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In the south-west German village of Hayingen, the playwright-director Martin Schleker presents large open-air productions of politically sensitive yet entertaining plays to mass audiences on an annual basis. This article explores the element of risk in Schleker's work: his use of purely amateur performers; his job-creation schemes for young people; and his left-wing and often anti-Catholic stance on issues such as racism and nuclear arms before often deeply conservative, culturally Catholic audiences. Schleker's work is situated in the wider context of the state-funded, civic theatres in Germany, and of the tradition of open-air 'Naturtheater' which is particularly strong in the Swabian region. Some assumptions surrounding such binary divides as amateur-professional and high art-entertainment are also explored. Data for this article was collected in the Hayingen 'Naturtheater' during a period of ethnographic research supported by the Leverhulme Trust. Having completed her doctorate at Sheffield University, Alison Phipps has been working as a lecturer in the Department of German - and in particular in the Centre for Intercultural Germanistics - at Glasgow University since October 1995. She has published in the areas of her research interests, which include contemporary German theatre and performance research, Ethnographic approaches to language education, and popular German culture and intercultural studies.

This article gives a brief overview of the place of religious observance (RO) within Scotland’s non-denominational state school sector, and the background to recent changes in educational thinking and government policy which led to new guidelines being introduced in 2005. The article reports on a study conducted in 2008 into the reception of the new RO guidelines and their implementation within three primary schools and one secondary school in a local authority area, together with empirical data from each of the four case studies and interview extracts from head teachers, RO practitioners and pupils. The article then highlights some problems arising from the new guidelines and suggests some areas for future empirical research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structuralism has dominated the field of applied linguistics, which has consequences for the positioning of applied linguistics vis-a-vis policy makers, educational practice, and also theoretical and methodological innovations. These consequences pertain to how the field advocates, takes sides, balances its descriptive modes with its discursive affections, and how it allows the ‘real world’ which Applied Linguistics claims as its territory. Poststructuralism, with its intensely moral claims, its playful, often dense discursive style, its plural forms and puns, and its mood of critical scepticism allows the structuralist foundations of applied linguistics and their violence or potential violence, to be seen from different vantage points. This article explores the relationship between solidarity, linguistic hospitality, poststructuralism, and a particularly real aspect of the world. It does so through a performative discussion of a case study relating to a changing auto-ethnographic research project and the sudden appearance of intimate pain and political imperative in a project which began with structuralist intent and moved through experience and practice into poststructuralist narrative. As such, the article performs a narrative and poetic commentary on the contested place accorded affect in scholarship and how these relate to questions of linguistic hospitality, solidarity, and poststructuralism when faced with real-world questions and survival of their contradictions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article offers information about the University of Glasgow's Refugee, Asylum and Migration Network (GRAMNet), an event which aims to gather non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and policy makers working with migrants, researchers and practitioners, and refugees and asylum seekers in Scotland. GRAMNet facilitates work through the development of relationships. It also supports social engagement of academic researchers and professional development and pursues social justice.

We are all creative now. Where once creativity was thought to be the preserve of the arts and humanities, we now find creativity has become a ubiquitous aim of higher education in the twenty-first century. Our ills will be resolved as long as we can release our latent creativity and perform. The discourse of higher education strategic management now sees an apparent paradoxical coupling of notions such as creativity, performance, blue skies with targets, outputs and productivity. In the midst of such active creativity-making it is worth asking ourselves some basic questions regarding the nature, purpose and desirability of such forms of creativity. Who is served by the renewal of a discourse of creativity? Does it exist in practice? How do we know it when we see it? Is it good? Where and how might it happen? In this article Alison Phipps returns to some early stories and myths of creativity from the arts and humanities and considers the elements of fire, water, earth and especially air and their symbolic status in sourcing creativity. In order to offer counter-stories to those which may chock the flourishing of learning she draws on alternative metaphors, parables and imagery and considers the kinds of futures which may be worth creating. These elements provide understandings of creativity as resourcing life, ordering the myths of human endeavour and education. This article draws on work by Heidegger, Irigaray, Carson, Ingold, Brueggemann and Barnett. In particular, it considers work of anthropology, poetry and theology which offers singular, disciplined perspectives on the possibilities for creativity and the heavy, determined work which accompanies its apparent ease and flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professor James Gee addresses issues of linguistics, literacies and cultures. Gee emphasises the importance of Discourses, and argues that the future of literacy studies lies in the interrogation of new media and the globalisation of culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study of a production of 'Fegefeuer in Ingolstadt' (Purgatory in Ingolstadt), a play by Marieluise Fleiβer, at the University of Glasgow in Scotland to examine the theorizing of translation and dramatic performance as cultural transfer. Background on the play; Analysis of the relationship between foreign text, target-language text, rehearsal and performance in relation to the participants' experiences with strangeness; Significance of engagement in familiarizing, alienating and defamiliarizing modes of reception.

