title: The Bluest Eye

text: As the Civil Rights Movement began to decline in favor of conservative ideals and white power, American culture soon fostered a national identity that excluded anyone who was not white. One example of this is how historically racist ideologies influence the Soaphead Church in the novel. University of Oxford professor Tessa Roynon, who studies African-American literature, states that “the racial theories of Hume, Kant, Jefferson, and others, derived from innovations in classificatory systems by scientists such as Linnaeus, have been collected in useful readers such as Emmanuel Chukwudi Eze's anthology Race and the Enlightenment (1997). The well-read, race-obsessed Soaphead Church in The Bluest Eye is the inevitable product of these theories." These perpetual racist beliefs shape Pecola's self destructiveness, she is suspicious of even her own blackness, and desires the characteristics of a white person, like those in the Dick and Jane primers. As Abdellatif Khayati, professor at the Moroccan Cultural Studies Center, articulates, "The Bluest Eye" shows how the historic white narrative creates an “epistemic violence of the Other [which] operates through the internalization of the self-as-other. Pecola exists only in the image reflected by the Other.” Just as Pecola's rape is concealed throughout the story, the novel exposes a history of failed pursuits of hiding the racist and sexist establishments that directly provoke each character's hardships.


title: The Bluest Eye

text: While Morrison was a notable female writer, she was quick to deny her works being categorized as “feminist,” as she believed the title denies the specific necessities of black women. Rather than depict strong female protagonists, Morrison created characters who are actually defeated by the racism and sexism of the historic time period. Anne Salvatore, a professor of English at Rider University, interprets this failure of the "anti heroine" as a stark contrast to the typical bildungsroman, where a male character defeats obstacles and grows from experience. Instead, in "The Bluest Eye," Pecola fails to develop an individual identity in the face of an oppressive society, and her self-hatred forces her to retreat from reality completely.


title: The Bluest Eye

text: The points of view in the novel are also significant to its unique style. Morrison combines many narratives: two perspectives of Claudia at different times in her life, as well as an omniscient third person who connects the many tragedies of the characters. By the end of the novel, the jumbled words of the Dick and Jane primer, as well as the increasingly confusing narratives, hint at Pecola's descent into madness. This breakdown in the novel's structure also represents a destruction of the harmful ideologies which Morrison's stories seeks to debase.


title: The Bluest Eye

text: The novel received minimal critical attention when first published; however, it was placed on many university reading lists in black-studies departments, which promoted further recognition. Morrison was praised for her handling of difficult themes: critic Haskel Frankel said, "Given a scene that demands a writer's best, Morrison responds with control and talent." The first major sign that the book would succeed was an extremely positive review in "The New York Times" in November 1970. Morrison was also positively reviewed for her break from the status quo of usual novels from the time period, writing to a wider audience and focusing on black subculture in the 1940s, rather than the military culture of the time. African-American critic Ruby Dee wrote, "Toni Morrison has not written a story really, but a series of painfully accurate impressions." Morrison was additionally praised for her wide coverage of emotion in the novel, extending from Pecola Breedlove's quiet descent into madness, to Cholly Breedlove's skewed mindsets.


title: The Bluest Eye

text: Critics picked up on Morrison's shortcomings as a first time published author. A common critique of her writing included her language in the novel, as it was often viewed as being made too simple for the reader. Early critics were also ambivalent about Morrison's portrayal of the black woman as an object in society rather than a person, only ever going so far as to bring this fact to light and rarely commenting past it. The most in-depth analysis of the novel began with feminist critique. There were also notable differences between African-American critics (who often identified more with the characters of the novel) and Euro-American critics (who often only focused on the actual writing of the novel).


title: The Bluest Eye

text: Within classrooms across the country, educators also disagreed over whether or not the novel was appropriate for children. One African-American educator, founder of the IFE Academy of Teaching & Technology Shekema Silveri, has stated: "Teaching novels like "The Bluest Eye" helps us break down barriers with students. After reading the book, I had a student who said that she is the product of incest. And I’ve had a student who said that she was molested by her uncle. Books allow us to help them heal in ways that we as educators couldn’t help them heal on our own." In an interview, American Library Association (ALA) editor Robert P. Doyle also recognized the potential of novels like "The Bluest Eye" to effect positive change within schools, stating that, “The book community realized that [they] have not only an opportunity, but a responsibility to engage the American public in a conversation about the First Amendment as it relates to books and literature.” "The Bluest Eye" is one of many novels on the ALA's lists of challenged books, appearing as 15th out of 100 of the most challenged novels in the most recent decade.


title: The Bluest Eye

text: As time passed, more reviews and analyses were written in praise of Morrison's writing of the "colonization of the mind," her critique of white versus black beauty standards, and even began to analyze her use of simplistic language, calling it a stylistic choice rather than a pitfall of the novel. Despite initial controversies surrounding the subject matter of "The Bluest Eye", Morrison was eventually recognized for her contributions to literature when she received the Nobel Prize in 1993, over 20 years following the original publication of the novel.


title: The Bluest Eye

text: "The Bluest Eye" has frequently landed on American Library Association's (ALA) list of most challenged books because it contains offensive language, sexually explicit material, and controversial issues, as well as depicting child sexual abuse and being unsuited for the age group. The ALA placed it on the Top Ten Most Challenged Books Lists for 2006 (5), 2014 (4), 2013 (2), and 2020 (9). Ultimately, it became the 34th-most banned book in the United States 1990–1999, the 15th-most banned book 2000–2009, and the 10th-most banned book 2010-2019


title: The Bluest Eye

text: "The Bluest Eye" was legally challenged on February 10, 1998, by a mother from Montgomery County, Maryland named Christine Schwalm. She brought "The Bluest Eye" and four other books to the attention of the Montgomery County school board, describing "The Bluest Eye" and others as "lewd, adult books." Ms. Schwalm argued for the removal of the book from the syllabus because she deemed them to be "at odds with the character education programme" promoted within the schools. In court, Ms Schwalm read a passage specifically from "The Bluest Eye" in order to demonstrate the inappropriate nature of the content within the novel. The passage in question featured Soaphead Church and presented pedophelia and child molesting, leading to Schwalm's objections to its presence in schools. The book, however, was not removed from the curriculum as Schwalm's objections were not upheld in court.


title: The Bluest Eye

text: In March 1999, "The Bluest Eye" was successfully banned from Baker High School language arts program in Baker City, Oregon after multiple complaints from parents about the content of the book. The original source of contention for this novel was the rape scene between Cholly and Pecola. Later, the book was banned for being "sexually explicit," "unsuited for age group," and containing "controversial issues." The decision was made by Baker City schools superintendent Arnold Coe, and was supported by the school board.


title: The Bluest Eye

text: In 1999, parents of students at Stevens High School in Claremont, New Hampshire, objected to the book's being assigned to lower grade levels. The case started when parents complained to the school that they thought the book contained content that was sexually inappropriate for children. As a result, the school decided to remove the book from freshmen and sophomore reading lists, and deemed that the novel was only "suitable" for juniors and seniors. In addition, the school also ruled that teachers must send reading lists to parents early on in the year to get their approval as to which books their children could read and discuss in class. While some parents would have preferred heavier restrictions against the book at Stevens High School, they were glad that action was taken, as they viewed "The Bluest Eye" to be an "adult book."


title: The Bluest Eye

text: In August 2005 in Littleton, Colorado, the Littleton school board voted to ban "The Bluest Eye" from reading lists, where it was listed as optional, and remove it from the libraries of the Heritage and Arapahoe high schools, despite the recommendation of a committee that the book be restricted to juniors and seniors. The ban was enacted in response to a complaint received by a parent of a ninth-grader student who was on the board and who took issue with the novel's sexual content, specifically the scene of Pecola's rape. Students protested the ban by reading passages from the book in their school libraries. In response to the ban, Camille Okoren, a student attending the sit-in acknowledged that "students hear about rape and incest in the news media. It's better to learn about those subjects from a Nobel Prize winner...and to discuss it with a teacher in class." Ultimately, the book was reinstated after English teacher Judy Vlasin filed an application to the board explaining why it should not be banned.


title: The Bluest Eye

text: In February 2007, a group called LOVE (the Livingston Organization for Values in Education) challenged four books in the Howell High School curriculum, including "The Bluest Eye," "Black Boy" by Richard Wright, "Slaughterhouse Five" by Kurt Vonnegut, and "The Freedom Writers Diary". The National Coalition Against Censorship published a letter in response to the criticism, claiming that the scenes which involve sex "represent small but essential parts of the novels, consistent with the kind of material that high school students frequently read." Their letter also argued that the books in question "are widely recognized as works of significant literary and artistic merit," and "are widely taught in high schools and colleges around the country".


title: The Bluest Eye

text: Despite controversy, the curriculum was in fact approved in a 5-to-2 decision by the Howell School Board. In response to the legal concerns raised by LOVE, Livingston Prosecutor David Morse, the Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, and the U.S. Attorney confirmed that no laws, state or federal, had been broken by including the selected books in the curriculum. Since the case, the books have been included in 11th grade advanced English curriculum.


title: The Bluest Eye

text: In 2013, a group of parents challenged "The Bluest Eye"s inclusion in Legacy High School's AP English curriculum due to the book's sexual content and "subject matter" of a girl getting raped by her father. In their petition launched through "Change.org", the parents argued that they "did not want developmentally inappropriate and graphic books used for classroom instruction." In a formal petition submitted to the superintendent, parent Janela Karlson claimed the introduction of sexually graphic material including rape and incest could be developmentally harmful to minors as supported by scientific research.


title: The Bluest Eye

text: In response to the challenge, Legacy High School student Bailey Cross created a petition to maintain the book in the curriculum, and expressed the importance of retaining the book because "Banning and censoring this tells students that ... racism, incest, rape, abuse, are taboo subjects that should not be mentioned." Numerous teachers also spoke out against the ban, stating that the book was used to analyze Morrison's writing style and that banning it could set a precedent for censorship in the district. Ultimately, the Adams County School Board voted to retain the Superintendent's original ruling of the 2010 challenge, which not only restricted the book to AP curriculum but also required teachers to notify parents before their child read the book.


