6,976 research outputs found

    An American Knightmare: Joker, Fandom, and Malicious Movie Meaning-Making

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    This monograph concerns the long-standing communication problem of how individuals can identify and resist the influence of unethical public speakers. Scholarship on the issue of what Socrates & Plato called the “Evil Lover” – i.e., the ill-intended rhetor – began with the Greek philosophers, but has carried into [post]Modern anxieties. For instance, the study of Nazi propaganda machines, and the rhetoric of Hitler himself, rejuvenated interest in the study of speech and communication in the U.S. and Europe. Whereas unscrupulous sophists used lectures and legal forums, and Hitler used a microphone, contemporary Evil Lovers primarily draw on new, internet-related tools to share their malicious influence. These new tools of influence are both more far-reaching and more subtle than the traditional practices of listening to a designated speaker appearing at an overtly political event. Rhetorician Ashley Hinck has recently noted the ways that popular culture – communication about texts which are commonly accessible and shared – are now significant sites through which citizens learn moral and political values. Accordingly, the talk of internet influencers who interpret popular texts for other fans has the potential to constitute strong persuasive power regarding ethics and civic responsibility. The present work identifies and responds to a particular case example of popular culture text that has been recently, and frequently, leveraged in moral and civic discourses: Todd Phillips’ Joker. Specifically, this study takes a hermeneutic approach to understanding responses, especially those explicitly invoking political ideology, to Joker as a method of examining civic meaning-making. A special emphasis is placed on the online film criticisms of Joker from white nationalist movie fans, who clearly exemplify ways that media responses can be leveraged by unethical speakers (i.e., Evil Lovers) and subtly diffused. The study conveys that these racist movie fans can embed values related to “trolling,” incelism, and xenophobia into otherwise seemingly innocuous talk about film. While the sharing of such speech does not immediately mean its positive reception, this kind of communication yet constitutes a new and understudied attack on democratic values such as justice and equity. The case of white nationalist movie fan film criticism therefore reflects a particular brand of communicative strategy for contemporary Evil Lovers in communicating unethical messages under the covert guise of mundane movie talk

    Visualizing The Permanent Lie: An Examination of Dystopian Literature Using Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s Model

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    This thesis argues for the formation of an evolving canon of literature critical to continued resistance to totalitarianism, focusing primarily on the works of George Orwell, Aldous Huxley and Ji Xianlin. In crafting the theoretical basis of my study, I rely primarily on Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s concept of the “permanent lie” and its related concepts, “survive at any price” and “only material results matter” as formulated in his magnum opus, The Gulag Archipelago. In Solzhenitsyn’s view, the “permanent lie” is rooted in the creation of a virtual reality among individuals trapped in a totalitarian society, in which they must hold two opposing viewpoints in their mind simultaneously, one for the private arena in which they are relatively free to share their true thoughts regarding the regime and one for the public sphere in which they must obey the rhetoric espoused by the ruling regime. Solzhenitsyn used “survive at any price” in terms of the mental fracture present by the continued adherence to the “permanent lie” to prolong survival, an idea to survive at the expense of others. Solzhenitsyn uses “only material results matter” to explain the unspoken agreement between the totalitarian regime and the oppressed individuals under the regime, that every act of a sinister nature or otherwise serves some greater good in the advancement of an equal and just society. An application of these theories together allows for the possibility of sustained resistance. The crux of my argument is that through Solzhenitsyn’s theoretical framework related to totalitarianism and a study of reader-response theory that examines the ways in which the literature is received internally, a canon emerges from the theoretical and literary works that allows for a crucial study of resistance movements applicable to present-day and as society becomes evermore digitized in the 21st century. I have chosen George Orwell, Aldous Huxley and Ji Xianlin for their shared belief in the necessity of resistance to totalitarianism through varying degrees of cultural influence and life experience with the evolving notion of the “totalitarian regime”. Orwell used his personal experience fighting against totalitarian ideologies in the Spanish Civil War as well as observations on the ostracization of the Soviet intelligentsia in the 1930s and 1940s to formulate his theories of the necessity of totalitarian resistance, encapsulated by his idea of “doublethink” and the replacement deity, Big Brother, in his novel, Nineteen-Eighty Four. Ji relies solely on his own experience, offering a first-hand account of the dangers of totalitarianism and continued adherence to the “permanent lie”, detailing the raw terror of forced labor camps during the Chinese Cultural Revolution in his memoir, The Cowshed: Memories of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Finally, Huxley formulates what some have termed “soft totalitarianism” in Brave New World, creating a society under the ever-watchful eye of the government yet unaware of the regime’s malicious intent, distracted by base comforts and the illusion of a utopian society. Together, the three authors along with the theoretical basis primarily from Solzhenitsyn, offer a historical lens to examine totalitarianism’s past and its implications on future society to allow for a planned resistance before it can continue to take hold

