On a Thursday night in December 2010, a Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) first-year student stepped in front of a train and killed himself. Because it took some time for the news to reach campus and be confirmed, the student was "funeralized," as they say in the South, and buried before his professors or peers could be informed. That left…

Ritual theorist Ronald Grimes notes a lack of rites of passage in Western society, yet a parallel longing for them. Although Grimes hesitates to invent new rites, such invention is the interest of this article. Building on research that juxtaposes ritual theory and Evangelical values, this work narrates the invention and implementation of a rite…

Recent research on collective memory suggests that commemorations of difficult pasts take either a multivocal or a fragmented form. I suggest these forms exist as ideal types for the initial commemoration, but the commemorative field, as a whole, remains dynamic over time, effectively shifting between forms. This study traces the creation,…

Objective: While research has documented heavy drinking practices and associated negative consequences of college students turning 21, few studies have examined prevention efforts aimed at reducing high-risk drinking during 21st birthday celebrations. The present study evaluated the comparative efficacy of a general prevention effort (i.e., Brief…

The London 2012 Summer Paralympics Mascot, "Mandeville", is named after the village of Stoke Mandeville, near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England. This was where the inaugural Stoke Mandeville Games were held in 1948. On 28 July 1948, men and women who had been injured throughout the Second World War assembled in Stoke Mandeville for archery…

Citizenship is not a neutral word; it evokes numerous interpretations and connotations in various policies, discourse, and practices. Its significance is motivated by current narratives of rights and responsibilities of a citizenry, (illegal) immigration, and English-only ideologies. The basis for this investigation is the perception that the U.S.…

On All Saints Day 2009 a monument for body donors was unveiled by the Department of Anatomy, at the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre (RUNMC). Although body donation to medical science contributes substantially to the quality of medical education, the ceremony was only the first time that the RUNMC publicly reciprocated the anatomical…

A systemic theory of gifted education, and in particular the notion of the actiotope receives surprising support from an epistemology until recently largely unrecognized and undervalued--that of Australian Aborigines. As part of an ongoing transdisciplinary collaborative research practice, a group Yolngu (north east Arnhem Land Aboriginal) elders…

Diverse education professionals learned about African cultures in a workshop experience by making African masks using authentic symbolism. Analysis of reflections to evaluate the workshop for applicability to participants with and without African heritage showed that both groups expanded their cultural knowledge of traditional African ethnic…

Recent literature on history teaching has emphasized "doing history"--whether as "active learning", cognitive science, or with simple photocopies of primary sources. This article extends the discussion of a "signature pedagogy" of history to include all aspects of the work of historians, from archival research through…

The article argues that even though deconstruction has indications for action in religious education, the action should be subordinated to the notion of deconstruction as event. Three strategies can be used in the curriculum of religious education inspired by deconstruction. The first strategy is to emphasize the spirit of religion as different…

Background: The topic of funerals within the life cycle approach to care in the UK remains largely absent. This small exploratory study sought to investigate how practitioners deal with this sensitive issue and to capture the views of older people with and without intellectual disabilities about funerals. Methods: A semi-structured questionnaire…

Images of the places and activities called "school" as a formal institution are rich data for the inquiring gaze. This article focuses specifically on historical photos of school rituals and ceremonies through which young people perform particular narratives of schooling through repetitive embodied practice and in turn construct values and beliefs…

This paper was the keynote address at the June 6, 2012 Occidental College completion ceremony for new teachers completing their teacher credential program. This occasion was momentous because it was the final new teacher graduation that Occidental College would hold, due to the previously announced closure of the teacher preparation program by the…

This article discusses a number of the dominant features of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Indian Catholicism on the Rosebud Reservation, focusing primarily on the Sicangu's responses to the significant differences between their traditional religious customs and the beliefs, rituals, and requirements of Catholicism. It first examines…