title: The Bluest Eye

text: In September, 2013, "The Bluest Eye" was challenged by the Ohio Board of Education President Debe Terhar. This book was listed as recommended reading in the state's Common Core standards, but was challenged at the state's Board of Education, with teachers pushing to ban it from the classroom due to its explicit content. Terhar took particular issue when it came to the scene regarding Pecola being raped by her father. Although not seen commenting on previous challenges to her books, Morrison specifically commented on this particular incident: "I mean if it's Texas or North Carolina as it has been in all sorts of states. But to be a girl from Ohio, writing about Ohio having been born in Lorain, Ohio. And actually relating as an Ohio person, to have the Ohio, what—Board of Education?—is ironic at the least."


title: The Bluest Eye

text: Debe Terhar, State Board of Education President and Cincinnati Republican, called the novel "pornographic," and suggested the book be removed from the state's teaching guidelines. Mark Smith, Ohio Christian University president, said, "I see an underlying socialist-communist agenda ... that is anti what this nation is about." The American Civil Liberties Union wrote a letter to Ms. Terhar, explaining the book was "a bold, unflinching look at the pain and damage that internalized racism can inflict on a young girl and her community." Despite the publicity, "The Bluest Eye" remained on the recommended reading list.


title: The Bluest Eye

text: In July, 2014, East Wake High School in North Carolina removed "The Bluest Eye" from their reading lists due to what was deemed inappropriate content. In particular, the school highlighted the fact that the book contains "a description of a father raping his daughter." Furthermore, East Wake High assigned an alternative book to their reading list, "The Color Purple". "The Bluest Eye", however, was still left available within their libraries for students to read if they wish at their own discretion, as the school wished to make clear that they were not "denying students access to that level of literature."


title: The Bluest Eye

text: In 2016, "The Bluest Eye" was challenged in the Northville, Michigan school district after a parent filed a complaint petitioning for the removal of the book from the AP Literature and Composition curriculum, stating the book's portrayal of sexual assault was not age-appropriate. A committee, consisting of a school administrator and other educators, evaluated the book and recommended that the board vote to maintain the book in the AP curriculum and allow students the option to choose an alternative book. The committee announced their decision explaining that removing the book "would eliminate the opportunity for deep study by our student[s] on critical themes in our society." Despite some support for the ban, many parents and students objected to it, with one student stating, "The purpose of AP literature as a class is to expand our understanding and enlarge our world, not make us more comfortable inside boxes of ignorance." Parents and students opposed to the ban were also supported by national organizations including the National Council of Teachers of English, NCAC, and ALA. After voting, the board ultimately sided with the evaluation of the committee and retained the book in the AP curriculum.


title: The Bluest Eye

text: In September 2017, "The Bluest Eye" was challenged at North Buncombe High School in Buncombe County, North Carolina, by a parent, Tim Coley. Tim Coley, a self-described "Christian single dad", took notice of the book for its sexual content and formed a committee concerning the removal of the book in the English honors academics. Coley told WLOS-13 that "It's astounding really that somebody thinks it's OK for kids to be reading this in school." Eric Grant, the English coordinator, defended the book by making the committee aware that the school offered an alternative assignment for those who were not comfortable with the book. He also mentioned that the book was in the syllabus that was handed out at the beginning of the year. The committee was given time to read the book and determine if there was academic value offered from the book.


title: The Bluest Eye

text: In January 2022, the Wentzville, Missouri school board voted 4-3 to ban "The Bluest Eye," going against the review committee's 8–1 vote to retain the book in the district's libraries. The ban included three other books, as well: George M. Johnson's "All Boys Aren't Blue", Alison Bechdel's "Fun Home", and Kiese Laymon’s "Heavy".


title: The Bluest Eye

text: An adaptation of "The Bluest Eye" by Lydia R. Diamond was first performed in Chicago, Illinois in 2005, before seeing further adaptations around the United States.


title: Coprophagia

text: Coprophagia () or coprophagy () is the consumption of feces. The word is derived from the , "feces" and , "to eat". Coprophagy refers to many kinds of feces-eating, including eating feces of other species (heterospecifics), of other individuals (allocoprophagy), or one's own (autocoprophagy) – those once deposited or taken directly from the anus.


title: Coprophagia

text: In humans, coprophagia has been described since the late 19th century in individuals with mental illnesses and in some sexual acts, such as the practices of rimming and felching where sex partners insert their tongue into each other's anus and ingest biologically significant amounts of feces. Some animal species eat feces as a normal behavior, in particular lagomorphs, which do so to allow tough plant materials to be digested more thoroughly by passing twice through the digestive tract. Other species may eat feces under certain conditions.


title: Coprophagia

text: The feces of the rock ptarmigan is used in Urumiit, which is a delicacy in some Inuit cuisine. Several beverages are made using the feces of animals, including but not limited to Kopi luwak, panda tea, insect tea, and Black Ivory Coffee. Casu martzu is a cheese that uses the digestive processes of live maggots to help ferment and break down the cheese's fats.


title: Coprophagia

text: Ayurveda and Siddha medicine use various animal excreta in various forms. The dung and urine of the Zebu is especially important in the list.


title: Coprophagia

text: Centuries ago (mid 16th century) physicians tasted their patients' feces, to better judge their state and condition, according to François Rabelais, who studied medicine but was also a writer of satirical and grotesque fiction. Further information is needed to confirm the accuracy and context of statement.


title: Coprophagia

text: Lewin reported, "... consumption of fresh, warm camel feces has been recommended by Bedouins as a remedy for bacterial dysentery; its efficacy (probably attributable to the antibiotic subtilisin from "Bacillus subtilis") was anecdotally confirmed by German soldiers in Africa during World War II". However, this story is likely a myth, independent research was not able to verify any of these claims.


title: Coprophagia

text: Members of a religious cult in Thailand routinely ate the feces and dead skin of their leader, whom they considered to be a holy man with healing powers.


title: Coprophagia

text: Coprophilia is a paraphilia (DSM-5), where the object of sexual interest is feces, and may be associated with coprophagia. Coprophagia is sometimes depicted in pornography, usually under the term "scat" (from scatology). A notorious example of this is the pornographic shock video "2 Girls 1 Cup". "The 120 Days of Sodom", a 1785 novel by Marquis de Sade, is full of detailed descriptions of erotic sadomasochistic coprophagia.


title: Coprophagia

text: Coprophagous insects consume and redigest the feces of large animals. These feces contain substantial amounts of semidigested food, particularly in the case of herbivores, owing to the inefficiency of the large animals' digestive systems. Thousands of species of coprophagous insects are known, especially among the orders Diptera and Coleoptera. Examples of such flies are "Scathophaga stercoraria" and "Sepsis cynipsea", dung flies commonly found in Europe around cattle droppings. Among beetles, dung beetles are a diverse lineage, many of which feed on the microorganism-rich liquid component of mammals' dung, and lay their eggs in balls composed mainly of the remaining fibrous material.


title: Coprophagia

text: Termites eat one another's feces as a means of obtaining their hindgut protists. Termites and protists have a symbiotic relationship (e.g. with the protozoan that allows the termites to digest the cellulose in their diet). For example, in one group of termites, a three-way symbiotic relationship exists; termites of the family Rhinotermitidae, cellulolytic protists of the genus "Pseudotrichonympha" in the guts of these termites, and intracellular bacterial symbionts of the protists.


title: Coprophagia

text: Domesticated and wild mammals are sometimes coprophagic, and in some species, this forms an essential part of their method of digesting tough plant material.


title: Coprophagia

text: Some dogs may lack critical digestive enzymes when they are only eating processed dried foods, so they gain these from consuming fecal matter. They only consume fecal matter that is less than two days old which supports this theory.


title: Coprophagia

text: Species within the Lagomorpha (rabbits, hares, and pikas) produce two types of fecal pellets: hard ones, and soft ones called cecotropes. Animals in these species reingest their cecotropes, to extract further nutrients. Cecotropes derive from chewed plant material that collects in the cecum, a chamber between the large and small intestine, containing large quantities of symbiotic bacteria that help with the digestion of cellulose and also produce certain B vitamins. After excretion of the soft cecotrope, it is again eaten whole by the animal and redigested in a special part of the stomach. The pellets remain intact for up to six hours in the stomach; the bacteria within continue to digest the plant carbohydrates. This double-digestion process enables these animals to extract nutrients that they may have missed during the first passage through the gut, as well as the nutrients formed by the microbial activity. This process serves the same purpose within these animals as rumination (cud-chewing) does in cattle and sheep.


title: Coprophagia

text: Cattle in the United States are often fed chicken litter. Concerns have arisen that the practice of feeding chicken litter to cattle could lead to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad-cow disease) because of the crushed bone meal in chicken feed. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates this practice by attempting to prevent the introduction of any part of cattle brain or spinal cord into livestock feed. Other countries, such as Canada, have banned chicken litter for use as a livestock feed.


title: Coprophagia

text: The young of elephants, giant pandas, koalas, and hippos eat the feces of their mothers or other animals in the herd, to obtain the bacteria required to properly digest vegetation found in their ecosystems. When such animals are born, their intestines are sterile and do not contain these bacteria. Without doing this, they would be unable to obtain any nutritional value from plants. Piglets with access to maternal feces early in life exhibited better performance.


title: Coprophagia

text: Hamsters, guinea pigs, chinchillas, hedgehogs, and naked mole-rats eat their own droppings, which are thought to be a source of vitamins B and K, produced by gut bacteria. Sometimes, there is also the aspect of self-anointment while these creatures eat their droppings. On rare occasions gorillas have been observed consuming their feces, possibly out of boredom, a desire for warm food, or to reingest seeds contained in the feces.


