Sustainability Matters

Over the past few years and especially now— with COVID-19-related lockdowns necessitating that families stay at home—an increasing number of parents have chosen to home-school their children. This choice stems from several reasons: political views and distrust in the education system; anxiety about their children’s safety; or simply as an expression of their right to freedom.

In the newest episode of our podcast, Quality Education, Dr. Jameson Brewer, Assistant Professor of Social Foundations of Education at the University of North Georgia and author of ‘Homeschooling: A Guidebook of Practices, Claims, Issues, and Implications’, published by Brill, talks in detail about the changing trends in home-schooling practices. His compelling evidence makes us rethink our perception of formal education and lays bare the reality of educating a child without the support of experts or an educational system.

We discuss how COVID-19, and socioeconomic, political, and racial status (among other factors), influence a parent’s decision of choosing a school for their child.

Guests: Dr. Jameson Brewer
Host: Leigh Giangreco 

With radical changes being engineered in society, education systems everywhere need to match up. As part of our podcast, Humanities Matter, the all-new series, Quality Education, looks at ways to improve these systems. 

Higher education has traditionally been viewed as a privilege affordable to only specific strata of society, mainly higher income groups. However, this trend is now changing, with governments and institutes actively trying to make higher education accessible to all.

In this episode, we chat with Dr. Budd Hall, from the Centre for Global Studies at the University of Victoria, Canada, and Dr. Rajesh Tandon, the Founder-President of the Society for Participatory Research in Asia, a global research and training centre based in New Delhi, India. Dr. Hall and Dr. Tandon are both UNESCO co-chairs in community-based research and social responsibility in higher education. 

Drawing insights from their book, “Socially Responsible Higher Education: International Perspectives on Knowledge Democracy”, published by Brill, they talk about the various changes that have been implemented in different countries to ensure social inclusivity in higher education.

Guests: Dr. Budd Hall and Dr. Rajesh Tandon
Host: Leigh Giangreco 

The global trends of increasing climate change are predicted to intensify over the next few decades. General consensus remains that climate change is caused by actions of various entities at various levels, and it is nearly universally accepted that it is morally unacceptable. However, who does the onus of taking action against climate change lie with?

In the fourth episode of our new themed series Survival by Degrees, Dr. Anna Luisa Lippold, programme manager at THE NEW INSTITUTE, puts forth the suggestion that the responsibility for tackling climate change is a public notion, rather than an individual effort, in the context of her work “Climate Change and Individual Moral Duties”, published by Brill.

Guest: Dr. Anna Luisa Lippold
Host: Leigh Giangreco 

The lives of ancient Egyptians were truly colorful, and of them, the royals led the most vivid lives. The military pharaohs have left behind many records that give us a glimpse into their warfare style and accounts.

In this new episode, Anthony John Spalinger, Emeritus Professor of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Auckland, paints a captivating picture of the pharaoh court, based on his work, “The Books behind the Masks – Sources of Warfare Leadership in Ancient Egypt. Ancient Warfare Series Volume 4.” 

The book takes previous study of the leadership characteristics of the military pharaohs one step forward by analyzing the war records and literary compositions composed to glorify their rule.

Guest: Emeritus Professor Anthony John Spalinger
Host: Leigh Giangreco

Oceans are inextricably linked to the climate. Today, oceans are warming far more rapidly than they have in the past 65 million years, placing the spotlight on the important nexus between climate change and the ocean.

While there’s no doubt that climate change affects all people across the board, its effect is manifold among socioeconomically vulnerable communities, and among women in particular.

In the third episode of our new themed series Survival by Degrees, Prof. Nilufer Oral, Director of the Center for International Law, National University of Singapore, and member of the United Nations International Law Commission, takes a closer look at the place of gender in relation to climate change and oceans, in the context of her work “Climate Change, Oceans and Gender”, published by Brill.

Guest: Prof. Nilufer Oral
Host: Leigh Giangreco 

In May 2021, a landmark court order from a district court in the Netherlands ruled that Royal Dutch Shell, one of the largest fossil fuel companies in the world, needs to reduce its CO2 emissions by 45% by 2030.

How did a court in the Netherlands pass a ruling on a global company? Does the Paris Agreement hold for transnational private entities like Shell? What does this mean for corporations going forward? 

In this second episode of our new themed series Survival by Degrees, Andreas Hösli answers these and other questions in the context of his article “Milieudefensie v. Shell: A Tipping Point in Climate Change Litigation against Corporations?”,  published by Brill. 

Guest: Andreas Hösli
Host: Leigh Giangreco 

As we see in the news every day, climate change is already upon us. The climate crisis is no longer a bridge to be crossed in the future. It must be dealt with today. 

In this first episode of our new themed series Survival by Degrees, Dr. Nicolas Graham describes the influence of fossil fuels in sustaining our unending quest for economic growth and profit. He also highlights the drastic changes needed along production lines to become eco-friendly. He talks about these in the context of his book “Forces of Production, Climate Change, and Canadian Fossil Capitalism,”  published by Brill. 

Guest: Dr Nicolas Graham
Host: Leigh Giangreco 

Gender, and regulations of and discourses on it, have historically been a cornerstone of the conservative Christian belief system. The stance of the Catholic Church on feminism, for instance, has often been criticized for being reductive and exclusionary. As Christianity has exerted a profound influence on the government and principles of the United States from the time of its founding, in this modern age, it is natural to examine the extent of its influence on LGBTQ-related, and particularly trans-related legislation.

In the fourth episode of our themed series Across the Rainbow, Dr. SJ Crasnow, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Rockhurst University, Kansas City, and author of the article “The Legacy of ‘Gender Ideology.” Dr. Crasnow talks to us about the current state of anti-trans legislation in the U.S., and the role played by conservative Christianity in shaping it.

Guest: Dr SJ Crasnow
Host: Leigh Giangreco 

The rich and complex prose of the celebrated Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky provides a detailed look at the fabric of European literary and social discourse and continues to attract scholarly attention, even 200 years after his birth.

2021 marks the bicentenary of Dostoevsky’s birth. To commemorate this occasion, join us in conversation with Prof. Slobodanka Vladiv-Glover, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Languages, Literature, Cultures and Linguistics at Monash University, as she takes us through the brief-yet-colourful life, most notable works, and myths surrounding the celebrated Russian author. 

The discussion is an extension of “The Dostoevsky Journal: A Comparative Literature Review”, published by Brill and edited by Prof. Vladiv-Glover.

Guest: Prof Slobodanka Vladiv-Glover
Host: Leigh Giangreco

Social and political conditions, in association with the self, can hardly be explained by one factor. Instead, they are shaped by several factors in diverse, mutually influencing ways. This is the essence of intersectionality, a concept that helps us understand the complexity of the human experience.

In the third episode of our new themed series Across the Rainbow, catch us in discussion with Dr. Shanon Shah, Visiting Research Fellow in Theology and Religious Studies at King’s College, London, and author of the article “Ethnicity, Gender and Class in the Experiences of Gay Muslims”. 

Drawing from the well of personal experience, Dr. Shah delves into the ways in which multiple axes of social division, such as religion, ethnicity, gender, and class, interact differently in Malaysia, where Islam is the majority and official religion, and in Britain, where it is a minority religion, to produce varied outcomes for gay Muslim men and women in both countries.

Guest: Dr Shanon Shah
Host: Leigh Giangreco