Development, underdevelopment, and the state in Ghana

African Studies Center Working Paper No. 5

Civilisation de l'olivier et des céréales

Dans la première partie de cet article, l'auteur cherche à interpreter l'émergence du mythe de l'olivier dans le contexte de la Grèce antique où il a pris naissance et comment il a pris valeur de référence dans l'espace géo-politique de l'Empire romain du 2ème siècle. Dans la deuxième partie, il précise la fonction symbolique et réelle de l'olivier dans l'aire de la civilisation gréco-romaine. Si l'olivier est une caractéristique de l'aire de civilisation méditerranéenne, c'est en effet en raison du rôle qu'il a joué dans l'histoire de l'ouverture des cultures et des sociétés grecques et de leur intégration dans l'espace urbain, cadre de ces échanges. Dans la troisième partie, il engage une réflexion sur l'intégration de l'olivier dans l'histoire des sociétés du Maghreb et sur la rémanence de ce mythe fondateur dans l'espace du développement de la Tunisie et du Maghreb contemporain. En conclusion il montre la relativité de la notion de modèle de consommation alimentaire et la relation entre les changements dans le comportement alimentaire et les politiques agricoles et leur contexte socio-historiqu

Medieval Jewry in Northern France

Originally published in 1974. Focusing on a set of Jewish communities, Robert Chazan tells how, by the eleventh century, French Jews had created for themselves a role as local merchants and moneylenders in adapting to the political, economic, and social limits imposed on them. French society, striving to become more powerful and civilized, was willing to extend aid and protection to the Jews in return for general stimulation of trade and urban life and for the immediate profit realized from taxation. While the authorities were relatively successful in protecting the Jews from others, there was no power to impose itself between the Jews and their protectors. The political and social well-being of the Jews was, therefore, dependent on the will of the governing authorities who taxed their holdings and regulated their activities. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the position of the Jews was constantly under attack by reform elements in the church concerned with Jewish moneylending and blasphemous materials in Jewish books; these reformers were eventually devoted to a serious missionizing effort within the Jewish community. The Jews' situation was further complicated by deep popular animosity, expressing itself in a damaging set of slanders and occasionally in physical violence. Despite the impressive achievements of the Jews in medieval northern France, by the thirteenth century their community was increasingly constricted; and in 1306, they were expelled from royal France by Philip IV. Overcoming the handicap of a lack of copious source material, Chazan analyzes the Jews' political status, their relations with key elements of Christian society, their demographic development, their economic outlets, their internal organization, and their attitudes toward the Christian environment. As it highlights aspects of French society from an unusual perspective, Medieval Jewry in Northern France should be of special interest to the historian of medieval France as well as to the student of Jewish history. This story is also significant for all who are fascinated by the capacity of human groups to respond and adapt creatively to a hostile and limiting environment

Principles and Pedagogies in Jewish Education

This book is aimed at improving contemporary educational practice by rooting it in clear analytical thinking. The book utilizes the analytic approach to philosophy of education to elucidate the meaning of the terms “education,” “moral education,” “indoctrination,” “contemporary American Jewish education,’’“informal Jewish education,” “the Israel experience,” and “Israel education.” The final chapter of the book presents an educator’s credo for twenty-first Jewish education and general education. This is an open access book

A Philosophy of Israel Education

Philosophy of Education; Religion and Society; Philosophy of Religion; Judais

Cost-function characterization of systems

Cost function characterizations of dynamical control systems - Markov transition cost function