title: Coprophagia

text: Some carnivorous plants, such as pitcher plants of the genus "Nepenthes", obtain nourishment from the feces of commensal animals.


title: Parc des Princes

text: Parc des Princes () is an all-seater football stadium in Paris, France, in the south-west of the French capital, inside the 16th arrondissement, near the Stade Jean-Bouin and Stade Roland Garros.


title: Parc des Princes

text: The stadium, with a seating capacity of 47,929 spectators, has been the home of Paris Saint-Germain since 1974. Before the opening of the Stade de France in 1998, it was also the home of the France national football team and France national rugby union team. The Parc des Princes pitch is surrounded by four covered all-seater stands, officially known as Tribune Borelli, Tribune Auteuil, Tribune Paris, and Tribune Boulogne.


title: Parc des Princes

text: Conceived by architect Roger Taillibert and Siavash Teimouri, the current version of the Parc des Princes officially opened on 25 May 1972, at a cost of 80–150 million francs. The stadium is the third to have been built on the site, the first opening its doors in 1897 and the second in 1932.


title: Parc des Princes

text: PSG registered its record home attendance in 1983, when 49,575 spectators witnessed the club's 2–0 win over Waterschei in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals. However, the France national rugby union team holds the stadium's absolute attendance record. They defeated Wales, 31–12, in the 1989 Five Nations Championship in front of 50,370 spectators.


title: Parc des Princes

text: Originally called Stade Vélodrome du Parc des Princes, the stadium was inaugurated on 18 July 1897. Situated in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, the area was a forested parkland used by the royal family before the French Revolution. This gave the Parc des Princes its name.


title: Parc des Princes

text: With more than 3,000 seats, the velodrome had a 728-yard track. The director of the stadium, Henri Desgrange, was a former racing cyclist and founder of the cycling magazine "L'Auto" (predecessor of "L'Équipe"). "Le Parc" marked the finish of the Tour from its first edition in 1903 until 1967. The 1900 UCI Track Cycling World Championships was held at the Parc des Princes.


title: Parc des Princes

text: In 1903, an English side easily defeated a team composed by the best Parisian players (11–0) in front of 984 paying spectators, in what was the first international football played at the Parc des Princes. In 1905, the France national football team contested its first ever home match against Switzerland, winning 1–0 at "le Parc". Subsequently, the stadium welcomed further prestigious friendly games, but also four USFSA French Championship finals, as well as the 1919 Coupe de France Final between CASG Paris and Olympique de Paris in front of 10,000 spectators.


title: Parc des Princes

text: PSG's home also boasts a long history as an international rugby venue. In 1906, the France national rugby union team played their debut international, against the New Zealand national rugby union team. Other tenants included the Racing Club de France.


title: Parc des Princes

text: The stadium capacity was increased to 20,000 by the start of the 1924 Summer Olympics, held in Paris. However, Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, which had been expanded to 60,000 seats, hosted the event.


title: Parc des Princes

text: In the 1930s, "L'Auto" founder Henri Desgrange and his business partner Victor Goddet carried out a thorough reconstruction of the Parc des Princes and expanded it so that the sports arena had seats for 45,000 visitors, including 26,000 covered. The new stadium opened on 19 April 1932. Its capacity, however, was quickly reduced to 38,000 seats to improve comfort. "Le Parc" hosted the opening match of the 1938 FIFA World Cup between Switzerland and Germany as well as the victory of Hungary in the semi-final against Sweden. But Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir continued to be more important, hosting the 1938 FIFA World Cup Final in which Italy beat the Hungarians 4–2 to claim its second consecutive world title.


title: Parc des Princes

text: Following the Liberation of Paris in August 1944 and the end of World War II in September 1945, the French football championship returned, with big Parisian clubs Stade français-Red Star and Racing Paris regularly playing at the Parc des Princes. Still equipped with a cycling track of 454 metres, the Tour de France was not the only major sporting event hosted at this stadium. "Le Parc" also hosted the 1954 Rugby League World Cup Final, which saw Great Britain defeat hosts France in the inaugural staging of the Rugby League World Cup; Real Madrid's win over Stade de Reims in the first ever European Cup final in 1956; and the 1960 European Nations' Cup Final, which saw the Soviet Union claim the first edition of the tournament after beating Yugoslavia.


title: Parc des Princes

text: Conceived by French architect Roger Taillibert and Iranian artist Siavash Teimouri, the design of the third and current Parc des Princes was innovative for the time, allowing spectators to enjoy excellent sight-lines, with no seat being further than 45 metres from the pitch. It was also the first stadium with lighting systems integrated onto its elliptical roof, and to this day is praised for its unique acoustics and its distinctive concrete ribs or razors.


title: Parc des Princes

text: Described in French as a 'caisse de résonnance' ('box of sound') due to its tight dimensions and the pressure-cooker atmosphere created by its home fans, it is one of the continent's most emblematic and historic venues. Its raw concrete exterior may not be as extraordinary today, in the era of multimedia stadiums. But the razors supporting the concrete shell remain an icon of local skyline and the structure has aged with grace. It is a landmark and legally protected icon of French architecture.


title: Parc des Princes

text: Furthermore, the seating bowl provides two continuous tiers without obstructed views, though some obstructions were introduced due to additional fencing of the away enclosure. Distance of end zones from the field is a disadvantage, because the stadium was designed with rugby in mind and left too much room for a football configuration.


title: Parc des Princes

text: The inauguration of the Parc des Princes took place on 25 May 1972 on the occasion of the football match between France and USSR. The new stadium hosted the 1972 Coupe de France Final between Olympique de Marseille and Bastia on 4 June 1972. That same year, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) – a fusion between Paris Football Club (PFC) and Stade Saint-Germain – went through a bitter divorce. Paris FC remained in Ligue 1, while PSG kept their name but were administratively demoted to Division 3.


title: Parc des Princes

text: PSG played their first game at the Parc des Princes against Ligue 2 promotion rivals Red Star on 10 November 1973, as a curtain-raiser for that season's league season between PFC and Sochaux. PSG won 3–1 as Othniel Dossevi scored the club's first goal at the stadium. PSG returned to Ligue 1 in 1974, ironically the same year that Paris FC (PFC) were relegated. They immediately moved into the Parc des Princes, which up until that point had been the home stadium of PFC. Before that, PSG had been playing at several grounds including the Stade Municipal Georges Lefèvre, the Stade Jean-Bouin, the Stade Bauer, and even the Parc des Princes a few times that season despite the reluctance of PFC. Thereafter, Paris FC and Racing Paris also played at the Parc des Princes while they were in Ligue 1 (until 1990), but never reaching the numbers of attendance leaders PSG.


title: Parc des Princes

text: Following its opening, the Parc des Princes finally became France's biggest stadium. This was where the national and international cup finals took place, including every single Coupe de France from 1972 to 1997, and three European club finals: the 1975 European Cup Final, the 1978 European Cup Winners' Cup Final and the 1981 European Cup Final. Most importantly, "le Parc" saw France defeat Spain in the UEFA Euro 1984 Final to claim its first-ever title. In 1992, France was named to host the 1998 World Cup. It was the country's first since 1938 and construction of a new arena began in May 1995, at the same time that Parc des Princes hosted the 1995 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final.


title: Parc des Princes

text: Inaugurated in January 1998, the Stade de France was the stadium of the future, while "le Parc" hosted its last international final that same year: the 1998 UEFA Cup Final. "Les Bleus" have only played twice at the Parc des Princes since 1998: against Scotland during the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers in September 2007, and versus Australia in a friendly match in October 2013. Nonetheless, the stadium has still staged games at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, 2007 Rugby World Cup, UEFA Euro 2016 and 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.


title: Parc des Princes

text: In November 2013, PSG reached an agreement with the Paris City Council, owner of the Parc des Princes, to extend their stadium lease for a further 30 years until 2043, based on a fixed rent plus a variable share of their income. Subsequently, under the guidance of American architect Tom Sheehan, PSG completed a three-year €75 million upgrade of the Parc des Princes (2012, 2013–2014, 2015–2016) ahead of the UEFA Euro 2016 in France.


title: Parc des Princes

text: Two additional rows of seats were added, allowing the ground to remain at a capacity of 48,000, despite now boasting larger and more comfortable seats. Hospitality capacity went from 1,200 to 4,500, and new substitutes' benches and spacious, modern changing rooms that include warm-up and treatment rooms were installed. Carrying out this renovation work saw PSG's stadium revenue swell from €20m to €100m.


title: Parc des Princes

text: PSG are also looking to increase the capacity of their home to 60,000 in the coming years. From the start of their ownership at the capital club, Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) made it clear that a larger stadium is one of the means to establish PSG as one of leading European clubs. Originally, there were two options under consideration: move to the Stade de France or expand the Parc des Princes. The former was discarded following the redevelopments made to "le Parc" ahead of the Euro 2016. Expansion before the tournament proved impossible, but according to PSG deputy CEO Jean-Claude Blanc the club's plans have not changed. There have also been rumours that QSI are interested in buying the Parc des Princes for a fee believed to be around €150m.


title: Parc des Princes

text: Since its musical debut in June 1988, when Michael Jackson took the stage, the Parc des Princes has often hosted major concerts. The King of Pop played again there in 1997. The stadium was also graced with all-time greats like The Rolling Stones and Prince in 1990, before French icon Johnny Hallyday's first performance in 1993. Following the 1997 shows of David Bowie, as part of the Rock Festival in Paris, and then U2, the venue had a six-year musical hiatus.


title: Parc des Princes

text: Johnny Hallyday's second coming in June 2003, with three concerts to celebrate his 60th anniversary, reactivated the music scene at the Parc des Princes. Between 2003 and 2009, it welcomed legendary acts such as Red Hot Chili Peppers (2004), Metallica (2004), Moby (2005), Iron Maiden (2005), Robbie Williams (2006), Muse (2007), Genesis (2007), Bruce Springsteen (2008) and Coldplay (2009). In June 2010, French hip hop group Suprême NTM and American rock band Green Day marked the last music chapter at the stadium in a long time.


