Anthropology, Socialist Prediction and William Morris’s Commonweal

In the late nineteenth century, a number of writers turned to anthropology to predict a socialist future. They included prominent revolutionary socialists: Friedrich Engels, William Morris and members of the Socialist League. Contextualising the appropriation of the anthropologist Lewis Henry Morgan by such readers, this article also pays particular attention to socialist popularisations of anthropology, particularly those by Morris and his fellow writers in his penny weekly, the Commonweal. Focusing on Morris’s articles on ancient society helps to illuminate his own understanding of history, art and socialism. It also sheds new light on his predictive fiction News from Nowhere, which was originally read alongside Commonweal non-fiction. Both, I will argue, encouraged readers to see the future in the struggles of the ancient past.

Who was Andrea? Writing Oneself as a Feminist Icon

This article explores the construction of Andrea Dworkin as a public persona, or a ‘feminist icon’, revered by some and demonized by others. It argues that in both her fiction and non-fiction, Dworkin engaged in a process of writing herself as an exceptional woman, a ‘feminist militant’ as she describes herself in the subheading of her 2002 memoir, Heartbreak. The article illustrates Dworkin’s autobiographical logic of exceptionalism by comparing the story told in Heartbreak to the story of Dworkin’s major novel, Mercy, which features a heroine, Andrea, who shares Dworkin’s name and significant biographical details. While Dworkin has insisted that Mercy is not an autobiographical novel, the author undertakes a reading here of Mercy as the story of Dworkin if she had not become the feminist icon of her own and others’ construction. In Mercy, Andrea unsuccessfully attempts to escape the silent, victimized status that Dworkin has insistently argued is imposed upon women. In her repeated victimization, Andrea functions for Dworkin as an ‘everywoman’ who both embodies Dworkin’s world-view and highlights how Dworkin’s own biography exists in tension with some of her central assumptions about women, gender and contemporary society.

Here's Me Here

Selected non-fiction

Using Creative methodologies to help adult students understand equality issues: findings from the Literacy & Equality in Irish Society Project.(LEIS)

Literacy perspectives often reflect the ideological perspectives of their creators as well as social, cultural , political and economic environment of the time.This article examines ways in which adult tutors can use non- text creative methods in their teaching. to help learners understand equality issues.

Creative Activism: a pedagogical and research tool

Environmental activism has a long history in protest, addressing issues of degradation and segregation that threaten existing ecologies, social and built fabrics. Environmental activism is traditionally understood as a reaction, chiefly by groups of people, against a perceived external threat. In the 60’s and 70’s, an activist stance began to emerge in the work of some artists and architects, who used creative methods such as performances, happenings, temporary spatial interventions etc to convey their political/aesthetic messages. Some of this work engaged directly with communities but predominantly it was the production of one individual working ‘outside’ society. However such actions demonstrated not only the power of the visual in conveying a political message but also the potential of conceptual creative approaches to reveal alternative values and hidden potentials. This marked a shift from activism as protestation towards an activism of reconceptualisation. Recently, activist groups have developed a more politically informed process. Whilst their ‘tools’ may resemble work from the 60’s and 70’s , their methodologies are non-traditional, ’rhizomatic’, pedagogical and fluid; working alongside, rather than against, the established power and funding structures. Such creative processes build new, often unexpected, stakeholder networks; offer neutral spaces in which contentious issues can be faced; and create better understanding of values and identities. They can also lead to permanent improvements and development in the physical fabric. This paper will discuss a pedagogical example of activism in architectural education. The event (www.fourdaysontheoutside.com) is in its fifth year of existence and as such has revealed a value and impulse beyond its learning and teaching value. The paper will discuss how the event contributes to the university’s outreach programme and how its structure acts as a seedbed for potential research projects and partnerships. UK Universities talk extensively about applied research but have few actual strategies by which to generate it. Fourdaysontheoutside offers some potential ways forward.

'A Breath of Fresh Air': The experiences of undergraduate nursing students' participating in a creative learning project:This paper presents the experiences of undergraduate nursing students who participated in a creative learning project to explore the cells, tissues and organs of the human body through felt making.

Aim of the study
This paper presents the experiences of undergraduate nursing students who participated in a creative learning project to explore the cells, tissues and organs of the human body through felt making.

Context and Background
This project was funded by a Teaching Innovation Award from the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University Belfast to explore creative ways of engaging year one undergraduate nursing students in learning anatomy and physiology. The project was facilitated through collaboration between University Teaching staff and Arts Care, a unique arts and health charity in Northern Ireland.

Methodology
Twelve year one students participated in four workshops designed to explore the cells, tissues and organs of the human body through the medium of felt. Facilitated by an Arts Care artist, students translated their learning into striking felt images. The project culminated in the exhibition of this unique collection of work which has been viewed by fellow students, teaching staff, nurses from practice, and artists from Arts Care, friends, family and members of the public.

Key Findings and conclusions
The opportunity to learn in a more diverse way within a safe and non-judgmental environment was valued, with students’ reporting a greater confidence in life science knowledge. Self- reflection and group discussion revealed that the project was a unique creative learning experience for all involved – students, teaching staff and artist – resulting in individual and collective benefits far beyond knowledge acquisition. As individuals we each felt respected and recognised for our unique contribution to the project. Working in partnership with Arts Care enabled us to experience the benefits of creativity to well-being and reflect upon how engagement in creative activities can help healthcare professionals to focus on the individual patient’s needs and how this is fundamental to enhancing patient-centred care