8,724 research outputs found

    The place where curses are manufactured : four poets of the Vietnam War

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    The Vietnam War was unique among American wars. To pinpoint its uniqueness, it was necessary to look for a non-American voice that would enable me to articulate its distinctiveness and explore the American character as observed by an Asian. Takeshi Kaiko proved to be most helpful. From his novel, Into a Black Sun, I was able to establish a working pair of 'bookends' from which to approach the poetry of Walter McDonald, Bruce Weigl, Basil T. Paquet and Steve Mason. Chapter One is devoted to those seemingly mismatched 'bookends,' Walt Whitman and General William C. Westmoreland, and their respective anthropocentric and technocentric visions of progress and the peculiarly American concept of the "open road" as they manifest themselves in Vietnam. In Chapter, Two, I analyze the war poems of Walter McDonald. As a pilot, writing primarily about flying, his poetry manifests General Westmoreland's technocentric vision of the 'road' as determined by and manifest through technology. Chapter Three focuses on the poems of Bruce Weigl. The poems analyzed portray the literal and metaphorical descent from the technocentric, 'numbed' distance of aerial warfare to the world of ground warfare, and the initiation of a 'fucking new guy,' who discovers the contours of the self's interior through a set of experiences that lead from from aerial insertion into the jungle to the degradation of burning human feces. Chapter Four, devoted to the thirteen poems of Basil T. Paquet, focuses on the continuation of the descent begun in Chapter Two. In his capacity as a medic, Paquet's entire body of poems details his quotidian tasks which entail tending the maimed, the mortally wounded and the dead. The final chapter deals with Steve Mason's JohnnY's Song, and his depiction of the plight of Vietnam veterans back in "The World" who are still trapped inside the interior landscape of their individual "ghettoes" of the soul created by their war-time experiences

    Building body identities - exploring the world of female bodybuilders

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    This thesis explores how female bodybuilders seek to develop and maintain a viable sense of self despite being stigmatized by the gendered foundations of what Erving Goffman (1983) refers to as the 'interaction order'; the unavoidable presentational context in which identities are forged during the course of social life. Placed in the context of an overview of the historical treatment of women's bodies, and a concern with the development of bodybuilding as a specific form of body modification, the research draws upon a unique two year ethnographic study based in the South of England, complemented by interviews with twenty-six female bodybuilders, all of whom live in the U.K. By mapping these extraordinary women's lives, the research illuminates the pivotal spaces and essential lived experiences that make up the female bodybuilder. Whilst the women appear to be embarking on an 'empowering' radical body project for themselves, the consequences of their activity remains culturally ambivalent. This research exposes the 'Janus-faced' nature of female bodybuilding, exploring the ways in which the women negotiate, accommodate and resist pressures to engage in more orthodox and feminine activities and appearances

    'Exarcheia doesn't exist': Authenticity, Resistance and Archival Politics in Athens

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    My thesis investigates the ways people, materialities and urban spaces interact to form affective ecologies and produce historicity. It focuses on the neighbourhood of Exarcheia, Athens’ contested political topography par excellence, known for its production of radical politics of discontent and resistance to state oppression and eoliberal capitalism. Embracing Exarcheia’s controversial status within Greek vernacular, media and state discourses, this thesis aims to unpick the neighbourhoods’ socio-spatial assemblage imbued with affect and formed through the numerous (mis)understandings and (mis)interpretations rooted in its turbulent political history. Drawing on theory on urban spaces, affect, hauntology and archival politics, I argue for Exarcheia as an unwavering archival space composed of affective chronotopes – (in)tangible loci that defy space and temporality. I posit that the interwoven narratives and materialities emerging in my fieldwork are persistently – and perhaps obsessively – reiterating themselves and remaining imprinted on the neighbourhood’s landscape as an incessant reminder of violent histories that the state often seeks to erase and forget. Through this analysis, I contribute to understandings of place as a primary ethnographic ‘object’ and the ways in which place forms complex interactions and relationships with social actors, shapes their subjectivities, retains and bestows their memories and senses of historicity

    El ruido como experiencia estética visual: experiencias en el centro histórico de Cuenca

