Dramatic structure and philosophy in \u3ci\u3eBrutus\u3c/i\u3e, \u3ci\u3eAlzire\u3c/i\u3e and \u3ci\u3eMahomet\u3c/i\u3e

An impressive amount of recent critical work has dealt with the philosophic element in Voltaire\u27s tragedies. His plays have been labelled a theatre of involvement and a theatre of ideas; they have been examined from the standpoint of propaganda and as tragedy. However,the focus of such studies has been primarily on Voltaire\u27s message or on the meaning of the plays, rather than on the dramatic structure he created to convey his philosophic concerns. Today, of course, Voltaire does not rank high either as an original thinker or as a dramatist. Nonetheless, his attempt to introduce his philosophic concerns into his tragedies continues to deserve serious attention. For even though his plays seem at times to be only weak imitations of Corneille and Racine, and his chief contribution to philosophy that of a popularizer, the effort he made to bring the two together was a real innovation in the French theatre. His involvement in both areas was intense and lifelong. Voltaire loved every aspect of the theatre--acting, designing scenery and writing. His intellectual activity was equally passionate and wide-ranging for he concerned himself with troublesome metaphysical questions as well as with the more practical problems of social and political reform. Given his love for both the theatre and philosophy, it was inevitable that Voltaire should seek to combine the two. Moreover, one of the most fascinating features of this marriage is the point at which philosophy and the theatre converge--the dramatic structure of these plays. As Robert Niklaus has noted, Voltaire\u27s treatment of philosophical themes in the tragedies is less complex than in his other writings, and it remained fairly constant throughout his long career as a dramatist. How Voltaire turned the theatre into a vehicle for his thought is perhaps as interesting as the message itself

Dramatic structure and philosophy in \u3ci\u3eBrutus\u3c/i\u3e, \u3ci\u3eAlzire\u3c/i\u3e and \u3ci\u3eMahomet\u3c/i\u3e

An impressive amount of recent critical work has dealt with the philosophic element in Voltaire\u27s tragedies. His plays have been labelled a theatre of involvement and a theatre of ideas; they have been examined from the standpoint of propaganda and as tragedy. However,the focus of such studies has been primarily on Voltaire\u27s message or on the meaning of the plays, rather than on the dramatic structure he created to convey his philosophic concerns. Today, of course, Voltaire does not rank high either as an original thinker or as a dramatist. Nonetheless, his attempt to introduce his philosophic concerns into his tragedies continues to deserve serious attention. For even though his plays seem at times to be only weak imitations of Corneille and Racine, and his chief contribution to philosophy that of a popularizer, the effort he made to bring the two together was a real innovation in the French theatre. His involvement in both areas was intense and lifelong. Voltaire loved every aspect of the theatre--acting, designing scenery and writing. His intellectual activity was equally passionate and wide-ranging for he concerned himself with troublesome metaphysical questions as well as with the more practical problems of social and political reform. Given his love for both the theatre and philosophy, it was inevitable that Voltaire should seek to combine the two. Moreover, one of the most fascinating features of this marriage is the point at which philosophy and the theatre converge--the dramatic structure of these plays. As Robert Niklaus has noted, Voltaire\u27s treatment of philosophical themes in the tragedies is less complex than in his other writings, and it remained fairly constant throughout his long career as a dramatist. How Voltaire turned the theatre into a vehicle for his thought is perhaps as interesting as the message itself

Consolation and the Work of Mourning in \u3ci\u3eAngéline de Montbrun\u3c/i\u3e

The dynamics of this foundational text of Canadian literature come from its heroine\u27s drive to resolve her overwhelming sense of loss. Angéline loses her father, her beauty, and the love of her fiance Maurice within the space of three pages against a backdrop formed by memory of the loss suffered at the Conquest. Indeed, reading the novel under the sign of resignation is a commonplace. Critics as diverse as the early Catholic reviewers, more recent biographically-oriented researchers, and Freudian and feminist commentators have underscored Angeline\u27s attempts to resign herself to this succession of losses. To a lesser extent they have also noted the link the novel makes between consolation and resignation. However, most such comments do not do justice to the centrality of mourning and consolation in Angéline

Sharing Grief/Initiating Consolation: Voltaire\u27s Letters of Condolence

The letter of condolence has generally been neglected by students of epistolary discourse in spite of being located at the intersection of a number of recent critical concerns. Interest among historians of death is shifting from the ars moriendi that prepared the dying for a holy death to the grief of those who mourn the deceased. Second, letters of condolence raise the problem of the representation of grief and the adequacy of language to convey it. Finally, a rhetoric of consolation is implicit in the topoi of condolence selected by the letter writer, and while the consolatory discourse of antiquity has been the subject of much study, only recently has consolation in the early modern period attracted attention. Voltaire\u27s extensive correspondence not only offers varied examples of letters of condolence, but consolation is a theme to which he repeatedly returned both in his letters and in the contes

