Multiple reading: text and theory

It was with great pleasure that I accepted an invitation to run a workshop at the recent NZATE Conference. The topic of my session was an overview of the use of literary theory in the teaching of English and that same focus directs this written version of my presentation. I approach this topic not as a theory guru or expert, but as a practitioner who has found that an understanding and application of theory has made me a better teacher. In particular, I believe that judicious use of theory enables me to communicate to students the diverse ways in which written and visual texts can be read, encouraging them to think for themselves in a fresh and original manner and to see points of connection between a range of texts. Combined with the essential critical tools of close reading and textual analysis and support, a knowledge of theory helps students to think critically and to shape informed, coherent arguments

Report: expanding the horizons

Nalini Nayak and Cornelie Quist reflect on the 7th Global Conference on Gender in Aquaculture and Fisheries (GAF7), held in Bangkok during 18-21 October 2018. Having been pioneers in the setting up of the Women in Fisheries (WIF) Programme of the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) 25 years ago, and having been actively involved since then in gender issues in fisheries, we were particularly attracted to GAF7. Its theme was ‘Gender in Fisheries and Aquaculture: Expanding the Horizons’. It promised a thinking that will go beyond descriptive papers on what women do in fisheries and gender-disaggregated data, to a more in-depth feminist analysis. We, therefore, decided to organize a workshop and share the long work of ICSF’s WIF Programme and the tools of feminist analysis of fisheries we had used. Our proposal to organise such a workshop aimed at deepening feminist perspectives in fisheries was accepted and hence we went to Bangkok

The Third Sector: A Cluster Approach

Theoretical cluster analysis is used to sort out and organize the complex relations involved in empirically defining a sector. Cluster analysis is a quantitative technique to identify clusters of similar traits of empirical observations or cases. It is similar to factor analysis, except that the latter is ordinarily more concerned with identifying groups of related variables. The term Theoretical Cluster Analysis denotes a set of logical operations and arguments used to link the existing literature to questionnaire and scale items. We begin by postulating a cluster of four sectors and four intersectors that together define the full extent of what has come to be known as the third sector and the entire social space that is “not-the-sector.” This approach makes use of a Venn diagram. This effort unfolded in a variety of separate steps: 1) Define a set of 20 clusters and group them into scales of five items each in order to provide an empirical measure for uniquely discriminating among four primary sectors (for which the labels of economy, polity, households and third sector are used). 2) Operationalize the five items of a commons (1992) as a set of Likert type measures. 3) Extract eight theoretical measures from a widely used definition of nonprofit organizations. 4) These clusters together were constituted as a set of Likert-type measures for the larger theoretical enterprise

Transnationalism as a decolonizing strategy? ‘Trans-indigenism’ and Native American food sovereignty

The aim of this paper is to analyze how Indigenous communities in the United States have been engaging in trans-Indigenous cooperation in their struggle for food sovereignty. I will look at inter-tribal conferences regarding food sovereignty and farming, and specifically at the discourse of the Indigenous Farming Conference held in Maplelag at the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota. I will show how it: (1) creates a space for Indigenous knowledge production and validation, using Indigenous methods (e.g., storytelling), without the need to adhere to Western scientific paradigms; (2) recovers pre-colonial maps and routes distorted by the formation of nation states; and (3) fosters novel sites for trans-indigenous cooperation and approaches to law, helping create a common front in the fight with neoliberal agribusiness and government. In my analysis, I will use Chadwick Allen’s (2014) concept of ‘trans-indigenism’ to demonstrate how decolonizing strategies are used by the Native American food sovereignty movement to achieve their goals

Elucidating the conservation status of Michigan\u27s red-eared slider (trachemys scripta elegans): A phylogeographic approach

The geographic origin of Michigan’s Trachemys scripta elegans has been a contentious subject since its first description in 1934. At that time two explanations were proposed: 1) populations of T. s. elegans are native to Michigan and naturally expanded their range from Ohio and Indiana; or 2) populations are non-native and have been introduced by humans via the pet-trade from throughout the United States. To differentiate between these possibilities, I compare the genetic structure of six populations throughout Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, using six microsatellite markers. No isolation-by-distance was detected and model-based statistics support two genetic clusters with five populations from Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana forming one cluster and a single Michigan population forming a second. These results indicate that some of Michigan\u27s populations of T. s. elegans are composed of released pets from geographically distant sources, while others are either native relicts or have been introduced from nearby populations

Finding a sustainable cultural identity as a science teacher educator: A Mozambican perspective

Mozambican schools are not helping students to see themselves as culturally rich beings because local cultural values, traditions, knowledge and beliefs have never been included in the curriculum. More than 30 years after independence from 500 years of Portuguese colonial rule, Mozambican science teachers continue to serve as agents of assimilation of students into a Western modern worldview that is indifferent to their local cultural identities and aspirations. As a science teacher educator preparing new teachers for Mozambican schools Cupane (first author) saw his cultural identity to be part of the problem and part of the solution. He designed a critical auto-ethnographic inquiry and explored (and transformed) his cultural identity as he addressed the key research question: How can school science serve better the cultural development of local school communities in Mozambique? A key outcome of this research is Cupane’s multi-cultural identity as a Mozambican, an indigenous (Changana) person, a world citizen, and a science teacher educator. Generating this understanding has fuelled his vision of future science education for Mozambique for which he has articulated a culture-sensitive philosophy of physics teacher education

Book review: polarized and demobilized: legacies of authoritarianism in Palestine by Dana El Kurd

In Polarized and Demobilized: Legacies of Authoritarianism in Palestine, Dana El Kurd examines how the increased involvement of international powers in Palestinian politics has insulated Palestinian elites from the public and strengthened their ability to engage in authoritarian practices, leading to polarisation and the weakening of the capacity for collective action. Combining theoretical sophistication with a seamless narrative, this is one of the most astute empirical analyses of authoritarianism in the region, writes Hesham Shafick