Brushed in Light

Drawing on a millennia of calligraphy theory and history, Brushed in Light examines how the brushed word appears in films and in film cultures of Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and PRC cinemas. This includes silent era intertitles, subtitles, title frames, letters, graffiti, end titles, and props. Markus Nornes also looks at the role of calligraphy in film culture at large, from gifts to correspondence to advertising. The book begins with a historical dimension, tracking how calligraphy is initially used in early cinema and how it is continually rearticulated by transforming conventions and the integration of new technologies. These chapters ask how calligraphy creates new meaning in cinema and demonstrate how calligraphy, cinematography, and acting work together in a single film. The last part of the book moves to other regions of theory. Nornes explores the cinematization of the handwritten word and explores how calligraphers understand their own work

Critiquing the thin ideal in pro-anorexia online spaces

The thin body has long been considered ‘normal’ in Western culture, whereas the anorexic body has been framed as pathological despite the fact that both bodies often engage in regimes of undereating and extreme exercising which dovetail with one another. Pro-anorexia (or ‘pro-ana’) online spaces, which emerged in the late twentieth century, have been criticised for their espousal of anorexia even though much of the advice they provide and the images they collate, derive from mainstream culture. Censorship and vilification by the media have meant that since their inception these spaces have undergone a number of changes. This thesis therefore investigates the thin ideal in pro-ana online spaces at a time when the boundaries between the mainstream espousal of thinness and the body image promoted in pro-ana culture are becoming increasingly blurred. Drawing on empirical research across a range of websites, forums, and social media which identify as pro-ana, I employ textual analysis to explore how thinness is constructed in these spaces. My investigation produced a set of themes which shape this thesis. Central were: the denial and disguise of disordered-eating practices; the pre-eminence of the white, middle-class, heterofeminine body; and the importance of pain in realising the thin ideal. The central claim of this thesis is that pro-ana online spaces expose the extent to which normative femininity is underpinned by practices which may be deeply disordered, but they are viewed as normal by mainstream culture. Pro-ana culture illustrates an extreme response to achieving thinness but it also critiques the ideal to which it aspires. Hence, this thesis concludes by turning to the potential for resistance in pro-ana online spaces and arguing that although they do not uncritically conform to the culture of compulsory thinness, they are nonetheless postfeminist enclaves which perpetuate the primacy of the individual

Remixing Museology: An approach to collecting social media in museums

At its core, this is a thesis about collecting social media in museums. As part of it I have drawn on theories of remix (Lessig, 2008, Navas et al., 2015) and appropriate museology (Kreps, 2008, 2015) to argue that in order for museums to be able to collect social media, they need to remix collections management processes to make them more appropriate for new and emerging object types. My research was driven by my own love of getting involved and has led to what I can only describe as a mixed-methodology approach. Taking an overarchingly autoethnographic approach, I’ve utilised reflexive dyadic interviews, action research and self-reflection. The thesis is structured around past attempts at collecting social media at the Museum of London and Victoria and Albert Museum, my participation in the Collecting Social Photo project, and practicing what I preach at the National Science and Media Museum where I worked collaboratively to collect an ‘absolute unit’ of a social media object. Throughout, I have been guided by the concept of ‘Remix Museology’ which has emerged as a way to make ongoing pragmatic and incremental remixes to collecting practices to support the culturally and ethically appropriate acquisition of new and emerging objects. Whilst this thesis is primarily interested in Remix Museology as a method to support collecting social media, you may have noticed that I am also using alternative forms of academic writing. I write in a way that reflects the objects I am advocating museums collect, my methodological choices and my approach to change which makes careful use of humour. As a result, this thesis also works to remix academic form; taking a hop, skip and a jump towards online cultures, harnessing the critical power of memes, emojis and humour in a way that is appropriate to both the topic and method at hand

The characterisation of heritage vegetables

A collection of heritage variety accessions were characterised using Amplified Fragment length Polymorphisms (AFLPs) (200 accessions ) and multivariate analysis of morphological characters (366 accessions); key features of interest for the conservation of Plant Genetic Resources were the identification of diversity within and between accessions. Motivations and practices of heritage variety growers were explored using questionnaires. Heritage varieties are herein defined as traditional crop varieties that have a historical origin of over 40 years, are non-hybrid and non-GMO and are of cultural/heritage value to their users; they are part of the suite of plant genetic resources currently utilised by growers and of potential use to plant breeders in the future. A large range of morphological and genetic diversity was present between accessions in all crops; in addition, diversity was found within accessions, particularly in Vicia faba, Daucus carota and Cucumis sativum. Comparisons between data sets were made for diversity, relationships, comparisons with commercial standards and identifying potential duplicates. The synthesis of both data sets highlighted the three potential duplicates for further investigation by HSL (all in Pisum sativum). The findings highlight the importance of heritage varieties and the Heritage Seed Library, both culturally and in terms of conservation for present and future use

Enabling self-identity revisioning through portraiture, for people living with life threatening and chronic illnesses: paint me this way!