title: Parc des Princes

text: In June 2022, DJ Snake became the first artist to perform at the Parc des Princes in twelve years. He was followed by French singer Dadju later that same month.


title: Mandeep Dhillon

text: Mandeep Dhillon (born 21 December 1990) is a British actress who has appeared in stage, television, film and radio productions, including the BBC Three comedy series "Some Girls" and "Fried". She featured in the British romantic comedy "Finding Fatimah" in 2017, and as Constable Lizbyet Corwi in "The City and the City" in 2018. She also appears as Sandy in the Netflix Original dark-comedy "After Life", having previously worked with Ricky Gervais in "". Since 2021, she has starred in the American crime television series "".


title: Mandeep Dhillon

text: Dhillon performed in plays at the Bush Theatre, her first television appearance was in the TV movie "Some Dogs Bite" (2011), which was followed by roles in "The Mimic" and "The Thick of It". In 2012, she had a leading role Saz Kaur in "Some Girls", and in 2015, portrayed Amara in "Fried".


title: Mandeep Dhillon

text: Dhillon was born on 21 December 1990 and grew up in Hertfordshire, the youngest of three children, brought up by her mother who was a social worker. Dhillon attended Wilbury Primary School and Fearnhill School, Letchworth.


title: Mandeep Dhillon

text: In a 2019 interview, Dhillon said that as she was unable to afford acting lessons, she made sure that she participated in all of the school plays for experience. She also stated that soon after starting her A-levels, she dropped out of college, and joined a performing arts institution in London. Dhillon said in a 2015 interview that she decided to become an actress shortly before her 19th birthday, and started emailing agencies using contact details that she found on the Spotlight website. One of the agencies offered her a place on a workshop, following which she received an audition for "Some Dogs Bite" (2010), which became her first television appearance.


title: Mandeep Dhillon

text: In 2011, Dhillon played a school student in "The Knowledge" at the Bush Theatre. The production received a positive review in "The Times", with Dominic Maxwell saying that "There [was] not a whiff of stage school" to the actors, including Dhillon, portraying the students. Also in 2011, at the Bush Theatre, Dhillon appeared in "Little Platoons", a drama about free schools. A radio production featuring Dhillon and the rest of the original cast was broadcast on BBC Radio 4. The following year, at the same venue, she starred in "Repentance", as a young Muslim woman conflicted about her romantic relationship with a non-Muslim. "The Daily Telegraph"'s Charles Spencer felt that Dhillon gave a "touching performance" in a play that "potently catches the clash between faith and sexual desire". The "Financial Times" called Dhillon's performance "powerfully acted", and Time Out said she was "luminous".


title: Mandeep Dhillon

text: After appearances in "The Mimic" (2011) and "The Thick of It" (2012), she starred as the character Saz Kaur, a sarcastic high school student from a strict Indian family, in "Some Girls", which aired on BBC Three from 2012 to 2014. Dhillon went on to appear as a guest character in seven episodes of the 2014 TV series "", alongside Kiefer Sutherland. The low budget romantic comedy "A Wonderful Christmas Time" was shot over five days and released in 2014, with the actors improvising around scripted outlines. Dhillon was in the main cast as Mandi, a friend of the lead Cherie played by Laura Haddock. "Screen International" described Dhillon as "impressive" in its review.


title: Mandeep Dhillon

text: In the pilot for the comedy television series "Fried", Dhillon's character was called Anal. In the main series the character's name is Amara, and she is from a wealthy family, having got a job in a fried chicken shop at the behest of her family who want her to appreciate the value of money.


title: Mandeep Dhillon

text: Dhillon's performance as Meena in the stage adaptation of "Anita and Me", which played at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre and then the Theatre Royal Stratford East in 2015, was praised by Dominic Cavendish in "The Daily Telegraph" as one of the "spirited performances" given by the main cast, although he felt that the production needed further development. Michael Billington in "The Guardian" had a similar view, giving the play a middle-rated 3 stars out of 5, whilst highlighting the "good work" done by Mandeep Dhillon and her co-star Jalleh Alizadeh.


title: Mandeep Dhillon

text: She auditioned for Ricky Gervais's film "" (2016) and won the part of a receptionist after Gervais asked her what she thought of the David Brent character and she replied "he scares me." She appeared in the British romantic comedy film "Finding Fatimah" in 2017. Umbreen Ali in "Asian Image" gave the movie a positive review, saying that "the charismatic Nayna [played by Dhillon] delivers her dialogue with perfectly projected dramatic nuance." In 2017, Dhillon played the lead role as Krishna in the short film "Garfield" and won the "Actor Award" at Underwire Film Festival.


title: Mandeep Dhillon

text: Dhillon played the main character Constable Lizbyet Corwi in the four part BBC Drama "The City and the City" in 2018, alongside David Morrissey who played her police partner, Inspector Tyador Borlú. Dhillon said in a 2018 interview that she enjoyed the role and working with Morrissey, one of the reasons being that "To actually play a lead, a female lead, and to have a male cop and a female cop, and there not be any sexual tension ... we could have bants and have that good friendship vibe." She also spoke positively of her perception that the show used colour blind casting. "The Evening Standard" praised Dhillon's performance, and said that she "[stood out] as somehow simultaneously plucky and deadpan".


title: Mandeep Dhillon

text: In the black comedy series "After Life" (2019–present), Dhillon portrays Sandy, a journalist working for Tony, played by the show's creator, Gervais. The two characters form what "Wonderland Magazine" called "a compassionate and nurturing bond". The pair had previously worked together on "David Brent: Life on the Road", and according to her account, he approached her at a Christmas Party and told her that he had written the role in "After Life" with her in mind. In 2019, she was in the films "" as Lieutenant Garan, and "Songbird", a film, like "A Wonderful Christmas Time", that was directed by Jamie Adams and included improvisation. The reviewer of "Songbird" in the "Oxford Times" lamented that Dhillon and the other actors were "talented performers ... saddled with such negligible roles". She played a "cat cleric" that worships the character Dave Lister in "" (2020). During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, Dhillon recorded a self-written monologue titled "Letter to My Future Self" in support of an initiative to raise money for the benevolent fund of the actors' union Equity, and starred in a short online film, "The Forgotten C", based on the true story of a woman who died from lung cancer during the UK lockdown.


title: Mandeep Dhillon

text: On radio, she participated in "Newsjack" in 2017, a show that features the cast performing material sent in by the public, and has appeared in leading roles in BBC Radio 4 dramas "The Beard" (2018) and "Freezing to Death (and How to Avoid It)" (2020).


title: Jan Žižka

text: Jan Žižka z Trocnova a Kalicha (; 1360 – 11 October 1424) was a Czech general – a contemporary and follower of Jan Hus and a Radical Hussite who led the Taborites. Žižka was a successful military leader and is now a Czech national hero. He was nicknamed "One-eyed Žižka", having lost one and then both eyes. Jan Žižka led Hussite forces against three crusades and never lost a single battle despite being completely blind in his last stages of life.


title: Jan Žižka

text: He was born in the small village of Trocnov in the Kingdom of Bohemia into a family from the Czech nobility. According to Piccolomini's "Historia Bohemica", he had some connections with the royal court from his youth, and later held the office of Chamberlain to Queen Sofia of Bavaria. He fought in the Battle of Grunwald (15 July 1410), where he defended Radzyń against the Teutonic Order. Later he played a prominent role in the civil wars in Bohemia. He led the Hussites during the first important clashes of this conflict in the Battle of Sudoměř (1420) and in the Battle of Vítkov Hill (1420). In the Battle of Kutná Hora (1421) he defeated the army of the Holy Roman Empire and the Hungarian Kingdom. The effectiveness of his field artillery against the royal cavalry in this battle made it a successful element of Hussite armies.


title: Jan Žižka

text: Žižka's tactics were unorthodox and innovative. In addition to training and equipping his army according to their abilities, he used armored wagons fitted with small cannons and muskets, anticipating the tank of five hundred years later. He exploited geographic features to the full and maintained good discipline in his armies. He had to quickly train peasants to repeatedly face highly trained and armored opponents who usually outnumbered his own troops.


title: Jan Žižka

text: A monument was erected on the Vítkov Hill in Prague to honor Jan Žižka and his victory on this hill in 1420. It is the third largest bronze equestrian statue in the world.


title: Jan Žižka

text: Jan Žižka was born in one of two Meierhofs of the village Trocnov (nowadays part of Borovany in the České Budějovice District). An old legend says that he was born in the forest under an oak growing just next to the fields and little ponds belonging to the Meierhof. Žižka's family belonged to the lower Czech gentry (") but did not own much estate. Little is known of the rest of the family too. Jan Žižka had several siblings but the only names known to historians are brother Jaroslav and sister Anežka. The family had a crayfish in their coat of arms.


title: Jan Žižka

text: The date of Žižka's birth is not known. A document dated 3 April 1378 mentions " (Jan called Zizka of Trocnov) as a witness on a marriage contract. On the basis of this document, it is assumed that Žižka must have been of legal age at this time and was born around 1360. Nevertheless, there is no direct evidence whether Jan Žižka listed on this document was identical with the Hussite general. For example, Czech historian Tomek and his followers supposed it could have been the military leader's father. They argued that if Žižka were adult in 1378, he would be too old to become such an able commander after 1419. Others, such as Šmahel, admitted that even such an age might not have prevented him from successful leadership. Furthermore, historian Petr Čornej notes that "Žižka" was not a family name but a specific nickname that is not attested in any other member of Žižka's family.


