Akota Star Map – Building Community Around Native Star Knowledge
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The Importance of Cultural Identity to Liberal Democracy
Claremont Colleges Scholarship @ Claremont CMC Senior Theses CMC Student Scholarship 2019 The mpI ortance of Cultural Identity to Liberal Democracy Rebecca Ilana Shane Recommended Citation Shane, Rebecca Ilana, "The mporI tance of Cultural Identity to Liberal Democracy" (2019). CMC Senior Theses. 2264. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/2264 This Open Access Senior Thesis is brought to you by Scholarship@Claremont. It has been accepted for inclusion in this collection by an authorized administrator. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Claremont McKenna College The Importance of Cultural Identity to Liberal Democracy submitted to Professor Paul Hurley and Professor Aseema Sinha by Rebecca Shane for Senior Thesis Spring 2019 April 29, 2019 1 Abstract The challenge facing liberal theories of democracy is to describe an organization of state that both legitimates state power and protects individual liberty. In Democratic Rights: The Substance of Self-Government, Corey Brettschneider develops the value theory of democracy that resolves this tension. By locating the democratic ideal in a set of core values with both procedural and substantive implications, the value theory legitimates state coercion only when it protects citizens’ rights. While the value theory guarantees both substantive and procedural rights, this thesis will show that Brettschneider fails to account for the necessity of a secure cultural context, without which members of a minority culture may not be able to enjoy the core values as Brettschneider intends. Yet, the value theory of democracy can maintain a commitment to equality and autonomy when amended to have specific ethnic and cultural identity protections. Ultimately, this thesis will argue that the amended value theory provides a framework for citizens to both evaluate laws and correct injustices based on whether or not the policies uphold the core values. -
Observations of Red–Giant Variable Stars by Aboriginal Australians
preprint Observations of red–giant variable stars by Aboriginal Australians Duane W. Hamacher Monash Indigenous Studies Centre, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800 Australia Astrophysics Group, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD, 4350, Australia Email: [email protected] Abstract Aboriginal Australians carefully observe the properties and positions of stars, including both overt and subtle changes in their brightness, for subsistence and social application. These observations are encoded in oral tradition. I examine two Aboriginal oral traditions from South Australia that describe the periodic changing brightness in three pulsating, red–giant variable stars: Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis), Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri), and Antares (Alpha Scorpii). The Australian Aboriginal accounts stand as the only known descriptions of pulsating variable stars in any Indigenous oral tradition in the world. Researchers examining these oral traditions over the last century, including anthropologists and astronomers, missed the description of these stars as being variable in nature as the ethnographic record contained several misidentifications of stars and celestial objects. Arguably, ethnographers working on Indigenous Knowledge Systems should have academic training in both the natural and social sciences. Keywords: Cultural astronomy; history of astronomy; ethnoastronomy; Aboriginal Australians; Indigenous Knowledge Systems. Introduction Aristotle (350 BCE) wrote that the stars are unchanging and invariable, a position held in academic discourse for two millennia. Aside from the appearance of the occasional “guest star” (novae and supernovae) it was not until the year 1596 that this position was challenged. After nearly two thousand years, careful observations of the star Mira (Omicron Ceti) by David Fabricius in 1596 revealed that its brightness changes over time (Hoffleit 1996). -
A Liberal Order Beyond Earth? Civil Sphere, “The Culture” and the Future of Liberalism
doi: 10.17323/1728-192x-2020-4-36-60 A Liberal Order Beyond Earth? Civil Sphere, “The Culture” and the Future of Liberalism Werner Binder PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Brno (Czech Republic) Address: Joštova 10, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic E-mail: [email protected] Starting with George Orwell’s liberal problem of meaning, this article investigates liberalism as cultural structure and myth, drawing on the theory of civil sphere by Jeffrey C. Alexander and the science fiction novels of Ian M. Banks. Following Alexander, it is argued that liberal societies are built around a sacred core described by the cultural structures of the civil sphere, which are structures of meaning as well as feeling. Civil discourses and movements in liberal (and not so liberal) societies mobilize powerful symbols of the sacred and profane and are thus able to inspire an almost religious devotion. The article then continues to explore the meaning structure, cultural contradictions and possible future of the liberal order discussing Bank’s Culture series. These novels are set in the borderlands of “the Culture”, a galactic civili- zation and liberal utopia. It is precisely this utopian setting, which allows Banks to probe the internal dilemmas of liberalism, for example between pacifism and interventionism, while addressing issues of contemporary relevance, such as the liberal problem of meaning, the al- lure of authoritarianism or the social status of artificial intelligence. With their literary imagi- nation, science fiction writers construct “a myth of the future” (Banks), which may often reflect the myths of their time, but which can also—as in the case of Banks—reflect on those myths, their implications and contradictions. -