L\u27identité québécoise en ligne

Le présent article se composera donc de deux parties. S\u27organisant autour de plusieurs tensions dans les valeurs québécoises, la première passera en revue le contenu de nombreux sites Internet. Elle mettra ainsi en lumière certains choix culturels des Québécois qui caractérisent leur mode de vie de ceux des Français, des États-Uniens et des Canadiens anglais. On trouvera ensuite, en appendice, une évaluation critique des principaux portails et sites Web généralistes qui traitent du Québec dans les domaines de la langue, de l\u27histoire, de la culture et de la géographie. L\u27interprétation de l\u27identité québécoise dans la première partie est proposée comme hypothèse de travail servant à provoquer la réflexion ; les valeurs et les tendances mentionnées sont souvent citées dans les discussions sur l\u27identité, mais la manière dont elles sont présentées m\u27est propre. De même, le répertoire des sites aura un caractère personnel étant donné le nombre à répertorier et la rapidité avec laquelle ils évoluent. Plusieurs des sites énumérés dans l\u27essai ne seront pas repris dans le répertoire, soit parce que leur centre d\u27intérêt n\u27est pas le Québec, soit parce qu\u27ils représentent un point de vue limité. Inversement, l\u27adresse des sites qui figurent dans le répertoire ne sera généralement pas donnée dans l\u27essai

Electrostatic Solar Sail: A Propellantless Propulsion Concept for an Interstellar Probe Mission

The propulsion of an electrostatic solar sail (E Sail) is obtained by extracting momentum from the solar wind through electrostatic repulsion of the positively charged solar wind ions (see Figure 1). The positively charged solar wind protons are deflected by the electric field created around the tethers.This electric field grows in diameter as the spacecraft moves away from the Sun, therefore the E Sail effective area grows. The growth of the E-Sail effective area allows the propulsive force to decrease as 1/r up to distances of 20 AU as it moves away from the Sun, unlike solar sail propulsion whose thrust decreases as 1/r 2 but only to distances of 5AU. This propulsive force is created without using propellant and, therefore, E-sail avoids both the mass and complexity of chemical rockets (that require large amounts of propellant, propellant storage tanks, plumbing, valves, and insulation)

Is TrpM5 a reliable marker for chemosensory cells? Multiple types of microvillous cells in the main olfactory epithelium of mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In the past, ciliated receptor neurons, basal cells, and supporting cells were considered the principal components of the main olfactory epithelium. Several studies reported the presence of microvillous cells but their function is unknown. A recent report showed cells in the main olfactory epithelium that express the transient receptor potential channel TrpM5 claiming that these cells are chemosensory and that TrpM5 is an intrinsic signaling component of mammalian chemosensory organs. We asked whether the TrpM5-positive cells in the olfactory epithelium are microvillous and whether they belong to a chemosensory system, i.e. are olfactory neurons or trigeminally-innervated solitary chemosensory cells.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We investigated the main olfactory epithelium of mice at the light and electron microscopic level and describe several subpopulations of microvillous cells. The ultrastructure of the microvillous cells reveals at least three morphologically different types two of which express the TrpM5 channel. None of these cells have an axon that projects to the olfactory bulb. Tests with a large panel of cell markers indicate that the TrpM5-positive cells are not sensory since they express neither neuronal markers nor are contacted by trigeminal nerve fibers.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We conclude that TrpM5 is not a reliable marker for chemosensory cells. The TrpM5-positive cells of the olfactory epithelium are microvillous and may be chemoresponsive albeit not part of the sensory apparatus. Activity of these microvillous cells may however influence functionality of local elements of the olfactory system.</p

Internet-based medical education: a realist review of what works, for whom and in what circumstances

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0

The Fifth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

This paper describes the Fifth Data Release (DR5) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). DR5 includes all survey quality data taken through June 2005 and represents the completion of the SDSS-I project (whose successor, SDSS-II will continue through mid-2008). It includes five-band photometric data for 217 million objects selected over 8000 square degrees, and 1,048,960 spectra of galaxies, quasars, and stars selected from 5713 square degrees of that imaging data. These numbers represent a roughly 20% increment over those of the Fourth Data Release; all the data from previous data releases are included in the present release. In addition to "standard" SDSS observations, DR5 includes repeat scans of the southern equatorial stripe, imaging scans across M31 and the core of the Perseus cluster of galaxies, and the first spectroscopic data from SEGUE, a survey to explore the kinematics and chemical evolution of the Galaxy. The catalog database incorporates several new features, including photometric redshifts of galaxies, tables of matched objects in overlap regions of the imaging survey, and tools that allow precise computations of survey geometry for statistical investigations.Comment: ApJ Supp, in press, October 2007. This paper describes DR5. The SDSS Sixth Data Release (DR6) is now public, available from http://www.sdss.or