El juego de apariencias y realidad en la tradición épico-burlesca de "Don Quijote" y "An ice-cream war"

Al igual que la parodia, con la que comparte multitud de similitudes, el género épico-burlesco se ha tildado frecuentemente de parasitario por su dependencia del texto original que es objeto de la parodia. Sin ser el caso de Don Quijote de la Mancha, quizá sea éste el más claro ejemplo de narrativa épica-burlesca. A lo largo del siglo XX, escritores como William Boyd han intentado rescatar este género mediante la incorporación de episodios que muestran ciertos paralelismos con este tipo de escritos. El objetivo de este trabajo será, pues, el de trazar un análisis comparativo entre dos de los episodios más significativos de la obra de Cervantes y de An Ice-Cream War (1982) — en los que se puede apreciar de qué manera ambos autores juegan con el contraste entre apariencias y realidad con el fin de parodiar y satirizar los valores y bases de la literatura épica clásica. Asimismo, se intentará profundizar en las estrategias retóricas de que se sirven Cervantes y Boyd para conseguir este efecto épico-burlesco. Similarly to parody, the mock-heroic has been usually considered a parasitic genre due mostly to its dependence on the text that is object of its parodic deconstruction. It is precisely Don Quijote de la Mancha, one of the most universal literary accounts, the best example of mock-heroic narrative and a source of insurmountable studies and scholarship. Throughout the twentieth century, some authors have attempted to recuperate this tradition by means of introducing plots that evince certain parallelisms with respect to these early mock-epic works. The purpose of this paper will be, thus, to trace a comparative analysis between two of the most relevant episodes in Don Quijote and William Boyd ’s An Ice- Cream War –in which we can infer the way in which both authors manipulate the contrast between appearances and reality in order to satirise the foundations of classic epic literature. Also, I will attempt to analyse the rhetorical strategies both Cervantes and Boyd draw on in order to accomplish this mock-heroic effect

"Peace for our Time": a Uchronian Approach to British Fascism in Jo Walton’s "Farthing"

This paper draws on a uchronian framework to analyse Jo Walton’s Farthing (2006) as a suitable example of a counterfactual Britain in the aftermath of an effective peace agreement with Nazi Germany. The following pages will attempt to intertwine the purely historical comment on the intricacies that underlay the rise of fascism in the country with the allohistorical turns that ignite the plot of the novel and its point of divergence, which brings about the appointment of a fascist militant as Prime Minister and the outburst of a violent antisemitic wave. The study of this novel will be informed by a wide array of critics and historians like Amy Ramson, Karen Hellekson, Richard Thurlow or Nigel Copsey, among others, whose work contributes to tracing significant parallelisms between the historical outcome and the uchronian alternatives Walton explores in her workEste artículo parte de un marco ucrónico para analizar Farthing (2006) de Jo Walton, una obra que se centra en una Gran Bretaña alohistórica en los años posteriores a la firma de un tratado de paz con la Alemania nazi. Este estudio tratará de fusionar el discurso histórico de un periodo que es testigo del surgimiento del fascismo en el país con la propuesta ucrónica que plantea la novela y que trae como consecuencia el nombramiento de un militante fascista como primer ministro y el estallido de una violenta corriente antisemita. El análisis de esta novela parte de las teorías de críticos e historiadores como Amy Ramson, Karen Hellekson, Richard Thurlow o Nigel Copsey, entre otros, cuyos trabajos contribuyen a trazar interesantes paralelismos entre la historia que conocemos y el mundo contrafáctico que recrea Walto

What Is Right and What Is Wrong in Politics?: Objects of Satire in Julian Barnes's The Porcupine

The Porcupine appears as a remarkable piece of political satire, which follows some of the most traditional satiric conventions but also subverts some others. In the novel, Barnes does not only focus his criticism on the mischievous character but also on the supposedly righteous character, something very innovative with respect to more traditional satirical writings. This article will be based on the analysis of this dichotomy but, more specifically, on the factors that are denounced and satirised in the novel and the strategies that Barnes draws on to construct his satire. The number of targets that Barnes criticises in the novel is wide-ranging but I just concentrate on those which play a more significant role, that is, the evils of totalitarian regimes, the hypocrisy of Western political leaders and the stupidity in the figure of the dictator. This paper also makes reference to the function of secondary characters, which decisively contribute to the creation of an accomplished satirical effect

Racialisation and Dystopianism in the Irish Literary Context: A Case-Study

El "estado anómalo" al que se refería David Lloyd (7) en su obra homónima describe a la perfección la indefinición sociopolítica, económica e, incluso, geográfica, a la que se ha relegado al pueblo irlandés a lo largo de su historia. En este sentido, tanto la crítica literaria como la comunidad de escritores han intentado dar voz y cuestionar los clichés y estereotipos que se asociaron al país en el periodo de máxima algidez del victorianismo. The Green Gene (1973), novela escrita por Peter Dickinson y escasamente conocida, entremezcla cuestiones raciales largamente debatidas con una aproximación distópica a través de la cual el autor disecciona la realidad del pueblo irlandés en una época clave en su desarrollo como país. De esta manera, el objetivo de este estudio es el de analizar cómo esta novela representa una nueva e innovadora vía en el tratamiento del concepto de raza y cómo esta idea viene altamente determinada por los excesos de la ciencia y la manipulación genética, dos cuestiones que siempre han estado íntimamente ligadas con la literatura distópica.The "anomalous state" of Ireland that David Lloyd (7) referred to in his homonymous volume portrays accurately the in-betweenness in which the Irish have been historically relegated. In this respect, not only critical theory but also a considerable number of literary works have attempted to give voice, respond and, ultimately, challenge the stereotypical imagery associated with the country in the heyday of the Victorian era and afterwards. Peter Dickinson's rather unknown The Green Gene (1973) emerges as a noteworthy example of how notions of race in an Irish/Celtic context can be anatomised through traditional dystopian tropes. Thus, the aim in this study is to analyse how this work epitomises a new way of dealing with the very concept of race and how, in this precise case, it is strongly determined by the excesses of science and genetic manipulation, two questions that have been strongly related with dystopian literature

