Search Results (63)

This paper analyzes the historical genealogy of conspiracy theories about a global supergovernment by focusing on one period of American history in which it attained particular visibility. The formation of the United Nations in 1945 and the onset of the Cold War galvanized speculation on the political margins that a shadowy, malevolent international government was seeking world domination by targeting the United States and its political culture. At the same time, mainstream United States foreign policy was marked by a desire to both reshape international institutions to resist Soviet influence while also avoiding any domestic changes that might result from international engagement. This paper suggests that conspiracy theory functioned as a mechanism resolving the vicious circle occasioned by these competing foreign policy priorities. Through a narrative analysis of conspiratorial sentiments in North Dakota Representative Usher L. Burdick’s warnings about the United Nations as a threat to American liberty and sovereignty, this article highlights the continuities between mainstream American exceptionalism and conspiratorial ideas. Full article

Proclaiming Our Roots (POR) began as an academic community-based research initiative documenting Afro-Indigenous identities and lived experiences through digital oral storytelling. Since its inception, Proclaiming Our Roots has grown into a grassroots social movement focused on self-determination, cultural reclamation, and resistance to colonial erasure. This paper explores Proclaiming Our Root’s evolution, from a research project to a grassroots social movement, analyzing how storytelling, relational accountability, and Indigenous, Black, and Afro-Indigenous governance have shaped its development. Drawing on Indigenous methodologies and grounded in Afro-Indigenous worldviews, we examine how POR mobilizes digital storytelling, community gatherings, and intergenerational dialog to give voice to Afro-Indigenous identity, build collective consciousness, and challenge dominant narratives that erase or marginalize Black, Indigenous, and Afro-Indigenous presence. Through a sharing circle involving Proclaiming Our Roots community members, advisory council members, and the research team, in this paper we identify key themes that reflect the movement’s transformative impact: Identity and Belonging, Storytelling as Decolonial Praxis, Healing, Spirituality and Collective Consciousness, and Resistance and Social Movement Building. We discuss how these themes illustrate Proclaiming Our Roots’ dual role as a site of knowledge production and political action, navigating tensions between institutional affiliation and community autonomy. By prioritizing Afro-Indigenous epistemologies and centering lived experience, POR demonstrates how academic research can be a foundation for long-term, relational, and community-led movement-building. In this paper, we want to contribute to broader discussions around the sustainability of grassroots movements, the role of storytelling in social change for Indigenous and Black Peoples, and the possibilities of decolonial knowledge production as epistemic justice. We offer a model for how academic research-initiated projects can remain accountable to the communities with whom we work, while actively participating in liberatory re-imaginings. Full article

Understanding the global trade network in the printing industry is crucial for promoting sustainable development and cultural exchange and knowledge dissemination. However, the extant literature does not reveal the contours of the global cultural printed material trade network. This paper uses a social network analysis and QAP analysis to explore the global printing industry trade network pattern. The aim of this paper is to discern the core and emerging nodes and explore the evolutional characteristics on the network spatial linkage and country role. The results show the following: ① The printing industry’s global trade network is growing increasingly intricate, with trade links between nations (regions) becoming closer, the network’s connectivity steadily improving, and the hierarchical structure becoming more apparent. ② Germany, France, and Belgium are important intermediary bridges. The “circle of friends” in the trade of cultural products has a growing effect, and China can more easily establish close ties with Southeast Asia, Northern Europe, and Central and Eastern Europe. ③ The industrial chain and geographical proximity are the primary factors in the formation of the trade network. Economic proximity and political proximity significantly and positively contribute to the formation of the trade network, while institutional stability gradually plays a weaker role. As for cultural proximity, a common language and colonial relationship will positively contribute to the formation of a network, while immigrants have no obvious impact. Digital technology is becoming an “emerging force”. Additionally, this paper extends sustainable policies and recommendations for the global cultural trade. Full article

