Search Results (265)

This is a study of the nun as a queer archetype of femininity across Kate O’Brien’s fiction and non-fiction. Alongside characters who are actual nuns, the fiction includes characters who can be described as ‘nun-like,’ especially in their renunciation of sexual desire. In the fiction, this secular renunciation is aligned with religious celibacy as actively chosen and ethically purposeful and situated as similar to artistic creativity. The study argues that O’Brien’s nuns are paradoxical and queer figures, undermining the temporality, class politics and models of human subjectivity central to O’Brien’s own ideological commitments. Attending to these nun figures prompts significant questions about the liberal feminist politics underpinning contemporary O’Brien studies and the prevailing critical reception of O’Brien as an exemplary Irish woman writer. Full article

Titus Brandsma (1881–1942), Dutch Carmelite and martyr, canonized in 2022, has been widely studied as a journalist, mystic and writer on spirituality. His poetry, however, still remains a relatively understudied part of his work. The purpose of this article is to provide a new evaluative survey of Brandsma’s poetic oeuvre, and to trace the reception of his poetry during his lifetime, and through the post-war period until the present day. One of the effects of this research, presented in this article, is a bio-bibliographic analysis, which for the first time offers a comprehensive overview of Brandsma’s poetry. As regards critical reception, this article focuses on the reasons why Brandsma’s verse was initially neglected and he himself was not considered a poet by his biographers. It examines the factors responsible for a recent revival of interest in several, though not all, of Brandsma’s poems, and their representation in recent biographies. The findings suggest that the post-war popular appeal of Brandsma’s poetry, especially his prison poem “Before the picture of Jesus”, and its growing international circulation, combined with an increased literary awareness and new methods of analysis, as well as changes to the understanding of literature itself, led to a much-needed reassessment of Brandsma as a poet in the first decades of the 21st century. However, the bibliography of Brandsma’s poetry indicates that the majority of his poems require further in-depth research using modern literary-critical methods. Full article

This article investigates how women’s relative absence from medieval textual archives can be reconsidered through the study of visual and material culture. Focusing on Mongol and Yuan China and read in relation to The Travels of Marco Polo, it argues that women’s artistic production functioned as a form of embedded counter-archive that preserves traces of participation obscured in narrative sources. Drawing on Black feminist epistemology as a heuristic framework and employing critical fabulation and poetic inquiry as analytical methods, the study interprets silence as a meaningful historical trace rather than a void, and considers silence not as absence but as a structured condition of archival production. Four case studies—Guan Daosheng’s literati bamboo painting, the handscroll tradition associated with Lady Su Hui, imperial phoenix embroidery, and Silk Road textile fragments—demonstrate distinct modes through which women’s presence becomes materially legible: mediated visibility, formal containment, infrastructural anonymity, and circulatory displacement. These “quiet arts” reveal how women’s labour and creativity persisted within and alongside patriarchal inscriptional systems even when textual attribution receded. In dialogue with the shadow silhouettes of contemporary artist Kara Walker, the article further situates these premodern archives within a broader visual language of absence and recovery. Rather than reconstructing lost biographies, it proposes a transdisciplinary method—integrating art history, feminist theory, theology, and poetic inquiry—for reading material culture as a site where historical silence becomes structurally legible. It proposes a transdisciplinary approach that expands art historical methods for interpreting gender, authorship, and archival silence in medieval visual culture. Full article

The purpose of this research is to understand how to better equip pre-service teachers (PSTs) to engage marginalized learners and implement culturally responsive teaching (CRT) practices in elementary Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) education. This was attempted through a module on CRT and a STEAM Biography assignment, which aimed to heighten teacher candidates’ awareness of the contributions of individuals from marginalized/underrepresented groups, generate discourse on equitable teaching practices, and foster culturally responsive teaching practices. This research study examines data collected by the researchers, who also served as course creators and instructors, from teacher candidate participants enrolled in a STEAM methods course in which this assignment was implemented. Data were collected through a survey instrument and analyzed using content analysis methodology (qualitative and quantitative). Preliminary findings suggest that PSTs developed strong emerging equity-oriented mindsets and recognized the importance of belongingness and connection to meet the needs of all learners. In addition, since most PSTs reported the need for more practical CRT examples for use in their future classrooms, the biography assignment helped to foster the development of positive dispositions toward culturally responsive teaching in the STEAM disciplines. Full article

