Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Review: Mezhdu Nami, Jim Sweigert

Russian Language Journal

Между нами marks a new and quite remarkable approach to the teaching and learning of Russian. In place of the typical print textbook series is an online text that also incorporates some aspects of more traditional Russian language textbooks. Indeed, this is perhaps the first time that a Russian language textbook for the North American market has provided students with an entry point that is nearly entirely in an online format. As the authors state, “Между нами is a free, web-based textbook that provides a comprehensive introduction to Russian language and culture. It is organized around the experiences of four …

What, Why, And How Much?: The Integration Of Culture In The Secondary Foreign Language Classroom, Danielle Patricia Asay

Theses and Dissertations

Culture is an integral part of the FL classroom, yet teachers often face difficulties when incorporating it into their curricula. This survey study gathered data from teachers of many different languages, including ASL, all at the secondary level in the state of Utah. The study attempts to describe how secondary FL teachers view the role of culture in language teaching. It also details which models, means, or methods teachers use to communicate culture to their students, as well as the amount of culture included in their lesson planning, instruction, and assessment. Factors that contribute to more culture inclusion in the …

Quigley's Model As A Model Model, Matthew Melko

Comparative Civilizations Review

Joseph Drew, editor-in-chief of the Comparative Civilizations Review, has updated and edited a paper from the early nineteen seventies composed by noted scholar and past president of the International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilization, Dr. Matthew Melko. In it, Dr. Melko advances the proposition that the best model for the study of civilizations -- exemplified by the model proposed by Dr. Carroll Quigley which advances a holistic method -- is the comparative study of civilizations. According to the paper, this model along with similar ones is the best avenue to study inter-civilizational connections. Another way noted by the …

Comparative And Civilizational Perspectives In The Social Sciences And Humanities: An Inventory And Statement, Benjamin Nelson, Vytautas Kavolis

Comparative Civilizations Review

The editor-in-chief of the Comparative Civilization Review, Joseph Drew, has updated and edited this article by two noted scholars and early presidents of the International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations. In this paper, written in the early nineteen seventies, Benjamin Nelson and Vytautas Kavolis, the first two presidents after the association’s relocation to the United States, present the basic philosophy of the association. One approach is in the study of comparative civilizations, the study of different cultures and societies which they place on the lower form of their encompassing “horizons approach.” The horizons approach seeks a more far-reaching …

“There Is No God And We Are His Prophets”: The Visionary Potential Of Memory And Nostalgia In Cormac Mccarthy's No Country For Old Men And The Road, Marie Reine Pugh

Theses and Dissertations

Memory and nostalgia work in complex, paradoxical ways in Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men and The Road, both haunting the main protagonists, Sheriff Ed Tom Bell and the father, as well as bringing them to crucial realizations. These men give up the traditional hero role for the more meaningful and generative image of “carrying the fire,” which unites these two novels. Carrying the fire represents a memorial and nostalgic longing for home and family. Bell and the father attain this vision because of their obsession with the past, and because of their struggle with memory and nostalgia. Memory, …

Growing Up In Junction City, Oregon. A Memoir., Lois Christiansen Eagleton

The Bridge

I grew up in a Danish world in America. It seemed that all of my relatives and most of our family friends were Danes. Though my parents did not speak much Danish at home, mainly because their families had come from different parts of Denmark and they could not agree on pronunciation, I learned when I went to college that I had a few Danish words in my vocabulary that I had no idea were not English.

A Danish Lad In America, Fred Delcomyn

The Bridge

“The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.” So said L.P. Hartley in The Go-Between (1953). Looking back on myself as a young immigrant child in Detroit at mid-century, the phrase seems especially apt. In my past I was quite literally in a foreign country.

Review: Poetry Reader For Russian Learners; Siblings In Tolstoy And Dostoevsky: The Path To Universal Brotherhood, Richard Robin, Naya Lekht

Russian Language Journal

Overall, the book does a thorough job of documentation. In proficiency terms, it reads more like a fancy “Advanced High” text than “Superior.” The authors do not speculate about the potentially more controversial conclusions pertaining to some of the postulates underlying the program until toward the end of the volume. After all, it is unlikely that a school with only two years of Russian aiming for an “Intermediate Low” speaking proficiency will create a two-year curriculum with the intent to prepare participants for a fourth year at “Advanced.” Most of the interesting speculations come in Al-Batal and Glakas’s view of …

A Girl In Two Worlds, Meryem Sert

The Bridge

It is evening in Allerød. I am sitting here by the window, trying to write a little before I go to sleep. In front of me are two photos that were taken only a few months apart.

