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Matthias Steffel has published the book "Pedagogy and Utopia: Historical-Systematic Reconstructions on an Inherently Unresolved Relationship". The book has already been accepted as a dissertation and has received several awards. Steffel uses a dialectical perspective to examine the relationship between pedagogy and utopia. He argues that utopia is not sufficiently discussed in general educational science and offers a historical-systematic perspective on the topic. The book is divided into three chapters and contains a variety of references and citations. Steffel emphasizes the ambiguity of the utopian concept and the necessity of immanent criticism. He also examines the relationship between thinking, utopia, and pedagogy and notes that the utopian is embedded in existing structures of thought. Steffel argues that dialectics is a productive method for examining the antinomy problem of pedagogy and freedom. The text discusses the use of the term "utopia" as a mediating figure and the tensions associated with it. The author argues that utopia is defined as a modus operandi in various dialectical tensions. He emphasizes the anthropological ability of humans to think and further develop their thinking. The text also discusses the costs of rational thinking and the possible developments of utopia and ideology. The author notes that pedagogy plays a mediating role between theory and practice and that dialectical thinking can recognize and endure contradictions. The work concludes by emphasizing the importance of utopia and pedagogy for the freedom and autonomy of the individual. [Extracted from the article]

Our symposium was not a stage for success narratives but for contradictions and illusions, obstacles and fears associated with sustainable action. We addressed them in a multi-perspective, discursive and interactive way. Everyone could feel that inter- and transdisciplinary experiences are borderline experiences, in finding roles and ways of working, communication and language, and in implementing ideas and insights. This is associated with uncertainty, ambiguity and disagreement, which require a holistic and equally sensitive approach to transitions and differentiation processes. With our symposium, we ventured into these border crossings. Everyone was a visible seeker, there were handshakes across disciplinary boundaries and shared stuttering. Making the blind spots visible also revealed that sustainability is not an abstract objective or method so much as a process for personal and existential maturation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alfred Adler's life during the First World War is characterized by numerous contradictions and ambiguities that cannot be fully traced in literature. The current war against Ukraine awakens the wish to look over Adler's shoulder at the times of War. During literature research, an obituary by Dr. Maksymilian Blassberg from 1938 was found that unveils some interesting details about Adler in Krakow's military Hospital, which, in the context of existing field letters written by him, allow to draw a more vivid picture of the person Adler during the war. The parallels of his life might stimulate us analysts to think about the dangers and conditions of today's war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many people feel insecure in the face of increasing crises, a »collective helplessness« threatens the cohesion of society, disorientation leads to the search for security-promising alternatives. The state of emergency during the Corona measures and now the war in Ukraine are examined in their implications for the human need for security, possibilities of dealing with it are shown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dilemma discussions bring out many aspects of diversity in the classroom. On the one hand, they show the diversities of moral ideals and convictions and their co-construction in different lifeworlds; on the other hand, they simultaneously train how to deal with diversity. The prerequisite for this is a dilemma story suitable for the experimental group and adherence to discussion rules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contribution brings criteria of critical dystopia into dialogue with a village novel of the 21st century, Mischa Kopmann’s Dorfidioten. The novel, told in the present tense from the perspective of the protagonist, depicts his rural home as a sometimes-gloomy place, and is read in this article as a critical-dystopian homeland novel (‘Heimatroman’). The introduced characteristic of ‘affective ambiguity’ points to contradictory feelings of ‘Heimat’ (home) and to the complexity of the home discourse. Finally, the article shows how Dorfidioten comments on the discourse of commemorative culture and calls for a reappraisal of the local past. In this way, the novel unfolds a political quality that wants to activate and, within the framework of the critical dystopia, functions as a utopian element. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This preface to the special theme section “Historical narration in pre-modern Japan” addresses the terminological ambiguity of the expression “historical narrative” and its varying implications in the framework of literary studies. The individual papers approach the topic in a philological manner from different angles, i.e., from literary, historical, linguistic, and buddhological points of view. This preface introduces all the essays in this theme section and outlines their commonalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why did Hendrick Goltzius use three Roman Catholic engravings for the design of his Reformed Moses with the Tables of the Law (1583)? This article seeks to answer that question by analyzing the adaptation of the engravings. It shows the artist's endeavor of creating a Reformed Protestant engraving and legitimizing his art and method through the Scriptures. Furthermore, explanations for Goltzius's use of his models will be presented, while one of them identifies the reference to a specific engraving as a strategy of artistic subversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present edition of Theo-Web documents an English-language symposium on the topic "Exploring and Engaging Ambiguity in Religious Education" at the last ISREV conference in Gothenburg. The thematic section discusses the significance of ambiguity in religious education and notes that many topics in religious instruction can challenge previous certainties. The edition also includes six contributions in the field of research and discourse that have successfully undergone the double-blind review process. In addition, reviews, a conference review, and conference announcements are presented. The edition was supervised by Karlo Meyer and supported by various contributors. [Extracted from the article]

Psychological stressors are on the rise in today’s work systems. Work psychologists are trained to analyze and evaluate such stressors and to derive effective interventions to promote healthy working conditions. However, the general working conditions for work psychologists in Austria are deficient. The present study investigates how precarious employment manifests in work psychologists and identifies its impact on the individual level. N = 122 work psychologists participated in an online study. An insecure and undefined occupational profile was found to be associated with an increased experience of role ambiguity, which, in turn, impaired psychological well-being. These results highlight the importance of a clearly defined occupational profile for work psychologists. We discuss viable approaches to improve working conditions for work psychologists in Austria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a report from a November 21-22, 2014 conference in Essen, Germany on ambiguity and the social order of the Middle Ages hosted by the Brackweder Arbeitskreis für Mittelalterforschung Middle Ages research society. Topics of presentations delivered included the role of ethnicity in migrations to and from Lucca, Italy in the eighth to tenth centuries, an analysis of Scandinavian names in the records of the Benedictine abbey in Reichenau, Germany, and the role of gender differences and ambiguous sexuality in determining social roles in Bologna, Italy.

The article reports on a conference on ambiguity in medieval civilization, held in Greifswald, Germany, from April 11-13, 2013. Topics of discussion included the concept of ambiguity in medieval Arab rhetoric, ambiguity in medieval literature such as the epic "Parzival" by Wolfram von Eschenbach, and minnesang.

Focusing on the relation between discourse and subject formation, the poststructuralistic reiterations and resignifications within the concept of ambivalence provide important aspects for a contemporary conceptualization of ambivalence, especially within the framework of educational theory (Bildungstheorie). From this point of view the paper explores firstly the notion of 'ambivalence' in the context of Derrida's theory and practice of deconstruction and secondly the relation between 'ambivalence' and 'ambiguity' considering Derrida's theory of 'différance' and Butler's theory of 'performativity'. Finally the article outlines the meaning of 'ambivalence' in Butler's theory of the subjectivation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In The Green Henry, Gottfried Keller explores text as texture and the texture as text. This essay reveals how Keller plays with the ambiguity of text, referring both to literature and textile. In various key scenes, Keller takes this ambiguity to test the quality of the term by using metaphors like knots and nets. This going back to the origins of the term corresponds with a pointing at the importance of textures in artistic developments in the modern discourse. The character Heinrich Lee introduces into painting that abstracts items as yarn, dashes and knots. This essay shows how Keller uses such images of texture for poetic reflections about literary structures and as illustration of the constellation of characters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]