Arguably life threatening and chronic illness is not just an attack on the body, it is an attack on a person s sense of self-identity, shattering the means by which a person experiences the world, and by which they also are experienced, contributing to a person s sense of powerlessness and distress. People living with a life threatening or chronic illness, often describe the impact of their diagnosis, treatment and illness as having changed their sense of self-identity beyond all recognition. Seven participants, purposefully selected from those attending a weekly day-hospice session in Wiltshire, took part in the study. This qualitative, practice-based research project challenges the power dynamics in art therapy and attempts to equalise the relationship between researcher and participant through the development of a collaborative intersubjective relationship, within which the participants are recognised as experts on their lived experience, and in a series of negotiations , co-design their own portraits directing how they wish to be portrayed. Through this process the participants become patient/researchers (PRs) and the artist/therapist/researcher (ATR), by creating the portraits, also becomes a reflexive participant . This project utilises an in-depth multiple case-study design and multiple creative data generation methods as well as a phenomenological approach to data analysis. This project reverses the terms of engagement within art therapy and uses the art therapist s artistic practice or third hand to create portraits for patients. (This is based upon the assumption that most art therapy theories terms of engagement include patients producing art within the therapeutic encounter, however some psychodynamic and psychoanalytic art therapists may use client art generation selectively or not at all). This raises important questions around who makes the artwork in art therapy interventions . The use of portraiture as a third hand intervention enables the art therapist to develop a sense of positive focussed attention and mirroring and attunement through the art object, enabling the addition of coherence through aesthetic resonance and the holding of dualities through metaphor and symbolism. The results of this study demonstrate the power of portraiture as an intersubjective way of knowing, being and relating, enabling the revisioning of identities disrupted by illness, characterised by increases in participants creative capacity to adapt to illness and feelings of home-like-being-in-the-world, developing a stronger, more coherent lived experience of self-identity, effecting closure to difficult life experiences, and improving their overall quality of life

Novel : Holo Meta Bolus and Mini-dissertation : “Sal jy my verstaan?” : The representation of post-apartheid Afrikaner repudiation in Fokofpolisiekar lyrics.

Dissertation (MA (Creative Writing))--University of Pretoria, 2021.Holo Meta Bolus is a coming-of-age novel where the theme of identity is explored in many different aspects. The protagonist, a post-apartheid 19-year-old, rejects the cultural identity of Boer (i.e. traditional Calvinistic Afrikaner), which he was born into, and adopts several stereotypical identities he encounters in the city of Pretoria, namely “jock”, “skater” and “hippie”. He also struggles with the identity-related questions of his social status, as well as what it means to be an adult. The theme of post-apartheid Afrikaner repudiation is further explored in the mini-dissertation, which analyses the lyrics of punk band Fokofpolisiekar using psychoanalyst Erik Erikson’s theoretical framework of identity crisis and repudiation. Fokofpolisiekar is a music group that formed in 2003, which sparked much debate with their controversial lyrics that outright reject and criticise the traditional Afrikaner culture that they were born into. Erikson’s theoretical framework presents eight stages of psychosocial development of a healthy individual from infancy to late adulthood. According to this framework, the fifth stage is adolescence, and the successful completion of this stage results in the adaptive strength of fidelity, while individuals unsuccessful in this stage suffer from the malignancy of repudiation. The dissertation argues that the speaker in Fokofpolisiekar’s early lyrics has developed Erikson’s so called developmental malignancy of repudiation, and links this to the socio-political circumstances of the band members’ upbringing. Another argument is that later lyrics (2017 onwards) indicate that the same speaker eventually overcomes this repudiation and gains Erikson’s developmental virtue of fidelity.Unit for Creative WritingMaster of Arts in Creative WritingUnrestricte

EXPLORING LOSS OF CREE CULTURE AS A CRIMINOGENIC NEED IN THE CONTEXT OF COLONIZATION AND INDIGENOUS OVERREPRESENTATION, WITH EMPHASIS ON THE STRUCTURAL DETERMINANTS OF RISK AND CULTURE-SPECIFIC PROTECTIVE FACTORS THAT BUFFER AGAINST RISK

Objective: The current study explores the relationship between loss of Indigenous culture and offending and identifies some culture-specific risk/need and protective factors in this context. Method: This research takes place in Treaty 6 territory with eleven participants who identity as Cree. It occurs in ethical space using a culturally relevant social constructivist lens that highlights participants’ understanding of the structural determinants of cultural loss and collective well-being. This is a qualitative, anti-oppressive, and interpretive case study that engages interviews, community eco-mapping, and critical thematic analyses of participants’ experiences and opinions relating to 1) Cree culture as a foundation of collective well-being; 2) the means of transmission of Cree culture; and 3) the outcomes of deculturation and cultural loss. Findings: Participants identified several structurally determined and culture-specific risk/need factors stemming from cultural loss as described in shared experiences with residential school, foster care, child apprehension, socioeconomic disparity, and institutional racism. Participants identified elements of Cree culture that protect them against negative environmental factors including a strong sense of Cree cultural identity, connection to the land, Cree family structures, and community, and engagement with cultural practices including ceremonies. Discussion: A relationship exists between loss of culture and offending which underlines the need for culture-specific criminogenic risk/need interventions. Cree cultural practices among this group are the primary sources of their well-being and desistance which must be considered in efforts to reduce overrepresentation