The Past ‘Interpreter’. Historical Stratifications in the Ritual Symbolism of Saint Joseph Festivals and Holy Week in Sicily

I temi della continuità culturale e della "sopravvivenza" del simbolismo rituale sono stati al centro dibattito in campo religioso antropologico e storico. Sono diventati di nuovo di attualità in relazione alla la patrimonializzazione di feste religiose "tradizionali" come San Giuseppe e la Settimana Santa, festival il cui simbolismo rituale (banchetto sacro, processione, rami sempreverdi, pane rituale, canti e danze) mostra un'evidente radice pre-cristiana e agraria. Una serie di domande emergono sia sul l'utilità delle fonti storiche (archeologiche e documentarie) per quanto riguarda la comprensione delle realtà rituale temporanea, e sulla questione della continuità cronologica delle pratiche e delle credenze; Questi meritano di essere riconsiderate sulla base di nuove ricerche e osservazioni, considerando lo scioglimento di quella che è stata definita "civiltà rurale" e dei rinnovati interessi verso il patrimonio immateriale comunità alla ricerca delle loro matrici di identità. Possiamo e dobbiamo tornare a chiederci: può i token deterreni e immateriali del passato, anche i più remoti, ci aiutano a capire ciò che osserviamo contesti festivi in corso?The themes of cultural continuity and ‘survival’ of ritual symbolism have been at the centre of debate in the anthropological and historical religious fields. They became topical again in relation to the issue of the patrimonialization of ‘traditional’ religious festivals such as Saint Joseph and Holy Week, festivals whose ritual symbolism (sacred banquet, procession, evergreen branches, ritual breads, songs and dances) shows an evident pre-Christian and agrarian root. A number of questions emerge about both the usefulness of historical sources (archaeological and documentary) with regard to the understanding of contemporary ritual reality, and about the issue of the chronological continuity of practices and beliefs; these deserve to be reconsidered on the basis of renewed research and observations, considering the dissolution of what has been defined as ‘rural civilization’ and the renewed interests towards immaterial patrimony by communities searching for their identity matrices. We can and must go back to asking ourselves: can material and immaterial tokens of the past, even the remotest ones, help us understand what we observe in current festive contexts

Gayatri Spivak : une éthique de la résistance aphone

Figure des plus importantes dans le champ des études littéraires et culturelles aux États-Unis, Gayatri Spivak propose dans sa lecture provocante du mythe ovidien de Narcisse et d'Écho une nouvelle éthique, une nouvelle manière de penser la notion même de responsabilité. Sa lecture privilégie la figure d'Écho qu'elle interprète comme une figure allégorique complexe qui allégorise la condition du sujet post-colonial ainsi que la condition et la responsabilité du critique post-colonial. L'article se concentre sur la lecture que fait Spivak des réponses d'Écho et plus précisément sur la " différance " que Spivak remarque dans ces réponses et qu'elle propose comme une nouvelle forme de résistance éthique qui met en question les notions de responsabilité et de " différance ". Il essaie également de montrer que la réponse critique de Spivak elle-même peut être réinterprétée dans la perspective de cette " différance " résistante.One of the most influencial figures in the field of literary and cultural theories in the United States, Gayatri Spivak proposes in her provocative reading of the Ovidian myth of Narcissus and Echo a new ethics, a new way of thinking the very notion of responsibility. Focusing on the figure of Echo, she reads her as a complex allegorical figure which allegorizes the condition of the postcolonial subject as well as the condition and responsibility of the postcolonial critic. The article focuses on Spivak's reading of Echo's responses and, specifically, on the "differance" that she remarks in her response and that she views as a form of ethical resistance which challenges the classic definition of both responsibility and resistance. It also seeks to show that Spivak's own critical response may have to be read in light of this resisting "differance"

Les clercs de la ville de Mons en Hainaut et la production des comptes de la massarderie, vers 1300-1500

La production des comptes de la massarderie de Mons fut confiée aux clercs de cette ville qui, bien que ne maniant jamais eux-mêmes la plume, n’ont pas manqué de marquer profondément les comptes tels qu’ils sont conservés. En utilisant ces comptes et les registres des résolutions de la ville, cette fois écrits par eux-mêmes, on trouve des indications sur leurs vies et leurs tâches. Qui sont ces clercs ? L’analyse de leurs carrières laisse entrevoir des personnes parfois liées avec le pouvoir, pour qui la charge de clerc n’est souvent qu’une étape dans une carrière administrative, culminant pour certains dans l’échevinage. N’ayant sans doute qu’une connaissance rudimentaire (au plus) des pratiques comptables, les clercs de la ville de Mons sont avant tout des hommes de l’écrit documentaire

Cosa rimane dei subalterni alla luce dello ‘Stato integrale’?

Nei Quaderni del carcere Antonio Gramsci sviluppa un nuovo concetto di classi o gruppi sociali subalterni, utilizzato per caratterizzare tutti quei gruppi sociali che sono soggetti a forme di comando e di direzione politica e sociale imposto da altre classi, dominanti o dirigenti. Convertito al singolare, il concetto di “subalterno” è una di quelle nozioni originariamente gramsciane, che ha goduto grande successo a livello internazionale, soprattutto negli ultimi anni. Esso ha dato origine a un intero campo di ricerca accademica – i Subaltern Studies – affermando Gramsci come uno dei suoi “padri-teorici” più significativi. Oggi questo concetto gode di una diffusione disciplinare e di un riconoscimento diffusi tra giovani studiosi e studiose, in maniera paragonabile al concetto di egemonia; addirittura, in alcuni casi, il concetto di “subalterno” è considerato ancora più significativo rispetto al concetto, ad esso integralmente connesso, di egemonia, dal quale è talvolta visto come distinto ed indipendente, se non addirittura con esso posto in antagonismo