One photo is of an eight-year-old girl with bare feet, dressed in a long skirt and head scarf. She is standing in the middle of a flock of sheep in front of a low house built of clay and stone. The other photo shows the same girl, taken in front of a red, high-rise apartment with a lot of cars around. She is …

Foreign Language Study Coupled With Internship Experience As An Entrée To Professional Opportunities, N. Anthony Brown

Russian Language Journal

Today’s global age presents its share of unique challenges, not the least of which is communication. Whereas in past centuries, fossil fuels played a central role in driving economies and influencing policy decisions, “language is the new oil” in the twenty-first century.1 Some forward thinking individuals and organizations have responded to the times and teamed up with universities and government agencies to develop new and innovative foreign language programs. Consider, for example, the U.S. federally funded National Flagship Language Program that offers upwards of nine months to one year of intensive language instruction in the target language culture and experiential …

'Det Ny Fra Thy': Historical Innovation In A Peripheral Place, Poul Houe

The Bridge

When we say in English that a certain innovation "takes place" or in Danish: finder sted, which means literally, "finds place" -both linguistic idioms, "takes" or "finds" place, suggest that the role of place is not accidental. This is obviously pivotal in geography, but also in anthropology, sociology, philosophy, and a host of cultural studies, sometimes in the form of "mental geography." Recent Danish book titles suggest as much: Dan Ringgaard's Stedssans (Sense of Place), Anne-Marie Mai's Hvor litteraturen finder sted (Where literature Takes Place) in 3 volumes, and Ringgaard & Mai's anthology Sted (Place).

Review: “The Other” In Translation: A Case For Comparative Translation Studies, Sibelan Forrester

Russian Language Journal

Alexander Burak’s book “The Other” in Translation does two things: it draws attention to the field of Comparative Translation Discourse Analysis, with reference to numerous concrete examples, and it offers thought provoking and informative discussion of a number of translation situations drawn from the interactions of Russian and Anglophone literature and culture. The book will be especially interesting to students and teachers of Russian at all levels, but it also has a great deal to offer readers from other languages and literatures, especially those with a background in translation studies.

Introduction To Articles From The 2014 Annual Conference Of The Russian State University For The Humanities American Studies Center: Special Section On Humanities+, N. Anthony Brown

Russian Language Journal

After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Professor Marina Kaul of the Russian State University for the Humanities (RGGU), together with Professor Irwin Weil of Northwestern University, co-founded the American Studies Center at RGGU, the two-fold goals of which were 1) to expose post-Soviet Russian scholars and students to a reasonably objective view and appreciation of American history, culture, and politics; and 2) to help American scholars and students to see themselves as others saw them. Thus far, the Center has held annual conferences, facilitated professional and student exchanges, and published numerous conference proceedings. It has enjoyed the …

Such Stuff As Dreams Are Made On: Shakespeare And The Cultural Legitimacy Of Video Games, Paul C. Bills

Student Works

In many ways, video games are fighting the same battle for cultural legitimacy that English drama fought in Renaissance England, a battle chiefly won by William Shakespeare. The video game industry is currently in much the same state that English drama was in when Shakespeare entered the scene, and game designers could learn much from his example, as he arguably innovated a new medium as much as he achieved anything else. Part of Shakespeare's success depended on looking backward to bring already culturally important stories to the stage in order to prove that this new medium could be a vehicle …

On Danish-American Cultural Identity, Signe Sloth

The Bridge

In 1967 an article was published which kick-started a discussion that is still going on among sociologists today. The subject of the article is American civil religion and the writer is the American sociologist Robert Bellah who claims that every nation and every people has a religious self-understanding. He advocates an American civil religion that is separated from other denominations and established religious institutions, but just like them demands recognition and understanding. Bellah defines this Civil Religion as " ... A genuine apprehension of universal and transcendental religious reality as seen in or . . . as revealed through the …

A Journey To Denmark In 1928, Anton Gravesen

The Bridge

It is now just 3 months ago that I packed my valise and said goodbye to Askov to make a journey to Denmark. It was with some mixed feelings. Half my life I have lived here and my other half over there in the old country.

