There is a crisis in America revolving around social and political life that the contributors to this volume believe has provoked a renewed attention to the issue of community in political thought. That attention is found most prominently in the "communitarian" movement, but it also finds expression in the views of the prominent political thinkers of our time.

Michael A. PetersBeijing Normal UniversityMy deepest condolences to Pepe, Dom and Marcus and to Jim’s grandchildren. Tina and I spent a lot of time at the Marshall family home, often attending dinn...

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:American Journal of Philology 1.1 (2000) 121-128 [Access article in PDF] Where to Put Augustus? A Note on the Placement of the Prima Porta Statue Allan Klynne and Peter Liljenstolpe In all the learned discussions on ancient sculpture, few objects have generated as much literature as the statue of Augustus from Prima Porta. 1 While some studies manage to arrive at interesting conclusions regarding the Augustan artistic (...) program, a good many can be held to be examples of classical studies running amok.One subject to which many scholars have devoted much time and thought is the statue's original place of display, at the Villa of Livia. In a recent study published in this Journal, Jane Clark Reeder addressed this question once again, but her treatment of the archaeological record is not convincing, especially when it comes to speculations as to the placement of the statue in relation to the Imperial laurel grove. 2 Our doubts are based on our firsthand experience of the site and on new finds made during the current excavations. We wish primarily to revert to two points: (1) the relevance of the findspot for the original placement of the statue and (2) the laurel grove's connection with the planting pots--the so-called ollae perforatae--found at the villa and its assumed relation to the statue. An alternative location of the statue, which is in better accordance with the archaeological evidence, can now be suggested.According to the ancient sources, the villa ad Gallinas, situated in the vicinity of the ninth milestone along the Via Flaminia, had a laurel grove which had sprung from a branch carried by a white pullet that was dropped into the lap of the young Livia Drusilla by an eagle. 3 Shortly before the death of Nero, the whole grove withered away and the sacred offspring of the original hen died off, thus becoming a portent of the end of the Iulio-Claudian dynasty. 4 Since the discovery in [End Page 121] 1863 of a magnificent villa on the hill above the so-called Prima Porta--an arch of late Imperial date--the location of this famous residence seems to be established. The remaining architectural structures lay abandoned and unprotected until 1982, when the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Roma reopened the excavation and restored the site. 5 Excavations are still being conducted under the direction of Gaetano Messineo, most recently in collaboration with the Swedish Institute at Rome, in order to gain a better idea of the nature of the Imperial gardens. 6In her discussion of the foundation augurium of the grove, the symbolic power of the laurel, and the archaeological evidence in the form of planting pots found at the site, Reeder tries to narrow down the exact findspot of the statue of Augustus (and indirectly its original placement), but her reasoning becomes somewhat tangled. Put very briefly, her argument is as follows. The statue is to be seen in connection with the triumphal ceremony. Augustus' hand (either the left or the right one) therefore most probably held a laurel, which could only have come from the grove at the villa. 7 This in its turn is confirmed by the planting pots found on the edge of the hill, close to the underground complex where the statue (supposedly) was found. Hence the statue would have stood in a grove on the southwestern part of the hill. This argument is neat but far from unobjectionable.Let us begin with the statue. Its exact findspot is not known, and since no base has been found its original position is still a puzzle. Pollini has recently scrutinized this problem. 8 Reeder places great confidence in Landi's plan of the underground complex, published in 1891 and reproduced in Calci and Messineo 1984. 9 This plan was drawn some [End Page 122] twenty-five years after the first excavation, in order to document the complex at that time. According to the drawing, the statue was found at the bottom of the staircase leading to the... (shrink)

In recent years, researchers and theorists of music education have taken a stronger interest in questions of justice. Meanwhile, in educational research more broadly, there has been a simultaneous growth in efforts to bring deconstruction and the theories of Jacques Derrida to bear upon philosophies of education. One significant difficulty with the latter effort, however, has been Derrida’s insistence that justice, about which he wrote a great deal in his later years, is impossible. This article suggests that, nevertheless, music education (...) can perhaps present special opportunities for something like Derridean justice in the classroom. The author suggests that his own encouragement of DJing and MCing in his inner-city music classroom may have made possible precisely such a seeming impossibility. Given, however, that Derrida’s conception of justice is contingent upon aporia, any decision on this matter must be infinitely deferred. Despite this, the article suggests that elements of Derrida’s theoretical insistence upon aporia can remain valuable to teachers who would strive for an ethical classroom practice. (shrink)

This book is a unique meditation on poetry, history, philosophy, religion, and politics from one of the most important poets of our time. It is the result of decades of deep thinking about the fate of poetry in human history as well as the nature of our shared human condition.

In Ruling Passions, Simon Blackburn contends that we should reject sensibility theory because it serves to support a conservative complacency. Blackburn's strategy is attractive in that it seeks to win this metaethical dispute – which ultimately stems from a deep disagreement over antireductionism – on the basis of an uncontroversial normative consideration. Therefore, Blackburn seems to offer an easy solution to an apparently intractable debate. We will show, however, that Blackburn's argument against sensibility theory does not succeed; it is no (...) more supportive of conservative complacency than Blackburn's noncognitivism. A victory for noncognitivism cannot be so easily won. (shrink)