The Hydrogen Sonata Pdf, Epub, Ebook
THE HYDROGEN SONATA PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Iain M. Banks | 640 pages | 09 Oct 2013 | Little, Brown Book Group | 9780356501499 | English | London, United Kingdom The Hydrogen Sonata PDF Book I think I was mostly right. It goes some way towards preventing readers from taking the Culture as an endorsement of the American neo- conservatives Banks loathes, but it does so by reducing the distance between the Culture as an entity and present countries, particularly America. That those who have long thought themselves your friends and allies—. Along the way there's a variety of stuff that's seen throughout the series that's fun - lots of inter-Mind and internal Mind conversations and rivalries and multiple amazing landscapes and cultures and aliens described in loving detail. It's sad coming to the end of the series which I've enjoyed a lot even when I've criticised it , especially knowing that it's the end because the brilliant author has died. The Hydrogen Sonata is a Culture novel, part of that vast and complex tapestry of future history with which Banks revitalized the subgenre of space opera and, in large measure, helped to make SF in general fun again. The Culture citizen does not own everything in common with their fellow citizens; they merely can afford to own whatever they want. This is a very fun book, from the setpieces to the humor. The Zihdren-Remnant , what is left of an older species that Sublimed before the Culture was formed, send an envoy to confess a long- kept secret before the Gzilt depart but a Gzilt warship intercepts and destroys their ship several weeks before the Sublimation is due to take place in order to preserve that secret. -
Transhumanism
T ranshumanism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=T ranshum... Transhumanism From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia See also: Outline of transhumanism Transhumanism is an international Part of Ideology series on intellectual and cultural movement supporting Transhumanism the use of science and technology to improve human mental and physical characteristics Ideologies and capacities. The movement regards aspects Abolitionism of the human condition, such as disability, Democratic transhumanism suffering, disease, aging, and involuntary Extropianism death as unnecessary and undesirable. Immortalism Transhumanists look to biotechnologies and Libertarian transhumanism other emerging technologies for these Postgenderism purposes. Dangers, as well as benefits, are Singularitarianism also of concern to the transhumanist Technogaianism [1] movement. Related articles The term "transhumanism" is symbolized by Transhumanism in fiction H+ or h+ and is often used as a synonym for Transhumanist art "human enhancement".[2] Although the first known use of the term dates from 1957, the Organizations contemporary meaning is a product of the 1980s when futurists in the United States Applied Foresight Network Alcor Life Extension Foundation began to organize what has since grown into American Cryonics Society the transhumanist movement. Transhumanist Cryonics Institute thinkers predict that human beings may Foresight Institute eventually be able to transform themselves Humanity+ into beings with such greatly expanded Immortality Institute abilities as to merit the label "posthuman".[1] Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence Transhumanism is therefore sometimes Transhumanism Portal · referred to as "posthumanism" or a form of transformational activism influenced by posthumanist ideals.[3] The transhumanist vision of a transformed future humanity has attracted many supporters and detractors from a wide range of perspectives. -
Algol As Horus in the Cairo Calendar: the Possible Means and the Motives of the Observations
Open Astron. 2018; 27: 232–263 Research Article Sebastian Porceddu*, Lauri Jetsu, Tapio Markkanen, Joonas Lyytinen, Perttu Kajatkari, Jyri Lehtinen, and Jaana Toivari-Viitala Algol as Horus in the Cairo Calendar: the possible means and the motives of the observations https://doi.org/10.1515/astro-2018-0033 Received Feb 15, 2018; accepted May 04, 2018 Abstract: An ancient Egyptian Calendar of Lucky and Unlucky Days, the Cairo Calendar (CC), assigns luck with the period of 2.850 days. Previous astronomical, astrophysical and statistical analyses of CC support the idea that this was the period of the eclipsing binary Algol three millennia ago. However, next to nothing is known about who recorded Algol’s period into CC and especially how. Here, we show that the ancient Egyptian scribes had the possible means and the motives for such astronomical observations. Their principles of describing celestial phenomena as activity of gods reveal why Algol received the title of Horus Keywords: Algol, Horus, ancient Egyptian Astronomy, variable stars, the Cairo Calendar, hemerologies 1 Introduction ies (Porceddu et al., 2008; Jetsu et al., 2013; Jetsu and Porceddu, 2015), we use only the best preserved continuous calendar which is found on pages recto III-XXX and verso The ancient Egyptian texts known as the Calendars of I-IX of papyrus Cairo 86637.The other texts and fragments Lucky and Unlucky Days, or hemerologies, are literary contained in the same papyrus are ignored from this analy- works that assign prognoses to each day of the Egyp- sis because the connection of these fragments to the main tian year (Wells, 2001a, p117-118), (Leitz, 1994, p1-2) (Bacs, calendar is not apparent and we do not know what year 1990, p41-45) (Troy, 1989, p127-147) and (Helck et al., 1975– they describe, so combining any data points from these 1992, p156). -
A Genre Analysis of Iain M. Banks' the Player of Games Juhani Lammi
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by UEF Electronic Publications A Genre Analysis of Iain M. Banks’ The Player of Games Juhani Lammi (student n:o 153298) Graduate Thesis School of Humanities University of Eastern Finland November 2012 ITÄ-SUOMEN YLIOPISTO – UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN FINLAND Tiedekunta – Faculty Osasto – School Humanistinen tdk. / Humanities Englannin kieli / English Tekijät – Author Juhani Lammi Työn nimi – Title A Genre Analysis of Iain M. Banks’ The Player of Games Pääaine – Main Työn laji – Level Päivämäärä – Date Sivumäärä – Number of subject pages Englannin kieli / Pro gradu -tutkielma x English Sivuainetutkielma 84 p. Kandidaatin tutkielma Aineopintojen tutkielma Tiivistelmä – Abstract This thesis is a study of Iain M. Banks’ The Player of Games using genre theory as the key critical concept. The text, which I will analyze, is a utopian science fiction story. My interest is centered on how the story acts as a new utopian text, using the age-old utopian genre and fusing it with new and modern ideas and how it combines classic utopia with its new science fiction version. First, I introduce the topic. Utopian fiction is a genre of literature with ancient roots and a cultural phenomenon, which is even older. Even though the first utopia novel was published in 1516, utopia is a force which has always played a part in human society and imagination from a time earlier than the ancient Greeks. The story is very close to the classic utopian tale, where two societies are placed in opposition and all the positive aspects of the utopian one are described. -
The Hydrogen Sonata Free
FREE THE HYDROGEN SONATA PDF Iain M. Banks | 640 pages | 09 Oct 2013 | Little, Brown Book Group | 9780356501499 | English | London, United Kingdom The Hydrogen Sonata - Wikipedia The Hydrogen Sonata is the ninth and sadly, almost The Hydrogen Sonata the last novel in Iain M. In fact, despite sharing a setting, each Culture The Hydrogen Sonata stands alone and really one can start anywhere and be fine. Conventional wisdom says Player of Games is the best place to start, and that from there readers should move on to Use of Weapons. Usually people say they are more accessible, especially Player of Gamesbut really if accessibility is the only concern then one might as well start with the first book, Consider Phlebas. But a detailed discussion of their particular qualities will have The Hydrogen Sonata wait for another day; having provided guidance to readers new to the series, I can in clear conscience spend the rest of this review discussing The Hydrogen Sonata in the broader context of the series. The setup this time is that the venerable Gzilt The Hydrogen Sonata has been winding down for some time and is now mere weeks from Subliming, a process by which a civilization irrevocably transfers its individuals out of our universe and into a new and incomprehensible plane of existence. But as they prepare for their society-wide death and rebirth, a message sent to the Gzilt by a long transcended civilization is intercepted and destroyed. Vyr Cossont is sent The Hydrogen Sonata the Culture to discover the message and the dangerous truth behind it, a revelation that could change the course of her entire people. -
Integral Transhumanism: the Holistic Leap Forward
INTEGRAL TRANSHUMANISM: THE HOLISTIC LEAP FORWARD By MICHAEL TENNISON A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the Bioethics Program August 2010 Winston-Salem, North Carolina Approved By: Nancy M. P. King, J.D., Advisor Mark Hall, J.D., Chairman Michael Hyde, Ph.D. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Illustrations………………………………………………………………….… iii Abstract……………………………………………………………………………….. iv Chapter I. INTRODUCTION AND PHILOSOPHICAL BASIS……………………… 1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………. 1 Ken Wilber‟s Paradigm…………………………………………………………... 6 Perfection……………………………………………………………………….... 14 Transhumanism and Enhancement……………………………………….…….... 16 Transhumanism and Enhancement Viewed through the Wilberian Lens………... 19 II. BIOETHICS AND TRANSHUMANISM……………………………….. 28 Wilberian Progress……………………………………………………………….. 42 III. SHAMANISM AND SPIRITUAL ENHANCEMENT………………….. 51 How Can We Learn from Shamanism? How is it Unique?................................. 57 Can Shamanism be Authentically and Ethically Incorporated into our Culture?.. 60 Shamanism and Transhumanism…………………………………………………. 65 IV. IMPLEMENTATION AND IMPLICATIONS…………………………… 71 Works Cited…………………………………………………………………………... 80 Works Consulted…………………………………………………………………….... 83 Vita……………………………………………………………………………………. 85 iii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Page Figure 1. The Four Wilberian Quadrants……………………………………………..… 11 2. The Levels of Wilberian Consciousness Evolution……………….…............ 20 iv ABSTRACT Michael -
