This article argues that the children’s fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman transforms the biblical narrative of the Fall of Man into a coming-of-age narrative. My analysis is guided by contemporary discussion on the uses of fantasy in children’s literature and the exploration of adolescence as a liminal stage between childhood and adulthood. His Dark Materials presents the fall as a necessary coming of age in which the transition from the sexual innocence and dependency of childhood to the (...) sexual maturity and self-determination of adulthood is presented as an essential human experience. Pullman’s transformation of the fall draws upon the Romantic or Blakean reading of Paradise Lost, in which the exile from the ‘paradise’ of childhood is a felix culpa, a ‘happy fault’, and Satan as the tempter is an anti-hero. As well as William Blake’s reading of the epic poem, Pullman draws upon Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience to frame the fall as wholly necessary. Pullman’s engagement with the interpretive debates surrounding Paradise Lost places the trilogy within the genre of theological fantasy and invites comparisons with its predecessors, most notably with C.S. Lewis’ Orthodox Christian fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia. His Dark Materials’ subversion of religious orthodoxy – especially in its celebration of the fall – challenges longstanding conventions within the genre and proposes a new un-nostalgic paradigm of adolescence. (shrink)

Many educators desire to cultivate wisdom in their students but feel this goal is too vague to be clearly articulated and encouraged. One possible way around this problem is to learn from classical and medieval depictions of wisdom and particular virtues, which were often personified. I will examine one highly illustrative artistic depiction of Prudence, which gives wisdom a face and form and thus provides students with an imaginative entryway into better understanding and practicing this virtue in the classroom. After (...) providing a brief overview of the role of images and the imagination in learning, I explain how personifications of the virtues— and of Prudence, in particular— may be a useful pedagogical guide in helping students cultivate those virtues. (shrink)

This paper deals with the role of teaching ethic as regards the moral education of elementary and secondary school and university students through a discussion of a series of issues in this respect. Ever since Socrates, there has been an ongoing debate whether ethic can be actually taught. With regard to this, the author shows that teaching ethic classes has a direct impact on development of moral judgment and moral emotions, thus affecting, in an indirect fashion, students’ moral behaviour through (...) their free choice. The paper offers a review of the most influential theories of moral development and expresses the necessity of a holistic approach to encompass all the components of morality. As it is, moral education in elementary schools of the Republic of Srpska is realised through the subject of Philosophy for Children in junior grades, and through the mandatory subject of Philosophy and the elective one of Ethic in secondary schools, with university students being taught in this respect by virtue of the subject of Introduction to Ethic, that is, Professional Ethic. In addition, the paper precisely defines the sense and goals of teaching ethic throughout the educational system, featuring discussions on both traditional and innovative methods applicable to it, with special emphasis on case study and group debate, and offering a balance of ethic theories and issues of applied ethic. In addition, the paper draws attention to mistakes made and difficulties occurring in teaching ethic, such as indoctrination and learning outcome estimate, and it points to the shortcomings of the educational system of the Republic of Srpska with regard to ethic education, proposing the remedy at the same time. (shrink)