The following survey articles come from Blackwell Compass, which describes itself as "a suite of state-of-the-art, peer-reviewed survey articles across entire disciplines. Disciplines currently covered are Geography, History, Literature, Philosophy, and Religion." Good place to go to catch up on recent advances in the literature of a topic.
Women's Experiences of Hindu Traditions: A State of the Field Review
Static models of Hindu women as marginalized and muted subjects have in recent years been enlivened by a body of work that investigates the ways in which women both subtly and overtly resist, contest, and re-imagine these roles.
Psychological Similarities Between Men and Women Across Cultures
In this paper, I review a body of cross-cultural evidence showing that it is precisely in these Western countries that women and men differ the most in terms of personality, self-construal, values, or emotions. Much less-pronounced gender differences are observed, if at all, in Asian and African countries.
Contemporary British-Jewish Writing: From Apology to Attitude
This article surveys contemporary British-Jewish writing. It looks at a variety of texts to argue that British-Jewish writing is gaining a new visibility, momentum and confidence.
Teaching and Learning Guide for: Racial Residential Segregation in Urban America
We present an overview of research about racial residential segregation. The first part of the article reviews major debates and findings drawn primarily from the sociological literature. The second part of the article identifies new areas of research that in some cases cross into other disciplines such as geography and urban studies.
Personality in Non-Human Animals
The wave of new studies is shedding fresh light on traditional issues in personality research (How do early experiences affect adult personality?), raising novel questions (What are the evolutionary origins of personality traits?) and addressing practical problems (Which dogs are best suited to detecting explosives?).
Causal Theories of Mental Content
Causal theories of mental content (CTs) ground certain aspects of a concept's meaning in the causal relations a concept bears to what it represents.
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Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
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Found a listing of philosophy and philosophy-related podcasts in a recent issue of The Philosopher's Magazine, a popular philosophy magazine that I subscribe to. Haven't had time to review them but I thought I'd provide links so you can check them out if interested.
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Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
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Yesterday I heard that the Olympic "torch relay" that's so much in the news was initiated by the Nazis for the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Here's a brief description from a private web site calling itself the Olympic Games Museum. Pretty disturbing, though perhaps not surprising, for the Olympic Committee and advertisers to follow on a tradition started by the Nazis. After all, it's all about propaganda.
Here are some books on the Nazi Olympics and some other books about the Olympics and politics. There's also a film in the list that looks good (click on the URL to go to the film record in the library's catalog).
Also look here: Beware of Greeks Bearing Placards.
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Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
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Selling Captain Riley, 1816-1859: How did his 'Narrative' become so well known? (James Riley)
PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY 171: 177-+ Part 1 APR 2007
James Riley's extraordinary tale of shipwreck, enslavement, and liberation captivated many American readers in the nineteenth century...Popular awareness of Riley and his account of African geography and portrayal of Islamic and Jewish life was fueled by extensive press coverage and eventual anthologizing in children's literature.
Divining "divine action" in theology-and-science: A review essay
ZYGON 43 (1): 191-200 MAR 2008
The topic of divine action has been central to the theology-and-science discussion over the last twenty years...I review three recent books that have responded in some way to the ongoing discussion.
The Filipino Catholic nun as transnational feminist
WOMENS HISTORY REVIEW 17 (1): 57-78 FEB 2008
Filipino Catholic nuns became formidable activists in the women's movement as women's studies teachers, and as leaders and members of transnational organizations. This article argues that the nuns' unique location in the interstices-as transnational feminists who moved constantly from the local to the international-was what made them effective activists.
The healing serpent and the origin of Ophite Gnosticism
REVUE DE L HISTOIRE DES RELIGIONS 224 (4): 395-434 OCT-DEC 2007
This group is, together with the Naassenes, the only one that actually adores the serpent, which is considered as the epiphany of the Logos. This equivalence Logos = serpent is taken from the exegetical interpretation of Num. 21, 8-10 (the bronze serpent).
Racializing historiography: anti-Jewish scholarship in the Third Reich
PATTERNS OF PREJUDICE 42 (1): 27-59 FEB 2008
He raises and attempts to answer crucial and far-reaching questions about Judenforschung and its role in the Third Reich. Why was historical scholarship important for the perpetrators of the Holocaust? What was the specific function of historical arguments in a racist setting? What was the specific contribution of the humanities to racist arguments and racist politics?
Religious place and its interaction with urbanization in the Roman era
JOURNAL OF SOCIAL ARCHAEOLOGY 8 (1): 37-62 FEB 2008
This article examines the issue of urbanization in Roman Britain and its interaction with places of the late pre-Roman Iron Age...The modern western conception of place differs vastly from the past when places were important ways of conceptualizing experiencing and understanding the world and they were constructed through human action, memory and experience and interaction.
