"Go west, ever-young humanities"

The mid-nineteenth century politician and editor of the New-York Tribune, Horace Greeley, challenged his young countrymen with a forceful pronouncement, "Go West young man." Inspired by this assertion to move forward and search further by creatively continuing the journey into the future, I appropriate this call to action to the realm of the Humanities. Thus, the following pages propose to briefly reflect on the value of the Humanities as well as on the challenges they have met in the USA and elsewhere, especially in our own time, and the ways they may contribute to a better understanding of the complexities of being human and, above all, humane, as argued in the work of Jennifer Summit on the future of the Humanities.  The reference to the concerns of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Williams Carlos Williams with the role of the Humanities in their different times, and their defense of literary imagination will be complemented by a reexamination of the richness of the American West, more specifically as a locus for historical and creative dialogues with the spiritual journey towards a much searched-for promised land, known since Puritan colonial times as an “errand into the wilderness.” Examples of this search for humane responses to human dire predicaments are discussed via two films, Meek’s Cuttof (2010), directed by Kelly Reichardt, and The Homesman (2014), directed by Tommy Lee Jones, both new Westerns which, in their own way, follow up on the ethical citizen concerns present in Mark Twain’s novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885). The call for an active involvement in the social and educational realms in order to aim at building a more humane world is also a deep concern of a major figure of our time, Pope Francis. The mid-nineteenth century politician and editor of the New-York Tribune, Horace Greeley, challenged his young countrymen with a forceful pronouncement, "Go West young man." Inspired by this assertion to move forward and search further by creatively continuing the journey into the future, I appropriate this call to action to the realm of the Humanities. Thus, the following pages propose to briefly reflect on the value of the Humanities as well as on the challenges they have met in the USA and elsewhere, especially in our own time, and the ways they may contribute to a better understanding of the complexities of being huma and, above all, humane, as argued in the work of Jennifer Summit on the future of the Humanities. The reference to the concerns of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Williams Carlos Williams with the role of the Humanities in their different times, and their defense of literary imagination will be complemented by a reexamination of the richness of the American West, more specifically as a locus for historical and creative dialogues with the spiritual journey towards a much searched-for promised land, known since Puritan colonial times as an “errand into the wilderness.” Examples of this search for humane responses to human dire predicaments are discussed via two films, Meek’s Cuttof (2010), directed by Kelly Reichardt, and The Homesman (2014), directed by Tommy Lee Jones, both new Westerns which, in their own way, follow up on the ethical citizen concerns present in Mark Twain’s novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885). The call for an active involvement in the social and educational realms in order to aim at building a more humane world is also a deep concern of a major figure of our time, Pope Francis.Horace Greeley, político americano de meados do século XIX e editor do New-York Tribune, desafiou os seus jovens compatriotas com um imperativo "Go West young man". Inspirada por esta asserção de incentivo a ir sempre mais longe, continuando criativamente a viagem em direcção ao futuro, aproprio-me deste apelo à acção, trazendo-o para o campo das Humanidades. Assim, as páginas seguintes propõem uma breve reflexão sobre a importância das Humanidades, bem como sobre os desafios com que se confrontaram os seus cultores nos EUA e noutros países, também no nosso tempo, e a forma como aquelas podem contribuir para uma melhor compreensão das complexidades do ser humano que se quer, acima de tudo, solidário, como defendido na ensaística de Jennifer Summit sobre o futuro das Humanidades. A referência às preocupações de Ralph Waldo Emerson e Williams Carlos Williams com o papel das Humanidades nos seus próprios tempos e à sua defesa da imaginação literária será complementada por uma reavaliação do Oeste americano, mais especificamente encarado como espaço de diálogos históricos e criativos com a viagem espiritual rumo à muito almejada “terra prometida”, conhecida desde os tempos coloniais puritanos como "demanda no deserto". Exemplos desta procura de respostas solidárias a situações humanas difíceis são discutidos por meio de dois filmes, Meek’s Cuttof (2010), de Kelly Reichardt, e The Homesman (2014), de Tommy Lee Jones, ambos novos westerns que, à sua maneira, dão corpo à preocupação com uma cidadania ética também presente no romance de Mark Twain, Aventuras de Huckleberry Finn (1885). O seu apelo a um envolvimento activo nos domínios social e educativo, visando a construção de um mundo mais solidário é também uma profunda preocupação de uma figura maior do nosso tempo, o Papa Francisco

Introductory Note

Introduction to the volume.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Preferring not to : Bartleby’s NO in… Silence!

This chapter discusses Herman Melville's short story "Bartleby" (1853) and Shakespeare's King Lear (1606) influence in the short story.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Regresso, trauma e imaginação americana

Livro de homenagem à professora Maria Laura Bettencourt Pire

Feminine Identities

The first four essays in this volume all focus on issues of gender in the works of different English authors and thinkers. Shorter versions of each of these essays were formerly presented as papers in an autonomous section of the Research and Educational Programme on Studies of Identity at the XXth Meeting of the Portuguese Association of Anglo-American Studies (Póvoa de Varzim, 1999) and published in the proceedings of the conference. The second cluster of essays in this volume — two of which (Jennie Wang’s and Teresa Cid’s) were first presented, in shorter versions, at the joint ASA/CAAS Conference (Montréal, 1999) — addresses the work of American women variously engaged in contexts of cultural diversity and grappling with the ideas of what it means to be an American and a woman, particularly in the twentieth century. These essays approach, from different angles, the definitional quandaries and semantic difficulties encountered when speaking about the self and the United States and provide, in one way or another, a sort of feminine rewriting of American myths and history.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologi

Um Testemunho

Nota introdutória sobre o volume, contendo algumas considerações sobre o percurso de Fernando de Mello Moser na Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Lisboa.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Can Interpersonal Behavior Influence the Persistence and Adherence to Physical Exercise Practice in Adults? A Systematic Review

Objective: Motivation seems to be a fundamental indicator of long-term physical exercise adherence. Self-Determination Theory (SDT) argues that social environment plays a central role in the satisfaction of basic psychological needs, which might directly affect the quality of one’s motivation. Individuals who appear to be more self-determined tend to persist longer at certain behaviors. Therefore, this body of work intends to analyze the relationship between motivational variables and behavioral outcomes in the exercise context, having as theoretical background the Self-Determination Theory. Methods: This systematic review was conducted through an electronic search on Web of Science, PubMed, SPORTDiscus, and PsycINFO. Data such as instruments, main predictors and results were collected from studies published between 1985 and 2018. A total of 35 empirical studies were considered for a detailed analysis. Results: Results showed the relevance of autonomy support performed by exercise professionals, as well as the major contribution that these behaviors have toward the satisfaction of basic psychological needs, besides the inherent benefits of developing more autonomous regulations. According to the literature, few studies have analyzed interpersonal thwarting behavior and the way this relates to basic psychological needs’ frustration. Nether less, there seems to be a negative relationship between less self-determined regulations and exercise practice. Conclusion: Despite the existence of numerous cross-sectional studies that demonstrate positive correlations between SDT and behavioral outcomes in the exercise context, longitudinal research that analyzes all six dimensions of interpersonal behaviors and their relationship with persistence and adherence to exercise proves to be crucial. However, according to this review, interventions based on SDT appear to be fundamental when it comes to promote the maintenance of a long-term exercise practice.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio