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This paper calls for a maritime turn in critical heritage theory. Drawing on recent work on ocean and maritime ontologies, it takes up the idea of the 'ocean in excess' to argue for a maritime imagination that overcomes the separation of land from water, culture from nature. The paper begins by sketching out the terracentric norms that have come to underpin critical theory around cultural heritage. From there, recent insights on ocean ontologies are cited to show how they can open up new ways of thinking about existing strands of critical heritage work. The second half of the paper turns to the issue of ocean governance and the complex politics that arise from competing ontologies. This provides the foundation for a discussion of the transoceanic heritage discourses that are now emerging, as countries seek regional, come global influence in world affairs. Understanding these and other developments requires moving beyond the earthly, such that we more robustly engage with a multivalent heritage politics that operates across air, water and land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spengler's Untergang des Abendlandes (The Decline of the West) (1918–22) was a sensational success in its own time, but has since slipped into oblivion. In this article I attempt to restore those aspects of his doctrine which could speak to us today and alert us to a crisis of the European Geist and its survival exigencies. This involves a reorientation on several issues on which our present perspectives differ from those that were current 100 years ago, such as the precedence of his philosophical approach over the historical approach; the diminished importance of his extensive analysis and depiction of defunct civilisations, which serve at best as illustrative material rather than as direct comparisons on a somewhat risky notion of "simultaneity." I also propose more relevant criteria in justification of his Faustianism (its sources and inception), and, not least, point to a differentiation between prediction and prognosis. The intention is to highlight the rationale behind Spengler's enquiries into history—namely to situate Western civilisation in the overall scheme of human civilisations by alerting us to a decisive crossroads. This required of its author a means of identifying the symptoms that we must be aware of in order to sustain our world without tumbling unawares into a major catastrophe. The Untergang does not compulsorily wipe our civilisation out unless we provoke this to occur; instead, our civilisation may merge or blend peacefully with whatever culture(s) may be waiting to inaugurate a new cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of MEMLEKET: Politics & Administration / Siyaset Yönetim is the property of Local Governments Research, Assistance & Education Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Oriental Studies (Al-Farabi Kazakh National University) / Kazahskij Nacional'nyj Universitet Imeni Al'-Farabi Vestnik Seriâ Vostokovedeniâ is the property of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Missionary encounters were often characterised by shifting and multilinear intents within the broader global spaces. In Africa, the 19th-century missionary encounter happened concomitantly within the nexus of Christianisation, colonisation, and civilisation agendas. Succinctly put, missionaries sent by the London Missionary Society who came to South Africa and had encounters with the Batswana people were equally agents of cultural transfer and imperialism that were linked to Christianisation, colonisation, and civilisation processes. Thus, the missionary mandate was entrenched in evangelisation that constructed and portrayed to Africans the imagery of a monotheistic and monopolistic God, and in the deformation and classification of African cultural practices and religions as heathen, barbaric, and uncivilised. Consequently, the dividing line between Christianisation, colonisation, and civilisation was blurred. This study used desk research to examine the nexus of missionary encounters among the Batswana in South Africa. The findings were that the understanding of Christianity and the imagery of God depicted by the missionaries still has a grip on contemporary Africa. Therefore, there is a dire need to problematise the narrative because it has continued the colonial aspirations of the past. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The study used intradisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches by engaging the intersectional and decolonial theories together with insights from theology and missiology. This was done to delineate the problem and to argue for the need to decolonise the current narrative. This can, perhaps, transform the status quo and provide opportunities for Africans to define their beings and understanding of God in their terms.