Aegean prehistory as world archaeology: Recent trends in the archaeology of Bronze age Greece
JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH 16 (2): 83-161 JUN 2008
This article surveys archaeological work of the last decade on the Greek Bronze Age, part of the broader discipline known as Aegean prehistory. Naturally, the literature is vast, so I focus on a set of topics that may be of general interest to non-Aegeanists: chronology, regional studies, the emergence and organization of archaic states, ritual and religion, and archaeological science.
Is there a moral justification for redressing historical injustices?
VANDERBILT LAW REVIEW 61 (1): 127-+ JAN 2008
This Article examines whether there is a moral justification for repairing historical injustices. My theme is the difficulty of devising a compelling moral argument for redressing such injustices, notwithstanding the moral arguments often invoked by the proponents of redress.
Writing as thinking
REVIEW OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 12 (1): 9-27 MAR 2008
We explore four methods to see how expert writers externalize thoughts and interact with them: laboratory comparisons of novices and experts, interviews with accomplished writers (mostly of prose fiction), biographical analysis of Jane Austen's development as a writer, and consideration of Gustave Flaubert's notes and drafts.
Animal consciousness
JOURNAL OF CONSCIOUSNESS STUDIES 15 (3): 5-33 MAR 2008
There are several types of behavioural evidence in favour of the notion that many animal species experience at least some simple levels of consciousness. Other than behavioural evidence, there are a number of anatomical and physiological criteria that help resolve the problem of animal consciousness, particularly when addressing the problem in lower vertebrates and invertebrates.
Constructing the guru: Ritual authority and architectural space in medieval India
ART BULLETIN 90 (1): 7 MAR 2008
At the central Indian site of Chandrehe stands a rare example of a monumental stone monastery, built in 973 by a sect of Shiva-worshiping ascetics known as the Mattamayuras. Its complex architectural program Suggests that it was carefully designed to evoke the soteriological and ritual world of medieval Hindu monasteries, about which very little other evidence exists.
The work of the present: Constructing messianic temporality in the wake of failed prophecy among Chabad Hasidim
AMERICAN ETHNOLOGIST 35 (1): 64-80 FEB 2008
Temporal issues have remained relatively unelaborated in the rich body of research that applies cognitive dissonance theory to millenarian movements following a failed prophecy. We engage these issues by exploring how the meshichistim (messianists) among the Jewish ultraorthodox Chabad (Lubavitch) Hasidim employ temporal categories to deal with the crisis entailed in the death of their leader, the expected Messiah.
Two philosophy professors at Stanford, Ken Taylor and John Perry, have been hosting a radio show on philosophy since 2004 called Philosophy Talk. They claim to "[question] everything...except your intelligence". They address traditional philosophical topics like truth, beauty, Hegel, and skepticism, as well as broader topics like dreaming, separation of powers, and war crimes. Their aim is to offer philosophy that the educated layperson can understand and enjoy.
The Philosophy Talk Web site includes a listing of the radio stations that air the program, links to previous shows that you can listen to online for free, as well as a blog and information on upcoming shows. To download the shows in MP3 format you've got to pay (no one ever said philosophy came cheap) however.
So give it a shot, philosophize!
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Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
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Here are the Top Downloads of philosophy papers on the Philosophy Research Network.
Here are the Top Downloads for Classics (though the definition of Classics is very broad) on the Classics Research Network.
The Social Sciences Research Network is increasingly moving into supporting the humanities and will be opening up many new areas in the near future.
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Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
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Nice article here about how a medieval prayer book was found to have been a "scrubbed" copy of a Byzantine codex by Archimedes. (back in the day when sheepskin was expensive it was often reused). Learn how Archimedes' important work was rediscovered. The story involves the use of Stanford's famous particle accelerator to read the most damaged pages. Be sure to check out the "sidebars" for all the details.
Archimedes Codex is the book that tells the whole story. Check it out from Paley Library.
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Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
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ARTstor has made some nice, brief interdisciplinary guides available on its web site. ARTstor is a huge database of high resolution images of major art collections from around the world.
Here are some links to the PDF's of the guides:
Classical Studies // Middle Eastern Studies // Religious Studies // Women's Studies
Take a look to see how ARTstor can illuminate your research and scholarship!
American catholicism's science crisis and the Albertus Magnus Guild, 1953-1969
"During the middle decades of the twentieth century, American Catholic scientists experienced a sense of crisis owing to the paucity of scientific research performed either by individual Catholics or in Catholic institutions of higher learning."
Walking with Odysseus: The portico frame of the Odyssey Landscapes
"The painted portico thus puts the viewers in the proper frame of mind to appreciate the intellectual associations of the painting as they walk with Odysseus on a parallel journey of philosophical reflection."
