Tom Harrison – författare

The Theory and Practice of Virtue Education offers the reader a comprehensive and authoritative account of both the theoretical and practical complexities of cultivating virtue in education and beyond. The book moves beyond the usual philosophical literature that merely discusses virtue in the abstract, and offers scholarly, research-informed suggestions for practice.Drawn from a highly successful international conference organised by the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues, the chapters in this volume offer a unique insight into the varieties of approaches that leading scholars have identified for putting the learning and nurturing of virtues into practice. Featured are chapters from internationally acclaimed scholars primarily in the fields of philosophy, psychology and education, which are categorised under three headings: philosophical and theoretical foundations for cultivating virtues; developing virtues in practice; and nurturing specific virtues. Beginning with chapters that examine differing theoretical complexities of virtue education, the book then moves on to explore different approaches to nurturing virtue in the classroom and beyond. This practical approach is further evidenced in the final section, where individual virtues are discussed.The Theory and Practice of Virtue Education highlights the theoretical complexity of putting virtue education into practice and, as a result, is of real use to researchers, academics and postgraduates in the fields of education, philosophy, psychology, sociology and theology. It should also be essential reading for educators in character and virtue.

This book focuses on the influence of classical authors on Ben Jonson’s dramaturgy, with particular emphasis on the Greek and Roman playwrights and satirists. It illuminates the interdependence of the aspects of Jonson’s creative personality by considering how classical performance elements, including the Aristophanic ‘Great Idea,’ chorus, Terentian/Plautine performative strategies, and ‘performative’ elements from literary satire, manifest themselves in the structuring and staging of his plays. This fascinating exploration contributes to the ‘performative turn’ in early modern studies by reframing Jonson’s classicism as essential to his dramaturgy as well as his erudition. The book is also a case study for how the early modern education system’s emphasis on imitative-contaminative practices prepared its students, many of whom became professional playwrights, for writing for a theatre that had a similar emphasis on recycling and recombining performative tropes and structures.

This book focuses on the influence of classical authors on Ben Jonson’s dramaturgy, with particular emphasis on the Greek and Roman playwrights and satirists. It illuminates the interdependence of the aspects of Jonson’s creative personality by considering how classical performance elements, including the Aristophanic ‘Great Idea,’ chorus, Terentian/Plautine performative strategies, and ‘performative’ elements from literary satire, manifest themselves in the structuring and staging of his plays. This fascinating exploration contributes to the ‘performative turn’ in early modern studies by reframing Jonson’s classicism as essential to his dramaturgy as well as his erudition. The book is also a case study for how the early modern education system’s emphasis on imitative-contaminative practices prepared its students, many of whom became professional playwrights, for writing for a theatre that had a similar emphasis on recycling and recombining performative tropes and structures.

One of the co-founders of the Mass Observation project, Tom Harrison used many of the then-unpublished records of the organisation to put together this record of people's experiences on the British home front during the bombings of the Second World War- first-hand accounts recorded by people as they lived through the Blitz. Unlike earlier histories of the war, whether propagandist or simply patriotic, Harrisson's version doesn't close its eyes to the terrors and misery of the bombings, nor to the failure of the authorities to alleviate the suffering caused by the raids. Published posthumously in 1976, Living through the Blitz was part of the first wave of revisionism that washed clear the rose-tinting of earlier historians and made the blitz experience comprehensible for future generations.

Like other classical Greek tragedies, Sophocles' Philoctetes is an extraordinarily timely and timeless play. Dramatising the efforts of people who had wronged him to bring the play's hero, Philoctetes, to join the Greek forces in their war against Troy, it traces the moral and emotional development of the young Neoptolemos as he struggles between the values of honesty and deceit, honour and expedience. This is an introduction to the play for students and lay readers. The well focused chapters on Greek theatre and performance, the mythical background, and the literary, intellectual, and political context in which the play was written and first performed illuminate the issues with which the play grapples. Its persuasive analyses of the characters and plot shed light on the play's complexities and ambiguities. All in all, the book makes Sophocles' great play more accessible, enjoyable, and meaningful to modern readers who want to know more about the world of classical Greek tragedy.