The Culture Concept
PERSPECTIVES: AN OPEN INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY SECOND EDITION Nina Brown, Thomas McIlwraith, Laura Tubelle de González 2020 American Anthropological Association 2300 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 1301 Arlington, VA 22201 ISBN Print: 978-1-931303-67-5 ISBN Digital: 978-1-931303-66-8 http://perspectives.americananthro.org/ This book is a project of the Society for Anthropology in Community Colleges (SACC) http://sacc.americananthro.org/ and our parent organization, the American Anthropological Association (AAA). Please refer to the website for a complete table of contents and more information about the book. Perspectives: An Open Introduction to Cultural Anthropology by Nina Brown, Thomas McIlwraith, Laura Tubelle de González is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. Under this CC BY-NC 4.0 copyright license you are free to: Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material Under the following terms: Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes. 22 THE CULTURE CONCEPT Priscilla Medeiros, Women’s College Hospital [email protected] Emily Cowall, McMaster University [email protected] Learning Objectives • Compare and contrast the ideas of ethnocentrism and cultural relativism. • Describe the role that early anthropologists Sir James Frazer and Sir E. B. Tylor played in defining the concept of culture in anthropology. -
Foundation the International Review of Science Fiction 116 Foundation the International Review of Science Fiction
Foundation The International Review of Science Fiction 116 Foundation The International Review of Science Fiction In this issue: Robert Duggan, Paul Kincaid, Joe Norman and Andrew J. Wilson No:116 Winter 2012/2013 Foundation Vol:42 on Iain Banks Emily Alder on Eduardo Paolozzi and Maia Clery on David Bowie Jim Clarke, Leimar Garcia-Siino, Tony Keen and C.L. Wilson on conferences at Brunel University and the University of Liverpool In addition, there are reviews by: Grace Halden, Mark Hall, Dan Hartland, Paul Kincaid, Anna McFarlane, Chris Pak, Andy Sawyer, Maureen Speller and Tom Sykes Of books by: Algis Budrys, Luke Cuddy, Enrique Gaspar, Peter Higgins, Robert E. Howard, Edward M. Lerner, Bradford Lyau, Adam Roberts and Gary K. Wolfe Cover: Iain Banks Credit: The Getty Foundation Iain Banks 1954 - 2013 Foundation is published three times a year by the Science Fiction Foundation (Registered Charity no. 1041052). It is typeset and printed by The Lavenham Press Ltd., 47 Water Street, Lavenham, Suffolk, CO10 9RD. Foundation is a peer-reviewed journal. Subscription rates for 2014 Individuals (three numbers) United Kingdom £20.00 Europe (inc. Eire) £22.00 Rest of the world £25.00 / $42.00 (U.S.A.) Student discount £14.00 / $23.00 (U.S.A.) Institutions (three numbers) Anywhere £42.00 / $75.00 (U.S.A.) Airmail surcharge £7.00 / $12.00 (U.S.A.) Single issues of Foundation can also be bought for £7.00 / $15.00 (U.S.A.). All cheques should be made payable to The Science Fiction Foundation. All subscriptions are for one calendar year; please specify year of commencement. -
What Researchers Think About the Culture They Work In
What Researchers Think About the Culture They Work In 2020 What Researchers Think About the Culture They Work In | 1 Contents Executive summary 3 Participants 4 Investigating different perspectives on research culture 6 What is the current research culture? 7 Roles, incentives and structures 8 Heavy expectations on researchers 12 Trends in funding and careers 14 Metrics and performance indicators 17 Behaviours and practices 19 Management and leadership 20 Attitudes to management 22 What does good leadership look like? 25 Workplace dynamics 26 Impact of current research culture 35 Impact on researchers 37 Impact on research 40 Impact on society 42 Scepticism about the current research 44 culture debate and initiatives Who should drive change in research culture? 46 Ideas for a better future 47 What does good culture look like? 48 Potential solutions 49 References 50 What Researchers Think About the Culture They Work In | 2 Executive summary The research sector is widely seen as producing great work, These cultural problems have consequences. Concerns but there are concerns about the culture that has developed about these fall into three categories: the impact on to support this. Are policies, incentives and assessment researchers, the impact on research and the impact processes, leadership approaches or other factors on society. undermining research? For researchers, poor research culture is leading to stress, To investigate researchers’ experiences of research culture anxiety, mental health problems, strain on personal and their visions for the future, Wellcome commissioned relationships, and a sense of isolation and loneliness at specialist market research agency Shift Learning to work. undertake a study.