Nationalism is undoubtedly one of the most cherished political ideals in the modern world. It has been incarnated both as a destructive force as well as a progressive, constructive force throughout history. In post-colonial countries like India, the nationalist discourse is pivotal in understanding the crux of social life. Among the great line of nationalist thinkers in India, Tagore occupies a unique space. His relationship with nationalism is quite intriguing. While everybody in colonial societies considered the nation the ultimate political salvation, Tagore was moving against the current. Not only did he provide an incisive critique of nationalism, but he also projected the organic social life of pre-colonial India as a possible alternative. While Tagore remains a moral critique of nationalism, he accepts an alternative idea of the nation as a civilizational category. This paper tries to investigate Tagore’s concept of nation with a critical perspective. Within Tagore’s projection of the nation as a harmonious, transcendental unity, certain groups are silenced and made passive. Tagore’s essay ‘The Ideal of Marriage’ gives us a glimpse of his patriarchal bias in nationalist imagination. This will provide fresh insights into Tagore’s concept of nation and nationalist discourses in India [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between Africa and China is certainly gaining traction at the moment, and with this development it becomes imperative to examine the various facets that constitute what may arguably be Africa's most important relationship of the 21st Century. One facet among the many is that of inter-racialism. China's largescale direct contact with Blacks is a relatively recent occurrence, certainly not long enough for the Chinese to have formed their own definitive independent opinion of the Black race. However, as a result of China's increasing exposure to the Western world, this exposure comes with the baggage of centuries of Western denigration of Blacks through various kinds of media -- satellite tv, social media, magazines, newspapers, etc. that seek to exclude Blacks from the polity of human civilisations. According to Western measures of civilisation, the trajectory of civilisation has been the progression from pre-modernism (uncivilised), through modernism (Enlightenment), to post-modernism, this last being widely viewed as civilisation's apogee. A definitive precursor to the post-modern condition, and which also came to define its fervour and texture, is a branch of philosophy called "Existentialism". Adopting a post-colonial stance, and taking up the West on their offer of the trajectory of human civilisation, though clearly not the only one, what forms the core argument of the paper is that, as demonstrated by analyses of the local lores themselves, since time immemorial, Blacks, generally, and Malawians, in particular, have been capable of achieving such vaunted forms of introspection -- and more. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I employ a critical literature review to address three key points. Firstly, I argue that ongoing political and constitutional reforms in Lesotho are unlikely to establish long-term political stability, supported by historical evidence. I reinforce this argument by highlighting past political reforms that failed to achieve lasting stability in Lesotho. Additionally, I show how political stability rooted in Basotho religious beliefs existed before the influence of Western Christianity and colonialism. I demonstrate how colonialism, specifically coloniality, contributes to the persistent political volatility in Lesotho. Lastly, I present reasons for reviving Basotho political traditions embedded in traditional religious beliefs. My argument draws from the perspectives of the Lekhotla la Bafo decolonisation movement, representing subalterns who endured oppression under colonial rule and educated elites aligned with colonialism. I propose the retrieval of Lekhotla la Bafo's views through the school system, aligning with Durkheim's theory of education's function and decoloniality border thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Dîvân: Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies / Disiplinlerarasi Calismalar Dergisi is the property of Bilim ve Sanat Vakfi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

African philosophy deserves special attention and increased efforts in exploring its components and shaping frameworks in contemporary thought. The history of thought in Africa, especially in the Black Continent, requires the awareness and commitment of humanity to embody a distinctive philosophical character that outlines new dimensions in the realm of global thought and culture. Such a comprehensive understanding of African philosophy in the context of historical development is essential. Moreover, this historical development requires attention to the fact that it is not merely a search for truth, but should serve as its core nucleus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

L’acquisition de la compétence communicative constitue actuellement l’objectif fondamental dans le processus d’enseignement-apprentissage des langues étrangères. Par conséquent, nous visons à développer la sous-compétence culturelle à travers la civilisation française et la littérature rabelaisienne, encadrées dans une perspective interculturelle et transculturelle. L’inclusion de quelques unités parémiologiques, en tant qu’un élément intégratif de la culture-civilisation, la transversalité et les Objectifs de Développement Durable peuvent apporter une actualisation contemporaine au caractère historique et littéraire de l’enseignement du français langue étrangère.

In this article, I employ a critical literature review to address three key points. Firstly, I argue that ongoing political and constitutional reforms in Lesotho are unlikely to establish long-term political stability, supported by historical evidence. I reinforce this argument by highlighting past political reforms that failed to achieve lasting stability in Lesotho. Additionally, I show how political stability rooted in Basotho religious beliefs existed before the influence of Western Christianity and colonialism. I demonstrate how colonialism, specifically coloniality, contributes to the persistent political volatility in Lesotho. Lastly, I present reasons for reviving Basotho political traditions embedded in traditional religious beliefs. My argument draws from the perspectives of the Lekhotla la Bafo decolonisation movement, representing subalterns who endured oppression under colonial rule and educated elites aligned with colonialism. I propose the retrieval of Lekhotla la Bafo's views through the school system, aligning with Durkheim's theory of education's function and decoloniality border thinking.

The ideas of how men and women interact with one another and the attitude toward cohabitation, in general, have changed significantly with the advent of the post-modern or industrial society. “Live-in relationships” are an expression of a couple’s decision to cohabitate as a couple without getting married. The modernisation of the community has brought an array of new ideas and values. With the affection growing towards each other and the decision to tie the knot after taking into consideration all the prospects of a healthy marriage, youngsters these days believe in living together before marriage to test compatibility, known as “live-in relationships.” However, with modernisation comes the traditional thinking of our culture and the mindset of people towards these practices. Acknowledging the legal implications of the “live-in relationship” along with the challenges youngsters are facing nowadays, this paper highlights the analysis of laws that govern this practice in India.

This article analyses the sophisticated performance of cultural nationalism in the first instalment of España artística y monumental. It examines how the work’s creators interpreted the Catholic identity of Spain through their political viewpoint aligned with the Partido Moderado, the Spanish liberal conservative party; the process by which they sought to make that identity real, concrete, and persuasive, and the roles of historian, politician, and architect played by the work’s illustrator: painter Genaro Pérez Villaamil. Special attention is paid to the intellectual framework that enabled the project, with a particular focus on the epistemology of Romantic historicism and aesthetics, the understanding of the nation as a civilisation, and the weight assigned to architecture as historical proof. The article also scrutinises the readership experience in order to reveal a potential unusually effective nationalist performance of España artística y monumental in its strategic sequencing of monuments, its interpretation of these monuments through a simultaneously visual and verbal discourse, and the broad dissemination achieved by the work thanks to its printed medium.

Copyright of Akofena is the property of Universite Felix Houphouet Boigny and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper focuses on the period of colonisation of Tierra del Fuego at the end of the 19th century and focuses on the actions of Thomas Bridges, an Anglican missionary, and Lucas Bridges, his son, a rancher with a good relationship with the native population. It analyses the continuity between them of certain conceptions of evangelisation – and its counterpart, civilisation – coming from the missionary milieus in which the father had been trained and acted, as well as the mutations and re-elaborations of some of its components in the son's actions.

The memory policy of the era was dominated by the need to recall the Hungarian Renaissance culture, which was most spectacularly manifested in the construction of the Buda castle environment and the historicizing buildings and cityscape of the capital. The reconstruction of the Matthias Church started in 1874, and in the mid-1880s they began to expand the Buda Royal Palace, which was formulated as an expectation that it should be more beautiful than the one that belonged to King Matthias. The great king thus became the benchmark for this period. Since the Vasárnapi Ujság faithfully reflected the public consciousness, it is, therefore, possible to explore the vividness of the memory surrounding King Matthias in the weekly newspaper. The artistic representations more courageously and willingly sought to portray the person of King Matthias, while the scientific research and the writings describing them focused more on the events, circumstances and persons connected to him. The brief overview of reception history indicates that King Matthias represented the standard in Hungary since the once brilliant era was due to the personal gifts and abilities of the king, who at the same time became a role model of the ruler for posterity. It is not possible to single out any of the columns of the weekly newspaper in terms of which provided more space for Matthias’ memory, because he was mentioned extremely often in the most diverse areas of public life at the time, either directly or indirectly. The frequency of references shows that a vivid memory of Matthias characterized the time of dualism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1861, the Sublime Porte decided to appoint Cevdet Pasha, a prominent figure of the Ottoman bureaucracy in the second half of the 19th century, to İşkodra as an inspector with exceptional administrational powers. The main reason behind this decision was unrest in the city caused by a deteriorating relationship between the people and Çerkez Abdi Pasha, the mutasarrıf of İşkodra at that time. The Montenegro issue played a substantial role in the deterioration of this relationship. Cevdet served as an inspector in İşkodra for more than a month, on returning to the capital, he wrote a detailed report about the region: Tezkire No. 18. This study examines the history of İşkodra and northern Albania in the 18th and 19th centuries in order to clarify the situation in the region during Cevdet’s inspectorship. It then critically evaluates the activities undertaken by Cevdet during his mission, using historical data obtained from various sources. One of the main points of the study is demonstrating that the change in the self-image of the Ottoman central bureaucrats after the Tanzimat led them to a different understanding of the concept of civilisation. As a result of this there was consequently a dramatic change in their