Aeschylus' Agamemnon, opening play of the Oresteia trilogy, with its brilliant theatrical effects, is a masterpiece. The revenge plot - a murder - is simple, the language and imagery complex and thrilling. The play features two extraordinary women: the powerful, dissembling queen Clytemnestra and the frenzied prophetess Cassandra. It als features another original Aeschylean creation, the omnipresent helpless chorus, who are forced to bear witness to Agamemnon's path to death. Through the chorus, the action is seen in the problematic context of justice, destiny, and the role of the gods. The play is a serious investigation of man's problematic ethical nature. This detailed study gets the measure of Aeschylus' innovative genius as poet, storyteller and theatrical wizard by setting the play against the rich traditions of archaic poetry from which drama had only recently sprung. It considers the ethical dilemmas of the plot against contemporary fifth-century Athenian religious and political thinking, and its attitude to women. It engages with the play's great influence on later Attic tragedy and then considers Seneca's Roman Agamemnon and some revenge dramas of Elizabethan England.

Teaching Character and Virtue in Schools addresses the contemporary issues of quantification and measurement in educational settings. The authors draw on the research of the Jubilee Centre at the University of Birmingham in order to investigate the concern that the conventional wisdom, sound judgement and professional discretion of teachers is being diminished and control mistakenly given over to administrators, policymakers and inspectors which in turn is negatively effecting pupils’ character development.The books calls for subject competence to be complemented by practical wisdom and good character in teaching staff. It posits that the constituent virtues of good character can be learned and taught, that education is an intrinsically moral enterprise and that character education should be intentional, organised and reflective. The book draws on the Jubilee Centre’s expertise in support of its claims and successfully integrates the fields of educational studies, psychology, sociology, philosophy and theology in its examination of contemporary educational practices and their wider effect on society as a whole. It offers sample lessons as well as a framework for character education in schools.The book encourages the view that character education is about helping students grasp what is ethically important and how to act for the right reasons so that they can become more autonomous and reflective individuals within the framework of a democratic society. Particularly interested readers will be educational leaders, teachers, those undertaking research in the field of education as well as policy analysts with a keen interest in developing the character and good sense of learners today.

The Theory and Practice of Virtue Education offers the reader a comprehensive and authoritative account of both the theoretical and practical complexities of cultivating virtue in education and beyond. The book moves beyond the usual philosophical literature that merely discusses virtue in the abstract, and offers scholarly, research-informed suggestions for practice.Drawn from a highly successful international conference organised by the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues, the chapters in this volume offer a unique insight into the varieties of approaches that leading scholars have identified for putting the learning and nurturing of virtues into practice. Featured are chapters from internationally acclaimed scholars primarily in the fields of philosophy, psychology and education, which are categorised under three headings: philosophical and theoretical foundations for cultivating virtues; developing virtues in practice; and nurturing specific virtues. Beginning with chapters that examine differing theoretical complexities of virtue education, the book then moves on to explore different approaches to nurturing virtue in the classroom and beyond. This practical approach is further evidenced in the final section, where individual virtues are discussed.The Theory and Practice of Virtue Education highlights the theoretical complexity of putting virtue education into practice and, as a result, is of real use to researchers, academics and postgraduates in the fields of education, philosophy, psychology, sociology and theology. It should also be essential reading for educators in character and virtue.

Teaching Character and Virtue in Schools addresses the contemporary issues of quantification and measurement in educational settings. The authors draw on the research of the Jubilee Centre at the University of Birmingham in order to investigate the concern that the conventional wisdom, sound judgement and professional discretion of teachers is being diminished and control mistakenly given over to administrators, policymakers and inspectors which in turn is negatively effecting pupils’ character development.The books calls for subject competence to be complemented by practical wisdom and good character in teaching staff. It posits that the constituent virtues of good character can be learned and taught, that education is an intrinsically moral enterprise and that character education should be intentional, organised and reflective. The book draws on the Jubilee Centre’s expertise in support of its claims and successfully integrates the fields of educational studies, psychology, sociology, philosophy and theology in its examination of contemporary educational practices and their wider effect on society as a whole. It offers sample lessons as well as a framework for character education in schools.The book encourages the view that character education is about helping students grasp what is ethically important and how to act for the right reasons so that they can become more autonomous and reflective individuals within the framework of a democratic society. Particularly interested readers will be educational leaders, teachers, those undertaking research in the field of education as well as policy analysts with a keen interest in developing the character and good sense of learners today.