The aim of this article is to provide a new theoretical and methodological framework for analyzing the ethical, relational, and normative dimensions of transgenerational memory work, taking a comparative close reading of two Norwegian second-generation Holocaust family memoirs, Irene Levin’s Vi snakket ikke om Holocaust (2020) and Bjørn Westlie’s Fars krig (2008), as its case in point. Both narratives are simultaneously biographies, autobiographies, and historiographies, and they mediate between family memory and national memory. The authors position themselves as second-generation descendants, addressing and being addressed by their parents, and as Holocaust researchers, addressing and being addressed by a public audience. Departing from the theoretical perspective of relational life writing and Judith Butler’s concepts “scene of address” and “frameworks of recognition”, this comparative literary analysis of rhetorical situations, genres, and modes of narrating discusses the author-narrators’ engagement with their parents’ silence and writings and reveals how personal histories intersect with collective reckoning. By attending to the relational and performative aspects of storytelling, this article highlights how postgeneration literature enacts ethical reflection, recognition, and accountability. Full article

This article offers a comparative study of two closely linked constellations of early Ṣūfī thought: the ascetic–mystical program of al-Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ (d. 187/803) and that of his renowned disciple Bishr al-Ḥāfī (d. 227/841). Moving beyond hagiographic anecdote, the study advances the thesis that the pair articulate two complementary modalities of tawba (repentance) that generate distinct ascetic habitus and pedagogical lineages: al-Fudayl’s “ethic of awe” (fear, juridical redress, and renunciation of patronage) and Bishr’s “aesthetics of reverence” (beauty-induced modesty, evident humility, and fame avoidance). Drawing on primary sources (Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ, al-Sulamī’s Ṭabaqāt al-Ṣūfiyya, al-Qushayrī’s Risāla, al-Sarrāj’s Lumaʿ), the article reconstructs each thinker’s core concepts, practices (e.g., returning wrongs, ḥafāʾ/barefoot humility), and teaching styles and maps how the teacher–disciple nexus transmits, adapts, and ritualizes these ethics into durable Ṣūfī dispositions. Methodologically, the article combines close textual analysis with practice theory to show how emotions—such as fear and modesty (ḥayāʾ)—are choreographed into public, socially legible acts, thus reframing repentance as embodied discipline rather than interior feeling alone. A prosopographic appendix traces transmission from al-Fudayl to Bishr to Sarī al-Saqaṭī and al-Junayd, clarifying how each modality survives in later Baghdad sobriety and Malāmatī self-effacement. The contribution is twofold: first, it supplies a granular typology of early Ṣūfī repentance that explains divergent stances toward money, publicity, and power; second, it models how to read early Ṣūfī biography as anthropology of practice, recovering the lived grammar by which “conversion stories” become social programs. In doing so, the article nuances standard narratives of early Ṣūfism, showing that Bishr is not merely al-Fuḍayl’s echo but a creative reframer whose “reverential” path complements—rather than imitates—the awe-driven ethic associated with al-Fuḍayl. Full article

The aim of this study was to understand the experiences of rural, first-generation college (RFGC) students in relation to dominant culturally normative expectations about postsecondary educational and workforce trajectories. The study adopted patterns of engagement with a master narrative as both a conceptual framework and unit of analysis, examining both biography and cultural ecologies as well as highlighting agency in the lives and choices of study participants. Evidence is drawn from 4 in-depth narrative interviews with each of 14 RFGC students, conducted both at school and students’ homes, from rural and small-town communities. Results show that a master narrative of College for All (CFA) is a widespread and dominant life course ideology that shapes the postsecondary experience of RFGC students. The study found three distinct patterns of engagement with this master narrative: faithful, hybrid, and utilitarian alignment. Moreover, these types of engagement seemed related to distinct patterns of agency-driven psychological wellbeing. The study contributes an anti-deficit understanding of RFGC students’ experiences and identity by focusing on the ways individuals negotiate and selectively align with dominant cultural narratives as well as the ways rural youth work to imagine new stories and possibilities. Full article

