Cultivating Spirituality

This is not a populist paper, contrary to its title. It deals with the the problems that spirituality makes explicit. It is a praxes oriented paper rooted in Pauline theology, giving way to the Hindu shastras/Scriptures

On Pregroups, Freedom, and (Virtual) Conceptual Necessity

Pregroups were introduced in (Lambek, 1999), and provide a founda-tion for a particularly simple syntactic calculus. Buszkowski (2001) showed that free pregroup grammars generate exactly the -free context-free lan-guages. Here we characterize the class of languages generable by all pre-groups, which will be shown to be the entire class of recursively enumerable languages. To show this result, we rely on the well-known representation of recursively enumerable languages as the homomorphic image of the inter-section of two context-free languages (Ginsburg et al., 1967). We define an operation of cross-product over grammars (so-called because of its behaviour on the types), and show that the cross-product of any two free-pregroup grammars generates exactly the intersection of their respective languages. The representation theorem applies once we show that allowing ‘empty cat-egories ’ (i.e. lexical items without overt phonological content) allows us to mimic the effects of any string homomorphism.

Acts of distinction at times of crisis: an epistemological challenge to intercultural communication research

In this article, we reflect on the epistemological frameworks and priorities of intercultural communication research regarding ‘cultural differences’. With the current challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the growing political and social polarisation in recent years, we argue for a need to (re)focus attention to the ways acts of distinction (i. e., the explicit marking and accentuating of cultural differences) function in everyday encounters. The notion of acts of distinction, supported with principles from interactional sociolinguistics and moment analysis, can further our understanding of the dynamics of domination and the symbolic dimensions of group formation

Sexual Misconduct and International Aid Workers: An Afghanistan Case Study

This paper seeks to add to existing study of gender and conflict by examining the complexities of interactions between international workers and local populations in spaces mired in war or post-war conflicts. Feminist scholarship on gender, war, and political violence/security provides the theoretical and empirically informed framework for this examination. I argue that in order to discuss Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA), it is necessary to first consider context with respect to location, gender, belief, and praxis. Universal conceptions of sexual conduct, misconduct, and SEA may be in opposition to acceptable practices within a particular site and situation. This includes addressing temporally specific conditions and the lack of legal parameters or enforcement during times of heightened conflict. Thus, both local populations’ and international workers\u27 obedience to international or national/local laws remains flexible rather than fixed. Consequently, civilian populations reside in a state of vulnerability to various forms of misconduct and abuse, including SEA. This study suggests additional research on the tensions and divisions between supposed universal rights and the beliefs or practices positioned in contrast to these standards

The impact of foreign relations between Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab Golf states on African migrants in the region