view of the peripheral provinces of the Empire, such as northern Albania. Through the inclusion of his considerations of an Ottoman peripheral region with frequent references to the concepts of civilisation and savagery, Cevdet’s report reflects the semantic dynamism of these concepts for a 19th century Ottoman bureaucrat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A good man is a loyal citizen in any country. A country needs good people -- good citizens, for, its name and fame, prosperity and welfare. It is believed that education will make youngsters (since they are the builders of Future India or Future Australia, they are the pillars of any country). The way in which they are brought by the family should be taken care of. Also equally important is the way in which the society rears them up. So both familial and society roles are important. Above all, the writings of a country, in a country, by the country also decide the welfare of a country! If the writings are appreciable and good, we can expect positive happenings and results. If it is in the opposite way, the results will be negative only. So literature not only reflects the society; but also shapes the society admirably and amicably. Literature has a very special duty of inculcating one's own country's culture, values, ethics and justice to its citizens. Writer's main aim should be to maintain these four in a balanced state. Whether the poets/essayists/novelists/dramatists are in Australia or India they should have faith in those aspects. As India has her unique features, Australia too has its own. Poets mostly delineate their country's speciality in their poems. They are the finest record for ever -- History and Literature (poetry) since they are sisters! Is it not the first duty of a poet to make better the society in which he or she lives? Civilisation is an unforgettable aspect. Poets have to play their role best in safeguarding it. How do Australian poets A. D. Hope, James McAuley and George Essex Evans consider Australia in their poems is the study of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Tasavvur: Tekirdag Theology Journal / Tekirdag Ilahiyat Dergisi is the property of Namik Kemal University, Faculty of Theology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Several nations, including Canada, Norway, and Sweden, are increasingly integrating gender and feminist perspectives into their foreign and security strategies. This paper examines feminist foreign policy through an ethical lens, emphasizing that prevailing studies on ethical foreign policy and international conduct often neglect gender considerations. In the late 20th century, women progressively engaged in global politics, prompting discussions about gender-based behavioral and leadership differences rooted in biological determinism. This perception is deeply ingrained in global cultural practices, leading this paper to explain the reasons behind women's marginalization in mainstream foreign policy-making in Pakistan. It delves into how cultural beliefs and practices create disadvantages for women while providing advantages for men, and the role played by primordial or constructed identities in shaping these dynamics. Furthermore, the paper explores avenues for implementing feminist foreign policy in the South Asian region specifically in Pakistan, addressing the unique challenges and opportunities within this context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spread of Western education in Bengal in the wake of British conquest of the province made the province's literati painfully aware of the contempt with which the new rulers treated them. British portrayal of India as a subjugated country passing from its Muslim conquerors to the British hurt their pride. Their ancient religion came under attack from Christian missionaries for its bigotries and social superstitions. This produced a strong reaction among its leading intellects such as Raja Rammohun Roy, Debendranath Tagore, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, who tried to resuscitate the glory of ancient Indian civilisation by blending them with European ideas of Enlightenment and rationality. Rabindranath Tagore gave a fillip to it by arguing that Indian civilisation did not deserve to be judged by Western yardsticks as it had fixed its ideals in the assimilation of all conflicting influences from outside. India might have been invaded from the outside, but thereafter the invaders always merged with the local people and became India's own. Therein lay the greatness of Indian civilisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ideas of how men and women interact with one another and the attitude toward cohabitation, in general, have changed significantly with the advent of the post-modern or industrial society. "Live-in relationships" are an expression of a couple's decision to cohabitate as a couple without getting married. The modernisation of the community has brought an array of new ideas and values. With the affection growing towards each other and the decision to tie the knot after taking into consideration all the prospects of a healthy marriage, youngsters these days believe in living together before marriage to test compatibility, known as "live-in relationships." However, with modernisation comes the traditional thinking of our culture and the mindset of people towards these practices. Acknowledging the legal implications of the "live-in relationship" along with the challenges youngsters are facing nowadays, this paper highlights the analysis of laws that govern this practice in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reflects on slavery and colonialism and how both historical