The Semantics of Purity in the Ancient Near East: Lexical Meaning as a Projection of Embodied Experience

This article analyzes the primary terms for purity in Biblical Hebrew, Ugaritic, Sumerian, Akkadian and Hittite. Building on insights from cognitive linguistics and embodiment theory, this study develops the premise that semantic structure – even of seemingly abstract concepts– is grounded in real-world bodily experience. An examination of purity terms reveals that all of them can be related to a concrete sense pertaining to radiance (brilliance, brightness, shininess). The article traces the semantic development of purity terms in distinct experiential contexts and shows how semantic analysis can elucidate the inner logic of fundamental religious concepts

Propers 20 (Pentecost 18) Series C 2016

This PDF comments on the Propers for the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Series C, and offers ideas for proclamation and preaching

La gloire sur la montagne. L'épisode de la Transfiguration de Jésus

El punt de partença de la transfiguració de Jesús és l’opció que Jesús mateix pren. Havia anunciat un destí de sofriment i mort i, per això, els seus deixebles, especialment Pere, rebutgen les seves paraules. Ara, han de saber per ells mateixos quins són «els pensaments de Déu». La qüestió fonamental és si l’anunci de Jesús correspon realment a la voluntat divina. La resposta vindrà del cel: els deixebles seran els testimonis privilegiats de la transfiguració concedida a Jesús. Aquest apareixerà com una figura celestial, flanquejat per Moisès i Elies i per tant superior a ells. Pere hagués volgut honorar les tres figures i prolongar la visió meravellosa fent tres habitacles, que evoquen les estances celestials. Però Pere no se n’adona que Jesús havia anunciat un destí tràgic que s’inscriu en el designi de Déu. Per tant, Déu ha de parlar. Després que el núvol ha cobert les figures celestials, la veu divina es dirigeix als deixebles deixant-los clar qui és Jesús (el Fill de Déu) i el que han de fer (escoltar Jesús, és a dir, acceptar el seu anunci del sofriment i la mort).The starting point of the transfiguration of Jesus is the choice of Jesus himself. He had announced a destiny of suffering and death and, then, faced with rejection of his words by his disciples, especially Peter. Now, they must know by themselves what “God’s views” are. The fundamental issue is whether Jesus’ announcement really corresponds to the divine will. The answer will come from heaven: the disciples will be the privileged witnesses of the transfiguration granted to Jesus. This one will appear as as a heavenly figure, flanked by Moses and Elijah and thus preceding them. Peter would like to honour the three figures and prolong the wonderful vision making three dwelling-places, which recall the heavenly dwellings. But he does not realize that Jesus had announced a tragic destiny that falls within God’s design. So, God has to speak. After the cloud will cover the three heavenly figures, the divine voice will address to the disciples making them clear who is Jesus (God’s Son) and what they must do (listen to Jesus, namely, accept his announcement of suffering and death)

Propers 21 (Pentecost 19) Series C 2016

This PDF comments on the Propers for the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Series C, and offers ideas for proclamation and preaching

“Do ut des: Patterns of Exchange in Zoroastrianism”. A Memorial Lecture for Ilya Gershevitch. Delivered at the Royal Asiatic Society on 13 June 2002.

On the basis of the Avesta and the Rigveda, the article provides an outline the Indo-Iranian ritual involving a triangular configuration of patron, priest and god engaged in gift-exchange. By investigating the contexts of the much disputed, but important, Gathic word maga-, it highlights some aspects of the Old Avestan ritual governed by the same triangular pattern of ritually enacted gift-exchange. Finally, it discusses the Gathic evidence for exchange and reciprocity in a non-ritual, religious context. It concludes that there are, in the Gathas, two distinct, but interpenetrary, exchange patterns: first, the inherited Indo-Iranian triangular model underlying the ritual activity and governing the relationship between Zarathustra and some of his contemporaries and, secondly, a new pattern without Indo-Iranian antecedent, of a two-way relationship between any human being and Zarathustra’s god, Ahura Mazda

