From “the dialectics of nature” to the inorganic gene

The concept of projection from one space to another, with a consequent loss of information, can be seen in the relationships of gene to protein and language description to real situation. Such a transformation can only be reversed if extra external information is re-supplied. The genetic algorithm embodying this idea is now used in applied mathematics for exploring a configuration space. Such a dialectic – transformation back and forth between two kinds of description – extends the traditional Hegelian concept used by Engels and others of change as resulting from a resolution of the conflict of two opposing tendencies and provides for evolution of the joint system

Orientalising deafness: race and disability in imperial Britain

This article explores the conflations and connections that postcolonial and disability scholars have drawn between ‘race’, ‘colonialism’ and ‘disability’ from a historical perspective. By looking at the connections drawn between ‘race’ and ‘disability’ in the context of nineteenth-century imperial Britain, I hope to probe beyond them to examine the origins and implications of their interplay. I do so by focusing on ideas about deafness, an impairment radically reconfigured in the colonial period, and inflected with concerns about degeneration, belonging, heredity and difference. Disability, I argue, not only operated as an additional ‘category of difference’ alongside ‘race’ as a way of categorising and subjugating the various ‘others’ of Empire, but intersected with it. The ‘colonisation’ of disabled people in Britain and the ‘racial other’ by the British were not simply simultaneous processes or even analogous ones, but were part and parcel of the same cultural and discursive system. The colonising context of the nineteenth century, a period when British political, economic and cultural expansion over areas of South Asia, Australasia and Africa increased markedly, structured the way in which all forms of difference were recognised and expressed, including the difference of deafness. So too did the shifts in the raced and gendered thinking that accompanied it, as new forms of knowledge were developed to justify, explain and contest Britain's global position and new languages were developed through which to articulate otherness. Such developments reconfigured the meaning of disability. Disability was, in effect, ‘orientalised’. ‘Race’ I argue was formative in shaping what we have come to understand as ‘disability’ and vice versa; they were related fantasies of difference

Christian Mass Movements in South India and Some of The Critical Factors that Changed the Face of Christianity in India

The main reason for Christian growth in India was not individual conversions but rather Christian mass movements (CMMs). Since the late 1700s, a series of independent CMMs among non-Christians and a mass reformation movement within the Suriani community have occurred in the southern end of India. These MMs culminated in a mass emancipation movement against caste-imposed segregation of Dalits in the late 1800s, an event of national significance. In the early 1900s, Pentecostalism evolved from these CMMs and transformed the religious landscape of Christianity in South India and later in India as a whole. The Thoma Christians were the early catalysts for the expansion of new-generation Christianity in India. The Christian population in India, researched and compiled by non-governmental expertise, tallied its growth from a mere 1.15% (of 238.3 million) in 1901 to over 5.8% (of 1.38 billion) in 2020

Portrait Drawing in Three Generations of the Bacon Family

This thesis takes as its subject the substantial group of portrait drawings made by members of three generations of the Bacon family from the last decades of the eighteenth century through until c. 1859. Although this shared practice was initiated by the prominent sculptor John Bacon RA (1740-99), and was continued by his son and fellow sculptor John Bacon Junior (1777-1859), the drawings appear to have been separate from their professional concerns. As such, the Bacons’ portraits are valuable evidence of amateur drawing during the period, and this analysis points to the continued vitality of both the practice itself and the portrait genre specifically. The Bacons’ close links to evangelicalism in England, particularly in the first two generations, bring their drawings into dialogue with the history of the spiritual revival, particularly as it intersects with historiographies of domesticity and associational activity. The drawings are examined for what they reveal about the emotional and spiritual lives of individuals within the family, with a particular emphasis on Bacon Junior. Read alongside diverse texts, including diaries and wills, the family’s collection of portraits in other media and the architectural settings in which these were deployed, the family’s portrait drawings are identified as records of affective relations as well as vehicles for narratives of gentility and faith. As a register of sociability that extended beyond his kinship network, Bacon Junior’s drawings also point to the scope of his engagement with spiritual, charitable and political causes. Whether analysed in formal terms, or as objects circulating within a kinship network, the Bacons’ portrait drawings offer valuable insights into the ways in which amateur drawing in this period bridged the gap between the public and the private, functioning not only as records of intimacy, but also as a means of fashioning memory and identity within one family over several generations

William Dodsworth 1798-1861: the origins of Tractarian thought and practice in London