Situated in the mountainous and gorge-ridden region at the junction of the Tibet Autonomous Region, Sichuan Province, and Yunnan Province, the Tibetan–Yi Corridor is home to the Kham Tibetan area, one of China’s three traditional Tibetan areas. Tibetan Buddhism and the establishment of its temples in this region have evolved and propagated from nothing to a diverse landscape since the 8th century. Existing studies, however, have paid little attention to the intricate interplay between the formation of this sacred religious landscape and the specific geographic and sociocultural contexts in which it is situated. By taking temple architecture as a research vehicle, this study begins by extracting spatial data from historical GIS network data resources and 276 local gazetteers of 45 counties in the Tibetan–Yi Corridor. Secondly, it digitalizes and quantifies the geographic information, construction dates, sectarian affiliations, and sizes of 1479 Tibetan Buddhist temples in the region, establishing a database covering four historical periods. Finally, it employs GIS technology to visualize the spatial distribution of these temples, revealing their spatial and temporal patterns and evolution. From a religious geographical perspective, this study reconstructs the historical trajectories and diffusion patterns of the Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, Gelug, Jonang, and Bon sects in the Tibetan–Yi Corridor, revealing the complex interplay, succession, and ebb and flow of these sects over time. The research results show that the historical spread and development of Tibetan Buddhism in the Tibetan–Yi Corridor were influenced by a complex interplay of geographical, social, political, and economic factors, including the unique topography of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau and Hengduan Mountains, the complex interplay of agriculture and pastoralism, the historical influence of dynastic changes and central government policies on border regions, and ancient pilgrimage and trade routes. At the same time, as a multi-ethnic region inhabited by over 20 minorities, including Tibetans, Yi, Qiang, Naxi, and Nu, the Tibetan–Yi Corridor has a cultural identity dominated by religion, which has become an important factor in maintaining multi-ethnic symbiosis throughout its history, highlighting the unique historical status and role of the Tibetan–Yi Corridor in the entire Tibetan Buddhist cultural circle. Full article

Tourism geographers in Anglo-American geographical departments are transitioning into teaching and research tourism in applied schools and departments, such as business, resource and environment, and even cultural and creative industries. Because of pressure related to national research assessment and funding, tourism geographers are not encouraged to continue undertaking serious theoretical research related to their mother discipline, instead transitioning to conducting applied research and publishing in hybrid journals. Although such changes in tourism geographers’ research behavior are frequently discussed internationally, they have not been assessed and reported in academic contexts within Asia, particularly Taiwan. This study aimed to investigate the research behavior of tourism geographers regarding the differences between those who are staffed in geography departments and those who transition to applied departments such as tourism and recreation, resource and environment, and others. Their research behavior is examined in terms of publishing journals, paradigmatic approaches, research types, research methods, and geographical scales based on content analysis of articles published by tourism geographers in geography and tourism and recreation departments. The results revealed that there are significant differences in the research behavior of tourism geographers between different departments. Finally, this paper explains the differences in terms of Taiwan’s changing social and economic conditions, the academic traditions and politics of the geography and applied departments, the research habits and preferences of tourism geographers among departments, and other aspects. The findings can help international tourism geography academic circles understand the complexity and diversity of the tourism geography academic landscape of China. Full article

Recent discussions of logical pluralism trace its origins to Rudolf Carnap’s principle of tolerance; indeed, the principle is seen as one of Carnap’s lasting philosophical contributions. In this paper, I will argue that Carnap’s reasons for adopting this principle are not purely logical, but are rather founded in the Vienna Circle’s manifesto—a programmatic document that brings the Circle’s philosophical work together with a program of social change. Building on work by Uebel, Romizi, and others, I argue that we must understand the principle in light of Carnap’s role in writing the manifesto, and thus as integrated into the larger philosophical and political goals of the Circle. This history illuminates the often-ignored relationship between Carnap’s logical pluralism and his political views. Finally, I turn to the political situation of the post-World War 2 period in the United States. During this time, the Circle’s emigres in the USA transitioned their work from active efforts to reform society to the technical work that we recognize as the foundation of American analytic philosophy today. In this final section, I argue that the reasons that Carnap distanced himself from the political foundations of his view were due in large part to McCarthy-era persecution of left-wing academics. Full article

This article has three main goals: (1) To explain in a clear and comprehensible way the difficult basic-word “I-Thou”, which is the basis of Buber’s concept of dialogue, and in fact is the core of his entire teaching (even though it eventually spread over many fields). My main argument in this article is that “I-Thou” is not the “dialogue” that is often spoken of in the name of Buber (not only on the popular level but also in academic circles, and even commonly among those who deal directly with Buber’s teaching) but, rather, that “I-Thou” is a pointing-toward-word—pointing the way for the one whose heart is willing to direct his life to the path of devotion to God—a life whose practical meaning according to Buber is the effort to make room for the presence of the divine (“Shekhinah”) within the stream of earthly normal life, the flow of physical, instinctive life, the flow of life as they are, within “This-World” as it is. (2) This article attempts to follow the sources in Buber’s writings to clearly explain Buber’s faith (which Buber saw as the core of the movement of Hasidism that preceded him). Who is the God that Buber clings to? Why did Buber try to replace the common appellation “God” with a new term of his own: “The Eternal Thou”? (3) It aims to show how the researchers who tried to present Buber as a social or political thinker and removed from his teaching the centrality of his faith entirely distorted his teaching and displaced from it the core of the foundation on which all of Buber’s teaching rests. Full article

