Melodies Unheard

Originally published in 2003. The fruit of a lifetime's reading and thinking about literature, its delights and its responsibilities, this book by acclaimed poet and critic Anthony Hecht explores the mysteries of poetry, offering profound insight into poetic form, meter, rhyme, and meaning. Ranging from Renaissance to contemporary poets, Hecht considers the work of Shakespeare, Sidney, and Noel; Housman, Hopkins, Eliot, and Auden; Frost, Bishop, and Wilbur; Amichai, Simic, and Heaney. Stepping back from individual poets, Hecht muses on rhyme and on meter, and also discusses St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians and Melville's Moby-Dick. Uniting these diverse subjects is Hecht's preoccupation with the careful deployment of words, the richness and versatility of language and of those who use it well.Elegantly written, deeply informed, and intellectually playful, Melodies Unheard confirms Anthony Hecht's reputation as one of our most original and imaginative thinkers on the literary arts

Making Meaning of Urban Greening in the Anthropocene

Municipalities worldwide are showing substantial interest in urban greening, defined here as the introduction or conservation of flora in cities. Encompassing innovative policies, designs, and initiatives that are vegetating the urban landscape, this bloom of activity may be unlike anything since street trees and large parks transformed the fabric of cities in the 19th century. Yet, there has been little scholarship on the historical and contemporary contours of these practices, which are emerging amidst two important phenomena: global urbanization; and increasing awareness of human-induced alteration of the biosphere, described here as the Anthropocene Awakening. This dissertation strives to make meaning of urban greening at this significant inflection point through a chronicle of trees in U.S. cities, assessment of city planning scholarship, review of scientific literature addressing human health benefits of urban vegetation, and a survey of municipal tree planting practitioners. Longitudinal study reveals that the rationale for urban trees has recently shifted from civic improvement and beautification to ecosystem services. Research on urban ecosystem services is an open frontier; and there is a pressing need for a definition and conceptual framework that reflects municipal greening practice. Human health is a central aspect of ecosystem services, and scientific literature reveals a psychosocial orientation to the human health benefits of urban flora. This suggests that cultural ecosystem services are especially important in urban settings; and that research and practice should address the socioecological dimensions of flora in cities. This represents an opportunity for urban planners and designers, despite a lack of attention to greenery in city planning scholarship. Literature also suggests that urban trees may, depending on many factors, be a minor component in mitigating local and global air pollution; and arguments based on this rationale may divert attention from the problem – fossil fuel emissions. A survey of municipal tree planting programs and practitioners supports this reasoning. Findings also suggest a planning and design norm described as proximal greening for multifunctional urban landscapes. Finally, as municipal leaders and residents grapple with the profound implications of the Anthropocene and seek to enhance the livability and sustainability of cities, urban greening may contribute more to the former than the latter

Interpreting the Administration: Burkina Faso's Courts in Translation

The court, a state organization, defines and sets the rules of the game in what regards the handling of trials in plurilingual Burkina Faso. In spite of around 60 languages being spoken in the country, French is the only official language, codified as such by the constitution. In Bobo Dioulasso, second largest city in Burkina, the language of the public space is Jula, a large, international language spoken throughout western Africa. Citizens who, through a chain of unfortunate circumstances, are brought to court, need a court interpreter to translate for them. They thus need to be made to fit the French space that is the court. Court interpreters themselves, however, are everyday citizens and not trained in interpreting techniques. The decision to hire court interpreters is a purely bureaucratic one and not based on either merit or training. On the one hand, I will describe these daily bureaucratic practices in the judicial system in Burkina Faso and their forms of rationalization, drawing on court interpretation. On the other, I will analyze the challenges to and shortcomings in these rationalization processes. The goal is to understand the role French plays in Burkina Faso’s courts – who insists or demands on using French in the courtroom? – in order to grasp the role the court interpreter plays and is made to play in this context

First-generation African Caribbean women pursuing learning in the third age and beyond: an emancipatory role for lifelong learning in community settings?