title: Jan Žižka

text: In the years 1378-1384, Žižka's name appears on several property documents, which indicate that he was struggling with long-term financial problems. In 1381, Žižka is attested in Prague, in connection with the settlement of the inheritance on the Trocnov estate. It is unclear how to connect this stay with Piccolomini's later report that young Žížka received an education at the Prague royal court. A 1384 document also mentions some Kateřina, a wife of Johannes dictus Zizka. This document states that Žižka sold the field he had once acquired from Kateřina as a dowry. After this date, Žižka's name disappears from historical documents for 20 years and it is generally assumed that he became a mercenary soldier.


title: Jan Žižka

text: Although some of the south Bohemian nobility led by Henry III of Rosenberg took part in various revolts against king Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia at the turn of the 14th and 15th century (the king was even held captive in the Rosenberg's castles of Příběnice and Český Krumlov for a short time), there is no evidence of Žižka's participation in these conflicts. It is supposed that in the early years of the 15th century Jan Žižka already controlled his family property. However, the family probably got into financial problems and started selling parts of their estate. Some sources suggest that Žižka's father took the place of the royal gamekeeper before he died in 1407 near Plzeň and Žižka himself might have been taken into the royal service, too, but the evidence is not clear enough.


title: Jan Žižka

text: However, beginning in 1406, Žižka starts appearing in the black book ("") of the Rosenberg estate as an accused bandit. Unfortunately the reasons of this change are not known, but the fact that he declared open hostility to Henry of Rosenberg and also to the city of Budějovice and their allies suggests that he was trying to fight some injustice against his house and to enforce some of his rights in this way. Šmahel assigns the boom of south-Bohemian banditism in that time to the continual growth of the estates of the rich house of Rosenberg (and of the church estates too) and simultaneous indebtedness and pauperization of the lower gentry together with the thirst for land among their subjects, which resulted into big social tension in the area. These circumstances may have eventually forced Žižka to leave his residence in Trocnov. Historian Tomek also speculated that he might have been forcibly deprived of his small hereditary property, which was not uncommon in that time. As a result he started leading the life of an outlaw, partly supported by the local nobleman Valkoun.


title: Jan Žižka

text: In any case, violence broke out and Žižka tried to harm his enemies on any possible occasion, using as his allies also local bandits led by Matěj Vůdce (Matthew the Leader) who were seeking only financial profit. The group camped in various places, including a farm in the village of Sedlo (nowadays part of Číměř), a mill not far from Lomnice nad Lužnicí, at a house of an unknown woman in Hlavatce or simply in the woods. The bandits were mugging merchants and other people travelling on south Bohemian highways. In that time mugging, holding people for ransom and attacking small towns were the main source of the group's income who used it for their living and to pay spies and temporary hosts. Žižka took part in these raids and at least one murder of a man belonging to the cohort of Henry of Rosenberg. Žižka and the bandits were also in touch with some more powerful enemies of Henry of Rosenberg. For example in 1408 Žižka took part in preparations for conquering the castle Hus near Prachatice (whose burgrave was Mikuláš of Hus who later became one of first commandants in Žižka's army in the beginning of the Hussite Wars). He was also dealing with Aleš of Bítov about his help in an attempt to conquer the towns of Nové Hrady and Třeboň. Another nobleman asking his help was Erhart of Kunštát who wanted to attempt the stronghold of Slověnice.


title: Jan Žižka

text: Some of Žižka's companions were eventually captured, tortured, and executed, including Matěj Vůdce. Žižka's situation changed on 25 of April 1409 when king Wenceslas agreed that his conflict with the city of Budějovice should be finished and on 27 June he pardoned him (calling him "faithful and beloved") by a special letter. At the same time he ordered the city council of Budějovice to do so too. This suggests that the king admitted that Žižka was at least partly right in the conflict.


title: Jan Žižka

text: According to the Polish chronicler Jan Długosz, in the following year (1410) Žižka served as a mercenary during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. It is assumed that he was on the winning Polish-Lithuanian side of the Battle of Grunwald, also called the 1st Battle of Tannenberg, one of the largest battles in Medieval Europe. It was fought on 15 July 1410, and the alliance of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respectively by King of Poland Jogaila (Władysław II Jagiełło) and Grand Duke Vytautas (Witold), decisively defeated the Teutonic Knights, led by Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen. Most of the Teutonic Knights' leadership were killed or taken prisoner. The Knights never recovered their former power and the financial burden of war reparations caused internal conflicts and an economic downturn in their lands. The battle shifted the balance of power in Eastern Europe. Długosz reports that after the battle, Žižka was serving in the garrison of the town of Radzyń.


title: Jan Žižka

text: The place of Žižka's activity in the years 1411-1419 is not entirely certain. According to a later report by Lukáš Pražský (from 1527), Žižka entered the service of Sophia of Bavaria, the wife of Wenceslas IV, as her chamberlain, and he accompanied her when she was attending the preachings of Jan Hus. Given that Hus went to the South Bohemian exile in 1413, this report must relate to the years 1411-1412. According to the Hussite historian Vavřinec z Březové (Vavřinec of Březová), who knew Žižka personally and referred to the events of 1419, the future Hussite leader then served as a "familiaris regis Bohemiae" (literally "a family member of the Bohemian king", i.e. a king's courtier). This is confirmed by later chronicles from the 16th century, which specifically highlight the exceptional position that Žižka had among the servants of Wenceslas IV. It is possible that Žižka took part in the unsuccessful war of the Polish king against the Teutonic Knights in 1414, but concrete evidence is lacking. However, it is interesting that just one month after the end of this war campaign, on 7 November 1414, a house in Na Příkopě street in Prague was bought by the one-eyed royal "doorman" Janek "(Janek portulanus regius)". Czech historiography generally accepts that this "doorman" was identical with Žižka. On 27 May 1416, the "doorman" Janek sells this house and buys another, smaller one in the Old Town.


title: Jan Žižka

text: Jan Žižka made his first significant mark in history on 30 July 1419 in Prague, when he joined a Hussite procession led by the priest Jan Želivský. The crowd gathered in front of the New Town hall and demanded the release of several Hussites held in prison. When these demands were rejected by the councilors, the crowd stormed the town hall and threw the councilors out of the windows. This so-called First Defenestration of Prague is regarded as the beginning of the Hussite revolution. Wenceslas IV died 17 days after hearing about these events, likely from suffering a heart attack. The Hussites subsequently seized the city and expelled all their opponents.


title: Jan Žižka

text: On 13 November 1419 a temporary armistice was concluded between the partisans of King Sigismund, the last Emperor of the House of Luxemburg and the citizens of Prague. Žižka disapproved of this compromise and left Prague for Plzeň, one of the richest cities of the kingdom with his followers, but soon left that city. On 25 March 1420 he defeated the partisans of Sigismund at Sudoměř, the first pitched battle of the Hussite wars. He later arrived at Tábor, the then-recently established stronghold of the Hussite movement. The ecclesiastical organization of Tabor had a somewhat puritanical character with a very strict military discipline being instituted though the government was established on a thoroughly democratic basis. Žižka took a large part in the organization of the new military community and became one of the four captains of the people ("hejtman") who were at its head.


title: Jan Žižka

text: Žižka helped develop tactics of using wagon forts, called "vozová hradba" in Czech or "Wagenburg" by the Germans, as mobile fortifications. When the Hussite army faced a numerically superior opponent they prepared carts for the battle by forming them into squares or circles. The carts were joined wheel to wheel by chains and positioned aslant, with their corners attached to each other, so that horses could be harnessed to them quickly, if necessary. In front of this wall of carts a ditch was dug by camp followers. The crew of each cart consisted of 16–22 soldiers: 4–8 crossbowmen, 2 handgunners, 6–8 soldiers equipped with pikes or flails (the flail was the Hussite "national weapon"), 2 shield carriers and 2 drivers.


title: Jan Žižka

text: The Hussites' battle consisted of two stages, the first defensive, the second an offensive counterattack. In the first stage the army placed the carts near the enemy army and by means of artillery fire provoked the enemy into battle. The artillery would usually inflict heavy casualties at close range.


title: Jan Žižka

text: In order to avoid more losses, the enemy knights finally attacked. Then the infantry hidden behind the carts used firearms and crossbows to ward off the attack, weakening the enemy. The shooters aimed first at the horses, depriving the cavalry of its main advantage. Many of the knights died as their horses were shot and they fell.


title: Jan Žižka

text: As soon as the enemy's morale was lowered, the second stage, an offensive counterattack, began. The infantry and the cavalry burst out from behind the carts striking violently at the enemy, mostly from the flanks. While fighting on the flanks and being shelled from the carts the enemy was not able to put up much resistance. They were forced to withdraw, leaving behind dismounted knights in heavy armor who were unable to escape the battlefield. The enemy armies suffered heavy losses and the Hussites soon had the reputation of not taking captives.


title: Jan Žižka

text: The Hussite wars also marked the earliest successful use of pistols on the battlefield and Žižka was an innovator in the use of gunpowder. He was the first European commander to maneuver on the field with cannon of medium caliber mounted on carts in between the wagons. The Czechs called the handgun a "píšťala", and anti-infantry field guns "houfnice", from which the English words "pistol" and "howitzer" have been derived. The Germans had just started corning gunpowder, making it suitable for use in smaller, tactical weapons. A musketeer on an open field armed with only a single-shot weapon was no match for a charging knight on a horse; however, from behind a castle wall, or from within the enclosure of the wagenburg, massed and disciplined gunmen could use the handgun to its greatest potential. From his experiences at the Battle of Grunwald, Žižka knew exactly how his enemies would attack, and he found new ways to defeat forces numerically superior to his own.