crimes affect Africa and its peoples. It argues that the struggle against slavery laid the foundation for the modern human rights movement. The desire to recover the losses suffered from the depredations and plunder of colonialism, in part, shaped the evolution of the right to development. The article calls for reparation for Africa for the damages the continent and its peoples suffered from slavery and colonialism. It argues that the concept of universal human rights is meaningless without some form of atonement for universal human wrongs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sezai Karakoç is a poet-thinker who had a significant influence on modern Turkish literature, thought and poetry, Thomas Stearns Eliot is one of the exceptional poet-thinkers of the period who had a wide repercussion in contemporary American-British poetry, and Abdullah et-Tayyib is one of the poet-thinkers that has a prominent and unique place in Sudanese and Arabic literature. In the works of these three great names, among the leading names of Turkish, English, and Sudanese literature, the relationship between civilisation and culture is manifested as a common perspective, despite some differences of opinion. In this study, we want to examine and evaluate how three important poet-thinkers reflect the concepts of civilisation and culture in their works in the context of comparative literature. Because the definitions and explanations of these three great names shed light on the relationship between culture and civilisation. In our study, according to Sezai Karakoç, civilisation includes culture; According to Thomas Stearns Eliot, these two concepts are inseparable and used intertwined; In Abdullah et-Tayyib, although these two concepts are used interchangeably from time to time, it is determined and explained that culture is reflected in his works as an element of civilisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers civilizational politics at the interface between nationalism and internationalism. It does this by focusing on some key trends in India's engagements with UNESCO and its flagship conventions for culture. The article builds on existing scholarship regarding the political appropriation of key religious and heritage sites within India by critically examining how Hinduism is presented to UNESCO and other organizations as a religious and civilizational heritage for global recognition and endorsement. We argue that UNESCO's programmes and conventions are being co-opted via a rewriting of history and in the creation of heritage imaginaries of a Hindu nation. From there, the discussion extends previous critiques regarding the conjoining of Hinduism to a Harappan civilization heritage by showing how this geographically extends outwards via a programme of Indian Ocean diplomacy conceived around environmental and historical connectivities. In pulling these various threads together, the article demonstrates the ways in which Hindu civilizational discourses circulate at the international level in seemingly benign and banal ways, and, yet, simultaneously advance the domestic cultural politics now familiar to the Hindutva movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ibn Khaldun, one of the most prominent Muslim social scientists of the Middle Ages, is famed for his historical ideas and unique insights into the emergence and collapse of civilisations. This study aims to explore the relationship between man and nature in light of Ibn Khaldun's greatest work, The Muqaddimah. A vast number of scholars have examined human civilisation from various perspectives as expounded in the Muqaddimah but works dedicated to the relationship between man and nature are still few. As a result, this article investigates Ibn Khaldun's view of the relationship between man and nature through a qualitative content analysis of the Muqaddimah. Since Ibn Khaldun was a great Muslim thinker who had a deep effect on the Muslim world, his concept of the relationship between man and nature is readily accepted by Muslims and may play a constructive role in environmental conservation in the Muslim world. After reading and analysing the Muqaddimah, this article concluded that Ibn Khaldun's examination of the link between man and nature can be found in every chapter. He thinks that the environment has a significant impact on individuals and human civilisation, as well as he advocates that man should respect nature and utilize it rationally to sustain civilisation's healthy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The book of young Lewis Mumford (1895-1990) entitled Sticks and Stones: A Study of American Architecture and Civilization (first published in 1924) is a condensed version of his philosophy of city and a research program completed in his rich oeuvre. The title is telling: the starting point of Mumford is the idea that the architecture of a city is an objectified presentation of the value-system of the given civilisation. Stick and stones are not only sticks and stones: the material infrastructure is an embodiment of the values of civilisation, which are the basic motivating factors behind human actions. In other words: city is a mirror of civilisation; if the observer decodes the message encoded in sticks and stones, he/she gets the value-structure of the civilisation having produced the city. However, there is a mutual interdependence: human beings living in the city are not only passive possessors of a heritage determining one-sidedly their actions but they modify and restructure urban spaces: sticks and stones form our values, at the same time our values influence the concrete arrangement of sticks and stones. Creative city-planning is vital