This thesis explores the benefits of lifelong learning and employs narrative inquiry as a key methodological tool to assess the value of learning in later years for black Caribbean women who came to Britain in the 1950s and early 1960s with the expectation of a better life. The study engages with black feminist epistemology (Collins, 2000; hooks, 2001; Hudson-Weems, 2004) to explore social and cultural identities brought to learning, illustrating solidarity in Caribbean sisterhood as the women find ways to rise above past and current oppression. The research examines the nature of learning for a category of women who are living at a time when being black, female and older is often associated with deteriorating health, poverty and isolation and challenges those who might argue that in urban areas, older minority populations have little to offer. Lifelong learning has been studied in a variety of ways and diverse research has examined its nature (Coffield, 1997, Field, 2000), its significant benefits (Schuller, 2001); its role in an ageing society (McNair, 2007, Withnall, 2000, Aldridge and Tuckett, 2001, Soulsby, 1999, McGivney, 1999), and in addressing class and gender divides (Jackson, 2004). However, limited empirical research exists exploring lifelong learning and minority ethnic communities and this study therefore seeks to make an important contribution in this area. The context for the research is located within the wider, largely economic debates into lifelong learning and often conflicting government rhetoric in the UK. It is set against a backdrop of shifting policies and diminishing resources for widening participation and adult learning and acknowledges the global challenge of an ageing society. Through contemporary narrative inquiry embedded primarily in the works of, Clandinin (2007) and Chase (2005), the study draws on the narratives of 102 older African Caribbean women, exploring the social and political dimensions of lifelong learning, alongside the individual benefits, and questions the extent to which their learning also benefits their wider communities

Divergence in Architectural Research

ConCave Ph.D. Symposium 2020: Divergence in Architectural Research, March 5-6, 2020, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA.The essays in this volume have come together under the theme “Divergence in Architectural Research” and present a snapshot of Ph.D. research being conducted in over thirty architectural research institutions, representing fourteen countries around the world. These essays also provide a window into the presentations and discussions that took place March 5-6, 2020, during the ConCave Ph.D. Symposium “Divergence in Architectural Research,” under the auspices of the School of Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology, in Atlanta, Georgia. On a preliminary reading, the essays respond to the call of divergence by doing just that; they present the great diversity of research topics, methodologies, and practices currently found under the umbrella of “architectural research.” They inform inquiry within architectural programs and across disciplinary concentrations, and also point to the ways that the academy, research methodologies, and the design profession are evolving and encroaching upon one another, with the unspoken hope of encouraging new relationships, reconfiguring previous assumptions about the discipline, and interweaving research and practice