    Religion, Education, and the ‘East’. Addressing Orientalism and Interculturality in Religious Education Through Japanese and East Asian Religions

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    This work addresses the theme of Japanese religions in order to rethink theories and practices pertaining to the field of Religious Education. Through an interdisciplinary framework that combines the study of religions, didactics and intercultural education, this book puts the case study of Religious Education in England in front of two ‘challenges’ in order to reveal hidden spots, tackle unquestioned assumptions and highlight problematic areas. These ‘challenges’, while focusing primarily on Japanese religions, are addressed within the wider contexts of other East Asian traditions and of the modern historical exchanges with the Euro-American societies. As result, a model for teaching Japanese and other East Asian religions is discussed and proposed in order to fruitfully engage issues such as orientalism, occidentalism, interculturality and critical thinking

    Writing Facts

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    »Fact« is one of the most crucial inventions of modern times. Susanne Knaller discusses the functions of this powerful notion in the arts and the sciences, its impact on aesthetic models and systems of knowledge. The practice of writing provides an effective procedure to realize and to understand facts. This concerns preparatory procedures, formal choices, models of argumentation, and narrative patterns. By considering »writing facts« and »writing facts«, the volume shows why and how »facts« are a result of knowledge, rules, and norms as well as of description, argumentation, and narration. This approach allows new perspectives on »fact« and its impact on modernity

    The Future of New Testament Theology

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    This collection of essays appears at the confluence of two major streams—the flowering of the “biblical theology movement” in a range of New Testament theologies published in the past two or three decades and the recent emergence of significant contributions to reflection on and the practice of theological interpretation of the Bible. To some, these two interests overlap enough to parade them under a single banner. To others, these are disparate approaches that draw on and display competing methodological commitments. Seasoned scholars and relative newcomers to the conversation orient readers to these concerns, not so much to resolve these differences but to explore them with an eye to the future of theological work with the New Testament

    Ab Initio Language Teaching in British Higher Education

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    Drawing extensively on the expertise of teachers of German in universities across the UK, this volume offers an overview of recent trends, new pedagogical approaches and practical guidance for teaching at beginners level in the higher education classroom. At a time when entries for UK school exams in modern foreign languages are decreasing, this book serves the urgent need for research and guidance on ab initio learning and teaching in HE. Using the example of teaching German, it offers theoretical reflections on teaching ab initio and practice-oriented approaches that will be useful for teachers of both German and other languages in higher education. The first chapters assess the role of ab initio provision within the wider context of modern languages departments and language centres. They are followed by sections on teaching methods and innovative approaches in the ab initio classroom that include chapters on the use of music, textbook evaluation, the effective use of a flipped classroom and the contribution of language apps. Finally, the book focuses on the learner in the ab initio context and explores issues around autonomy and learner strengths. The whole builds into a theoretically grounded guide that sketches out perspectives for teaching and learning ab initio languages that will benefit current and future generations of students

    Science and corporeal religion: a feminist materialist reconsideration of gender/sex diversity in religiosity