"Teaching Character in the Primary Classroom provides an excellent and very accessible overview of the emerging field of character education. It covers, in detail, the theory of character education as well as advice and guidance about how this should be applied in practice in primary schools."    Professor James Arthur, University of Birmingham

Character matters. As more and more schools are choosing to teach Character Education, trainee and beginning teachers need to know more.  What is Character Education? Can it really be 'taught'? How does children's learning benefit from discussions around character in the classroom? How do I teach it? What does good teaching of Character Education look like in the classroom?Teaching Character Education in Primary schools tackles these questions, and many more. This is a practical guide to why and how we can teach character in primary schools. It begins by exploring why character matters and considers what 'character' is and (importantly) what it is not. It goes on to discuss the place for teaching character in primary education and includes practical guidance on how it can be taught. The text also looks at character beyond the classroom, how parents and the wider community can be included in the teaching of character and how outdoor learning and education can contribute.This book is written for all those who are new to teaching character.

"Teaching Character in the Primary Classroom provides an excellent and very accessible overview of the emerging field of character education. It covers, in detail, the theory of character education as well as advice and guidance about how this should be applied in practice in primary schools."    Professor James Arthur, University of Birmingham

Character matters. As more and more schools are choosing to teach Character Education, trainee and beginning teachers need to know more.  What is Character Education? Can it really be 'taught'? How does children's learning benefit from discussions around character in the classroom? How do I teach it? What does good teaching of Character Education look like in the classroom?Teaching Character Education in Primary schools tackles these questions, and many more. This is a practical guide to why and how we can teach character in primary schools. It begins by exploring why character matters and considers what 'character' is and (importantly) what it is not. It goes on to discuss the place for teaching character in primary education and includes practical guidance on how it can be taught. The text also looks at character beyond the classroom, how parents and the wider community can be included in the teaching of character and how outdoor learning and education can contribute.This book is written for all those who are new to teaching character.

Northfield was referred to in tones of awe when one joined Group Relations work of the Tavistock Institute in the mid sixties, but there was never any detailed discussion, no flesh to the bones of the story. It was a mystery. Now, Tom Harrison has written of the myth and given it a substance that makes it more exciting than the myth itself... Harrison offers in his exposition of the myth a well documented, seduously researchedm gripping tale. Using his knowledge of groups, contemporary documents and personal interviews, he seamlessly unfolds the history... Harrison reaffirms in his book the importance of the ideas of Northfield but, more importantly, spells out its consequences for a democratic society.'- Organisational and Social Dynamics'Taken over as a psychiatric military hospital in April 1942, Hollymore Hospital, Birmingham, treated a large number of servicemen suffering from so-called "war neuroses" until it was vacated by the army 6 years later. It has become well known for the so-called "Northfield Experiments", the first run by Wilfred Bion and John Rickman, and the second by Michael Foulkes, harold Bridger, Tom Main and others.Tom Harrison himself worked at Northfield as a consultant psychiatrist and this study is the outcome of 15 years of dedicated research. The history of the institution is clearly a great passion and has led him to painstaking archival research, together with numerous interviews of patients and staff. The best chapters deal with theorganization and running of the theraputic community, revealing the considerable contribution of Bridger, the original work of Laurence Bradbury as an art therapist and the tensions and rivalries that existed among the psychiatrists. However, it may be that Bion and Rickman are given too much credit for theoretical innovations. This is curious as Harrison's wide-ranging study provides evidence that others played important roles, notably Delahaye in the War Office Selection Boards, Rees as Director of Army Psychiatry, and in the field of group therapy the roles of Joshua Bierer, Maxwell Jones and Foulkes are clearly documented. This is possibly a reflection of the pressure exerted by psychoanalysts to establish a position of prominence in the field of analytical therapy.Northfield played an important part in the development of group therapy and rehabilitation techniques. Its success plausibly saved the UK exchequer considerable sums in war pensions as servicemen were returned to duty rather than discharged with a disability pension. This is a readable and thorough account of the institution, its personalities and theraputic interventions.'- Psychological Medicine, Volume 31 - 2001'essential reading for anyone interested in the history of therepeutic communities in adult mental health services... a truly important book'- Thereputic Communities.The Northfield Experiments, which were conducted during the Second World War, mark an important moment in the development of psychiatry and in the therapeutic community movement. This is the first book to record the experiments in detail. Through work with soldiers suffering from neurosis, two new forms of group psychotherapy were developed. These challenged the traditional view of psychiatric patients as passive recipients of treatments. The First Experiment, conducted over the winter of 1942-43, was led by Wilfred Bion and John Rickman and emphasised the importance of the here-and-now experience, relationships within groups and the relevance of the social setting to the patient. The Second Experiment was based on more traditional psycho-analytic concepts and was evolved by Sigmund Foulkes during his work at the hospital.Bion, Rickman, Foulkes and the Northfield Experiments locates the experiments within the progress of social psychology during the early twentieth century, and the development of a new theory of military psychology.