Search

Ommo Grupe (1930–2015) was referred to as the 'Nestor of German sport pedagogy and sport science' in various obituaries. The paper considers the life and work of Ommo Grupe, which he dedicated to sports and sport science in West Germany against the background of the development of West Germany until the German reunification of 1989/1990. Grupe represented a common knowledge and sense in West Germany concerning sport and physical education. Sport should be free, human and democratic, united in this spirit, independent of the state and based on fundamental principles as recorded in the Olympic Charter, and on the traditions of European enlightenment and New Humanism. Physical education and sport science as a 'Querschnittswissenschaft' (cross-sectional science) should be taught, researched and established as an interdisciplinary subject in the cultural and academic contexts of life at universities and in schools. This paper considers the development of West German sport(s), sport(s) science(s) and physical education, reflected in the life and work of Ommo Grupe. It is based both on Grupe's books and writings, on original documents, and not least on experiences and knowledge deriving from my own joint work with Ommo Grupe in Tuebingen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay sets out a curious anecdote about Leibniz's life, which, according to his secretary and first biographer Johann Georg Eckhardt, the German thinker often told. The anecdote in question is analogous to an episode in Descartes's youth, related by Adrien Baillet in his Vie de M. Descartes (1691). The resemblance of the two stories has never been considered by Cartesian scholars, by Leibniz's biographers, or by scholars who, like Hans Blumenberg, have focused particularly on the use of anecdote in the history of philosophy, including Leibniz's story. If the analogies between the stories told by the two philosophers are not coincidental, then Leibniz's must be a fabrication. It is thus worth investigating the circumstances in which Leibniz told it and analyze its elements, in order to throw light on the philosopher's intellectual imagination and his way of approaching the work of other great thinkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a biography and obituary of the German Democratic Republic palynologist Dr Eberhard Schulz (1931–2017). A pioneer in Mesozoic palynology, he established, together with other important palynologists of that time, the basis of today's palynological research, especially in the Triassic and Jurassic of Eastern Germany. His comprehensive range charts, numerous new type descriptions, and beautiful and informative illustrations were and still are a valuable contribution to our field. In addition, his professional life and heritage not only illustrate an important period of advances in palynology during the 1950s to 1970s, but also give us an insight in German history, and the restrictions and challenges that scientists faced in the German Democratic Republic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay challenges the 'methodological territorialism' and 'methodological nationalism' prevalent in recent studies of imperial biographies, examining the role of the German Karl Friedrich August Gützlaff (1801–1851) in establishing a transnational form of free-trade imperialism in China. A native of Prussia and a missionary by training, Gützlaff was first posted in the Netherlands East Indies before associating himself with British interests on the China coast. However, his loyalty was not limited to one imperialist power. In the 1840s, Gützlaff promoted German trade with China, and at certain points of time he also supported American as well as Scandinavian interests. In addition to making a name for himself as a cultural broker and promoter of free trade and diplomatic representation, he also became involved with various forms of imperialism, from the more fluid commercial variant to the more formalised power structures of territorial rule. The case of Gützlaff therefore lends itself to a reflection about the permeable and shifting boundaries of empires. Moreover, it calls for a reassessment of German imperialism in the period before 1871, showing how Germany's involvement with 'Western' global expansion was palpable and not merely confined to the realm of colonial fantasy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on a study of apprentices in England and Germany designed to explore young people's learner identities over time and in relation to particular learning environments. The research adopts a multi-method ethnographic approach, combining biographical interviews with multi-site participant observation. The article problematises the notion of participant observation and the possibility of obtaining meaningful data in short-term observations as part of a broader research design. It highlights the importance of the researcher role and the opportunities different roles entail for developing shared understanding and co-constructing meaning. It concludes that the observations yield important findings about the construction of identity in different sites and thus complement the interview data in enabling the researcher to reconstruct the apprentices' learner biographies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]