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    This dissertation develops a feminist materialist interpretation of the role the neuroendocrine system plays in the development of gender/sex differences in religion. Data emerging from psychology, sociology, and cognitive science have continually indicated that women are more religious than men, in various senses of those contested terms, but the factors contributing to these findings are little understood and disciplinary perspectives are often unhelpfully siloed. Previous scholarship has tended to highlight socio-cultural factors while ignoring biological factors or to focus on biological factors while relying on problematic and unsubstantiated gender stereotypes. Addressing gender/sex difference is vital for understanding religion and how we study it. This dissertation interprets this difference by means of a multidisciplinary theoretical and methodological approach. This approach builds upon insights from the cognitive and evolutionary science of religion, affect theory and affective neuroscience, and social neuroendocrinology, and it is rooted in the foundational insights of feminist materialism, including that cultural and micro-sociological forces are inseparable from biological materiality. The dissertation shows how a better way of understanding gender/sex differences in religion emerges through focusing on the co-construction of biological materiality and cultural meanings. This includes deploying a gene-culture co-evolutionary explanation of ultrasociality and an understanding of the biology of performativity to argue that religious behavior and temperaments emerge from the enactment and hormonal underpinnings of six affective adaptive desires: the desires for (1) bonding and attachment, (2) communal mythos, (3) deliverance from suffering, (4) purpose, (5) understanding, and (6) reliable leadership. By hypothesizing the patterns of hormonal release and activation associated with ritualized affects—primarily considering oxytocin, testosterone, vasopressin, estrogen, dopamine, and serotonin—the dissertation theorizes four dimensions of religious temperament: (1) nurturant religiosity, (2) ecstatic religiosity, (3) protective/hierarchical religiosity, and (4) antagonistic religiosity. This dissertation conceptualizes hormones as chemical messengers that enable the diversity emerging from the imbrication of physical materiality and socio-cultural forces. In doing so, it demonstrates how hormonal aspects of gender/sex and culturally constructed aspects of gender/sex are always already intertwined in their influence on religiosity. This theoretical framework sheds light on both the diversity and the noticeable patterns observed in gender/sex differences in religious behaviors and affects. This problematizes the terms of the “women are more religious than men” while putting in place a more adequate framework for interpreting the variety of ways it appears in human lives

    Performing Sustainability in West Africa

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    This book discusses the role of cultural practices and policy for sustainable development in West Africa across different artistic disciplines, including performance, video, theatre, community arts and cultural heritage. Based on ethnographic field research in local communities, the book presents findings on current debates of cultural sustainability in Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon and Benin. It provides a unique perspective connecting cultural studies, conflict studies and practical peacebuilding approaches through the arts. The first part pays particular attention to aspects of social cohesion and the circumstances of internally displaced persons e. g. caused by the Boko Haram insurgency in Northeast Nigeria. The second part focuses on cultural policy issues and challenges in the context of sustainable development, investigating participatory approaches and bottom-up processes, the role of governments and civil society, as well as performing arts organizations and universities in policy making and implementation processes. Performing Sustainability in West Africa presents research results and new methods on the role of artistic and cultural practices in conflict situations as well as current debates in cultural policy for researchers, academics, NGOs and students in cultural studies, sustainable development studies and African studies

    Discovery of tissue specific network properties associated with cancer driver genes