Bereits 1991 vertrat Ali Mazrui die These, dass das Rote Meer nicht dazu geeignet sei, Afrika von Arabien zu trennen. Denn beide waren durch Sprachen, Religionen (insbesondere den Islam) und Identitäten sowohl in der Sahara als auch im Roten Meer in einer historischen Verschmelzung von Arabismus und afrikanischer Identität untrennbar miteinander verwoben. Deren Trennung sei eng verbunden mit einem allgemeineren Trend, gemäß dem die weiße Welt ihre Reihen schloss und ein System der globalen Apartheid schuf. Die historischen Ursprünge der Kluft zwischen Afrika und dem Nahen Osten, d. h. die durch die Ideologie der europäischen Aufklärung und den frühen kolonialen Expansionismus geschaffene Sicht auf das Rote Meer und die Sahara als Rassen- und Zivilisationsgrenzen, wurden durch postkoloniale autoritäre Regime und Rivalitäten im Kalten Krieg sowie durch nationalistische Strömungen in Afrika, dem Nahen Osten und Nordafrika verstärkt. Saudi-Arabien und die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate betrachteten das Horn von Afrika zunehmend als ihre „westliche Sicherheitsflanke“. Sie waren sich einig in dem Wunsch, den wachsenden Einfluss der Türkei, Irans und Katars in diesem Teil der Welt zu verhindern. Diese Rivalitäten am Golf bildeten die Grundlage für die wachsende wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit mit SSA sowie für militärische Unterstützungs- und Sicherheitsallianzen, insbesondere am Horn von Afrika. Saudi-Arabien und die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate, die zusammen zu den größten Golfinvestoren in Afrika geworden sind, konkurrieren miteinander, insbesondere mit Katar, das in den meisten SSA-Ländern Botschaften eingerichtet hat. Zudem waren staatliche und nichtstaatliche Akteure aus dem Nahen Osten und Nordafrika in den 2010er Jahren eng an der Destabilisierung der Sahelzone beteiligt, unter anderem durch die Bereitstellung militärischer, geheimdienstlicher und ideologischer Unterstützung für SSA-Staaten und Terrorgruppen. Andererseits wurden die Golfstaaten zunehmend abhängig von Wanderarbeitskräften und der stetigen Zunahme der Migration aus SSA in diese Länder, verstärkt durch den massiven Zustrom aus afrikanischen Migranten-Entsendeländern angesichts der Einschränkungen afrikanischer Migration nach Europa. Bereits ab dem siebten Jahrhundert n. Chr. stützte sich Arabien stark auf den Sklavenhandel und die Bereitstellung von Arbeitskräften aus SSA, begründet mit der Philosophie, dass es legitim sei, schwarze Menschen zu versklaven, weil sie nicht besser als Tiere seien. In dieser Zeit wurde Schwarzafrika zum größten Sklavendepot der islamischen Welt. Bis heute gibt es im Nahen Osten bedeutende afrikanische Migranten- und Diasporagemeinschaften. Ihre Anwesenheit hat zeitweise dazu beigetragen, seit langem bestehende abwertende Ansichten und Einstellungen gegenüber Afrika und seinen Völkern aufrechtzuerhalten. Diese Einstellungen, die auf einer arabisch-zentrierten sozialen Hierarchie basieren und eine Verachtung gegenüber afrikanischen Kulturen zum Ausdruck bringen, sind bis heute vorherrschend und prägen die sozialen Beziehungen zwischen Arbeitgebern und afrikanischen Migranten in den Emiraten der Arabischen Halbinsel.As early as 1991, Ali Mazrui argued that the Red Sea was not suitable for separating Africa from Arabia. For the two were inextricably intertwined through languages, religions (particularly Islam) and identities in both the Sahara and the Red Sea in a historical fusion of Arabism and African identity. Their separation was closely linked to a broader trend in which the white world closed ranks and created a system of global apartheid. The historical origins of the Africa-Middle East divide, i.e. the views of the Red Sea and the Sahara as racial and civilizational boundaries created by European Enlightenment ideology and early colonial expansionism were reinforced by postcolonial authoritarian regimes and Cold War rivalries, as well as by nationalist currents in Africa, the Middle East and North Africa. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates increasingly viewed the Horn of Africa as their ‘Western security flank’. They were united in their desire to prevent the growing influence of Turkey, Iran and Qatar in this part of the world. These Gulf rivalries formed the basis for growing economic cooperation with SSA as well as military support and security alliances, particularly in the Horn of Africa. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which together have become the largest Gulf investors in Africa, compete with each other, particularly with Qatar, which has established embassies in most SSA countries. In addition, state and non-state actors from the Middle East and North Africa were closely involved in the destabilization of the Sahel in the 2010s by providing military, intelligence and ideological support to SSA states and terrorist groups. On the other hand, the Gulf States became increasingly dependent on migrant labour and the steady increase in migration from SSA to these countries, reinforced by the massive influx from African migrant-sending countries given the restrictions on African migration to Europe. As early as the seventh century AD, Arabia had relied heavily on the slave trade and the supply of labour from SSA, founded on the philosophy that it was legitimate to enslave black people because they were no better than animals. During this time, Black Africa became the largest slave depot in the Islamic world. To this day, there are significant African migrant and diaspora communities in the Middle East. Their presence has at times helped to perpetuate long-standing derogatory views and attitudes towards Africa and its peoples. These attitudes, based on an Arab-centric social hierarchy and expressing contempt for African cultures, remain prevalent today and shape social relationships between employers and African migrants in the emirates of the Arabian Peninsula.Dès 1991, Ali Mazrui affirmait que la mer Rouge n'était pas adaptée pour séparer l'Afrique de l'Arabie. Car les deux étaient inextricablement liés à travers les langues, les religions (en particulier l’Islam) et les identités du Sahara et de la mer Rouge dans une fusion historique de l'arabisme et de l’identité africaine. Leur séparation est étroitement liée à une tendance plus large dans laquelle le monde blanc a resserré ses rangs et créé un système d'apartheid mondial. Les origines historiques de la fracture Afrique-Moyen-Orient, à savoir H. Les visions de la mer Rouge et du Sahara comme frontières raciales et civilisationnelles créées par l’idéologie européenne des Lumières et les premiers expansionnismes coloniaux ont été renforcées par les régimes autoritaires postcoloniaux et les rivalités de la guerre froide, ainsi que par les courants nationalistes en Afrique, au Moyen-Orient et en Afrique du Nord. L'Arabie saoudite et les Émirats arabes unis considèrent de plus en plus la Corne de l'Afrique comme leur "flanc de sécurité occidental". Ils étaient unis dans leur désir d'empêcher l'influence croissante de la Turquie, de l'Iran et du Qatar dans cette partie du monde. Ces rivalités du Golfe ont constitué la base d'une coopération économique croissante avec l'ASS ainsi que d'alliances de soutien militaire et de sécurité, en particulier dans la Corne de l'Afrique. L'Arabie saoudite et les Émirats arabes unis, qui sont devenus ensemble les plus grands investisseurs du Golfe en Afrique, se font concurrence, notamment avec le Qatar, qui a établi des ambassades dans la plupart des pays d'ASS. En outre, des acteurs étatiques et non étatiques du Moyen-Orient et d'Afrique du Nord ont été étroitement impliqués dans la déstabilisation du Sahel dans les années 2010, notamment en fournissant un soutien militaire, de renseignement et idéologique aux États d'ASS et aux groupes terroristes. D’un autre côté, les États du Golfe sont devenus de plus en plus dépendants de la main-d'œuvre migrante et de l'augmentation constante de la migration de l'ASS vers ces pays, renforcée par l'afflux massif de pays africains d'origine des migrants compte tenu des restrictions imposées à la migration africaine vers l'Europe. Dès le VIIe siècle après J.-C., l'Arabie s'appuyait fortement sur la traite des esclaves et sur l'offre de main-d'œuvre en provenance d’ASS, fondée sur la philosophie selon laquelle il était légitime d'asservir les Noirs parce qu’ils ne valaient pas mieux que des animaux. Durant cette période, l'Afrique noire est devenue le plus grand dépôt d'esclaves du monde islamique. À ce jour, il existe d’importantes communautés de migrants et de diasporas africaines au Moyen-Orient. Leur présence a parfois contribué à perpétuer des opinions et des attitudes désobligeantes de longue date à l’égard de l'Afrique et de ses peuples. Ces attitudes, fondées sur une hiérarchie sociale arabo-centrée et exprimant le mépris des cultures africaines, restent répandues aujourd’hui et façonnent les relations sociales entre employeurs et migrants africains dans les émirats de la péninsule arabique