Presents the phenomenon of 'Naturtheater,' and the complex attitudes to nature manifested among performers and audiences. Consideration of theaters as a place of ritual and socialization in Germany; Focus on the sensitivity of the community to ecological issues; Assessment on the degree of Christian commitment of the people.

The article discusses a spiritual reflection on the metaphor of fire and soap in the life of a Christian. It notes that fire can be used to characterize extremes in the cycles and traditions of man such as life and death, and love and fear. In relation to this, God's work in man is like a refiner's fire that burns away impurities to bring out the purest form of gold and silver. It cites that clean soap is a reminder that God is bringing to man the comfort of being cleansed and the restoration of order in one's life.

The article reflects on the plan of King David of Israel to establish a temple for God in honour of His name as discussed in the Book of Samuel. It argues that David's thoughts on a temple of cedar represent the musings of a man who is secure in his position and beginning to enjoy the comfort of wealth. The author explains that David was drawn into acts of wickedness and violence and then to repentance as revealed in the Book of 2 Samuel. She states the ambivalence of God on kingly power in human form and His certainty on loving His children.

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one by Moradewun Adejunmobu on intercultural and transcultural literacy in Africa and another by W. Diel and E. Prins on the use of new media and virtual environments for intercultural literacy.

The article reflects on a Biblical passage from the book of John 20:19-31 which states that apostle Thomas was not with the disciples when Jesus Christ has risen. It explains why Thomas responds in disbelief when he heard the news about the Risen Christ. It notes that touch is a way to faith, and touch is use to pass peace. It encourages Christians to reach out and touch those they do not believe in, for it is only then that they may find faith and the love of the Risen Christ.

The author reflects on erotic love in relation to a biblical passage from the Song of Songs for August 30, 2009. She describes erotic people as wide ranging in their sexuality, spirituality and individuality. She stresses that the passage provides examples of appropriate relationship. She argues that the Bible has a script on erotic love.

Communication about well-being and distress involves multiple stakeholders, including experts by experience (EBE), researchers, clinical practitioners, interpreters, and translators. Communication can involve a variety of discourses and languages and each of the stakeholders may employ diverging epistemologies to understand and explain experiences. These epistemologies may link to different sources of authority and be articulated using particular linguistic resources. Epistemic injustice can occur when stakeholders, intentionally or unintentionally, fail to recognise the validity of other stakeholders' ways of conceptualising and verbalising their experience of well-being and distress. Language lies at the heart of the risk of epistemic injustice involved in the process of expressing well-being and distress as seen in: 1) the interface between divergent discourses on well-being and distress (e.g., biomedical vs. spiritual); and 2) communications involving multiple linguistic resources, which can be subdivided into multi-language communications involving a) translation of assessment measures, and b) interpreted interactions. Some of the challenges of multi-language communication can be addressed by translators or interpreters who strive for conceptual equivalence. We argue, however, that all stakeholders have an important role as "epistemic brokers" in the languaging of possible epistemological differences. Effective epistemic brokering requires that all stakeholders are reflexively and critically aware of the risks of epistemic injustice inherent in multi-language communication. The article concludes with a set of prompts to help raise stakeholder awareness and reflexivity when engaging in communication about well-being and distress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]