We, five co-authors of this paper, came together for a three-day collective biography workshop to reflect on moments of recognition that have impacted our lives. We told our stories from lives lived with disability; we listened to each other’s stories and wrote and read them to each other with careful attention. In the discussions that followed, both during the workshop and during the following months of finalizing this paper, we explored the ways in which disability is made to matter and how. In that process, we each moved beyond our own singularity, our own particular memories of recognition and belonging, to a new, emergent understanding of our shared materiality and response-ability. Full article

This article combines computational analysis and historical interpretation to reassess the genre of the Gospel of Mark. Drawing on prototype theory and J. Z. Smith’s comparative method, we model Mark’s linguistic and stylistic profile against a large corpus of ancient Greek texts—including tragedies, biographies, historiographies, novels, and Septuagint (LXX) single-person narratives. Using supervised and unsupervised clustering, the study shows that Mark consistently aligns with the LXX corpus rather than with the Greco-Roman genres traditionally proposed. Even when segmented into smaller textual units (prologues, epilogues, or 1000-word chunks), the Gospel remains anchored in the scriptural prototype of divinely commissioned figures such as Moses, Joseph, or Esther. The results suggest that Mark’s genre is best described as a scriptural narrative of divine agency: a continuation of Israel’s storytelling tradition reimagined within the Greek-speaking world of the first century. Full article

In this article I analyze the symbolic role of the hospital in its social context, from its creation in Rome in the 2nd century BCE to contemporary Montreal hospitals. I trace the change from its original role as a site to isolate the sick to limit the symbolic pollution of the allegedly perfect social body of the Roman state, a trope that became an important vector of unity as Rome expanded and incorporated greater numbers of foreigners and slaves. Today, however, western hospitals have become a semiotic engine where patients construct a new biography to counter the depersonalisation of contemporary medical practices. I propose that today patients use the hospital as raw material to construct a temporal framework that substitutes the rhythms of everyday life that illness and the institutional culture of the hospital have interrupted. These narratives adhere to the same basic structure: the entrance scenario is always admission to the hospital; the plot structure is built with the non-medical details of the daily hospital routine. Surrounded by a neoliberal ethos that insists on the autonomy of the self but silenced by the mechanisation of illness, contemporary patients transform hospitals into semiotic engines where patients use their immediate environment to re-engineer new voices of the self. Full article

The leadership of Sukarno, the first President of post-colonialized Indonesia, stands at the center of this paper. It is commonly accepted that Sukarno played an important role in liberating Indonesia from Dutch colonialism. He was distinguished statesman and respected leader, a “magical verbalizer” and a modern millenarian figure in the Indonesian political cultural context. My purpose in this paper, then, is to analyze Sukarno’s major elements of leadership in order to learn from his biography how educational leaders could manage their educational institution more effectively, particularly in traditional developing nations. A biographical analysis of Sukarno’s leadership reveals four major elements in his leadership: charisma, harmony, and an open-minded view of reality, unity building, guided democracy, and respect. Practical implications for leadership development programs in education are suggested at the end of the paper. Full article

Amid escalating climate change and delayed political measures to prevent them, questions of how individuals negotiate the tension between collective climate protection and personal disaster preparedness have become increasingly urgent. This study explores these dynamics by examining the biography of ‘Lukas Sandner’, a sustainability activist whose trajectory reflects a shift from collective climate action to personal adaptation. Using a reconstructive biographical analysis based on a biographical narrative interview and the documentary method, the study reconstructs the interpretive frameworks and orientations that shape his actions and that situate him within this tension. The analysis shows that transformative learning was triggered by a disorienting event—particularly a severe heavy rainfall event—which redirected his focus from collective prevention efforts towards individual preparedness. His strategies include stockpiling, technical measures, and gardening understood as a hybrid practice linking ecological ideals with precautionary foresight. These shifts are dialectical, shaped by earlier experiences of concealment and reframing. The findings illustrate how personal trajectories intersect with broader social dynamics, showing how biographical experiences, structural conditions, and collective discourses converge to shape preparedness, highlighting the interplay between collective responsibility and private resilience. The reconstruction of Sandner’s biography may provide clues to underlying societal trends toward individualised adaptation and risk prevention strategies in industrialised societies in response to growing disillusionment about the possibility of preventing climate change. Full article