title: Jan Žižka

text: The Hussite Wars were fought to win recognition of faith of the Hussites, the forerunners of the Protestant Reformation, and though predominantly a religious movement, it was also propelled by social issues and strengthened Czech national awareness. The Catholic Church deemed Hus's teachings heretical. He was excommunicated in 1411, condemned by the Council of Constance, and burned at the stake in 1415. The wars proper began in July 1419, with the First Defenestration of Prague, when protesting Hussites threw the town councillors and the judge out the windows of the New Town Hall. It has been reputed that King Wenceslaus IV was so stunned by the defenestration that he died from the shock shortly afterward on 16 August 1419. This led to the armed conflict in which Žižka was to earn his fame.


title: Jan Žižka

text: King Sigismund was king of Hungary but only the titular king of Bohemia. Sigismund had acquired a claim on the Bohemian crown, though it was then in question (and remained so till much later) whether Bohemia was a hereditary or an elective monarchy, especially as the line through which Sigismund claimed the throne had accepted that the Kingdom of Bohemia was an elective monarchy elected by the nobles, and thus the regent of the kingdom (Čeněk of Wartenberg) also explicitly stated that Sigismund had not been elected as reason for Sigismund's claim to not be accepted. A firm adherent of the Church of Rome, Sigismund was successful in obtaining aid from Pope Martin V, who issued a bull on 17 March 1420 which proclaimed a crusade “for the destruction of the John Wycliffe, Hussites and all other heretics in Bohemia". Sigismund and many German princes arrived before the walls of Prague on 30 June at the head of a vast army of crusaders from all parts of Europe, largely consisting of adventurers attracted by the possibility of pillage. They immediately began a siege of the city and Žižka was compelled to defend the Kingdom. He was a pragmatist in developing his military strategy. His army consisted of farmers and peasants, lacking both the funds and equipment to be classic soldiers with sword, horse and armor, so Žižka used their farmers' skills to boost their military efficiency. He adapted the tools of agriculture into the tools of war. The agricultural flail was transformed into the flail.


title: Jan Žižka

text: Menaced by Sigismund, the citizens of Prague entreated the Taborites for assistance. Led by Žižka and their other captains, the Taborites set out to take part in the defence of the capital. At Prague, Žižka and his men took up a strong position on the hill just outside the city known as the Vítkov, now in Žižkov, a district of Prague named after the battle in his honour. On 14 July the armies of Sigismund made a general attack. A strong German Crusader-led force assaulted the position on the Vítkov, the stronghold that secured the Hussite communications with the open country. Thanks to Žižka's personal leadership, the attack was thrown back and the forces of Sigismund abandoned the siege. On August 22 the Taborites left Prague and returned to Tábor. Though Sigismund had retired from Prague, the castles of Vyšehrad and Hradčany remained in possession of his troops. The citizens of Prague laid siege to the Vyšehrad (see Battle of Vyšehrad), and towards the end of October the garrison was on the point of capitulating through famine. Sigismund attempted to relieve the fortress, but was decisively defeated by the Hussites on November 1 near the village of Pankrác. The castles of Vyšehrad and Hradčany now capitulated, and shortly afterwards almost all Bohemia fell into the hands of the Hussites.


title: Jan Žižka

text: Žižka now engaged in constant warfare with the partisans of Sigismund, particularly with the powerful Romanist, Oldřich II of Rožmberk. Through this struggle, the Hussites obtained possession of the greater part of Bohemia from Sigismund. It was proposed to elect the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas to the throne. However, the estates of Bohemia and Moravia met at Čáslav on 1 June 1421 and decided to appoint a provisional government, consisting of twenty members chosen from all the political and religious parties of the country. Žižka, who took part in the deliberations at Čáslav, was elected as one of the two representatives of Tábor.


title: Jan Žižka

text: Žižka summarily suppressed some disturbances on the part of a fanatical sect called the Adamites. He then continued his campaigns against the Romanists and the adherents of Sigismund, and having captured and rebuilt a small castle near Litoměřice (Leitmeritz) he retained possession of it, the only reward for his great services that he ever received or claimed. According to the Hussite custom he gave the Biblical name of "Chalice" (Kalich in Czech) to this new possession, and henceforth adopted the signature of "Žižka of the Chalice". Jan Žižka did not capture any more properties for himself during the Hussite Wars. This fact was unusual for the time and distinguished Žižka from his contemporaries.


title: Jan Žižka

text: Later that year he was severely wounded while besieging the castle of Rábí, and lost the use of his remaining eye. Though now totally blind, he continued to command the armies of Tábor.


title: Jan Žižka

text: At the end of 1421, Sigismund again attempted to subdue Bohemia and gained possession of the important town of Kutná Hora. The mainly German citizens of the city killed a few of the Hussites in the town and closed the city to Žižka, whose armies were camped outside the city walls. Sigismund's armies arrived and surrounded the Hussites. Žižka was at the head of the united armies of Tábor and Prague and though trapped managed to execute what some historians call the first mobile artillery manoeuver in history. Žižka broke through the enemy lines and retreated to Kolín, but having received reinforcements he attacked and defeated Sigismund's unsuspecting army at the village of Nebovidy between Kolín and Kutná Hora on 6 January 1422. Sigismund lost 12,000 men and only escaped himself by rapid flight. Sigismund's forces made a last stand at Battle of Deutschbrod (Německý Brod) on 10 January, but the city was stormed by the Czechs, and contrary to Žižka's orders, its defenders were put to the sword.


title: Jan Žižka

text: Early in 1423, internal dissent among the Hussites led to civil war. Žižka, as leader of the Taborites, defeated the men of Prague and the Utraquist nobles at Hořice on 20 April. Shortly afterwards came news that a new crusade against Bohemia was being prepared. This induced the Hussites to conclude an armistice at Konopiště on 24 June. As soon as the crusaders had dispersed, internal dissent broke out anew. During his temporary rule over Bohemia, Prince Sigismund Korybut of Lithuania had appointed Bořek, the lord of Miletínek, governor of the city of Hradec Králové. Bořek belonged to a moderate Hussite faction, the Utraquist party. After the departure of Sigismund Korybut, the city of Hradec Králové refused to recognize Bořek as its ruler, due to the democratic party gaining the upper hand. They called Žižka to its aid. He acceded to the demand and defeated the Utraquists under Bořek at the farm of Strachov (in the area of today's Kukleny within Hradec Králové) on 4 August 1423.


title: Jan Žižka

text: Žižka now attempted to invade Hungary, which was under the rule of his old enemy King Sigismund. Though this Hungarian campaign was unsuccessful owing to the great superiority of the Hungarians, it ranks among the greatest military exploits of Žižka, on account of the skill he displayed in retreat. In 1424, civil war having again broken out in Bohemia, Žižka decisively defeated the "Praguers" and Utraquist nobles at Skalice on 6 January, and at Malešov on 7 June. In September, he marched on Prague. On the 14th of that month, peace was concluded between the Hussite parties through the influence of John of Rokycany, afterwards Utraquist archbishop of Prague. It was agreed that the now reunited Hussites should attack Moravia, part of which was still held by Sigismund's partisans, and that Žižka should be the leader in this campaign. However, he died of the plague at Přibyslav on 11 October 1424 on the Moravian frontier. According to chronicler Piccolomini, Žižka's dying wish was to have his skin used to make drums so that he might continue to lead his troops even after death. Žižka was so highly regarded that when he died, his soldiers called themselves the Orphans ("sirotci") because they felt as if they had lost their father. His enemies said that "The one whom no mortal hand could destroy was extinguished by the finger of God."


title: Jan Žižka

text: Žižka appears as one of the main characters in the "Armed Garden" graphic novella ("The Armed Garden and Other Stories") by David B. He is the hero of a novel by George Sand, of a German epic by


title: Jan Žižka

text: Jan Žižka is one of the main characters in the manga "Dívčí Válka" (also known as "Otome Sensou" or "Battle of the Maidens"), drawn and written by artist Kouichi Ohnishi.


title: Jan Žižka

text: Jan Žižka is a central figure of the "Hussite Revolutionary Trilogy" directed by Otakar Vávra. The films starred Zdeněk Štěpánek as Žižka. It consists of "Jan Hus", "Jan Žižka" and "Against All". Jan Žižka appeared in a 1960 Polish film "Knights of the Teutonic Order". He is played by Tadeusz Schmidt. In 1968 Czechoslovak film "Na Žižkově válečném voze", Žižka was played by Ilja Prachař.


title: Jan Žižka

text: 2013 animated film "The Hussites" is set during Hussite wars. Protagonist of the film Záboj serves as film's version of Jan Žižka.


title: Jan Žižka

text: A film "Jan Žižka" by director Petr Jákl was released in 2022. It follows Jan Žižka during his youth. It is the most expensive Czech film ever made. Žižka was portrayed by Ben Foster.


title: Jan Žižka

text: "Age of Empires III" features Hussite wagons as a unit used by Germans. Unit infobox directly mentions Žižka with the anglicized version of his name: John Zizka.


title: Jan Žižka

text: Early in 1917 was created 3rd Czechoslovak Rifle Regiment of the Czechoslovak legions in Russia and named after "Jan Žižka z Trocnova".


title: Jan Žižka

text: During World War II a number of military units were named after Jan Žižka. One of them, the 1st Czechoslovak Partisan Brigade of Jan Žižka, was among the first anti-Nazi guerrilla units in occupied Czechoslovakia. A Yugoslav partisan brigade of the same name was formed in western Slavonia on 26 October 1943 and operated in areas inhabited by a large Czech and Slovak minority.


title: Methodology

text: In its most common sense, methodology is the study of research methods. However, the term can also refer to the methods themselves or to the philosophical discussion of associated background assumptions. A method is a structured procedure for bringing about a certain goal. In the context of research, this goal is usually to discover new knowledge or to verify pre-existing knowledge claims. This normally involves various steps, like choosing a sample, collecting data from this sample, and interpreting this data. The study of methods involves a detailed description and analysis of these processes. It includes evaluative aspects by comparing different methods to assess their advantages and disadvantages relative to different research goals and situations. This way, a methodology can help make the research process efficient and reliable by guiding researchers on which method to employ at each step. These descriptions and evaluations of methods often depend on philosophical background assumptions. The assumptions are about issues like how the studied phenomena are to be conceptualized, what constitutes evidence for or against them, and what the general goal of research is. When understood in the widest sense, methodology also includes the discussion of these more abstract issues.