Introduction

Russian Language Journal

On behalf of the editorial team of the Russian Language Journal, it is with great pleasure that we present Volume 63. The current issue of RLJ sees a number of changes to the editorial team as well as an expansion of the kinds of materials we publish; we hope that these changes serve both the profession and our readers. Starting with this issue, we will include review articles, as well as a section of shorter book reviews. Michael Gorham, our Associate Editor, leads this effort for the RLJ. As well, there are two new appointments to the Editorial Team: Dr. …

Review: Сетевые Разговоры: Культурные Коммуникации В Рунете, Thomas J. Garza

Russian Language Journal

For any reader interested in the linguistic and cultural shifts that have occurred in the Russian language as a result of the explosion of Internet use in the russophone world, Zvereva’s work, Сетевые разговоры, is especially apt. In this timely and insightful work, Zvereva employs both discourse analysis as well as rigorous commentary from the corpus of work in media and cultural studies to fashion a critical review of current trends and innovations in the use of Internet-based media―predominately via RuNet (.ru)― as a means of initiating and developing communication. Emphasizing its broad appeal, Zvereva points to the relevance of …

The Experiences Of Hispanic International Students As Interviewees In A Cross-Cultural Interview Project, Ren S. Carbutt

Theses and Dissertations

In the field of world language education, it has long been affirmed that language and culture are inseparable. It has also often been asked how teaching language and culture in an inseparable way is to be accomplished. One solution that has been proposed is ethnographic interviews. Other studies have demonstrated that interviewing native cultural informants is beneficial for language students. This study examined whether such interviews are also beneficial to the native informants. The participants in this project, sixteen native speakers of Spanish, were each interviewed three times by a pair of Spanish students who employed ethnographic techniques as a …

Grundtvigian Danish-Americans - A Story Of Preservation And Renewal Of Cultural And Religious Traditions, Henrik Bredmose Simonsen

The Bridge

grant from the Grundtvig Centre at Aarhus University enabled me in 2010 to visit several small towns in the American Midwest, where Grundtvigian institutions and traditions have played and still play a role. The trip was part of the research project "Integration, Identity and Narrative among Grundtvigian Danish-Americans," which Skanderborg Museum launched in 2009.

Remembrances: Early Years By The River: Growing Up In The Junction City Danish Community, 1904-2, Arnold N. Bodtker

The Bridge

I was born December 5, 1904, in Junction City, Oregon, on the farm, which later will be referred to as the "lower place." Quite often my father called it "Sibirien." (This is the Danish word for Siberia.) My memories from that place, where I lived my first five years, are spotty now, but nevertheless vivid

Examining The Validity Of The 2010 Prototype Ap Russian Exam Through A College Comparability Study, Camelot Marshall

Russian Language Journal

Since its inception twelve years ago, the Prototype AP® Russian Language and Culture Examination has developed into an assessment instrument that has increasingly become the culminating focus and a hallmark of high school Russian language study in select schools across the United States. Even more so, through the years of field-­‐‑testing, piloting, and making the tests operational, the design, content, development, administration, and analyses of the exam have evolved into the model for American Councils’ online assessments of language proficiency not only for Russian, but also for Flagship programs. These tests are already being developed in Arabic, Chinese, Persian, Russian, …

Negotiating Identity: Culturally Situated Epideictic In The Victorian Travel Narratives Of Isabella Bird, Katherine Reilly Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

Epideictic rhetoric, one of the classical modes of persuasion described by Aristotle, has faced some criticism concerning its value in the realm of rhetoric. Though attitudes have been shifting over the last several decades, there is still a tendency to undervalue epideictic, falling back on the Aristotelian system of ceremonial oratory. However, its “praise and blame” style of persuasion employs of the type of rhetor / audience identification described by Kenneth Burke. Epideictic rhetoric is a major component of virtually any communication, as the speaker or writer seeks to create a bond with that audience so as to persuade them …

The Online Proficiency‐Based Reading, Listening, And Integrated Writing External Assessment Program For Russian: A Report To The Field, Saodat I. Bazarova, Maria D. Lekic, Camelot Marshall