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    Tese de Mestrado em BioquĂ­mica, Faculdade de CiĂȘncias, Universidade de Lisboa, 2022Using the notion of disease modules, network medicine has effectively identified diseaseassociated genes in recent years. In biological networks, genes linked to a particular illness tend to interact closely [1]. These networks allow both physical and functional connections between biomolecules to be identified, resulting in a map of cell components and processes that constitute biological systems [2]. Not all disease-associated genes, however, have a major impact on disease phenotype. The discovery of important genes able to produce or change disease phenotype paves the path to new therapies and a personalized medicine strategy. Recent research has found that biological network topological features per se may accurately predict perturbation effects in a dynamical model of the system with a 65-80% accuracy [3, 4]. Biological networks differ depending on whatever tissue or cell type is being studied. As a result, each gene's topological features and ability to impact the system may alter [5]. The main goal of this thesis is to discover network topological parameters associated with influential cancer driver genes using context specific networks. In order to achieve this, we evaluated local network features around each driver gene across multiple tissue specific networks, including tissues that are affected in the disease and others where the gene perturbation has no significant effect. We aimed to identify topological parameters and its characteristics contributing to the cancer driver gene’s influential role. The results of this dissertation point out that several topological parameters can be used to determine cancer “driver” genes. We found that these genes have higher values of topological parameters, such as Degree or Closeness, in tissues where they tend to cause cancer. We also found that this difference is present in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. Another factor that we found to influence the value of topological parameters is the number of tissues in which these genes cause the disease. There is an increasing trend of topological parameter values with the increase of the number of tissues in which they cause cancer. Together, these results support the significant association of topological parameters like the Degree with the influential role of a driver gene in cancer.Usando a noção de mĂłdulos de doença, a medicina de redes identificou eficazmente nos Ășltimos anos genes associados a doenças. Nas redes biolĂłgicas, os genes ligados a uma determinada doença tendem a interagir proximamente [1] . Essas redes permitem que conexĂ”es fĂ­sicas e funcionais entre biomolĂ©culas sejam identificadas, resultando num mapa de componentes celulares e processos que constituem sistemas biolĂłgicos [2]. Nem todos os genes associados Ă  doença, no entanto, tĂȘm um grande impacto no fenĂłtipo da doença. A descoberta de genes importantes capazes de produzir ou alterar o fenĂłtipo da doença abre caminho para novas terapias e uma estratĂ©gia de medicina personalizada. Pesquisas recentes descobriram que as caracterĂ­sticas topolĂłgicas da rede biolĂłgica podem prever com precisĂŁo os efeitos de perturbação num modelo dinĂąmico do sistema com uma precisĂŁo de 65-80% [3, 4]. As redes biolĂłgicas diferem dependendo do tipo de tecido ou cĂ©lula estudado. Como resultado, as caracterĂ­sticas topolĂłgicas de cada gene e a capacidade de impactar o sistema podem ser alteradas [5]. O principal objetivo desta dissertação Ă© descobrir parĂąmetros topolĂłgicos de rede associados a genes promotores de cancro usando redes especĂ­ficas de tecido. Para conseguir isso, avaliamos as caracterĂ­sticas da rede local em torno de cada gene promotor em vĂĄrias redes especĂ­ficas de tecidos, incluindo tecidos afetados pela doença e outros onde a perturbação do gene nĂŁo tem efeito significativo. Deste modo, podemos identificar parĂąmetros topolĂłgicos e as caracterĂ­sticas que contribuem para o papel influente dos genes promotores do cancro. Para atingir os nossos objetivos, começåmos por construir e otimizar as nossas redes especĂ­ficas de tecidos. Cada rede especĂ­fica de tecido foi construĂ­da usando quatro bases de dados diferentes de interaçÔes proteĂ­na-proteĂ­na, vias de