Zwischen Empire und Empower : Dekolonisierung und Demokratisierung

In ihrem Buch "Cultivating Humanity" formuliert Martha Nussbaum folgenden Appell: "(…) die Welt um uns herum ist unausweichlich international. Themen vom Handel bis zur Landwirtschaft – über die Menschenrechte bis hin zu der Linderung von Hungersnöten – fordern uns dazu heraus, den Blick über eng gefasste Gruppenloyalitäten hinaus zu wagen und weit entfernte Lebenswirklichkeiten zu berücksichtigen. (…) Die Kultivierung unserer Menschlichkeit in einer komplexen und ineinander verflochtenen Welt, bedarf eines Verständnisses über die Art und Weise in der gemeinsame Bedürfnisse und Ziele in unterschiedlichen Lebensverhältnissen je verschieden identifiziert und verfolgt werden" (1997, 10). Diese Forderung, die das liberale westliche Individuum dazu aufruft, sich angesichts zunehmender globaler Interdependenzen für Belange verantwortlich zu zeigen, die über das jeweilige Eigeninteresse hinausgehen, erscheint auf den ersten Blick als ein überaus lobenswertes Unternehmen

L’évaluation du rendement : perceptions de l’employé, de son supérieur et de ses collègues

Le but de cet article est d'étudier la relation qui existe entre l’évaluation qu'un subalterne fait de son propre rendement et les évaluations qu'il reçoit de son supérieur et de ses collègues. Suite à une revue de la littérature, l'auteur présente et explique les résultats d'une recherche effectuée récemment auprès de 215 cadres d'une entreprise canadienneThe purpose of this article is to study the relationship between an employee's own evaluation and the ratings he receives from his superior and his colleagues. Following a review of the literature, the author presents the results of a study conducted recently in a canadian firm.More precisely, this article attempts to provide answers to the following four questions : (a) does the evaluation which the subordinate makes of his own performance agree with the evaluation made by his superior? (b) if there is little or no agreement, which evaluation is more favorable to the employee? (c) does the evaluation made by the employee's peers agree with his own and/or with that of his superior? (d) if there is little or no agreement, are the peers more or less severe than the superior and/or the employee himself ?A review of eight studies which have compared self with superiors' evaluations indicates clearly that the two sets of ratings seldom correlate very well. Moreover, there are good reasons to believe that the subordinates generally tend to evaluate themselves more favorably than their superiors do. As far as peers are concerned, several studies suggest that their perceptions of the employees' performance correlate relatively well with those of the employees' superiors. There is very little research, however, concerning the relationship between peers' and self evaluations. There is also a serious lack of information concerning the favorableness of peers' ratings as compared with self and superiors' ratings.The study reported here was done with 215 managers in a manufacturing firm whose main operations are located in Québec and Ontario. Self evaluations on six factors were collected on a questionnaire. The respondents were then evaluated by their immediate superior and by an average of 3.2 peers.The results of this study can be summarized as follows: (a) there is little or no correlation between self and superiors' evaluations ; (b) subordinates evaluate themselves more favorably then their superiors do, on all six factors; (c) peers' evaluations correlate relatively well with superiors' evaluations, but do not correlate at all with the evaluations done by the subordinates themselves; (d) as far as favorableness is concerned, there are indications that peers' evaluations are located half-way between superiors' and subordinates' evaluations.Several explanations are suggested for these and similar results obtained else-where: lack of agreement on what the subordinate's job really is and what qualities itrequires ; stereotyped role-playing by both the superiors and the subordinates ; establishment of a « bargaining position » by both actors prior to the appraisal interview A major source of disagreement could also be found in the way superiors, peers, and subordinates select the norms against which they evaluate performance, and this is discussed at some length.As indicated in the conclusion, these results suggest that a « Management by Objectives » type of appraisal may be more necessary than some managers are inclined to think

Télétravail et leadership : déterminants des pratiques efficaces de direction

En 2013, il y aura un 1,2 milliards de télétravailleurs dans le monde. Comment un dirigeant parvient-il à motiver de tels employés, à les mobiliser, à créer chez ces derniers un sentiment d’appartenance pour leur entreprise, à faire en sorte que chacun se sente important et qu’il ait le goût de s’impliquer? Cet article présente les résultats d’une étude qui consistait à relever des pratiques de direction efficaces et à comprendre les déterminants de cette efficacité. Nos analyses ont permis d’identifier cinq pratiques et de proposer un modèle permettant d’expliquer l’efficacité du leadership dans un contexte de direction de télétravailleurs.In 2013, there will be 1.2 billion teleworkers around the world. How can a manager motivate and mobilize such employees, create a feeling of belonging to their company, and ensure that each individual feels important and wants to get involved? This article presents the results of a study that sought to identify effective management practices and understand the determinants of effectiveness. Our analyses enabled us to identify five practices and to propose a model that explains effective leadership in the context of management of teleworkers.En 2013, habrá 1200 millones de teletrabajadores en el mundo. ¿Cómo logra un dirigente motivar a esos empleados, movilizarlos, crear en ellos un sentimiento de pertenencia a la empresa, hacer de manera que cada uno se sienta importante y que tenga deseos de implicarse? Este artículo presenta los resultados de un estudio que consistió en revelar las prácticas de dirección eficaces y en comprender los elementos determinantes de dicha eficacia. Nuestros análisis nos permitieron identificar cinco prácticas y proponer un modelo que explica la eficacia del liderazgo en el contexto de dirección de teletrabajadores