Support for political violence by fundamentalist religious movements is both wide-spread and problematic, and now especially in Christian fundamentalist circles. To address this, this essay describes important components of the sophisticated ascetic and contemplative theory of spirituality of the fourth-century desert Christian spiritual master Evagrius of Pontus. Then, based on his theory, this essay offers guidance to modern-day Christian and non-Christian clergy who want to avoid alienating their congregations through partisan political stances, but who nevertheless seek to reduce those mental, emotional, and relational pathologies in their congregations which predispose passive and active support for political violence. Full article

The issue of the future of abandoned agricultural land has become a prominent topic of discussion in contemporary scientific research and political discourses, especially considering the unique contribution of new-generation entrepreneurs to innovations in rural areas. The research increasingly provides evidence of how they serve as founders and catalysts of unconventional and often audacious ideas that ultimately transform abandoned areas into successful sustainable innovative business models with restored multifunctional land use. The main aim of this article is to disclose the potential of innovative business models, developed by new-generation entrepreneurs, for sustainable multifunctional land management in abandoned rural places, through the example of the “Sun Circle Camping” initiative in Lithuania. A qualitative research methodology was applied to perform an in-depth case study of a successful business model innovation for sustainable multifunctional land management in an abandoned rural area of Lithuania. The research results demonstrate how the smartly restored multifunctional distribution of abandoned land might generate durable land management practices, fulfilling the environmental, socio-cultural, and economic pillars of sustainability. Full article

The pontificate of Pope Francis is proving to be one of the most controversial within the Catholic world, particularly because of the several objections and protests it has raised in the most traditional currents of Catholicism. This theological and political opposition to Bergoglio’s pontificate has been the subject of many studies, which have focused, in particular, on the growing harshness of this debate in North American Catholic circles. Following these studies, the present contribution aims to study how this polarization spreads and is amplified through the online communication of these groups by providing an analysis of a specific case study: a tweet published by the account of the Pontifical Academy for Life (PAL). The PAL is a Vatican institution founded by John Paul II and renewed by Pope Francis in its membership and purpose (Global Bioethics). The Academy is perceived as the cutting edge of Pope Francis’ “progressivism”, especially regarding sensitive issues such as marriage, family, and euthanasia. For this reason, the Twitter account of PAL is considered the ideal platform to observe the languages, expressions, and content that characterize the opposition to Bergoglio’s pontificate today. Full article

This article presents the role of selected motifs of prayer depicted in the works of first-wave Russian emigrants in the creation of a certain type of national mythology. The starting point of the considerations is a reflection on the status of emigrant literature at the time of its creation, during the period of political changes in the Soviet bloc, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and today. From the beginning, émigré literature has served as a certain treasury of images and symbols, which are treated as necessary elements for maintaining the national identity of emigrants. The article presents selected motifs from the works of Ivan Shmelev’s The Year of the Lord and Pilgrimage, and Boris Zaitsev’s Saint Sergius of Radonezh, showing prayer as an element of ritual, as a collective request, and as an act of deep contact with God. The analysis of the selected examples shows that regardless of the literary form, narrative perspective, or the way the subject was presented, the writers showed prayer motifs in a patriotic context, while mythologizing pre-revolutionary Russia and bringing the idea of “Holy Rus” to life. In the years following the collapse of the Soviet Union, there has been an increased interest in emigrant literature, and the ideas contained therein have proven to be very important for the formation of the new national consciousness of Russians. Today, due to another political change in Russia and its political isolation, émigré literature is of renewed importance in Russian circles. The writers whose works are discussed in this study are regarded as the main Orthodox writers of the twentieth century, and the image of praying Russia is again the basis for building a new national identity. The study concludes with the observation that the value of emigrant literature should be studied in the context of the time of its creation. Full article