Da epístola à mensagem electrónica : metamorfoses das rotinas verbais

Tese de Doutoramento em Linguística na especialidade de Linguística Portuguesa apresentada à Universidade Aberta“Da epístola à mensagem electrónica - Metamorfoses das rotinas verbais” é um estudo que tem como objectivo reflectir sobre a problemática do género epistolar, preterido nas análises linguísticas em Portugal. A análise do texto epistolar reveste-se, contudo, de uma grande complexidade, a que não é alheio o carácter de confluência disciplinar subjacente à natureza do próprio texto. A versatilidade do modus epistolaris, desta expressão nómada do pensamento, renitente e insubmissa quanto à sua classificação, incita a um entrecruzamento de olhares que, no caso presente, são tributários da história da literatura, da epistolografia, da retórica, e de diferentes correntes de análise linguística. O modelo de análise AICE (Análise Interactiva do Discurso Epistolar) que foi concebido, no âmbito desta investigação, corrobora essa perspectiva e pretende integrar e consolidar esse rumo. Evidencia-se, neste trabalho, a importância dos textos epistolares, encetando, numa atitude prospectiva, a divulgação de textos esquecidos, letárgicos ou descurados de consagrados epistológrafos portugueses. A investigação visa, assim, perscrutar as metamorfoses das rotinas verbais em textos epistolares, quer apontando a negligência da estrutura clássica e rígida da epístola, quer evidenciando a imutabilidade de algumas rotinas e a concomitante volubilidade de outras, em consequência da distinta e específica temporalidade da forma electrónica. A partir da defesa e comprovação da hipótese, inicialmente traçada, do “renascimento” ou do “reconhecimento” do género epistolar, a investigação pretende contribuir para a edificação de uma teoria do modus epistolaris.“Da epístola à mensagem electrónica - Metamorfoses das rotinas verbais” is a study that aims at discussing the epistolary genre, a field of research which has been overlooked by linguistic analysis in Portugal. The analysis of epistolary texts is rather complex, not least because of the confluence of different disciplines in the very nature of the text. The versatility of the modus epistolaris - this nomadic expression of thinking, rebellious and resisting classification - invites a multiply focused approach. In my analysis, literary history, epistolorary literature, rhetoric, and different approaches of linguistic analyses were used. The model of analysis IAED (Interactive Analysis of Epistolary Discourse), which was conceived in the course of this doctoral research, stresses this perspective, and intends to integrate and strengthen this kind of approach. This work shows the relevance of epistolary texts of celebrated Portuguese writers, and undertakes, prospectively, the publication of their often forgotten and neglected epistles. The goal of this dissertation is to investigate the metamorphosis of verbal routines in epistolary texts, indicating either the abandonment of the classical and rigid structure of the epistle, or the immutability of some routines and the resulting volatility of others, as an effect of the distinct durability of the electronic form. Rooted in the proof and defence of the hypothesis of a «renaissance» and «reconnaissance» of the epistolary genre, this research aims at contributing to the construction of a theory of the modus epistolaris.De l’épître au message électronique – Métamorphoses des routines verbales» est une étude qui se propose de réfléchir sur la problématique du genre épistolaire négligé dans le cadre des analyses linguistiques au Portugal. Cependant, l’analyse du texte épistolaire se revêt d’une grande complexité en partie due à la confluence disciplinaire sous-jacente à la nature du texte lui-même. La versatilité du modus epistolaris – expression nomade de la pensée, insoumise et obstinée, résistant ainsi à toute classification -, incite dès lors à un croisement de regards qui, dans ce cas, font converger l’histoire de la littérature, l’épistolographie, la rhétorique et plusieurs tendances de l’analyse linguistique. Le modèle d’analyse AICE (Analyse Interactive du Discours Épistolaire), conçu dans le cadre de cette recherche, confirme cette perspective et prétend intégrer et consolider cet itinéraire. Cette étude met en relief l’importance des textes épistolaires, ébauchant, à travers une attitude prospective, la divulgation de textes oubliés, ensevelis, ou négligés de certains épistoliers portugais renommés. La dissertation s’emploie à scruter les métamorphoses des routines verbales au sein des textes épistolaires, soulignant soit les écarts par rapports à la structure rigide et classique de l’épître, soit l’immutabilité de certaines routines ou leur extrême volubilité due à une temporalité différente qui émane de la forme électronique. Cherchant à soutenir l’hypothèse de départ selon laquelle il existe une “renaissante” ou une “reconnaissance” du genre épistolaire, cette recherche prétend contribuer à édifier une théorie du modus epistolaris

First-generation African Caribbean women pursuing learning in the third age and beyond: an emancipatory role for lifelong learning in community settings?

