Are all things created equal? The incidental in archaeology

Archaeologists evince a strong tendency to impute significance to the material traces they study, a propensity that has been especially marked since the post-processual emphasis on meaning and that has taken on renewed vigour with the turn to materiality. But are there not situations in which things are rather incidental or insignificant? This set of essays emerged from a workshop held in Berlin in April 2018, in which a group of scholars was invited to discuss the place of the incidental in social life in general and in archaeology in particular. Rather than lengthy formal papers, we offer an introduction that presents a general set of reflections on the issue of the incidentalness of things, followed by essays that pursue particular directions raised by that introduction as well as our discussions in Berlin. It is our hope that these brief forays into a complex topic will stimulate further work on this subject

All things being equal? Equality and diversity in careers education,information, advice and guidance

In its education chapter, the Commission’s first Triennial Review of evidence on inequality, How Fair is Britain? Equality, Human Rights and Good Relations in 2010, found that educational attainment has been transformed in recent years. Around half of young people are now getting good qualifications at 16 (5+ A*-C GCSEs or equivalent including English and Maths) and, in 2008/09, 2.4 million students enrolled in higher education in the UK – a considerable change from a time when educational opportunities were only available to a minority of young people. However, the evidence shows that educational attainment continues to be strongly associated with socio-economic background. Stereotypical information and guidance can limit young people’s options and aspirations at an early age. Careers advice often reinforces traditional choices and young people have limited information on the pay advantages of nontraditional routes. Nearly one in four young people say that they have not had enough information to make choices for their future. This rises to just under a quarter of disabled young people

‘Twitter ye not?’ 23 Things that helped Warwick University Library staff to develop their Web 2.0 skills

Warwick University Library recently ran a ‘23 Things’ programme for library staff to help them develop their skills and understanding around Web 2.0 technologies. This approach, first developed by Charlotte Mecklenburg Library2 and subsequently run in many libraries, breaks the sometimes daunting world of social networking applications into bite-sized chunks (or Things) that are easier to manage and absorb. Some of the Things are ‘doing’ Things – using tools we have all heard of and many have never dared touch – whilst other Things are ‘reflecting’ Things, using blogging to capture personal observations on new technologies tried and new skills developed. In the Warwick programme ‘Thing 23’ required staff from across the library, at different levels and with different experiences of Web 2.0, to reflect on their experience of the programme as a whole. This article captures together some of those reflections. One of us (Antony) was sponsor of the programme, a Digital Adventurer who has travelled a distance to embrace new Web 2.0 tools. The other (Emma) was the programme organiser, a Digital Native who regularly blogs, tweets and collaborates online. Both of us got a lot out of the 23 Things Warwick programme

Letter from Julia to Marie August 27, 1947

In this letter Julia tells Marie of all the things she would like to can for the winte

Producing Children\u27s Toys through 3-D Printing: A Multidisciplinary Approach

One of the things that first attracted me to VCU was the opportunity for interdisciplinary discussions and interactions. I saw HSURP as a way to push my boundaries and interact with peers from different disciplines. When I saw the Social Design and 3-D Printing project, it just clicked. I saw the opportunity for engineering, for arts, for research, for graphic design. All of the things I was interested in learning about all came together

Abraham Lincoln and the Doctrine of Necessity

Abraham Lincoln was a fatalist. That, at least, was what he told many people over the course of his life. I have all my life been a fatalist, Lincoln informed his Illinois congressional ally, Isaac Arnold. Mr. Lincoln was a fatalist, remembered Henry Clay Whitney, one of his Springfield law clerks, he believed ... that the universe is governed by one uniform, unbroken, primordial law. His Springfield law partner William Henry Herndon, likewise, affirmed that Lincoln believed in predestination, foreordination, that all things were fixed, doomed one way or the other, from which there was no appeal. Even Mary Todd Lincoln acknowledged that her husband had been guided by the conviction that what is to be will be, and no cares of ours can arrest nor reverse the decree. What this meant in practical terms, as Herndon discovered, was that Lincoln believed that there was no freedom of the will, that men had no free choice : Things were to be, and they came, irresistibly came, doomed to come; men were made as they are made by superior conditions over which they had no control; the fates settled things as by the doom of the powers, and laws, universal, absolute, and eternal, ruled the universe of matter and mind.... [Man] is simply a simple tool, a mere cog in the wheel, a part, a small part, of this vast iron machine, that strikes and cuts, grinds and mashes, all things, including man, that resist it. [excerpt

All the World Is Shining, and Love Is Smiling through All Things: The Collapse of the Two Ways in \u27The Tree of Life\u27

Chapter Summary: From the blackness emerges a subtly scripted epigraph from the biblical book of Job, silently posing a question to the viewer on behalf of the almighty: Where were you when I laid the earth\u27s foundation...while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Following thirty-five chapters of Job\u27s story, filled with relentless criticism on the part of Job\u27s friends in response to Job\u27s ongoing poetically formulated and impassioned lamentations, and the demands he places before God - demands for justice and an explanation for his suffering - at last the voice of the almighty speaks from within the raging storm, responding not with an answer but with a questions: where were you? - the very question Terrence Malick poses to us at the beginning of The Tree of Life. Thus, from the opening moments of the film Malick is signifying to the viewer that The Tree of Life is to be a meditation on the meaning of suffering. [excerpt] Book Summary: Amid all the controversy, criticism, and celebration of Terence Malick\u27s award-winning film The Tree of Life, what do we really understand of it? The Way of Nature and the Way of Grace thoughtfully engages the philosophical riches of life, culture, time, and the sacred through Malick\u27s film. This groundbreaking collection traverses the relationships among ontological, moral, scientific, and spiritual perspectives on the world, demonstrating how phenomenological work can be done in and through the cinematic medium, and attempting to bridge the gap between narrow theoretical works on film and their broader cultural and philosophical significance. Exploring Malick\u27s film as a philosophical engagement, this readable and insightful collection presents an excellent resource for film specialists, philosophers of film, and film lovers alike. [From the Publisher