In many North American Protestant circles, especially those with Baptist or Free Church roots, the notion of the total separation of church and state is presented as the ideal to be attained in all church and state relations. We are told that the state should have no legislative power to ordain anything in relation to church doctrine or practice, and that the church should be entirely excluded from all political, secular, or state actions. In this paper, we are going to suggest that such an approach to church–state relations (even though some might think that it flows from or is necessary for democracy) is, in fact, impossible in a true democracy. We will first consider the nature of the church and the state, and present three principles that Maritain suggests are first principles in this debate. We will then look at the classical notion of the “Citizen”. We will conclude by arguing that based upon the nature of a citizen, of the church, and of the state, a strict separation of church and state is, in fact, impossible. Full article

The Khrushchev Thaw allowed Poland a slightly larger margin of freedom in its cultural exchange with Western Europe than it had since the end of the Second World War. In this newly relaxed political climate, two models of Polish cultural diplomacy emerged in the West. The first constituted the official foreign policy of Poland’s communist authorities, while the other remained unofficial, relying on a network of contacts with Poland’s government-in-exile. An examination of contemporary Polish art exhibited in Paris during the 1950s and 1960s reveals this dichotomy. The first type of cultural patronage was coordinated in Paris by communist representatives of the Polish Embassy. The second emerged in Paris within Polish political émigré circles. Its key proponents were the Literary Institute (Instytut Literacki), including the intellectual and artistic milieu of the monthly journal Kultura (“Polish-based Culture”) and the Lambert Gallery (Galeria Lambert). State foreign policy, funded by the state budget and anchored in agreements between Poland and France on cultural cooperation determined the former, while the latter constituted an oppositional stance against the Eastern Bloc, deriving its strength from the resolve of Polish political émigré circles, their extensive network of sympathetic foreign contacts, and an understanding of the mechanics of the art market. The communist model sought to build a friendly image of Polish culture despite the apparent ideological rift between Eastern and Western Europe. The émigré approach stemmed from a refusal to accept the political division of Europe and involved searching the world of art for evidence of forces in Poland that opposed the political status quo. Finally, the patronage model adopted by communist authorities followed the state-imposed policy of favoring figurative art over Polish abstract art, whereas the model championed by émigré circles pursued the opposite strategy. It showcased unrestrained, spontaneous, and mostly abstract art. It evidenced an affinity for international trends in the art of the time, including abstract expressionism and, in particular, Parisian Art Informel. How can these two strands of cultural diplomacy co-exist? Which resonated more with international audiences? Full article

An analysis of the peculiarities of the German Uranium Project (1939–1945) reveals that it was, in many ways, different from what one would expect. There was no work at all on a possible bomb, nor on plutonium. The reactor experiments were limited to subcritical systems and did not attempt to achieve the proclaimed goal of a self-sustaining chain reaction. The so-far identified deficits (lack of interest in Nazi circles, mismanagement, scientific mistakes, and deteriorating work conditions during the war) are relevant but not sufficient for explaining the peculiarities. We deduce that the scientists involved, and even the Heereswaffenamt (army ordnance), shied away from making progress, not only towards a bomb but even towards a reactor. They did not fail; they rather renounced a possible success in order not to provoke political interest in the development of a bomb. Full article

Student stereotyping of non-native English-speaking teachers is a common focus of research and there is a paucity of studies targeting trilingual students of multicultural backgrounds. The present study aims to investigate the dimensions of trilingual Chinese heritage undergraduates’ perceptions of English teachers from Kachru’s stratification of native-English-speaking (Inner-circle), ESL (Outer-circle) and EFL (Expanding-circle) regions. A mixed study design was used to collect data including online questionnaires and an offline semi-structured interview. Quantitative findings indicate the subjects’ preference for native speaking teachers, together with a hierarchical ranking in teacher assessments according to race/ethnicity. Qualitative findings demonstrate that students are also less biased on racial grounds, considering all teachers are “qualified and good enough”, hence the “Inner > Outer > Expanding = Qualified > Unqualified” result. Multilingual and multicultural factors have been used to account for the mitigated linguistic stereotypes from sociocultural and political perspectives. Findings of this study challenge but nevertheless also confirm to some extent the traditional native/non-native dichotomy that manifests raciolinguistic traits and support Kachru’s stratification with statistical evidence. Educational implications are discussed to benefit future practice to further eliminate student prejudice and to better prepare native Chinese teachers of the English language. Full article