Juno, Hercules, and the Muses at Rome (This study has to do with the divine patrons of music as a public activity at Rome)
"The Aedes Herculis Musarum (AHM), embodying musical harmony, was a symbolic focal point for political concordia at Rome. The treatment of its cult honorands in high poetry also embraces Juno Regina, whose contemporary temple was adjacent to the AHM."
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Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
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History Compass Podcasts has an interesting interview with the Paul Turnbull, author of the survey article British Anatomists, Phrenologists, and the Construction of the Aboriginal Race, c.1790-1830. He discusses how Australian colonizers frequently sent severed heads and body parts of Aborigines killed back to Britain for study. The author began this study when he learned how vast the collection of Aboriginal body parts had been.
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Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
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We just seven new online religion encyclopedias from the online platform Gale Virtual Reference Library, which has dozens of encyclopedias in many different categories. Below are links to the new encyclopedias.
Encyclopedia of Judaism
four volume encyclopedia from Brill Academic Publishers
Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an
multivolume from Brill Academic Publishers
Brill Dictionary of Religion
four volumes from Brill Academic Publishers
Dictionary of Gnosis and Western Esotericism
two volumes from Brill Academic Publishers
Dictionary of Jewish-Christian Relations
one volume from Cambridge University Press
Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America
three volumes from Indiana University Press
Illustrated Encyclopedia of Confucianism
two volumes from Rosen Publishing
The letter below was sent from TU President Hart last Friday. There will be a Town Hall Meeting entitled Confronting Anti-Semitism at Temple University on Thursday, 2/28, at 8 PM in SAC 223.
Here are a bunch of articles on anti-Semitism from Gale Virtual Reference Library.
Letter from President Ann Weaver Hart:
"I am very sad to be sending you this message. According to reports, early on the morning of Friday, Feb. 15, a non-Temple student was assaulted on North Broad St. on Temple University's Main Campus. The assault included anti-Semitic language and the student was seriously injured. The alleged assailants are all Temple students.
The case was investigated by Temple University Campus Safety Services and referred to the University Disciplinary Committee (UDC). The Temple students involved in the incident have been suspended, pending the outcome of a UDC hearing. Temple University police in collaboration with the Philadelphia Police Department are actively pursuing criminal charges through the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office. We are taking this situation very seriously and will be developing programs for students and the broader university community to address issues of tolerance and civility on our campuses.
Temple's core values are reflected in our Student Code of Conduct, which states that the University is “dedicated to promoting the physical and mental health and the safety and welfare of each member of the community," and to respecting the rights of others. Because we treasure the extraordinary diversity of our community of learning, we stand united against any action that threatens that community or the welfare of our students, employees or visitors.
Hate crimes will not be tolerated by Temple University. All manifestations of intolerance threaten the fabric of our institution and our society. Indeed, hatred violates the core values upon which this university was founded — values that are cherished by all of us in the extended Temple family.
Sincerely,
Ann Weaver Hart"
Americans Change Faiths at Rising Rate, Report Finds
An article from the NYT explains that "more than a quarter of adult Americans have left the faith of their childhood to join another religion or no religion..." This is one finding from The US Religious Landscape Survey, published by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
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Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
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There's a book review in the Inky on Mary Beard's, The Roman Triumph, published by Harvard University Press.
"What makes Beard's book so fascinating is not only the subject, but her way of approaching it, which allows one to see historiography in process. Her attention to every least detail, placing one fact next to another to see whether this or that confirms or challenges a given interpretation, is like watching a forensic specialist working to solve a crime."
You can borrow Roman Triumph from Paley Library. Here are other books by classics scholar Mary Beard.
You can also hear a Harvard University Press podcast of Mary Beard discussing her new book. By the way, these podcasts on new books from HUP are very interesting. Listen to them all!
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Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
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Historical Conditions, Ideological Struggles, and State Policies Toward Religion
"Why do secular states pursue substantially different policies toward religion? The United States, France, and Turkey are secular states that lack any official religion and have legal systems free from religious control."
Aesthetics Surgery and Religion: Islamic Law Perspective
"Even if it clearly considers "changing the creation of Allah" as unlawful, Islamic law is ambiguous regarding cosmetic surgery. Its objection to cosmetic surgery is not absolute."
Empire by invitation: Greek political strategies and Roman imperial interventions in the second century BCE
"Greek politicians in the second century B.C.E. increasingly turned to Roman authorities in order to defeat their political opposition."
The Integration of Western Modernism in Postcolonial Arabic Literature: a study of Abdul-Wahhab Al-Bayati's Third World Poetics
"Transforming Western modernist strategies into a revolutionary construct, Al-Bayati aims to challenge internal oppression and external hegemony."
