Event-based Access to Historical Italian War Memoirs

The progressive digitization of historical archives provides new, often domain specific, textual resources that report on facts and events which have happened in the past; among these, memoirs are a very common type of primary source. In this paper, we present an approach for extracting information from Italian historical war memoirs and turning it into structured knowledge. This is based on the semantic notions of events, participants and roles. We evaluate quantitatively each of the key-steps of our approach and provide a graph-based representation of the extracted knowledge, which allows to move between a Close and a Distant Reading of the collection.Comment: 23 pages, 6 figure

Application of Genre and the Harkness Pedagogy for the Advanced Development of Writing Skills in Spanish in Foreign Language Courses

[ES] La instrucción de género denominada narrativa personal de no ficción o memorias, junto con el método de enseñanza Harkness en la expresión escrita del español como lengua extranjera, demostrará en el contexto particular de una universidad americana en España y en Estados Unidos un desarrollo superior de esta habilidad y desempeño. A la autora de esta tesis le gustaría contribuir a una tan esperada presencia de la escritura del español como L2 en la literatura de investigación. Este estudio trata de desarrollar en las clases de ELE para estudiantes americanos nuevos métodos que logren despertar el deseo, ya que no existe en este contexto la necesidad, de aprender español. A partir de la experiencia en la enseñanza del español a estudiantes universitarios y de secundaria estadounidenses, por un lado, en Estados Unidos como requisito obligatorio por parte de la universidad para el crédito en lenguas extranjeras y, por otro lado, en programas académicos estadounidenses de inmersión en España (en ambos casos siguiendo los libros y el método impuesto por las universidades) es común que estudiantes y profesores estén insatisfechos. La intención es demostrar que con la pedagogía Harkness y la enseñanza de la expresión escrita a través del género ensayo personal, es posible crear un currículo académico donde se obtienen claras mejoras en el aprendizaje final. Además, crea un ambiente donde los estudiantes están motivados y felices de aprender un segundo idioma. Se podría llevar a cabo la construcción de género y de la pedagogía basada en el género en un primer plano socio-contextual, de manera que permitan a los alumnos de ELE ver el contenido en términos de lenguaje desde el principio, en lugar de tener que integrarlos más tarde. Los programas de estudios universitarios de ELE tienen a su disposición la configuración de su destino, la calidad de su programa y el de los aprendizajes de sus alumnos. El objetivo se habrá logrado si el estudio ha convencido a los lectores de que los programas universitarios de ELE pueden revitalizarse aplicando una orientación humanística, al mismo tiempo, basada en el lenguaje.[CA] L'orientació cap al gènere denominat non-fiction de la narrativa personal o Memoirs juntament amb el mètode Harkness d'ensenyament en l'expressió escrita d'ELE, en el context particular d'una Universitat Americana a Espanya i als Estats Units, demostrarà un desenvolupament més elevat de aquesta habilitat i del seu rendiment. L'autora d'aquesta tesi desitjaria contribuir a una llargament esperada presència de l'escriptura de l'espanyol com a L2 en la literatura d'investigació. Aquest estudi tracta de desenvolupar en les classes d'ELE per a estudiants americans nous mètodes que aconsegueixin despertar el desig, ja que no existeix en aquest context la necessitat, d'aprendre espanyol. Basat en l'experiència en ensenyar a estudiants universitaris americans espanyol, d'una banda, als Estats Units com a requeriment obligatori per part de la universitat de crèdit en llengües estrangeres i, de l'altra, en programes acadèmics americans d'immersió a Espanya (en els dos casos seguint els llibres i el mètode que imposen les universitats) és comú el desistiment i descontentament per part dels estudiants i professors. La intenció és demostrar que amb el mètode d'ensenyament Harkness juntament amb l'ensenyament de l'expressió escrita a través del gènere de l'assaig personal és possible crear un contingut acadèmic on no només s'obtenen clares millores de l'aprenentatge final, sinó que s'arriba a crear un ambient on els estudiants estan motivats i contents d'aprendre una segona llengua. Es podria dur a terme la construcció de gènere i de la pedagogia basada en el gènere en un primer pla soci-contextual, de manera que permetin als alumnes d'ELE veure el contingut en termes de llenguatge des del principi, en lloc d'haver de integrar-los posteriorment. S'haurà obtingut l'objectiu si l'estudi obté lectors convençuts que es poden revitalitzar programes universitaris d'ELA mitjançant l'aplicació d'una orientació humanista, a el mateix temps, basada en el llenguatge.[EN] The gender instruction called the non-fiction personal narrative or memoirs, together with the Harkness method of teaching in the written expression of Spanish as a Foreign Language, will demonstrate in the particular context of an American University in Spain and in the US a higher development of this ability and performance. The author of this thesis would like to contribute to a long-awaited Spanish writing presence as L2 in the research literature. This study tries to develop in SFL classes for American universities and students' new methods that manage to awaken the desire since there is no need in this context to learn Spanish. Based on the experience in teaching Spanish to American university and high school students, on the one hand, in the United States as a mandatory requirement by the university for credit in foreign languages and, on the other hand, in American academic programs of immersion in Spain (in both cases following the books and the method imposed by the universities) it is common for students and teachers to be dissatisfied. The intention is to demonstrate that with the Harkness pedagogy and the teaching of written expression through the personal essay genre, it is possible to create an academic curriculum where clear improvements are obtained in the final learning. Besides, it creates an environment where students are motivated and happy to learn a second language. The construction of gender and gender-based instruction could be carried out in a socio-contextual foreground to allow SFL students to see the content in terms of language from the beginning, rather than having to integrate them later. SFL's university study programs have at their disposal shaping their destiny, the quality of their program, and that of their students' learning. The objective will have been achieved if the study has convinced readers that SFL university programs can be revitalized by applying a humanistic, at the same time, language-based orientation.García Montes, P. (2021). Application of Genre and the Harkness Pedagogy for the Advanced Development of Writing Skills in Spanish in Foreign Language Courses [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/171795TESI