sinalização e fatores de transcrição. TentĂĄmos quatro mĂ©todos diferentes de construir as redes, incluindo o uso do filtro de nĂ­veis de expressĂŁo gĂ©nica acima de 0,1 e 5 transcritos por milhĂŁo em cada tecido. ConstruĂ­mos tambĂ©m uma matriz associando os genes promotores de cancro (retirados de uma base de dados online de genes promotores de cancro) aos tecidos onde provocam a doença. Cada gene promotor foi inserido em seis categorias diferentes de acordo com o nĂșmero de tecidos onde provocam cancro, sendo a categoria seis aquela que inclui os genes que provocam a doença em seis ou mais tecidos. Começåmos por comparar os valores dos parĂąmetros topolĂłgicos dos genes em tecidos onde estes provocam a doença versus os seus valores em tecidos onde nĂŁo a provocam. Esses valores tambĂ©m foram comparados com uma lista de genes associados ao cancro (retirados de uma base de dados online de genes associados a doenças), mas nĂŁo promotores de cancro, e uma lista de genes nĂŁo associados a nenhuma doença. Este estudo foi feito sobre os quatro diferentes mĂ©todos de construção de rede. ContinuĂĄmos o estudo observando como os parĂąmetros topolĂłgicos mostraram diferenças ao nĂ­vel do tecido. AnalisĂĄmos em cada tecido os valores dos parĂąmetros topolĂłgicos dos genes promotores que causam a doença num determinado tecido versus os valores dos genes que nĂŁo causam doença naquele tecido. Depois de comparar os valores dos parĂąmetros topolĂłgicos usando todos os genes promotores juntos num grupo global, querĂ­amos verificar se a diferença entre os valores destes nos tecidos onde causam cancro versus os valores nos tecidos onde nĂŁo provocam a doença, tambĂ©m estava presente dentro das categorias do nĂșmero de tecidos onde os genes promotores causam cancro e como esses valores aumentam ou diminuem ao longo dessas categorias. Avaliamos em seguida o impacto combinado dos valores dos parĂąmetros topolĂłgicos (selecionando o parĂąmetro topolĂłgico “Degree”) de genes promotores de cancro em tecidos onde causam doença versus onde nĂŁo causam e tambĂ©m a diferença entre estes ao longo das seis diferentes categorias de nĂșmero de tecidos onde provocam cancro, usando um Modelo Linear Generalizado (GLM) para avaliar a interação desses fatores. Da base de dados de onde retiramos a lista de genes promotores de cancro, tambĂ©m retiramos uma lista de oncogenes e genes supressores de tumor que usĂĄmos para avaliar tambĂ©m as diferenças dos valores dos seus parĂąmetros topolĂłgicos nos tecidos onde causam cancro versus os tecidos onde nĂŁo causam. A fim de avaliar outras variĂĄveis que possam ter impacto para alĂ©m dos parĂąmetros topolĂłgicos e que possam tambĂ©m diferir dependendo do nĂșmero de tecidos onde os genes “drivers” causam a doença, usamos os dados da base de dados de onde retiramos os genes promotores que incluĂ­am informaçÔes sobre o nĂșmero de interaçÔes que cada gene promotor estabelece com diferentes miRNA e sobre o nĂșmero de complexos proteicos que estes genes integram. TambĂ©m avaliamos o impacto da expressĂŁo gĂ©nica nas diferentes categorias de nĂșmero de tecidos. Por fim, enriquecemos funcionalmente os genes promotores de cancro, usando dois mĂ©todos diferentes. No primeiro mĂ©todo usamos os genes que tinham uma diferença topolĂłgica maior (para este estudo usamos apenas o parĂąmetro topolĂłgico “Degree”) entre os tecidos onde causam ou nĂŁo cancro. Classificamos cada gene como positivo, negativo e nĂŁo significativo com base na diferença entre o valor mĂ©dio do “Degree” nos tecidos onde causam cancro versus o valor nos tecidos onde nĂŁo causam. O segundo mĂ©todo foi o enriquecimento dos diferentes genes promotores de cancro de acordo com o nĂșmero de tecidos que causam cancro. Fizemos esse estudo usando as diferentes categorias de nĂșmero de tecidos. Globalmente, os nossos resultados sugerem que os valores dos parĂąmetros topolĂłgicos (por exemplo, “Degree“ e “Closeness”) tendem a ser maiores nos tecidos em que os genes promoteres de cancro provocam a doença ( “Tissue Drivers”), seguidos pelos valores dos genes de cancro que sĂŁo nĂŁo promotores de cancro mas estĂŁo associados ao desenvolvimento da doença (“Disease Genes”), os valores dos genes promotores de cancro nos tecidos onde nĂŁo causam cancro (“NonTissueDrivers”) e por Ășltimo, com os menores valores de parĂąmetros topolĂłgicos, os genes que