Disappearing origins: Sephardic autobiography today
"Focusing on memoirists of Spanish-Portuguese background, however attenuated, I read the tarnished but treasured place of Sefarad in these recent works and interpret the authors' often ambivalent self-location with regard to Sephardic identity."
The busy countryside of Late Roman Corinth - Interpreting ceramic data produced by regional archaeological surveys (Eastern Korinthia Archaeological Survey)
"Using data generated by the Eastern Korinthia Archaeological Survey, the author examines the evidence for the frequently attested "explosion" of Late Roman settlement in the Corinthia..."
History, power, and electricity: American popular magazine accounts of electroconvulsive therapy, 1940-2005
"This article analyzes the popular accounts over time, particularly the ways in which the debates over ECT have revolved around different interpretations of ECT's history and its power dynamics."
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Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
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Here are some recent survey articles from Blackwell Compass, which give broad overviews of current scholarship on topics of interest. Good place to start research or catch up after a time away. Blackwell Compass is composed of eight different individual Compass journals: History, Geography, Literature, Language and Linguisitics, Philosophy, Religion, Sociology, and Social and Personality Psychology.
Kabbalah: A Medieval Tradition and Its Modern Appeal
"Although scholarship on kabbalah has flourished in the twentieth century, kabbalah has become a variant of New-Age religions, accessible to all, regardless of ethnic identity or spiritual readiness."
Indian Buddhist Preachers Inside and Outside the Sutras
"This article explores a few portraits of preachers painted in the Buddhist sūtra corpus, and attempts to draw provisional conclusions regarding the impact of such portraits on Buddhist preachers’ own conceptions of doctrinal authority."
The Neglected Social Psychology of Institutional Racism
"These issues can be illuminated by critically reviewing how theories of institutional racism and institutionalized discrimination handle issues of social psychology. Issues of social psychology are often treated only minimally or implicitly, and often dismissively."
Understanding Contemporary Millenarian Violence
"...focusing on the key recurring characteristics and dynamics that have been highlighted by commentators as playing a significant role in both predisposing millenarian groups to volatility/violence..."
Views of Jihad Throughout History
"The essay traces the transformations in the meanings of jihad – and the related concepts of martyr and martyrdom – from the earliest period of Islam through the late medieval period and down to our present time."
How to Use Modern Critical Editions of Medieval Latin Texts
"To use these editions effectively, we must be aware of the theories, assumptions, and conventions that underlie them."
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Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
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Temple University Libraries offer nearly 400 different research databases, everything from the highly used and well known ones such as Academic Source Premier and LexisNexis to some niche products such as Mediamark Reporter or Women Writers Online. For many students and faculty a comprehensive research process often requires more than one database, and for some of our users just choosing the right database can be challenging. It can be time consuming to run a literature search in each selected database, and each search system may use a different search interface. MultiSearch, a new way to search library databases, changes everything.
MultiSearch is a collection of approximately 250 library databases, plus sources such as Google and Google Scholar. It allows library databases to be searched in any number of combinations, either those pre-determined by librarian subject specialists or those the searchers select themselves. The beauty of MultiSearch is that there is only one interface to use. You can now obtain results from multiple databases, all at once, with a single simple interface, and the search automatically deletes duplicate records.
Starting a MultiSearch is easy. Either choose one or more search subject categories or design your own combination of databases:
Record results are displayed by default in a most recent to oldest order, and records from the different databases are interfiled. The results are also categorized in a number of ways: by subject content, by author, by database, and by journal. You can easily rearrange the results to meet your specific needs:
Please give MultiSearch a try. We think you'll like it. But whatever your reaction is, we want to know. This is just our first version of MultiSearch - and we will use your feedback to guide our future customizations. Please share your reactions and suggestions by adding a comment to this post or use our library suggestion page.
For more information see our "Introducing MultiSearch" page.
And if you've got a better name for this thing than MultiSearch, we'd like to hear from you.
(written by Steven Bell, Associate University Librarian)
Two very nice new philosophy reference works are available in CREDO Reference, one of our many fine reference databases.
Dictionary of Existentialism (Greenwood Press)
Encyclopedia of Classical Philosophy (Greenwood Press)
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Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
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Temple's Faculty Herald, the publication of the Faculty Senate, recently had four editorials on the missed opportunity for an endowed chair in Islamic Studies at Temple University, offered by the International Institute for Islamic Thought. Links provided below.
From the President of TAUP (Arthur Hochner)
From the Editor (Lewis Gordon)
An Open Letter to President Hart (Gregory Urwin)
Holding on to Our Principles (Maurice Wright)
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Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
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