Historicized Composition and Creative Ethnomusicology

This paper investigates relationship between compositional and ethnomusicological research. The method of historicized composition developed out of my work as a chant scholar, as ongoing ethnomusicological research has had a profound influence on my compositional work. Understanding and underscoring historical and phenomenological relationships between music and language, the act of composition becomes a creative discovery of relationships between musical material and music history

Modern Home, Environment, and Gender : Built, Planned, and Lived Spaces in Post-war Finland

Peer reviewe

Aesthetics of Boredom in post-soviet neighborhoods. Multisensory experience of Laumas microdistrict in Liepaja, Latvia

This research studies the environmental aesthetics of boredom in the light of post-soviet neighborhoods. While belonging to the grey zone in aesthetics, boredom is an integral part of mundane life that challenges us to notice the uniqueness of our everydayness. Even though mass housing provided an economically feasible solution for sheltering millions of people, it lacks the qualities that meet contemporary living and energy standards. Soviet mass housing architecture and microdistrict designs were led by the economic conditions in the first place. Mass housing was not meant to speak, whereas the residents should not be silenced because of it. We tend to preserve what we find aesthetically pleasing (Nassauer, 1997), yet, what is aesthetically pleasing and what about other values? In this project, preservation is essential for building a contemporary-oriented mindset that could lead to more sustainable and inclusive neighborhoods. The project aims to tackle the issue of Soviet districts through the eyes of its residents, contrasting the more often used top-down approach. Here I challenge the residents' perception of their neighborhood and create a moment for reflection. By offering this space, I amplify the voices of the real experts, the ones knowing their microdistrict inside out. Environmental aesthetics is a relatively new concept within the contemporary urban planning scholarship, giving a fresh take on subjective experiences of urban settings that unveil profoundly rooted and often disguised problems. The interdisciplinarity in the research is met by merging disciplines such as sociology, urban aesthetics, urban history, and philosophy. The term boredom belonging to positive or negative aesthetic values is questioned the same as the legacy of Soviet mass housing later in the research. The ideology behind Soviet blocks is discussed, creating a common ground for diverse readers. Inclusivity is brought with resident participation through the visual research method - photovoice. To avoid biased data, the resident experiences are supported with the city planner's point of view and secondary quantitative data. The findings include Laumas microdistrict resident photovoice analysis, putting the Laumas microdistrict residents as the primary information providers. Taking pictures of their everyday surroundings, residents are given space to show how they see their microdistrict, outlining the values they are proud of or giving perspective of what needs to be changed. Instead of one-sided creation, the curation is inclusive and more reflective of the urban environment's already existing residents' values of their neighborhood. Resident aesthetic preferences open broader discussion on the maintenance issues of microdistricts facing nowadays. Topics are various, but the primary outcomes discussed built environment aesthetics, renovation, communication, identity, resident initiative, automobile domination, and natural environment aesthetics. In the final part of the study, some possible directions for changing microdistrict are pointed out, and further research questions are presented. The project is incomplete until it reaches a broader audience and provides knowledge to politicians, city planners, and other residents

Global migration and multicultural environments: Integrating design systems to facilitate cultural hybridization

Global economies and global conflicts have led to unprecedented migration in the twenty-first century. This research argues for successful multicultural environments and the creation of a design approach that facilitates cultural hybridization. It examines traditional design systems — deeply rooted in cultures, values, and religions — that continue to be expressed in building construction. It identifies the fundamental ideologies and principles of the design systems of Western civilization (Classical principles of design), India (Vaastu Shastra), and China, Japan, and Far East (Feng Shui) and the shared principles that allow the design systems to be integrated. It draws on literary and archival sources to understand defining principles and on case studies of historic and contemporary design integration, to show how and why traditional design systems have been successfully integrated. Findings are visually applied in two-dimensional prototypical plans and three-dimensional renderings