This thesis presents William Dodsworth as a central figure in the transmission of Tractarian ideas from Oxford to London. His career reveals a unique interface between radical Evangelicalism and the first impact of the Oxford Movement on the religious life of the capital. Dodsworth's formation is set within the variety of religious responses produced by the ideological upheaval consequent upon the French Revolution, and in particular the revival of adventism. His life-long quest for a unified theological system that would resist liberalism in church and state underlies his early involvement in the prophetic studies movement, and his enduring commitment to pre-millennialism. Dodsworth's adventism is the key to his development from Evangelical, through Tractarianism to the Roman Catholic Church. The impetus for this evolution can be traced to his association with Edward Irving and his circle. Irving's eschatology and reinterpretation of traditional Evangelicalism led Dodsworth to an incarnation-centred soteriology which enabled him to develop a new 'Catholic' ecclesiology worked out in his preaching and sacramental practice at the Margaret Chapel from 1829. Distanced from Irving and drawn into the incipient Tractarian Movement, Dodsworth's potential for leadership was recognised by Newman, and utilized by Pusey in the establishment of Christ Church, Albany Street as a prototype of the Anglo-Catholic parish, and a first embodiment of the Oxford Movement's pastoral ideals in London. Evaluation of Dodsworth's ministry, preaching and publications not only calls for a reappraisal of his hitherto obscured place in Anglo-Catholic history, but demands a reexamination of the origins of Tractarianism in the capital and especially its relationship to contemporary Evanglicalism. This thesis concludes with a critique of Dodsworth's contribution as an Anglican convert to the Roman Catholic Church, and offers him as a promising subject for future study of nineteenth century religious history

A mission for medicine : Dr Ellen Farrer and India 1891-1933.

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DXN012997 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

The Hope of the World: The Story of Jesus and its Influence in the Formation of Identity in Working Class Girls in Britain 1900-1945

The aim of this thesis is to investigate how the British Sunday school story of Jesus functioned in the formation of identity of working class girls 1900-1945. In doing so, the thesis argues that the British Sunday school network during this period provided an effective institutional base for the promotion of a popular version of developmental theory known as child study, the influence of which fed into the establishment of the pedagogies of storytelling and the educational use of pictures. It explains how the Sunday school story of Jesus was one of the most accessible narratives available to working class children, but argues that this was a reframed version of the story which was formulated to take into account insights into child psychology gained through developmental theory and which acknowledged the varying needs of different age groups. The title of the thesis, The Hope of the World, is taken from a Sunday school picture of Jesus and is used here because it is seen as emblematic of the Edwardian view of children as the potential redeemers of the nation. The thesis analyses the books, pictures and ephemera telling the story of Jesus which were produced for circulation in the Sunday school and argues that, through accident rather than design, these narratives invariably made a greater appeal to girls than boys. It shows that despite the reframing of the Jesus story as a fairy tale, adventure story and chivalric romance there were always problems encountered in producing an image of Jesus which would make a lasting, positive impression on boys. The thesis concludes by arguing that for working class girls in particular, the chivalric romance provided them with the means of identifying with Jesus, their knightly Saviour, through which they could negotiate their negative feelings about their own subordinate socia-economic positioning and that this was an effective means of inculcating the notion of altruistic citizenship

THE PROVISION OF NURSERY EDUCATION IN ENGLAND AND WALES TO 1967 WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO NORTH - EAST ENGLAND

‘The Provision of Nursery Education in England and Wales to 1967 with special reference to North-East England’ by John R. Bell The startling title of the Nursery School Association’s ‘Forgotten Two Millions’ (1965) stimulated a determination to trace the origins of this tragedy, and to ascertain the historical struggle involved, both nationally and in my home region of North East England. NSA publications and records of voluntary bodies together with local and national archives helped trace the growth and activities of the nursery school movement from 1923 and, together with the Tyneside Nursery School Association, gave an unbiased account of pioneering work in the region. Material was analysed, described, and evaluated, to explore inherent strength and weaknesses. Theory and practice of prominent educators and thinkers was examined to appraise the attention given to the ‘under fives’ and to concepts of childhood. The progression of the changing role of women in society, changing social and economic conditions in the 19th and 20th centuries and the pioneering work of enlightened philanthropic individuals demonstrated that early years education never existed in a vacuum. The slow ‘stop’/’start’ growth in provision, however, was shown to have reflected the state of local and national finance and, indeed, can still be seen today. Seven nursery schools in contrasting areas of industrial heritage of the North East were chosen as example case-studies, spread over a period of 30 turbulent years. The first was established during WW1 clearly in the vanguard with the McMillans and before the government legislation of 1918. Two were war-time nurseries and illustrated the emergency measures set up in 1942 to provide an essential service for mothers engaged in war work. All provided source material in their chronological, educational histories. The Plowden Report offered a new hope for the future. Any subsequent developments in the care and nurture of ‘under fives’ would therefore depend on the Government‘s political will, its financial allocations and socio-economic challenges, again seen today in the current climate. It is suggested that present day or future participants in any initiative on behalf of the ‘under fives’ may gain inspiration from this research or similar regional studies

The History of Borough Road School/College from its Origins in 1798 until its merger with Maria Grey College to form West London Institute of Higher Education in 1976

This book is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 3.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is noncommercial.The historical development of the Borough Road School for the children of poor parents led to the need to train its teachers. This work was the inspiration of Joseph Lancaster. The text is divided into two major sections. The first section deals with the development of his ideas and implementation. The second section examines the historical development of Borough Road College by decade with emphasis on changes in educational ideas and legislation across two centuries