Historical Poetics : Chronotopes in "Leucippe and Clitophon" and "Tom Jones"

This paper forms part of a larger, ongoing project, to investigate how certain narrative possibilities that seem to have crystallized for the first time in the ancient Greek novel have proved persistent and productive over time, undergoing subtle transformations during formative later periods in the history of the genre, notably the twelfth century (simultaneously in Old French and in Byzantine Greek) and the eighteenth (the time when, according to a narrower definition, the novel is said to originate). For the present, my more limited aim is to revisit the two main essays in which Bakhtin’s theory of the chronotope (and of the “historical poetics” of the novel) are developed, and to extrapolate what seem to me to the most significant and productive lines of his approach, both in general, and with specific reference to the ancient Greek novel. I will then attempt simultaneously to apply and to modify Bakhtin’s model, in the light of a reading of Achilles Tatius’ Leucippe and Clitophon and with reference to previous critiques. The final part of the paper examines how this approach can be productive for a reading of a much later text, often regarded as “foundational” for the modern development of the genre, especially in English, Fielding’s Tom Jones (1749)

Habitual Habitation

This abstract presentation will set out a series of observations and precedents related to the relationships formed between humans and the evolving spaces of personal habitation. The work discusses the prospect of future interlocking and divided spaces that humans use for the process of habitation in both the work and the domestic context. The four key design considerations outlined within this relationship are the arrangement of habitation (design), the occupation of that space (purpose), inhabitation of space (user interaction) and the duration of use (space longevity). Some of the main themes that are discussed are the processes of human habitation, why it occurs, the evolving nature of that habitat and the development of habitat for a defined purpose. The presentation will examine a range of particular, purposeful and peculiar human habitat spaces and use them to explore the interactive relationships between humans and the spaces that are created for specific functions e.g., work, leisure and utility. The typography of human habitation is also explored and critiqued to establish a clear picture of the current and future frameworks in which designers, clients and design users are / will be considering interior space. There is also exploration of how human behaviours differ in space that has been specifically created for a purpose and the realities of actual human use and occupation. There is also exploration of the way certain types of interior spaces influence and often dictate human behaviour. This is then reviewed and a future construct is suggested about human behaviour changing and fragmenting according to the surrounding space. A review of the interior designers role in this construct is identified with examination of spatial tactics and external forces within this process. Does interior design hold the key to future human living and working behaviours? Finally, a future habitation hypothesis is presented along with a review of Peter Sloterdijk and Henri Lefebvre’s suggestions and definitions of “Home” and “Habitus” which helps to synthesise some future ideas on interior design and habitation

Time for a common European effort on raw materials. CEPS Policy Brief No. 261, December 2011

In this latest Policy Brief on raw materials, CEPS Associate Research Fellow Roderick Kefferputz takes stock of some of the current developments in commodity markets. Almost a year after the publication of the European Commission’s Communication on Raw Materials, he finds that new circumstances have advanced a misplaced optimism and the pursuit of national interests by EU member states, which impede common European efforts to secure natural resources