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    El ruido latente en el Centro Histórico de la ciudad de Cuenca ha incrementado a altos niveles de ruido debido al aumento de movilización vehicular y de la población presente en espacios céntricos de la ciudad a determinadas horas. La presente investigación da como resultado una propuesta artística de noise a partir de la manipulación de grabaciones de ruido ambiente. A través de la investigación que parte de un contexto histórico, social y cultural se llega a identificar los factores que determinan al ruido como un lenguaje artístico que se niega a formar parte del mundo del arte.The latent noise in the Historic Center of the city of Cuenca has increased to high noise levels due to the increase in vehicular mobilization and the population present in central areas of the city at certain times. The present investigation results in an artistic noise proposal based on the manipulation of ambient noise recordings that starts from a historical, social and cultural context. Through research, it is possible to identify the factors that determine the importance of noise as an artistic language that refuses to be part of the art world.Licenciado en Artes VisualesCuenc

    Chinese Benteng Women’s Participation in Local Development Affairs in Indonesia: Appropriate means for struggle and a pathway to claim citizen’ right?

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    It had been more than two decades passing by aftermath the devastating Asia’s Financial Crisis in 1997, subsequently followed by Suharto’s step down from his presidential throne which he occupied for more than three decades. The financial turmoil turned to a political disaster furthermore has led to massive looting that severely impacted Indonesians of Chinese descendant, including unresolved mystery of the most atrocious sexual violation against women and covert killings of students and democracy activists in this country. Since then, precisely aftermath May 1998, which publicly known as “Reformasi”1, Indonesia underwent political reform that eventually corresponded positively to its macroeconomic growth. Twenty years later, in 2018, Indonesia captured worldwide attention because it has successfully hosted two internationally renowned events, namely the Asian Games 2018 – the most prestigious sport events in Asia – conducted in Jakarta and Palembang; and the IMF/World Bank Annual Meeting 2018 in Bali. Particularly in the IMF/World Bank Annual Meeting, this event has significantly elevated Indonesia’s credibility and international prestige in the global economic powerplay as one of the nations with promising growth and openness. However, the narrative about poverty and inequality, including increasing racial tension, religious conservatism, and sexual violation against women are superseded by friendly climate for foreign investment and eventually excessive glorification of the nation’s economic growth. By portraying the image of promising new economic power, as rhetorically promised by President Joko Widodo during his presidential terms, Indonesia has swept the growing inequality in this highly stratified society that historically compounded with religious and racial tension under the carpet of digital economy.Arte y Humanidade

    Living with churches in the Borders: mission and ministry in rural Scottish parish churches

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    Is there a sustainable future for mission and ministry in rural Scottish parish churches? In this thesis I use autoethnographic fieldwork within practical theology to understand and respond to the challenges and opportunities facing parish churches in rural contexts in Scotland. My research investigates the lived realities of two rural parish churches in the Scottish Borders over twenty-seven months of immersive fieldwork. It engages with existing research on rural churches along with broader discussions of congregational studies, church renewal and missiology, recognising the dearth of existing research into rural Presbyterian churches in Scotland. Throughout my thesis I use a combination of ethnographic ‘thick’ description, autoethnographic reflexivity and critical theological reflection to evaluate the sustainability of current models of mission and ministry as a foundation for discussions of possibilities for the future. My thesis acknowledges the unsustainability of traditional clergy dependent models of rural ministry and argues that a creative and sustainable future is possible if churches are willing to embrace a process of faithful change. I use the Five Marks of Mission as a framework for developing a rural missiology, arguing that rural parish churches have the potential to engage in embodied, creative missional practice as worshiping communities in rural Scotland. I conclude by addressing specific challenges facing the Church of Scotland in 2021, using the lens of rural experience to offer practical insight in looking towards the future