important. It gives possibility for the redirection of a civilisation's future historical way. At the same time, creativity, in Mumford's interpretation, does not mean the profit-generating capacity of the city; it has to serve the well-being of all citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Conservative Thought / Muhafazakar Düşünce is the property of Muhafazakar Dusunce Dergisi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article is an attempt to look at Marshall McLuhan's concepts from today's perspective. It attempts to reconstruct theoretical assumptions and their consequences both in the world of theory as the world of practice of social life. The authors focus on the problem of the influence of McLuhan's thought on the perception of the evolution of communication in the modern world. Its starting point is the aptly noticed tendency to return to the field the phenomena of orality and tribalism. They try to answer the question whether this diagnosis resulted in constructive proposals for dealing with this problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Synergies Espagne is the property of GERFLINT (Groupe d'Etudes et de Recherches pour le Francais Langue Internationale) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The question of how to eat has always been central to human life. Our evolution has mirrored a series of technical innovations such as the control of fire, farming, and railways that have transformed, not just how we eat, but how we live. Our ancestors understood the value of food, but modern urban life has obscured the true costs of how we eat. By externalising the cost of industrial farming, we have damaged planetary ecosystems and thus threatened our future on earth. By recognising and restoring food’s true value, however, we can rebalance our lives with nature and create more resilient, equitable societies for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beaucoup d’auteurs ont magnifié l’avènement de la civilisation qui signifie le passage de l’état de nature au progrès. De Montaigne à Voltaire en passant par les classiques comme La Bruyère, la civilisation est apparue comme un événement qui permet à l’homme de vivre de façon harmonieuse. Elle est perçue comme le passage de l’état animal à celui d’évolué, de connaissance. Alain la définit en ces termes « notre civilisation se définit par le bien de l’homme » (Alain, 1934 :1210) Pourtant Rousseau s’en détourne et une simple lecture de ses oeuvres semble dire aux hommes que c’est dangereux de vivre civilisé. Pourquoi ? Quels sont les effets néfastes de la civilisation ? D’où vient le conflit ? Cet article se veut une étude critique des oeuvres de Rousseau et a pour but de montrer que, contrairement à la pensée de la plupart des auteurs, le processus de civilisation chez Rousseau est un processus de dégradation de l’être. Abstract Many authors have magnified the advent of civilization which signifies the passage from the state of nature to progress. From Montaigne to Voltaire via the classics like La Bruyère, civilization appeared as an event that allows man to live in harmony. It is perceived as the passage from the animal state to that of evolved, of knowledge. Alain defines it in these terms "our civilization is defined by the good of man" (Alain, 1934: 1210) Yet Rousseau turns away from it and a simple reading of his works seems to tell men that it is dangerous to live civilized. For what? What are the harmful effects of civilization? Where does the conflict come from? This article is a critical study of the works of Rousseau and aims to show that, contrary to the thought of most authors, the process of civilization in Rousseau is a process of degradation of being.

This article deals with the identification of Étienne Pasquier with the civilizing eloquence of the Gallic Hercules. In the troubled context of the 16th century, the jurist-humanist identified himself with this eloquence that he implemented with the aim of participating in the civilization undertaken by the Republic of Letters. Pasquier thus took care to disseminate his knowledge, but also to civilize royal acts by confronting them with an ideal of justice. Behind this double meaning of eloquence then emerges the features of the Gallic hero described by Lucien de Samosate.

The book of young Lewis Mumford (1895–1990) entitled Sticks and Stones: A Study of American Architecture and Civilization (first published in 1924) is a condensed version of his philosophy of city and a research program completed in his rich oeuvre. The title is telling: the starting point of Mumford is the idea that the architecture of a city is an objectified presentation of the value-system of the given civilisation. Stick and stones are not only sticks and stones: the material infrastructure is an embodiment of the values of civilisation, which are the basic motivating factors behind human actions. In other words: city is a mirror of civilisation; if the observer decodes the message encoded in sticks and stones, he/she gets the value-structure of the civilisation having produced the city. However, there is a mutual interdependence: human beings living in the city are not only passive possessors of a heritage determining one-sidedly their actions but they modify and restructure urban spaces: sticks and stones form our values, at the same time our values influence the concrete arrangement of sticks and stones. Creative city-planning is vital important. It gives possibility for the redirection of a civilisation’s future historical way. At the same time, creativity, in Mumford’s interpretation, does not mean the profit-generating capacity of the city; it has to serve the well-being of all citizens.