Russian Language Journal

Rising interest in the U.S. in the study and teaching of Russian language and culture, reported elsewhere in the present volume (Davidson & Garas, 2009), has coincided with the reaffirmation of the status of Russian by U. S. government agencies as a critical language. Russian is identified, for example, in the 2006 National Security Language Initiative (NSLI) as a “critical need language,” for which the production of greater numbers of advanced‐level speakers is deemed essential (U.S. Department of Education, 2008, p. 1). According to the most recent ADFL/MLA report on language enrollments in two‐ and four‐year U.S. institutions of higher …

Писатели О Языке: Contemporary Russian Writers On The Language Question, Ingunn Lunde

Russian Language Journal

Post-perestroika Russian society exhibits a pronounced concern with the language question. Linguistic issues are discussed at all levels of society, and a great many people engage in these debates: politicians, philologists, teachers, journalists, writers, students, bloggers, and others. Newspapers and journals feature columns or article series devoted to language; conferences discuss “the state of the Russian language”; the state sponsors a large number of radio and television programmes on language and language culture; various centres and institutions offer programmes promoting linguistic cultivation; there are information services on linguistic questions on the Internet; many blogs deal with the language question.

Politics And Culture At The Jacobean Court: The Role Of Queen Anna Of Denmark, Courtney Erin Thomas

Quidditas

Until recently, analyses of the Jacobean court marginalized the important role played by James I and VI’s queen consort, Anna of Denmark. While historians and literary critics now acknowledge that Anna was a key player in patronage networks and artistic circles at the time, the extent of her political involvement remains largely unexplored in favor of portraying her solely as a cultural figure. This essay seeks to examine the connections between Anna’s cultural and political activities and suggests that, by viewing Anna’s involvements thorough a dichotomous lens as being either political or cultural, a truly textured and nuanced understanding of …

Authentic Out-Of-Class Communication In Study Abroad Programs: Success Defined By Continued Motivation And Cultural Appreciation, Erin Fairlight Olsen

Theses and Dissertations

The benefits of study abroad experience in second language acquisition have evolved from unchallenged assumption to the focus of rigorous study in the past several decades. The benefits of out-of-class contact with natives have likewise been questioned. Despite conflicting evidence of its benefit, students frequently cite out-of-class conversations with natives as among the most beneficial aspects of their language acquisition experience. Reviewing the extant literature, this study narrows in on authentic communication-that is, meaningful out-of-class contact with natives, in which students are able to genuinely express themselves and their personality-as a previously unanalyzed element of study abroad research. It is …

Taking Mormons Seriously: Ethics Of Representing Latter-Day Saints In American Fiction, Terrol Roark Williams

Theses and Dissertations

My paper examines the ethics of representing Mormons in serious American fiction, viewed through two primary texts, Bayard Taylor's nineteenth-century dramatic poem The Prophet and Maureen Whipple's epic novel The Giant Joshua. I also briefly examine Walter Kirn's short stories “Planetarium” and “Whole Other Bodies.” Using Werner Sollors' and Matthew Frye Jacobson's writings on ethnicity as foundational, I argue in that Mormonism constitutes an ethnicity, which designation accentuates the ethical demands of those who represent the group. I also use W.J.T. Mitchell's theories of representation as the basis of my arguments of the ethics of representing ethnicity. As ethical theorists, …

Versions Of America: Reading American Literature For Identity And Difference, Raj G. Chetty

Theses and Dissertations

My paper examines how American authors of the South Asian Diaspora (Indian-American or South Asian American) can be read 1) as simply American and 2) without regard to ethnicity. I develop this argument using American authors Jhumpa Lahiri, a first generation American of Bengali-Indian descent, and Bharati Mukherjee, an American of Bengali-Indian origin. I borrow from Deepika Bahri's materialist aesthetics in postcolonialism (in turn borrowed from members of the Frankfurt School of Critical Theory) and include theoretical insights from Rey Chow, Graham Huggan, and R. Radhakrishnan regarding multiculturalism, identity politics, and diaspora studies. Huggan and Radhakrishnan's insights are especially useful …

Grundtvig' S Relevance Today: The Current Debate, Henrik Wiegh Poulsen

The Bridge

Hardly any individual has meant more to Denmark and the Danes than Grundtvig. But lately he has suffered a fall from grace in public opinion. Why is this and what does it mean to Grundtvig and to Danish society?