This study examines the renewal of Ignatian spirituality from the Spanish school, emphasizing the contributions of General Pedro Arrupe during his eighteen-year tenure leading the Society of Jesus. Arrupe’s vision prioritized deep interior experience over mere religious practices, advocating for a spirituality rooted in divine gift and surrender. His leadership inspired a return to the fundamental principles of Ignatian spirituality, marked by a profound sense of God’s presence, self-offering, and a commitment to the apostolic mission. The research is organized around three main axes: textual and exegetical, historical and contextual, and systematic or dogmatic Ignatian theology. The first axis explores the contributions of scholars like Antonio María de Aldama and José Calveras, who emphasized returning to the original Ignatian texts and their exegetical significance. Their work highlighted the centrality of Christ, the spiritual exercises as a transformative tool, and the dynamic relationship between mission and identity within the Society. The second axis focuses on historical and contextual analysis, particularly through the work of Cándido de Dalmases, Ricardo García-Villoslada, and Jesús Iturrioz. These scholars reassessed Ignatius of Loyola’s biography and historical influences, moving beyond hagiographical narratives to consider broader theological and social movements of the 16th century, such as Erasmus’ humanism and the Catholic Reformation. The third axis, systematic Ignatian theology, is examined through figures like Pedro de Leturia and Ignacio Iparraguirre, who explored the doctrinal dimensions of Ignatius’ writings. Key themes include the Christocentric nature of Ignatian spirituality, the role of discernment in governance, and the balance between mysticism and apostolic mission. This research underscores the ongoing relevance of Ignatian spirituality by contextualizing its renewal within historical, exegetical, and theological frameworks, demonstrating its adaptability and enduring significance in contemporary spiritual discourse. Full article

Background: In the 19th century, pulmonary tuberculosis was the leading cause of death in Europe, responsible for up to one-quarter of all mortality. Before Robert Koch’s discovery of the tubercle bacillus in 1882 and the advent of effective therapies, treatment relied on rest, high-caloric diets, and sanatoria. Objectives: This study aims to reconstruct the medical biography of Dr. Șerban Eminovici (1841–1874), Romanian physician and elder brother of poet Mihai Eminescu, and to contextualize his life and death within the broader history of tuberculosis and pre-antibiotic medical practice. Methods: We conducted a historical case study using archival sources, including university registers from Erlangen, Munich, and Vienna, hospital admission records from the Charité Hospital in Berlin, and contemporaneous correspondence. Secondary literature on the history of tuberculosis and the Eminovici family was also reviewed. Results: Eminovici pursued medical studies across Central Europe, obtaining his doctorate in Vienna and later practicing medicine in Berlin, where he was a member of the Berliner Medizinische Gesellschaft. Despite early signs of respiratory illness, treated at spa resorts such as Gleichenberg, his condition progressed to advanced pulmonary tuberculosis with neuropsychiatric complications. Hospital records confirm his admission to the Charité on 10 October 1874, and his death from “Lungenschwindsucht” (pulmonary tuberculosis) on 29 November 1874, at age 33. His trajectory illustrates both the transnational mobility of Romanian intellectual elites and the therapeutic limitations of pre-antibiotic medicine. Conclusions: The case of Dr. Șerban Eminovici highlights the devastating impact of tuberculosis on 19th-century intellectuals, the reliance on lifestyle-based therapies before the discovery of the tubercle bacillus, and the importance of Central European medical networks in shaping Romanian professional identities. Beyond its biographical significance, this case underscores the persistent social and cultural burden of tuberculosis in Eastern Europe. Full article

This paper explores the narrative construction of sanctity in Tang stūpa inscriptions, focusing on the role of miracle accounts in shaping Buddhist biographical identity. The paper examines how hagiographic conventions—especially birth omens and posthumous signs—served as narrative strategies to align ordinary monks with the life of the Buddha. Then, the paper presents a case study of the Chan monk Faxian, whose richly detailed inscription demonstrates how miracle narratives could articulate a distinct Chan identity. By tracing the interplay between biography and miracle, this study shows that stūpa inscriptions were not merely commemorative texts but dynamic cultural instruments. Miracle narratives connected the clerics with the broader community, bridging doctrinal ideals with popular beliefs. Full article