253,526 research outputs found

    Response to Cult of the "I"

    Get PDF
    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to respond to an earlier article in the Journal of Documentation: The Cult of the “I”. / Design/methodology/approach: The method is a form of critical response. / Findings: Numerous problems regarding the The Cult of the “I” article are discussed. / Originality/value: This paper puts forward views about the iSchools Movement

    Metaphorizing the Holocaust: The Ethics of Comparison

    Get PDF
    Metaphorizing the Holocaust: The Ethics of Comparison  This paper focuses on the ethics of metaphor and other forms of comparison that invoke National Socialism and the Holocaust. It seeks to answer the question: Are there criteria on the basis of which we can judge whether metaphors and associated tropes “use” the Holocaust appropriately? In analyzing the thrust and workings of such comparisons, the paper also seeks to identify and clarify the terminology and concepts that allow productive discussion. In line with its conception of metaphor that is also rhetorical praxis, the paper focuses on specific controversies involving the metaphorization of the Holocaust, primarily in Germany and Austria. The paper develops its argument through the following process. First, it examines the rhetorical/political contexts in which claims of the Holocaust’s comparability (or incomparability) have been raised. Second, it presents a review (and view) of the nature of metaphor, metonymy, and synecdoche. It applies this framework to (a) comparisons of Saddam Hussein with Hitler in Germany in 1991; (b) the controversies surrounding the 2004 poster exhibition “The Holocaust on Your Plate” in Germany and Austria, with particular emphasis on the arguments and decisions in cases before the courts in those countries; and (c) the invocation of “Auschwitz” as metonym and synecdoche. These examples provide the basis for a discussion of the ethics of comparison. In its third and final section the paper argues that metaphor is by nature duplicitous, but that ethical practice involving Holocaust comparisons is possible if one is self-aware and sensitive to the necessity of seeing the “other” as oneself. The ethical framework proposed by the paper provides the basis for evaluationg the specific cases adduced

    From Campuses to Communities: Community-Based Cultism and Local Responses in the Niger Delta Region, Nigeria

    Get PDF
    Campus cultism which began in Nigeria in the 50s has dispersed into residential communities. This paper examined the infiltration of cultism from campuses to residential communities in the Niger Delta region (NDR) of Nigeria. It traced the origin of cultism in the NDR, investigated the diffusion of cultism to residential communities, examined community response to it and implications of community response for peace and security of the region. Using both primary and secondary sources of data collection, the paper traced campus cultism in the NDR to the establishment of universities in the region in the 70s and 80s. Cultism dispersed into residential communities through establishment of affiliate groups in communities by major cult groups and expulsion of students from campuses for belonging to cult groups during the federal government anti-cultism campaigns in 1999. Due to the criminal activities of the cult groups in the NDR and ineptitude of the police, communities have responded by creating vigilante groups but this has only promoted cycle of violence. The paper recommended that government should tackle community-based cultism and also strengthen the Nigeria Police Force to be responsive to insecurity

    The Putin phenomenon

    Get PDF
    The Putin presidency in Russia became increasingly popular as it progressed and a leadership cult developed around the president himself. Not only was there general satisfaction with the leadership as a whole, there was also evidence that it was regarded as increasingly successful in all fields of policy, particularly in international affairs; and focus group discussions as well as surveys suggested the newly elected president, Dmitri Medvedev, would be expected to continue those policies. A closer examination of the survey evidence suggests that the Putin leadership in fact had relatively weak roots in the wider society, and drew widely but superficially on public support. More than anything else it was the strong economic performance of these years that generated support for the Putin presidency, and this suggested that any future leader would depend for his position on maintaining that economic performance in what were now more difficult circumstances

    To Play, To Imitate, To Embody. On Acting in a Biographical Film

    Get PDF
    KoƂos Sylwia, To Play, To Imitate, To Embody. On Acting in a Biographical FilmWhat does an actor do in a biographical film? This question may seem inane, or at least less than serious; however, the terms frequently used to describe and assess the actors work in general - to embody a character, to play them, to play a role - suggests the existence of a certain designatum, which is the point of reference for the role. In the case of a fictional story, we may ignore the semantic multivalence of such terms. In a biographical film, however, the existence of a real originator of the role gives additional, almost ontological meaning to phrases such as “embodying a character” or “playing a role”. In my reflections, I use as my starting point the assumption that the actors performance in a biographical film and the “conception of a character” result from two basic components: 1. Interpretation of the role - constituting a proposal to analyse the heros character. It is usually supposed to extract more profound meanings and senses out of the biography. To put it more simply, the interpretation of the role is supposed above all to help the viewer to answer the question of who the hero was (what they were like) and why? 2. Adaptation - this includes the physicality of the character: their appearance, body language, facial expressions, voice (the tone, modulation, accent, phrasing, dialect - if the authentic person used one, etc.) In my article I try to answer the questions: Where should we seek the essence of biographic acting? How can we avoid exaggeration and falsehood, which could kill the role

    “I cluppe and I cusse as I wood wore”: Erotic Imagery in Middle English Mystical Writings

    Get PDF
    The mutual influences of the medieval discourse of courtly love and the literary visions of divine love have long been recognized by readers of medieval lyrical poetry and devotional writings. They are especially visible in the affinities between the language used to construct the picture of the ideal courtly lady and the images of the Virgin Mary. Praises of Mary’s physical beauty, strewn with erotic implications, are an example of a strictly male eroticization of the medieval Marian discourse, rooted in Bernard of Clairvaux’s allegorical reading of the Song of Songs, where Mary is imagined as the Bride of the poem, whose “breasts are like two young roes that are twins” (Cant. of Cant. 4:5). Glimpses of medieval female erotic imagination, also employed to express religious meanings, can be found in the writings of the mystical tradition: in England in the books of visions of Margery Kempe, in the anonymous seers of the fourteenth century, and, to some extent, in Julian of Norwich. Though subdued by patriarchal politics and edited by male amanuenses, the female voice can still be heard in the extant texts as it speaks of mystical experience by reference to bodily, somatic and, sometimes, erotic sensations in a manner different from the sensual implications found in the poetry of Marian adoration. The bliss of mystic elation, the ultimate union with God, is, in at least one mystical text, confidently metaphorized as an ecstatic, physical union with the human figure of Christ hanging on the cross

    All the world\u27s a stage: pageantry as propaganda at the court of Elizabeth I, 1558-1569

    Get PDF
    Elizabeth I of England was one of the most celebrated monarchs in history. Authors, playwrights, and artists venerated her in their art. At her accession, however, her subjects were unsure about their new queen. She was an illegitimate female ruling a religiously divided kingdom. In response to this, Elizabeth and her council initiated a propaganda campaign that created an image of Elizabeth as a wise, just, and well-beloved ruler. This thesis will examine Elizabeth’s coronation procession, the performance of plays and masques at court, and the queen’s annual progresses to show how Elizabeth and her subjects used drama, pageantry, and spectacle to communicate with each other, laying the foundation for the Cult of Gloriana
    • 

    corecore