Applying feminist translation strategies in audio description On the negotiation of visual representations of non-normativity

Intersectional feminist translation provides visibility to the historically hidden or marginalized characters and narratives. This article interrogates the strategies we can apply to translate images into words, that is, to audio describe non-normative identities while adhering to the particularities of audiovisual productions. It poses the question of how to provide a feminist audio description that aligns with the creators' intent. The objective of this study is to analyse the strategies applied to create a gender-conscious AD of a documentary on lesbophobia where ten women share their experiences as non-normative persons. They are defined by a series of intrinsic features such as race, gender expression or age and present a myriad of differences that have irremediably influenced their experience of lesbophobia and how society reads and identifies them. The visual contents in this documentary provide essential information that complements the understanding of the problem by people with visual impairment. This action research study analyses the challenges emerged during the AD production. It aims to emphasize the mediating power of AD professionals and how they influence the understanding of blind audiences

Repressive dynamics and political subjectivities: the case of Peniche Prison

Este artigo analisa a experiência dos presos políticos no troço final do Estado Novo. Tomando a cadeia do Forte de Peniche como ponto de observação, explora-se o modo como as identidades políticas foram definidas, e até reforçadas, através do conflito com as dinâmicas coercivas emanadas da prisão. O confinamento, as regras, o isolamento, a vigilância e a punicão construíram uma teia punitiva destinada à produção de “corpos dóceis”. Diante disso, os presos contrapuseram estratégias de resistência que não só buscavam elidir a realidade objectiva da clausura como reafirmar a sua subjectividade militante. O artigo explora o papel das clivagens ideológicas entre os presos na operacionalização de distintas culturas de reivindicação e modos de vivenciar o quotidiano do cárcere, mostrando ao mesmo tempo como a vida prisional interagia com dinâmicas políticas mais amplas.This paper analyzes the experience of political prisoners in the final stages of theEstado Novo dictatorship. It uses the Peniche Fort prison as a case study, exploring the way in which political identities were defined, and even reinforced, throughout the struggle against coercive dynamics. Physical confinement, rules, isolation, surveillance, and punishment laid the foundations for a punitive structure that aimed to produce “docile bodies.” On the other hand, prisoners built up resistance strategies intended not only to escape the objective reality of incarceration, but also to assert their militant subjectivity. The article explores how ideological splits led to distinct cultures of protest and ways of experiencing everyday life inside the prison, whilst also revealing how prison life interacted with broader political dynamics