title: Methodology

text: The most discussed distinction among types of methodologies is between the quantitative and the qualitative approach. Quantitative research is the main methodology of the natural sciences. It uses precise numerical measurements, usually with the goal of finding universal laws that can be utilized to make predictions about future events. Qualitative research is more characteristic of the social sciences and gives less prominence to exact numerical measurements. It is often concerned with human behavior and experience. It aims more at an in-depth understanding of the meaning of the studied phenomena and less at universal and predictive laws. The sample size in qualitative research is usually small in comparison to quantitative research. Many discussions in methodology concern the question of whether the quantitative approach is superior, especially whether it is adequate when applied to the social domain. In recent decades, many social scientists have started using mixed-methods research, which combines both methodologies. Another classification distinguishes between substantive and formal methodologies. Important in this regard is whether the research seeks particular insights in one specific area or more general insights governing many different fields. The methodological outlook known as "proceduralism" is controversial and holds that the goal of methodology is to precisely codify rules that automatically lead to good research if followed exactly, similar to a recipe.


title: Methodology

text: Many theorists have argued that methodology is important for various issues. For example, a proper understanding of it may help researchers arrive at reliable theories in an efficient manner. In some cases, the same factual material can even lead to very different conclusions depending on the chosen methodology. Interest in methodology has risen significantly in the 20th century. One reason for this may be that many global problems faced by contemporary society can only be solved through interdisciplinary work. Methodological advances aid such collaborative efforts by making it easier for researchers from one field to understand how their peers from another field arrive at knowledge. Nonetheless, many criticisms of methodology have also been voiced. Many objections are directed at specific methodological outlooks, for example, at outlooks that give primacy to quantitative research. A few criticisms are more wide-ranging in that they reject methodology as a discipline in general. In this regard, some critics hold that it is useless based on the claim that what matters is the usage of methods but not studying them. More severe criticisms see methodology as harmful, for example, because reflection on methods may lead to more mistakes than blindly following them or because the focus on method restricts the freedom and creativity of researchers.


title: Methodology

text: Methodology is relevant to various fields. The dominant methodology in the natural sciences is called the scientific method. It includes steps like observation, the formulation of a hypothesis, conducting an experiment designed for this specific hypothesis, comparing the measurements to the expected results, and publishing these findings. Common methods found in the social sciences are surveys, interviews, focus groups, and the nominal group technique. Surveys usually involve a large sample size and use questionnaires with closed questions. Interviews normally include some open questions. For structured interviews, all questions are pre-planned while unstructured interviews require the moderator to improvise and ask unplanned questions based on the flow of the interview. Focus groups involve a group interview of a small number of demographically similar people and usually include open discussions as well. The nominal group technique is a slight variation of focus groups that organizes the group exchange in a more structured manner. This helps to minimize certain group effects that may influence how the participants respond. Philosophical methodology belongs to metaphilosophy and discusses methods like methodological skepticism, the phenomenological method, conceptual analysis, and thought experiments. In mathematics, synthetic methods proceed from the known to the unknown while analytic methods trace a path from the unknown to the known. Statistics is concerned with methods used to analyze, interpret, and present data.


title: Methodology

text: The term "methodology" is associated with a variety of meanings. In its most common usage, it refers either to a method, to the field of inquiry studying methods, or to philosophical discussions of background assumptions involved in these processes. Some researchers distinguish methods from methodologies by holding that methods are modes of data collection while methodologies are more general research strategies that determine how to conduct a research project. In this sense, methodologies include various theoretical commitments about the intended outcomes of the investigation.


title: Methodology

text: The term "methodology" is sometimes used as a synonym for the term "method". A method is a way of reaching some predefined goal. It is a planned and structured procedure for solving a theoretical or practical problem. In this regard, methods stand in contrast to free and unstructured approaches to problem-solving. For example, descriptive statistics is a method of data analysis, radiocarbon dating is a method of determining the age of organic objects, sautéing is a method of cooking, and project-based learning is an educational method. The term "technique" is often used as a synonym both in the academic and the everyday discourse. Methods usually involve a clearly defined series of decisions and actions to be used under certain circumstances. The goal of following the steps of a method is to bring about the result promised by it. In the context of inquiry, methods may be defined as systems of rules and procedures to discover regularities of nature, society, and thought. In this sense, methodology can refer to procedures used to arrive at new knowledge or to techniques of verifying and falsifying pre-existing knowledge claims. This encompasses various issues pertaining both to the collection of data and their analysis. Concerning the collection, it involves the problem of sampling and of how to go about the data collection itself, like surveys, interviews, or observation. There are also numerous methods of how the collected data can be analyzed using statistics or other ways of interpreting it to extract interesting conclusions.


title: Methodology

text: However, many theorists emphasize the differences between the terms "method" and "methodology". In this regard, methodology may be defined as "the study or description of methods" or as "the analysis of the principles of methods, rules, and postulates employed by a discipline". This study or analysis involves uncovering assumptions and practices associated with the different methods and a detailed description of research designs and hypothesis testing. It also includes evaluative aspects: forms of data collection, measurement strategies, and ways to analyze data are compared and their advantages and disadvantages relative to different research goals and situations are assessed. In this regard, methodology provides the skills, knowledge, and practical guidance needed to conduct scientific research in an efficient manner. It acts as a guideline for various decisions researchers need to take in the scientific process.


title: Methodology

text: Methodology can be understood as the middle ground between concrete particular methods and the abstract and general issues discussed by the philosophy of science. In this regard, methodology comes after formulating a research question and helps the researchers decide what methods to use in the process. For example, methodology should assist the researcher in deciding why one method of sampling is preferable to another in a particular case or which form of data analysis is likely to bring the best results. Methodology achieves this by explaining, evaluating and justifying methods. Just as there are different methods, there are also different methodologies. Different methodologies provide different approaches to how methods are evaluated and explained and may thus make different suggestions on what method to use in a particular case.


title: Methodology

text: According to Aleksandr Georgievich Spirkin, "[a] methodology is a system of principles and general ways of organising and structuring theoretical and practical activity, and also the theory of this system". Helen Kara defines methodology as "a contextual framework for research, a coherent and logical scheme based on views, beliefs, and values, that guides the choices researchers make". Ginny E. Garcia and Dudley L. Poston understand methodology either as a complex body of rules and postulates guiding research or as the analysis of such rules and procedures. As a body of rules and postulates, a methodology defines the subject of analysis as well as the conceptual tools used by the analysis and the limits of the analysis. Research projects are usually governed by a structured procedure known as the research process. The goal of this process is given by a research question, which determines what kind of information one intends to acquire.


title: Methodology

text: Some theorists prefer an even wider understanding of methodology that involves not just the description, comparison, and evaluation of methods but includes additionally more general philosophical issues. One reason for this wider approach is that discussions of when to use which method often take various background assumptions for granted, for example, concerning the goal and nature of research. These assumptions can at times play an important role concerning which method to choose and how to follow it. For example, Thomas Kuhn argues in his "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" that sciences operate within a framework or a paradigm that determines which questions are asked and what counts as good science. This concerns philosophical disagreements both about how to conceptualize the phenomena studied, what constitutes evidence for and against them, and what the general goal of researching them is. So in this wider sense, methodology overlaps with philosophy by making these assumptions explicit and presenting arguments for and against them. According to C. S. Herrman, a good methodology clarifies the structure of the data to be analyzed and helps the researchers see the phenomena in a new light. In this regard, a methodology is similar to a paradigm. A similar view is defended by Spirkin, who holds that a central aspect of every methodology is the world view that comes with it.


title: Methodology

text: The discussion of background assumptions can include metaphysical and ontological issues in cases where they have important implications for the proper research methodology. For example, a realist perspective considering the observed phenomena as an external and independent reality is often associated with an emphasis on empirical data collection and a more distanced and objective attitude. Idealists, on the other hand, hold that external reality is not fully independent of the mind and tend, therefore, to include more subjective tendencies in the research process as well.


title: Methodology

text: For the quantitative approach, philosophical debates in methodology include the distinction between the inductive and the hypothetico-deductive interpretation of the scientific method. For qualitative research, many basic assumptions are tied to philosophical positions such as hermeneutics, pragmatism, Marxism, critical theory, and postmodernism. According to Kuhn, an important factor in such debates is that the different paradigms are incommensurable. This means that there is no overarching framework to assess the conflicting theoretical and methodological assumptions. This critique puts into question various presumptions of the quantitative approach associated with scientific progress based on the steady accumulation of data.


title: Methodology

text: Other discussions of abstract theoretical issues in the philosophy of science are also sometimes included. This can involve questions like how and whether scientific research differs from fictional writing as well as whether research studies objective facts rather than constructing the phenomena it claims to study. In the latter sense, some methodologists have even claimed that the goal of science is less to represent a pre-existing reality and more to bring about some kind of social change in favor of repressed groups in society.


title: Methodology

text: Viknesh Andiappan and Yoke Kin Wan use the field of process systems engineering to distinguish the term "methodology" from the closely related terms "approach", "method", "procedure", and "technique". On their view, "approach" is the most general term. It can be defined as "a way or direction used to address a problem based on a set of assumptions". An example is the difference between hierarchical approaches, which consider one task at a time in a hierarchical manner, and concurrent approaches, which consider them all simultaneously. Methodologies are a little more specific. They are general strategies needed to realize an approach and may be understood as guidelines for how to make choices. Often the term "framework" is used as a synonym. A method is a still more specific way of practically implementing the approach. Methodologies provide the guidelines that help researchers decide which method to follow. The method itself may be understood as a sequence of techniques. A technique is a step taken that can be observed and measured. Each technique has some immediate result. The whole sequence of steps is termed a "procedure". A similar but less complex characterization is sometimes found in the field of language teaching, where the teaching process may be described through a three-level conceptualization based on "approach", "method", and "technique".


