Suchergebnisse

The article examines which way the values in the educational system of France have been changing at various stages of its formation, particularly since 1980s. It refers to the problem of the immigration influence on the ongoing reforms in the school system. Special attention is paid to the problem of educational secularism and school reform during the presidency of François Hollande. The questions about the role of morality, the relationship between tradition and innovation in the school system are researched in the paper. In particular, the Charter of secularism prepared by Vincent Peillon is analyzed. Specifically the forms of enrolment and integration of immigrant children in schools and teaching them the French language are considered, from 1970s up to the present day. The teaching of French language acts as the main mechanism for the newcomers' integration. Changing forms of the immigrant children's adaptation are the convincing proof. Modern France faces a certain contradiction. On one hand, belonging to the most liberal countries continuing the tradition of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution, it actively protects the values of freedom, openness to the world ideas, cultural interaction, etc., which is reflected primarily in the educational system. On the other hand, the real interpenetration of traditions and customs of different cultures which became possible due to the liberal migration policy begins to affect certain foundations, such as the secular character of the education system, equal rights for women and other, proper for the "traditional France". In conclusion, the interdependence between some problems of the modern French school and the immigration policy is stated in the article. This conclusion may be extended to the countries which accept a great number of the migrants. The experience of France, where the forms of the immigrant children integration are well functioning, becomes more and more demanded, also in Russia.

Presents an extract from the American Civil Liberties Union complaint against the Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy with respect to violations of the First Amendment's establishment clause. This action is linked to the school's alleged privileging of Islam over other religions & secular approaches to educational activities as well as the commingling of government & religion. D. Edelman. Adapted from the source document.

Our paper offers a new direction for Canadian scholarship on women and border studies by contextualizing women border- crossers within Anzaldúa's conocimiento model. Based on the narratives of six women border-crossers in Canada, we argue that citizenship is a form of regulatory state-power where "belonging" is bureaucratically defined. For these women, belonging to a homeland is embodied in the interplay between Anzaldúa's facultad and shadowbeast—between the agency of spirituality and the vagaries of political subjectivity. They crossed the border into Canada, and as a result, the whole of Canada became a borderzone within which they negotiated nepantla (the experience of being "in-between" culture and identity categories). We demonstrate how applying Anzaldúa's framework to the Canadian context yields new insights into secularism, citizenships, multiculturalism, and belonging.

Caste and caste inequalities are existing as a factual reality in the present day too. In Kerala, irrespective of high development, literacy and secularism, caste is still a crucial matter in the social and cultural life of the people. Related to the caste system in the Hindu religion is hierarchy in status, prevailing inequalities in power and wealth as well as imbalances in the religious sphere. This study explores such a case in which the famous religious ritual of kaliyattam in Northern Kerala is subjected to an ethnographic investigation. What resulted is the understanding of the harsh realities existing in the society in terms of caste and ritual authorities and exploitation. The different communities in the region that are a part of the ritual have to follow strict customs, which are mostly exploitative economically and unjustifiable and inhumane socially.

This introduction to the special issue on case study research, which showcases cutting edge research by emerging scholars on France, describes the connection between these articles and current developments in political science methodology. SI contributors situate their analyses in thick description of France itself, demonstrating how modernity, rationality, common sense, citizenship, and democracy are inherently abstract concepts that only take on political meaning and significance within a specific national context. Simultaneously, these essays flesh out mid-level theories that are more amenable to cross-national generalization without losing rigor in the process, contributing to broader political science literature on experience versus reason, the European and Christian roots of secularism and how this contributes to contemporary discrimination, welfare state development, and political lawyering and the judicialization of politics.

In this special issue we focus on processes of europeanisation and the work of colonial legacies and their impact on the production of the european body, a body that is always already racialised, classed and gendered. 'european body' can be observed in discourses and practices that constitute the normal/desired/legitimate body and concomitantly impacts notions about the civilised/cultured body, often linked to whiteness, secularism, legitimate class and gender performances. We ask to look back across pasts and into the present in order to explore who currently marks the boundaries of what is considered civilised, cultured, "normal" and comes to define what is considered a european body. What embodies the present, which and whose body epitomises europeaness and how does europeanisation generate (tacit) knowledge about the legitimate body?

In his My Name is Red, Pamuk's clever use of metafiction shows that the novel responds to problems of plurality, inclusivity, and exclusivism concerning the theoretical debates on belonging, identity, and secularism in the nation-state. In the present study, we first show that the novel's statement is expressed via the inherent plurality of the narrative, achieved through constantly shifting perceptions and the use of several unexpected narrators in the novel. Second, we find such a pluralist use of metafiction quite significant, because the novel not only gives voice to the underrepresented, but also because Pamuk's metafiction offers an alternative and more plural, inclusive and democratic understanding of self-reflexivity. Metafiction in Pamuk's sense can make meaningful contributions to theory and its capacity to better understand modern, cosmopolitan and multicultural nations.

Events since 2011 replaced earlier discussions about authoritarian stability in the Middle East with new ones about the meaning of democracy and the nature of revolution. The experiences and debates of Egyptians in the last six years also raise important questions around citizenship and the nature of political community. Just as there have not always been nation-states, there have not always been feelings of membership, identification, and activity associated with them. Citizenship and political community are frequently discussed in relation to secularism and religion and relative to an argument that the affective claims of Islam are incompatible with the modern presumptively secular state. I argue, however, that the shoring up—or disintegration—of nationalism and citizenship are shaped by the imagination of everyday individuals and state elites.

Separation of church and state is one of the key concepts in contemporary
debates in increasingly secular democracies like the Netherlands. It is not
only used to describe the legal and political arrangements between the state
and religious organizations, but is also part of a larger discursive struggle
over national identity and the meaning of citizenship. This article traces the
history of the concept of separation of church and state in the Netherlands
since the eighteenth century. First, it shows how the concept has always been
a contested one. Second, it argues that the current framing of separation of
church and state as a fundamental value of Dutch society is relatively recent
and is connected to growing secularism and the position of Islam in Dutch
society.

AbstractSince its foundation, militant democratic arguments have underpinned an enforced secularism in Turkey. The 2002 election of the AKP, described as a "moderate Islamist party", has challenged Turkey's secular identity. In the more than twelve years since the AKP has been in power, Turkey's political landscape has experienced significant changes, with periods of extensive democratic reforms punctuated by regression in certain areas, notably freedom of expression and the right to protest. State repressive measures coupled with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's reluctance to exit the political stage have been the focus of much commentary and analysis. This article argues, however, that under AKP rule the Kurdish issue – critical to ensuring the normalization of politics and democratization in Turkey – has been brought in from the political cold and assesses the creation and role of the HDP (

While the comparative study of secularism has become a thriving field of research, the precise political processes underlying the governance of religion is still a field to be scrutinized. Such processes cannot be understood without paying attention to the judicial arena. Building upon the burgeoning literature on the judicialization of politics, this article highlights that practices of social movement actors and public policy-makers are embedded not only in national constitutional traditions but also in global rights discourses and international judicial frameworks. Introducing case studies on France, Quebec, Switzerland, Turkey, Israel and Malaysia, assembled in this special issue, it lays out an array of methodological strategies and analytical perspectives that allow studying the multi-level dynamics, complex power configurations and ambivalent consequences of governing religion with judges. Adapted from the source document.