IMPACT: The Journal of the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning. Volume 9, Issue 1, Winter 2020

Explicitly established to foreground interdisciplinary teaching and learning, Impact also welcomes evidence and discussion of experiential learning. Often the two – interdisciplinary teaching and experiential learning – co-exist. Yet even when they do not, both practices model how to think in myriad ways and to notice how knowledge is constructed. As our winter 2019 issue makes clear, interdisciplinary teaching and learning and experiential learning often begin with questions. Why does it matter that students grapple directly with archival material? What happens when undergraduates practice psychology by training dogs? Do students understand financial literacy? This issue also asks questions about students’ reading habits and faculty expectations of them as readers

'After that we wrote.': A Reconsideration of the Lives of Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova, 1895-1918

The tale of the reign of Tsar Nicholas II, the last Romanov emperor, is well known to history. Bloodshed, holy men, a domineering wife, and a haemophiliac son are recurring themes in studies of Nicholas’ reign. There is also a tendency to overlook the four girls in white dresses who appear on the margins of these narratives: the Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia Nikolaevna, daughters of the tsar. This thesis aims to examine the lives of these four young women using translated versions of their diaries and letters, as well as memoirs and letters written by those closest to them; essentially, it asks what exactly a Russian Grand Duchess did every day. By reconsidering the tercentenary celebrations of the Romanov dynasty in 1913 as well as their activities on the home front during World War I, “‘After that we wrote.’: A Reconsideration of the Lives of Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova, 1895-1918” sets out to tell Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia’s stories in their own words

Methods of Teaching the Holocaust to Secondary Students as Implemented by Tennessee Recipients of the Belz-Lipman Holocaust Educator of the Year Awards.

Teaching the Holocaust is a challenging task. Not only do educators have a responsibility to impart the historical information surrounding these events, but issues of humanity are also an important part of the lessons. As of 2001, Holocaust education has been mandated by at least 6 states in the United States. At least 11 others, including Tennessee, have task forces or commissions responsible for promoting Holocaust education and providing professional development opportunities and materials for teaching such units. It is conceivable that additional states will enact legislation requiring Holocaust studies. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore methods of teaching Holocaust education in a variety of subject areas to secondary students in grades 7 through 12, as implemented by recipients of Tennessee\u27s Belz-Lipman Holocaust Educator of the Year Awards. These individuals have been recognized, through an application and committee selection process, as outstanding and successful teachers in this field. The researcher interviewed 17 of the 39 award recipients from across the State of Tennessee to determine commonalities in the resources, materials, and instructional methods used by the teachers. The participants included 4 males and 13 females, representing language arts (8) and social science (8) teachers from the middle school and high school levels. One participant taught a class in which students could obtain credit in both academic areas. The findings of this study included the importance of teacher training in this area; participants spoke of regularly attending sessions offered by reputable Holocaust organizations. This study also found commonalities in resources and materials used, such as specific titles of poetry, literature, and movie selections. Additionally, instructional methods such as group discussions, writing assignments, student project activities, and assessment strategies were frequently discussed. The importance of personalizing Holocaust history was emphasized throughout the study. The results indicate that students and teachers benefited from these lessons. While the findings of this study significantly contribute to the field of Holocaust education in Tennessee, the need for additional research is also addressed. To ensure successful, meaningful, pedagogically sound lessons, attention to this topic must be an on-going endeavor

False Documents: Inter-American Cultural History, Literature, and the Lost Decade (1975–1992)

Item embargoed for five year

The education of true believers? Soviet youth in the 1920s

After the October Revolution of 1917, one of the primary aims of the Bolshevik Party was the creation of the “New Soviet Man and Woman.” In the view of the Party, young people, who were presumably more malleable and less influenced by the country’s tsarist past, were the most logical group to become this new Soviet person. This thesis examines the relationship between the Bolshevik Party and young people in the 1920s. It discusses the methods the Party took to influence young people, including the restructuring of the country’s school system, the creation of a national youth organization, the Communist League of Youth (Komsomol), and the development of recreational and leisure activities intended to teach youth the values and behaviours appropriate to Communists. It also examines the experiences of youth under the regime, with attention paid to the different experiences had by urban youth as opposed to rural youth, and young men as distinct from young women. Finally, the thesis attempts to assess the degree to which the Bolshevik Party was successful in creating believers among young people

Film policy and the emergence of the cross-cultural: exploring crossover cinema in Flanders (Belgium)

With several films taking on a cross-cultural character, a certain ‘crossover trend’ may be observed within the recent upswing of Flemish cinema (a subdivision of Belgian cinema). This trend is characterized by two major strands: first, migrant and diasporic filmmakers finally seem to be emerging, and second, several filmmakers tend to cross the globe to make their films, hereby minimizing links with Flemish indigenous culture. While paying special attention to the crucial role of film policy in this context, this contribution further investigates the crossover trend by focusing on Turquaze (2010, Kadir Balci) and Altiplano (2009, Peter Brosens & Jessica Woodworth)