title: Methodology

text: One question concerning the definition of methodology is whether it should be understood as a descriptive or a normative discipline. The key difference in this regard is whether methodology just provides a value-neutral description of methods or what scientists actually do. Many methodologists practice their craft in a normative sense, meaning that they express clear opinions about the advantages and disadvantages of different methods. In this regard, methodology is not just about what researchers "actually do" but about what they "ought to do" or how to perform "good" research.


title: Methodology

text: Theorists often distinguish various general types or approaches to methodology. The most influential classification contrasts quantitative and qualitative methodology.


title: Methodology

text: Quantitative research is closely associated with the natural sciences. It is based on precise numerical measurements, which are then used to arrive at exact general laws. This precision is also reflected in the goal of making predictions that can later be verified by other researchers. Examples of quantitative research include physicists at the Large Hadron Collider measuring the mass of newly created particles and positive psychologists conducting an online survey to determine the correlation between income and self-assessed well-being.


title: Methodology

text: Qualitative research is characterized in various ways in the academic literature but there are very few precise definitions of the term. It is often used in contrast to quantitative research for forms of study that do not quantify their subject matter numerically. However, the distinction between these two types is not always obvious and various theorists have argued that it should be understood as a continuum and not as a dichotomy. A lot of qualitative research is concerned with some form of human experience or behavior, in which case it tends to focus on a few individuals and their in-depth understanding of the meaning of the studied phenomena. Examples of the qualitative method are a market researcher conducting a focus group in order to learn how people react to a new product or a medical researcher performing an unstructured in-depth interview with a participant from a new experimental therapy to assess its potential benefits and drawbacks. Qualitative research is frequently employed in fields where the pre-existing knowledge is inadequate. This way, it is possible to get a first impression of the field and potential theories, thus paving the way for investigating the issue in further studies.


title: Methodology

text: Quantitative methods dominate in the natural sciences but both methodologies are used in the social sciences. Some social scientists focus mostly on one method while others try to investigate the same phenomenon using a variety of different methods. It is central to both approaches how the group of individuals used for the data collection is selected. This process is known as sampling. It involves the selection of a subset of individuals or phenomena to be measured. Important in this regard is that the selected samples are representative of the whole population, i.e. that no significant biases were involved when choosing. If this is not the case, the data collected does not reflect what the population as a whole is like. This affects generalizations and predictions drawn from the biased data. The number of individuals selected is called the "sample size". For qualitative research, the sample size is usually rather small, while quantitative research tends to focus on big groups and collecting a lot of data. After the collection, the data needs to be analyzed and interpreted to arrive at interesting conclusions that pertain directly to the research question. This way, the wealth of information obtained is summarized and thus made more accessible to others. Especially in the case of quantitative research, this often involves the application of some form of statistics to make sense of the numerous individual measurements.


title: Methodology

text: Many discussions in the history of methodology center around the quantitative methods used by the natural sciences. A central question in this regard is to what extent they can be applied to other fields, like the social sciences and history. The success of the natural sciences was often seen as an indication of the superiority of the quantitative methodology and used as an argument to apply this approach to other fields as well. However, this outlook has been put into question in the more recent methodological discourse. In this regard, it is often argued that the paradigm of the natural sciences is a one-sided development of reason, which is not equally well suited to all areas of inquiry. The divide between quantitative and qualitative methods in the social sciences is one consequence of this criticism.


title: Methodology

text: Which method is more appropriate often depends on the goal of the research. For example, quantitative methods usually excel for evaluating preconceived hypotheses that can be clearly formulated and measured. Qualitative methods, on the other hand, can be used to study complex individual issues, often with the goal of formulating new hypotheses. This is especially relevant when the existing knowledge of the subject is inadequate. Important advantages of quantitative methods include precision and reliability. However, they have often difficulties in studying very complex phenomena that are commonly of interest to the social sciences. Additional problems can arise when the data is misinterpreted to defend conclusions that are not directly supported by the measurements themselves. In recent decades, many researchers in the social sciences have started combining both methodologies. This is known as mixed-methods research. A central motivation for this is that the two approaches can complement each other in various ways: some issues are ignored or too difficult to study with one methodology and are better approached with the other. In other cases, both approaches are applied to the same issue to produce more comprehensive and well-rounded results.


title: Methodology

text: Qualitative and quantitative research are often associated with different research paradigms and background assumptions. Qualitative researchers often use an interpretive or critical approach while quantitative researchers tend to prefer a positivistic approach. Important disagreements between these approaches concern the role of objectivity and hard empirical data as well as the research goal of predictive success rather than in-depth understanding or social change.


title: Methodology

text: Various other classifications have been proposed. One distinguishes between substantive and formal methodologies. Substantive methodologies tend to focus on one specific area of inquiry. The findings are initially restricted to this specific field but may be transferrable to other areas of inquiry. Formal methodologies, on the other hand, are based on a variety of studies and try to arrive at more general principles applying to different fields. They may also give particular prominence to the analysis of the language of science and the formal structure of scientific explanation. A closely related classification distinguishes between philosophical, general scientific, and special scientific methods.


title: Methodology

text: One type of methodological outlook is called "proceduralism". According to it, the goal of methodology is to boil down the research process to a simple set of rules or a recipe that automatically leads to good research if followed precisely. However, it has been argued that, while this ideal may be acceptable for some forms of quantitative research, it fails for qualitative research. One argument for this position is based on the claim that research is not a technique but a craft that cannot be achieved by blindly following a method. In this regard, research depends on forms of creativity and improvisation to amount to good science.


title: Methodology

text: Other types include inductive, deductive, and transcendental methods. Inductive methods are common in the empirical sciences and proceed through inductive reasoning from many particular observations to arrive at general conclusions, often in the form of universal laws. Deductive methods, also referred to as axiomatic methods, are often found in formal sciences, such as geometry. They start from a set of self-evident axioms or first principles and use deduction to infer interesting conclusions from these axioms. Transcendental methods are common in Kantian and post-Kantian philosophy. They start with certain particular observations. It is then argued that the observed phenomena can only exist if their conditions of possibility are fulfilled. This way, the researcher may draw general psychological or metaphysical conclusions based on the claim that the phenomenon would not be observable otherwise.


title: Methodology

text: It has been argued that a proper understanding of methodology is important for various issues in the field of research. They include both the problem of conducting efficient and reliable research as well as being able to validate knowledge claims by others. Method is often seen as one of the main factors of scientific progress. This is especially true for the natural sciences where the developments of experimental methods in the 16th and 17th century are often seen as the driving force behind the success and prominence of the natural sciences. In some cases, the choice of methodology may have a severe impact on a research project. The reason is that very different and sometimes even opposite conclusions may follow from the same factual material based on the chosen methodology.


title: Methodology

text: Aleksandr Georgievich Spirkin argues that methodology, when understood in a wide sense, is of great importance since the world presents us with innumerable entities and relations between them. Methods are needed to simplify this complexity and find a way of mastering it. On the theoretical side, this concerns ways of forming true beliefs and solving problems. On the practical side, this concerns skills of influencing nature and dealing with each other. These different methods are usually passed down from one generation to the next. Spirkin holds that the interest in methodology on a more abstract level arose in attempts to formalize these techniques to improve them as well as to make it easier to use them and pass them on. In the field of research, for example, the goal of this process is to find reliable means to acquire knowledge in contrast to mere opinions acquired by unreliable means. In this regard, "methodology is a way of obtaining and building up ... knowledge".


title: Methodology

text: Various theorists have observed that the interest in methodology has risen significantly in the 20th century. This increased interest is reflected not just in academic publications on the subject but also in the institutionalized establishment of training programs focusing specifically on methodology. This phenomenon can be interpreted in different ways. Some see it as a positive indication of the topic's theoretical and practical importance. Others interpret this interest in methodology as an excessive preoccupation that draws time and energy away from doing research on concrete subjects by applying the methods instead of researching them. This ambiguous attitude towards methodology is sometimes even exemplified in the same person. Max Weber, for example, criticized the focus on methodology during his time while making significant contributions to it himself. Spirkin believes that one important reason for this development is that contemporary society faces many global problems. These problems cannot be solved by a single researcher or a single discipline but are in need of collaborative efforts from many fields. Such interdisciplinary undertakings profit a lot from methodological advances, both concerning the ability to understand the methods of the respective fields and in relation to developing more homogeneous methods equally used by all of them.


title: Methodology

text: Most criticism of methodology is directed at one specific form or understanding of it. In such cases, one particular methodological theory is rejected but not methodology at large when understood as a field of research comprising many different theories. In this regard, many objections to methodology focus on the quantitative approach, specifically when it is treated as the only viable approach. Nonetheless, there are also more fundamental criticisms of methodology in general. They are often based on the idea that there is little value to abstract discussions of methods and the reasons cited for and against them. In this regard, it may be argued that what matters is the correct employment of methods and not their meticulous study. Sigmund Freud, for example, compared methodologists to "people who clean their glasses so thoroughly that they never have time to look through them". According to C. Wright Mills, the practice of methodology often degenerates into a "fetishism of method and technique".


title: Methodology

text: Some even hold that methodological reflection is not just a waste of time but actually has negative side effects. Such an argument may be defended by analogy to other skills that work best when the agent focuses only on employing them. In this regard, reflection may interfere with the process and lead to avoidable mistakes. According to an example by Gilbert Ryle, "[w]e run, as a rule, worse, not better, if we think a lot about our feet". A less severe version of this criticism does not reject methodology per se but denies its importance and rejects an intense focus on it. In this regard, methodology has still a limited and subordinate utility but becomes a diversion or even counterproductive by hindering practice when given too much emphasis.