical study on the subject, working with historical and conceptual aspects of Michel FOUCAULT's methodology and its application to qualitative research. This text is organized into three analytical axes: a discussion of the methodological questions developed by Michel FOUCAULT; a correlation of his perspective with contemporary literature about qualitative research; and an analysis of the methodological design of his final research. I emphasize his decision to study problems from their "most singular and concrete forms." I explore the outline of his final research on the genealogy of the modern subject, analyzing the reasons for his methodological choices. Finally, I propose that the construction of relevant research problems, handled with detail and precision, and using classic research methods, contributed to the incisive impact of his work in the field of human and social sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An ethnographic research project undertaken by the libraries of the School of Arts and Humanities at the University of Cambridge sought to understand the impact of academic/library relationships in a devolved institutional structure. The results of the research provided clear evidence of the high regard in which academic engagement with libraries is held by both academic and library staff in Arts and Humanities subjects. It underlined the academic perception of library staff as colleagues and confirmed the advantages of the current devolved structure. As subject libraries are inextricably bound up with Faculty matters, academic, administrative, or library-related, this familiarity and the contextualized knowledge it affords can be beneficial for academics with limited time. In addition, it means local libraries are able to provide the wider University library services with a head start in implementing new initiatives. The principal findings highlight collaboration, context, and empowered staff as underpinning successful academic engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on literary studies including humanities and mentions the impact of higher education on liberal arts education. Topics discussed include French language and literature, promotion of students for development of thesis and writing research papers, and collaborations with fields of cultural anthropology, history, and philosophy.

In “How do I live in this strange place?”, Samantha Vice contends that white South Africans ought to feel shame for their unjustly acquired privilege and their morally compromised selves, and recommends that they engage with humility and political silence in projects of personal transformation though private, critical self-examination. On one view, philosophy is in part concerned with practical inquiry into how one might lead a good life, and for many, at least, this necessitates some form of moral learning. Ideally, the philosophers concerned with this question could give practical, action-guiding advice on how one might undertake this moral learning, advice well-supported by evidence and with reasonably good prospects for success. I argue that philosophically “therapeutic” projects of the kind advocated by Vice necessarily involve forms of moral learning, and that a range of empirical research in cognitive, moral, and educational psychology thus bear on their methods and prospects. These considerations undermine the outlook of therapeutic projects that rely principally on solitary methods of critical reflection and introspection. I challenge philosophers to develop more practical, actionable, evidence-based counsel on how to engage in moral learning of the type that Vice and her critics recommend, and I articulate several candidate proposals inspired by research from the educational, learning sciences and debiasing literatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The South Vértes is one of the regions in Hungary where the battles between the opposing Hungarian-German and Russian sides went on for the longest period of time and were the severest. The fates of the people living in the region varied, as every village had its unique history and played a different role in the war. Moreover, individual families expressed unique attitudes in their narratives about the front, depending on whether they survived the war without major losses or suffered great traumas. The article explores stories told by local people about the "Russian airport", the only Soviet barracks established in the region after World War II, and how it was linked to the violent events of the war. While the Russian barracks in general appeared to serve as a platform for the fear accompanying the comments on World War II, different generations of local people have different positions in relation to the front and rely on different techniques for telling stories about the war. The focus is on people who were born during or just before the war and consequently have limited personal experience of the front. Members of this generation unconsciously use the "Russian airport" and its residents as a parallel platform to talk about World War II and experiences involving their families, exemplifying the complexities of communicating about the war and emotions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]