This thesis explores the benefits of lifelong learning and employs narrative inquiry as a key methodological tool to assess the value of learning in later years for black Caribbean women who came to Britain in the 1950s and early 1960s with the expectation of a better life. The study engages with black feminist epistemology (Collins, 2000; hooks, 2001; Hudson-Weems, 2004) to explore social and cultural identities brought to learning, illustrating solidarity in Caribbean sisterhood as the women find ways to rise above past and current oppression. The research examines the nature of learning for a category of women who are living at a time when being black, female and older is often associated with deteriorating health, poverty and isolation and challenges those who might argue that in urban areas, older minority populations have little to offer. Lifelong learning has been studied in a variety of ways and diverse research has examined its nature (Coffield, 1997, Field, 2000), its significant benefits (Schuller, 2001); its role in an ageing society (McNair, 2007, Withnall, 2000, Aldridge and Tuckett, 2001, Soulsby, 1999, McGivney, 1999), and in addressing class and gender divides (Jackson, 2004). However, limited empirical research exists exploring lifelong learning and minority ethnic communities and this study therefore seeks to make an important contribution in this area. The context for the research is located within the wider, largely economic debates into lifelong learning and often conflicting government rhetoric in the UK. It is set against a backdrop of shifting policies and diminishing resources for widening participation and adult learning and acknowledges the global challenge of an ageing society. Through contemporary narrative inquiry embedded primarily in the works of, Clandinin (2007) and Chase (2005), the study draws on the narratives of 102 older African Caribbean women, exploring the social and political dimensions of lifelong learning, alongside the individual benefits, and questions the extent to which their learning also benefits their wider communities

Malédiction des objets absents Explorations épistémiques, politiques et écologiques du mouvement transhumaniste par un chercheur embarqué

