The Islamic Reformist Mosaic in Muslim Southeast Asia

This chapter amplifies John Esposito’s emphasis on the rich diversity of approaches to Islamic thought, focusing attention on Southeast Asia, often considered marginal to Islam’s Arab heartlands but which is in reality the home of the most populous Muslim country, Indonesia. It argues that several Muslim intellectuals have been especially influential in giving rise to what the author terms the “Islamic reformist mosaic” in twentieth-century Muslim Southeast Asia. The term captures the various strands of reformist thinking in Muslim Southeast Asia, each viewing its message of reform as most urgent and important. Even though these strands are diverse, they have coexisted, sometimes in a state of tension, and at other times in dialogue and mutual agreement. Put differently, while differing in their visions and aims, when viewed as a whole, these strands of Islamic reformism form a unified and coherent frame of thought that distinguishes itself from the ultra-traditionalist and ultra-secularist leanings in Southeast Asian Islam. From this vantage point, Islamic reformism is thus a sum of seemingly discordant parts that in its entirety has shaped and pushed the boundaries of Islamic thought in Muslim Southeast Asia in novel directions.

HARVESTING AND STORAGE THROUGH INDIGENOUS PRACTICES: A CASE OF GARHWAL HIMALAYA

In Uttarakhand about 75 percent population predominantly depends on the cultivation of subsistence crops for their livelihood. Majority of the farmers have marginal to small land holdings. The traditional subsistence agriculture has never been economically rewarding venture because it is labour intensive in nature. Cultivation of cash crops may fetch better result for the farmers, nevertheless poor transportation network discourages the farmers to shift fully or partially because during rainy season majority of the villages are cut off from the main stream. However the region has always promoted sustainable indigenous methods of cultivation with crop diversity, For the present study the researchers interacted with the farmers of the villages in Chamoli district. to collect vital information from the different stake holders and the result has been presented in the coherent frame of the study.

Tuning the discipline of history in the United States: Harmony (and dissonance) in teaching and learning

Tuning's progress in the discipline of history in the United States since 2009 illustrates the project's continuing capacity to develop “educational structures and programmes on the basis of diversity and autonomy”, maintaining the initiative's original European Union commitment in a markedly different academic environment across the Atlantic. Struggling initially against a backdrop of confusion, hesitancy, and resistance among US faculty, Tuning has been adopted by a steadily expanding number of educators in individual institutions, state systems, and the history discipline's premier professional society. Though operating, at times, in an uneven, imprecise, or pro forma manner, Tuning in the US manages to address several important goals: bringing a more coherent frame of reference to scattered conversations about higher education; framing a more meaningful discussion about the knowledge, skills, and non-monetized “value” developed through higher education; focusing on the central role of faculty discipline experts in the work of assessment, accreditation, and accountability; and engaging professional scholarly societies on questions of teaching and learning.

Complexity, network theory, and the epistemological issue

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to contribute to refine the conceptual framework of complexity. For such a purpose, a number of epistemologically oriented remarks are provided, arguing about the relevance of second-order considerations for complexity and the importance of pluralism in scientific research. Design/methodology/approach At first, the paper focuses on one of the topical areas of complexity research, i.e. network theory, but uses this for drawing the attention to more general issues. The underlying assumption is that scientific and philosophical research might complement each other, and that this is especially crucial for the advancement of complexity. Findings The paper suggests three ways for refining the scheme of complexity: analyzing it at the right level, i.e. not focusing on single principles or theories (e.g. network theory), but rather on the overall frame; including both ontological and epistemological considerations; and recognizing how the epistemological implications of complexity foster the adoption of a pluralist stance in scientific research (and beyond). Social implications The way in which science (complexity) is portrayed, i.e. as “perspectival” and inclined to pluralism, could impact on how it is thought, designed and socially perceived. Originality/value Complexity is one of most promising fields of contemporary science, but still lacks of a coherent frame of analysis. This requires an investigation from different point of views, as an object of interdisciplinary cooperation. The main paper’s value consists of providing second-order considerations which puts scientific findings in perspective and can contribute to a better understanding of their meaning from a philosophical standpoint too.

Two key concepts of language endangerment : language obsolescence and language death

In the contemporary context of world-wide language endangerment, of linguistic imperialism and regression of minority languages, it is of vital importance to take initiatives for the maintenance and protection of linguistic biodiversity. Languages that become extinct are a major loss, not only for the communities concerned but also for humanity in general. The role of linguists should not be confined to documentation and recording of threatened languages, but should be extended to policies aimed at the revitalization of languages in the process of obsolescence and extinction, and to programs for stimulating language awareness and language cult. Although practical work and immediate political interventions remain the most urgent tasks, there is also need for a theoretical discussion on the value of language maintenance and preservation. It is important to define adequately the basic concepts to be used in discussions, as well as in scholarly and "bureaucratic" writings in the field of language endangerment. The aim of the present paper has been to clarify the concepts of 'language obsolescence' and 'language death', with an eye at offering a general characterization and typology of both phenomena. Accurate information on the causes and contextual factors involved in language obsolescence and language death can help to elaborate a theoretically coherent frame for construing open-minded language policies and for arousing a widespread feeling of respect for the linguistic rights of speech communities, however small and unprotected they may be.