nĂŁo estĂŁo associados a qualquer doença. A diferença entre os valores dos parĂąmetros topolĂłgicos nos “TissueDrivers” versus “NonTissueDrivers” Ă© estatisticamente significativa na maioria dos parĂąmetros topolĂłgicos testados e nos diferentes mĂ©todos de rede utilizados, exceto no mĂ©todo “JustHuRiTPM5Zminmax” (usando apenas a base de dados Huri). Quando analisĂĄmos em cada tecido os valores dos parĂąmetros topolĂłgicos, pudemos ver que os valores de “Degree” tendem a ser maiores nos genes promotores de cancro que causam cancro naquele tecido em comparação com os genes promotores que nĂŁo provocam cancro nesse tecido. Essa diferença Ă© estatisticamente significativa em muitos dos tecidos analisados. Em relação a como os valores dos parĂąmetros topolĂłgicos se comportam ao longo das diferentes categorias associadas ao nĂșmero de tecidos em que os genes promotores causam cancro, descobrimos que nos genes promotores de cancro que causam doença em apenas em um e dois tecidos, o valor do “Degree” nos tecidos onde causam cancro Ă© menor que o valor apresentado nos tecidos onde nĂŁo causam cancro. Observamos a tendĂȘncia inversa nos genes promotores que causam cancro em seis ou mais tecidos (o valor do “Degree” Ă© maior nos tecidos onde causam cancro). Observamos tambĂ©m que o valor do “Degree” aumenta gradativamente ao longo do nĂșmero da categoria de tecidos, atingindo o valor mais alto na categoria seis (constituĂ­da por genes promotores que provocam cancro em seis ou mais tecidos). No modelo linear generalizado (GLM), pudemos ver o efeito combinado da variĂĄvel tipo de tecido (onde o gene promotor provoca ou nĂŁo cancro, mostrando uma diferença estatisticamente significativa entre estas duas situaçÔes) e da variĂĄvel nĂșmero de tecidos onde os genes promotores provocam cancro (mostrando tambĂ©m uma valor estatisticamente significativo entre as diferentes categorias). A interação entre esses dois fatores tambĂ©m foi estatisticamente significativa. TambĂ©m pudemos observar valores de “Degree” estatisticamente diferentes entre os genes promotores supressores de tumor nos tecidos que causam cancro (com valores mais altos) e os valores nos tecidos onde nĂŁo causam. Vimos tambĂ©m a mesma diferença nos Oncogenes, mas com menor significĂąncia. Os valores do “Degree” nos genes Supressores de Tumores foram inferiores aos valores do “Degree” apresentados pelos Oncogenes. Pudemos igualmente ver uma clara tendĂȘncia de correlação entre o aumento do nĂșmero de tecidos com o aumento do nĂșmero de complexos que os genes promotores de cancro integram. O mesmo comportamento foi observado em relação ao nĂșmero de miRNAs com os quais os genes promotores interagem. Em relação Ă  expressĂŁo do mRNA ao longo das categorias de nĂșmero de tecidos, pudemos ver uma diferença estatisticamente significativa nas categorias dois e trĂȘs entre os valores dos genes promotores(em relação ao parĂąmetro topolĂłgico “Degree”) nos tecidos onde causam cancro versus onde nĂŁo causam. Finalmente, no estudo de enriquecimento de funçÔes pudemos ver que os processos biolĂłgicos, funçÔes moleculares e componentes celulares que obtivemos enriquecidos usando o mĂ©todo das diferentes categorias de nĂșmero de tecidos estĂŁo muito mais relacionados com os processos de cancro baseados na literatura (“hallmarks of cancer”). NĂŁo conseguimos encontrar uma divisĂŁo muito clara entre funçÔes biolĂłgicas enriquecidas que tiveram uma diferença de z-score do “Degree” acima de 1 e aqueles com diferença abaixo de -1. NĂŁo encontramos nenhum processo de enriquecimento funcional relevante em nenhum desses dois grupos de genes e que de alguma forma os pudesse distinguir entre si. Os resultados desta dissertação apontam para que vĂĄrios parĂąmetros topolĂłgicos possam estar associados a genes promotores de cancro. VerificĂĄmos que estes genes tĂȘm valores de parĂąmetros topolĂłgicos, como o Degree ou Closeness, mais elevados nos tecidos onde tendencionalmente provocam cancro. VerificĂĄmos tambĂ©m que esta diferença estĂĄ presente nos oncogenes e nos genes supressores de tumor. Outro fator que verificamos influenciar o valor dos parĂąmetros topolĂłgicos, Ă© o nĂșmero de tecidos em que estes genes provocam a doença. HĂĄ uma tendĂȘncia crescente do valor topolĂłgico com um nĂșmero de tecidos em que provocam cancro
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