Efficient Transmission of Subthreshold Signals in Complex Networks of Spiking Neurons

We investigate the efficient transmission and processing of weak, subthreshold signals in a realistic neural medium in the presence of different levels of the underlying noise. Assuming Hebbian weights for maximal synaptic conductances—that naturally balances the network with excitatory and inhibitory synapses—and considering short-term synaptic plasticity affecting such conductances, we found different dynamic phases in the system. This includes a memory phase where population of neurons remain synchronized, an oscillatory phase where transitions between different synchronized populations of neurons appears and an asynchronous or noisy phase. When a weak stimulus input is applied to each neuron, increasing the level of noise in the medium we found an efficient transmission of such stimuli around the transition and critical points separating different phases for well-defined different levels of stochasticity in the system. We proved that this intriguing phenomenon is quite robust, as it occurs in different situations including several types of synaptic plasticity, different type and number of stored patterns and diverse network topologies, namely, diluted networks and complex topologies such as scale-free and small-world networks. We conclude that the robustness of the phenomenon in different realistic scenarios, including spiking neurons, short-term synaptic plasticity and complex networks topologies, make very likely that it could also occur in actual neural systems as recent psycho-physical experiments suggest.The authors acknowledge support from the Spanish Ministry of economy and competitiveness under the project FIS2013-43201-P

DYSTOPIAN SCIENCE FICTION AS A MEANS OF TEACHING ENGLISH TO TECHNICAL DEGREE STUDENTS

Introduction: the article deals with various possibilities of using literary excerpts from dystopian narrative in the classroom of English learners from technical institutes. This approach could fit into the traditional and communicative methodology framework for furthering a more informed and deeper understanding of lexical and grammatical formulas, syntactic relations, discursive particulars and extralinguistic concepts. Science fiction texts with a clear dystopian undertone provide a rich material for language-based analysis and in-class discussions inspired by poignant multimodal creative discourse related to the spheres of engineering, robotics, academic research and daily life. Therefore, it could raise students’ motivation, professional curiosity and fascination with the English language that is now part of the technical university syllabus. Materials and Methods: the author uses the theoretical and practical suggestions put forward by Western teaching ideologists and practicionaries of such literature and language approach as well as attempts to summarize her own experience of working as an English teacher at the technical university. Certain literary excerpts from exemplary science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” (1968) have been chosen for analysis and discussion. Results: the article showcases language uses and discourse messages in the passages of our choice as potential material for developing tasks, activities and discussions that could contribute to expanding students’ linguistic competencies and communicative skills. This could become a way of humanizing technical education and introducing socio-cultural or technological dilemmas. Discussion and Conclusions: the ideas for grammatical or lexical exercises, entertaining tasks or debate topics can be incorporated into the English courses that make an emphasis on general, specific or academic aspects and seek to avoid overloading their syllabus with non-contextualized or condescending English language textual material. These suggestions could be taken into account for preparing regular lessons, reading sessions or home tasks

From aithirne the importunate to Robert McLiam Wilson: a preliminary overview on the Irish satiric tradition

Among the multiplicity of genres and modes Irish authors have cultivated, it seems that satire has prevailingly flourished throughout the history of Irish literature. From the first invectives of Aithirne the Importunate to the works of contemporary authors such as Robert McLiam Wilson or Colin Bateman, satire has been an indissoluble component of the social, political and religious life of Ireland. It is no wonder, thus, that some of the most prestigious Irish writers -namely Jonathan Swift, Richard Sheridan, Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, Austin Clarke, or even James Joyce- have been unanimously praised and recognised as satirists. My purpose in this paper will be to trace a preliminary overview on the role satire has played in the Irish literary tradition, focusing on several authors and on how their targets and rhetorical strategies have evolved from Aithirne's early invectives. Therefore, this paper will purport to analyse issues such as the tumultuous relationship between Ireland and Great Britain, the unquestionable authority exerted by the Church, and the way recent novelists envisage the so-called Northern Irish "Troubles"

From aithirne the importunate to Robert McLiam Wilson: a preliminary overview on the Irish satiric tradition

Among the multiplicity of genres and modes Irish authors have cultivated, it seems that satire has prevailingly flourished throughout the history of Irish literature. From the first invectives of Aithirne the Importunate to the works of contemporary authors such as Robert McLiam Wilson or Colin Bateman, satire has been an indissoluble component of the social, political and religious life of Ireland. It is no wonder, thus, that some of the most prestigious Irish writers -namely Jonathan Swift, Richard Sheridan, Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, Austin Clarke, or even James Joyce- have been unanimously praised and recognised as satirists. My purpose in this paper will be to trace a preliminary overview on the role satire has played in the Irish literary tradition, focusing on several authors and on how their targets and rhetorical strategies have evolved from Aithirne's early invectives. Therefore, this paper will purport to analyse issues such as the tumultuous relationship between Ireland and Great Britain, the unquestionable authority exerted by the Church, and the way recent novelists envisage the so-called Northern Irish "Troubles"