We initially characterize what we’ll call existence problems as problems where there is evidence that a putative entity exists and this evidence is not easily dismissed; however, the evidence is not adequate to justify the claim that the entity exists, and in particular the entity hasn’t been detected. The putative entity is elusive. We then offer a strategy for determining whether an existence problem is philosophical or scientific. According to this strategy (1) existence problems are characterized in terms of causal (...) roles, and (2) these problems are categorized as scientific or philosophical on the basis of the epistemic context of putative realizers. We argue that the first step of the strategy is necessary to avoid begging the question with regard to categorization of existence problems, and the second step categorizes existence problems on the basis of a distinction between two ways in which an entity can be elusive. This distinction between kinds of elusiveness takes as background a standard account of inference to the best explanation. Applying this strategy, we argue that the existence of a multiverse is a scientific problem. (shrink)

Illness and injury are often accompanied by experiences of bodily objectification. Medical treatments intended to restore the structure or function of the body may amplify these experiences of objectification by recasting the patient’s body as a biomedical object—something to be examined, measured, and manipulated. In this article, we contribute to the phenomenology of embodiment in illness and medicine by reexamining the results of a qualitative study of the experiences of nurses and patients isolated in an intensive care unit during the (...) first wave of COVID-19. Drawing upon the phenomenological concept of embodiment—as developed in the work of Edmund Husserl, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Emmanuel Levinas—we reconsider how bodily objectification manifests in complex clinical encounters. We show that, in these settings, objectification is not simply the unilateral act of a clinician objectifying a patient. Rather, both clinicians and patients reported a variety of objectifying experiences influenced by their interactions, the immediate context of the intensive care milieu, and the broader atmosphere of a global pandemic. In light of these findings, we argue that bodily objectification in illness and medicine can often be more complicated than typically presented in the phenomenological literature. (shrink)

Taking Parenting Public makes a compelling case that parenting has become dangerously undervalued in America today. It calls for a new investment—both personal and public—into the work of raising children and argues that we are all "stockholders" in the next generation. With a foreword by Sylvia Ann Hewlett and Cornel West, Taking Parenting Public crosses boundaries to bring together thinkers from diverse fields spanning the political spectrum. It features contributions from distinguished experts in economics, political science, public policy, child development, (...) public health, history, and the media. While recent books have focused on working mothers or absent fathers, Taking Parenting Public is the first volume to take a comprehensive look at the common struggles of parents. These essays go beyond the usual chest-beating about busy parents torn between work and family demands to suggest bold solutions. Instead of the typical call for "parent replacement"—more child care, more after school programs and more mentors—the contributors offer fresh strategies for "parent replenishment," ways to put mothers and fathers back into the lives of their children not only as economic providers, but also as emotional and moral providers. (shrink)

_Teachers Investigate Their Work_ introduces the methods and concepts of action research through examples drawn from studies carried out by teachers. The book is arranged as a handbook with numerous sub-headings for easy reference and fourty-one practical methods and strategies to put into action, some of them flagged as suitable `starters'. Throughout the book, the authors draw on their international practical experience of action research, working in close collaboration with teachers. It is an essential guide for teachers, senior staff and (...) co-ordinators of teacher professional development who are interested in investigating their own practice in order to improve it. (shrink)

The precarious rights of senior citizens, especially those who are highly educated and who are expected to counsel and guide the younger generations, has stimulated the creation internationally of advocacy associations and opinion leader groups. The strength of these groups, however, varies from country to country. In some countries, they are supported and are the focus of intense interest; in others, they are practically ignored. For this is reason we believe that the creation of a network of all these associations (...) is essential. The proposed network would act as a support for the already-existing policies of the United Nations’ High Commission for Human Rights, of independent experts, and of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People. All three have long ago recommended the creation of a recognized instrument for uniting presently scattered efforts. The proposed network, therefore, will seek to promote the international exchange of relevant expertise, and it will reinforce the commitments and actions that single countries are currently taking to meet these objectives. For example, informative public events can be organised to promote particular support initiatives and to provide an opportunity for new members of the network to be presented. The network will promote health for senior citizens, disease prevention, senior mobility, safe free time for seniors, alimentary education, protection against new risks and dangers, as well as equity in the services necessary for seniors to adopt new information and communication technologies. In the case of retired academic members, the network will promote equality with respect to continuing use of digital technologies (particularly email), continuing access to research libraries, and the guaranteed ability for seniors to fund their own research programs and to deliver free seminars. (shrink)

Background International collaborators face challenges in the design and implementation of ethical biomedical research. Evaluating community understanding of research and processes like informed consent may enable researchers to better protect research participants in a particular setting; however, there exist few studies examining community perspectives in health research, particularly in resource-limited settings, or strategies for engaging the community in research processes. Our goal was to inform ethical research practice in a biomedical research setting in western Kenya and similar resource-limited settings. Methods (...) We sought to use mabaraza , traditional East African community assemblies, in a qualitative study to understand community perspectives on biomedical research and informed consent within a collaborative, multinational research network in western Kenya. Analyses included manual, progressive coding of transcripts from mabaraza to identify emerging central concepts. Results Our findings from two mabaraza with 108 community members revealed that, while participants understood some principles of biomedical research, they emphasized perceived benefits from participation in research over potential risks. Many community members equated health research with HIV testing or care, which may be explained in part by the setting of this particular study. In addition to valuing informed consent as understanding and accepting a role in research activities, participants endorsed an increased role for the community in making decisions about research participation, especially in the case of children, through a process of community consent. Conclusions Our study suggests that international biomedical research must account for community understanding of research and informed consent, particularly when involving children. Moreover, traditional community forums, such as mabaraza in East Africa, can be used effectively to gather these data and may serve as a forum to further engage communities in community consent and other aspects of research. (shrink)