Depuis une dizaine d’années, le transhumanisme fait l’objet d’une attention soutenue de la part de nombreuses disciplines de sciences humaines, des médias et de nombreux acteurs du débat public sur les technologies émergentes. Très polarisé et virulent, le débat surprend par deux oublis. D’une part, le transhumanisme est rarement présenté comme un mouvement d’idées structuré en associations par des militants, mais plutôt renvoyé de manière vague à des grandes puissances lointaines (Silicon Valley ou Asie du Sud-Est en particulier). D’autre part, les objets techniques, qui focalisent l’attention, y sont en même temps relégués au rôle de décor en fond de scène. Cette recherche mobilise des perspectives croisées issues des STS, de la philosophie des techniques et des humanités environnementales, et est fondée sur une démarche de terrain de longue haleine au sein du mouvement transhumaniste, en particulier l’Association Française Transhumaniste. Elle présente une étude ethnographique approfondie du mouvement transhumaniste, en tant que défini, animé et habité par celles et ceux qui se disent et s’affichent transhumanistes. Cette thèse est composée de quatre parties principales. D’abord, elle présente un historique du mouvement transhumaniste et de sa lente structuration, ainsi qu’une cartographie de ses multiples composantes. La définition du transhumanisme adoptée ici reste volontairement incertaine, tout en conservant une précision descriptive : il s’agit d’un mouvement réunissant des individus qui considèrent que l’humanité peut et doit s’améliorer grâce aux technologies émergentes, afin d’augmenter sa santé, sa longévité, ou ses capacités physiques et cognitives. Cette définition prend au sérieux le fait que des hommes et des femmes, depuis une bonne trentaine d’années, choisissent de s’investir dans un mouvement qui s’attire les foudres de nombreux critiques. Qui sont ces gens ? Que veulent-ils ? Quelles sont leurs motivations ? Dans ce sens, plusieurs controverses internes au mouvement sont étudiées, afin d’en comprendre les dynamiques internes. Ensuite, des explorations épistémiques décrivent le type de savoir qui active la curiosité des transhumanistes, et montre que, bien plus que des ingénieurs prenant leurs rêves pour des réalités, les transhumanistes constituent une forme de public des promesses technoscientifiques qui irriguent le monde occidental. Dans cette perspective, je m’attarde sur le rapport que nouent les transhumanistes avec les objets techniques présents et futurs. Si les premiers sont souvent contrariants dans les pratiques quotidiennes, ils sont considérés avant tout comme des traces d’un futur à décrypter. Puis, des explorations politiques suivent les transhumanistes dans leurs activités quotidiennes de militants hésitants. J’y décris les efforts que les transhumanistes déploient pour être considérés comme des acteurs rationnels et respectables du débat public sur les technologies émergentes. J’y retrace également diverses initiatives d’organisation du mouvement en partis politiques, pour montrer à quel point l’insertion dans un débat social plus large et des contextes nationaux spécifiques fracture constamment un mouvement qui se veut universel. Enfin, des explorations écologiques ont deux enjeux : étudier la manière dont les transhumanistes répondent, rarement, aux enjeux environnementaux actuels ; et proposer une lecture centrée sur les objets (prothèses) de l’une des problématiques centrales du transhumanisme, l’augmentation humaine (human enhancement). Cette recherche a l’ambition de montrer qu’il ne suffit pas de s’attacher aux seuls contenus normatifs du transhumanisme pour en formuler une critique féconde. Enquêter sur leurs énonciateurs et leurs conditions d’énonciation doit ainsi enrichir les perspectives, en accordant aux objets techniques émergents un peu plus d’attention, et en les désenclavant de leur statut de préfigurations du futur. Plutôt que de débattre des conséquences éventuelles du transhumanisme, cette recherche étudie le transhumanisme au présent, en fait une énigme, ce qu’il s’agit d’expliquer plutôt qu’un point de départ. -- For the past ten years, transhumanism has triggered the attention of many disciplines, journalists, and many other actors of the public debate on emerging technologies. In this very polarized conversation, two omissions are striking. On the one hand, transhumanism is almost never reckoned as a movement of ideas, structured in associations by activists; but rather vaguely referred to major distant powers (Silicon Valley or Southeast Asia in particular). On the other hand, technical objects that are at the center of the debate are at the same neglected, as if they were nothing but the scenery of a normative debate. This research aims at cross-fertilizing STS perspectives, philosophy of technology, and environmental humanities. It is based on a long-term fieldwork, embedded within the transhumanist movement, in particular the French Transhumanist Association. It presents an in- depth ethnography of the transhumanist movement, as it is defined, structured and animated by those who call themselves transhumanists. This thesis is made of four main sections. First, I describe the history of the transhumanist movement and of its slow structuration, and I provide an unprecedented cartography of its multiple components. I stick with a deliberately unstable definition, yet descriptively accurate: transhumanism is a movement of individuals who consider that humanity can and must enhance itself with emerging technologies, in order to improve its health, longevity, or physical and cognitive capacities. This definition aims at taking seriously the fact that men and women, for over thirty years, have got involved in a very fragile and contested movement. Who are these people? What do they want? What are their motivations? In this sense, I study several internal controversies of the movement, in order to describe its internal dynamics. Secondly, epistemic explorations describe the kind of knowledge that triggers the curiosity of transhumanists. Here I show that, much more than engineers who take their dreams for reality, transhumanists constitute a form of public of technoscientific promises that irrigate the Western world. In this perspective, I focus on the ambiguous ways in which transhumanists relate to present and future technical objects. While the former are often frustrating in their everyday practices, they are mostly considered as clues of a future to be deciphered. Thirdly, political explorations follow the transhumanists in their daily activities as hesitant activists. Here, I describe how transhumanists struggle to be considered as rational and respectable actors in the public debate on emerging technologies. I also describe various initiatives, in which transhumanists have tried to set up political parties. So doing, I show that inscribing quite vague ideas in specific contexts and in a broader political context constantly fractures the movement, and brings in it numerous tensions and conflicts. Finally, ecological explorations face two challenges. First the ways in which transhumanists address the ecological crisis are at least surprising: most of the time they show little interest for this issue, and, when they don’t, their statements are somehow contrary to the central claims of the movement. Then I offer a reading of one of the core transhumanist themes, human enhancement, based on a thick description of the technical objects involved (prosthetics). This research aims at showing that focusing solely on transhumanism’s normative claims doesn’t allow for a fruitful critical examination. Investigating their enunciators and their conditions of enunciation should thus enrich the perspective. Giving emerging technical objects a little more attention might open them up from their status of prefiguration of the future. Rather than discussing transhumanism’s potential consequences, this research looks at it in its actual iterations and daily practices. This research accounts transhumanism as an enigma that has to be explored, much more than a starting point for normative claims