    All I remember is forgetting

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    All I Remember is Forgetting is a novel about the complex weaving of memory, relationships and works of art. We observe these through the eyes of Roger Phillips, whom we first encounter washed up and living in his car after the failure of a third serious relationship. Unsuccessfully married twice, Roger has not navigated matrimony as well as he might. Instead he has escaped into a world of painting, photography and sculpture. The main driving force behind the narrative is a wooden box containing Roger’s collection of 600 art postcards. These are pictures collected from galleries and museums around the world. Thirty years in the collecting, it took Roger’s second wife, Margot, only fifteen minutes to pitch them all into a landfill north of Auckland. Also missing were his most treasured books. Gone were all the stories from the myths of the Greeks and Romans on which he fed his imagination. So much so, in fact, that he is convinced that Eris, goddess of strife and discord, has been on a mission to ruin his life. While every book held special meaning, it was to each postcard that Roger attached his most personal recollections – the gallery, the surrounding city, the occasion and the person he was with. Each a complex narrative. All the memories of his life were tied to those small pieces of card; suddenly they were lost for ever. Art had always been Roger’s escape, his safe haven, but also his erotica, wrapping him in the beauty and hidden narratives in the lives of artists and their models. The imperfect fragments of Roger’s life show us that love is not best understood through art. Roger fails to see the philosophy of kintsugi, the Japanese art of golden repair. Breakage and mending are part of the history of your life, to be celebrated not disguised. This is a many-layered exercise in ekphrasis, where dramatic verbal descriptions of works of art are layered with descriptions of Roger’s married life. In some cases both become so entwined that they form an entirely new layer of art. The novel weaves the highs and lows of Roger’s journey; both the pain and the humour. Through the lens of great art and its creators we find mirrors, reflections and the distortion between life and art. We travel from Sheffield and London to Paris and New York, before coming firmly to rest in New Zealand. Do not believe everything that Roger tells you, but remember the words of Oscar Wilde: it is only through art that we can shield ourselves from the sordid perils of actual existence

    “That’s how we play”: an ethnographic investigation of the physical activity play, recreation and spaces of children and young people in Ireland

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    There are many different types of children’s play which vary according to age, gender and setting. Most analyses ignore some of the most common forms of play, such as physical activity play, especially during middle childhood and adolescence. The aim of this study was to identify the specific forms of physical activity play that children and young people (8 – 16 years) engage in across differing spaces in urban and rural settings in Ireland using an ethnographic approach. Physical activity play is a major contributor to children’s overall physical activity. This is important in the context of the progressive trends towards sedentary lifestyles, physical inactivity and childhood obesity, and the myriad health risks associated with these conditions. Fieldwork was conducted over a twelve-month period across four co-educational schools; a primary and a secondary school from both an urban and rural setting. Child-centred participatory, as well as quantitative methods, have been employed including child-based photography, child-directed walking interviews and anthropometry. Participatory methods empowered children as social actors and facilitated deep insights into a significant aspect of children’s lives. There is a complex interplay of factors shaping children’s physical activity play. The findings describe children’s perspectives on play and recreation in a variety of spaces including the home, school, neighbourhoods and the wider built environment. The study identifies ‘traditional’ forms of physical activity play that are continuously modified and influenced by the social context and the physical features of play space. Findings also relate to the wider socio-cultural processes that impact children’s physical activity play including age, gender, seasonality and geographic location. Recommendations have been put forward in relation to how physical activity play can be used to reduce sedentary behaviour, and in the prevention and treatment of childhood overweight and obesity. A recalibration of attitudes and policies is required to enhance children’s opportunities for physical activity play in all setting

    The Role of British Home Front Needlework during the First World War, 1914-1918

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    Between 1914 and 1918, over 18.5 million knitted and sewn needlework garments were made by volunteers on the British home front and sent to front line troops by voluntary organisations, including Queen Mary’s Needlework Guild. This thesis addresses the role of home front needlework, in the form of knitting, sewing, crochet and embroidery, during the First World War. Drawing on a wide range of primary sources, including letters, reports, diaries, newspapers and magazines, knitting patterns, song, film and cartoons, this study demonstrates the way needlework formed a complex social, cultural, political, and economically significant activity during the war. Needlework was a dynamic social tool for women which enabled them to question and contest their wartime role and to advocate and express their responses to the war. The dominant historiographical view that war needlework took place in a frenzy of ‘needlework mania’ in 1914, characterised by poor production, which then died out in the later war is challenged. It is shown that voluntary needlework was always subject to various quality controls, devised by needlewomen themselves, and that distribution was the more problematic issue. Furthermore, voluntary needlework became increasingly professionalised during the war to the extent that it was fully integrated into the supply logistics of the War Office and into the home front network of charitable war work. Needlework offered agency to women and also to wounded men on the home front: it provided a political tool for women’s war employment; it formed a communication of care between the home front and the front line; while the ‘feminine’ design language of embroidery gave wounded men a means of renegotiating their masculine status. This research demonstrates that First World War needlework held a meaningful and integrated role during the war
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