The Social Expulsion of the Migrant: Aesthetic and Tactical Interventions

In this article, I focus on the social expulsion of the migrant. Social expulsion refers to the multivalent ways in which those in power demean, vilify, exclude, displace, and strip people of hope for the future. Specifically, I write about fault-zones—the material realities of borders and border crossings—that render the lives of immigrants precarious, such as draconian U.S. immigration policies and actions that result in the death, criminalization and mass incarceration of migrants. I contend that in the present climate of hate against immigrants, artists’ interventions provide a means by which to create social awareness of dehumanizing social conditions and foster community engagement to mobilize resistance movements against injustices across geo-political and cultural locations

“Silencing” the Powerful and “Giving” Voice to the Disempowered: Ethical Considerations of a Dialogic Pedagogy

As an educator who is committed to social justice, I bring certain values and political commitments to the classroom. The counter-hegemonic voices that I bring into the classroom in the form of constructs, readings, assignments, discussions, and visual culture challenge more often than confirm students’ world-views and assumptions. The question that arises for me is whether I am silencing students’ voices through my teaching practices. Does my support of dialogic articulations and interests constitute privileging one “truth” or discourse over another? If so, am I using dialogue as a rhetorical device to persuade or to indoctrinate my students according to beliefs that I personally find emancipating? These are certain beliefs that, frankly, some students in my courses have met with various acts of resistance, ranging from disapproving silence to outright rejection. In this investigation, I reflect on the limits of dialogue in tension within my own teaching, and explore the function of dialogue and dialogism in relationship to pedagogy

Historical biogeography of the genus Cyriocosmus (Araneae: Theraphosidae) in the Neotropics According to an Event-Based Method and Spatial Analysis of Vicariance

The distributional history of the South American endemic genus Cyriocosmus (Araneae, Theraphosidae) was reconstructed, and a spatial analysis of vicariance was conducted. Results obtained with the software RASP (Reconstruct Ancestral State in Phylogenies), suggest that Cyriocosmus originated within an area currently represented by the biogeographical subregions of the Amazonian and Paramo Punan. We found 3 vicariant nodes: the 1st into the Amazonian-Caribbean, the 2nd into the Caribbean, and the 3rd into the Amazonian-Parana, Amazonian-Chacoan, and Amazonian-Parana and Chacoan. Using the Vicariance Inference Program we found that 1 vicariant node different from that obtained with RASP, and the hypothetical barriers for the clade were represented by the Voronoi lines in South America. In order to interpret biogeographical events that affected the genus Cyriocosmus, these results are contrasted with major geological events that occurred in South America, and also with previous biogeographical hypotheses.Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectore

Historical biogeography of the genus Cyriocosmus (Araneae: Theraphosidae) in the Neotropics According to an Event-Based Method and Spatial Analysis of Vicariance

The distributional history of the South American endemic genus Cyriocosmus (Araneae, Theraphosidae) was reconstructed, and a spatial analysis of vicariance was conducted. Results obtained with the software RASP (Reconstruct Ancestral State in Phylogenies), suggest that Cyriocosmus originated within an area currently represented by the biogeographical subregions of the Amazonian and Paramo Punan. We found 3 vicariant nodes: the 1st into the Amazonian-Caribbean, the 2nd into the Caribbean, and the 3rd into the Amazonian-Parana, Amazonian-Chacoan, and Amazonian-Parana and Chacoan. Using the Vicariance Inference Program we found that 1 vicariant node different from that obtained with RASP, and the hypothetical barriers for the clade were represented by the Voronoi lines in South America. In order to interpret biogeographical events that affected the genus Cyriocosmus, these results are contrasted with major geological events that occurred in South America, and also with previous biogeographical hypotheses.Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectore

Change/Interchange in Virtual Learning Environments: Aesthetic Activity and Video Letters Produced Between Brazil and U.S. Students

We analyze in this text, under a Bakhtinian perspective, dialogues produced and shared between undergraduate licensure students in visual studies education from two different countries, Brazil and the United States. The discussions were created for Aprendi 2.0: (In) Connection with the 9th Mercosur Biennial. This project aimed to promote online intercultural exchanges, which were integrated into the students’ curriculum. Among our analysis, it was possible to observe that the utterances produced by the students through video letters, promoted a dialogical and responsive encounter among them. We invited multiple voices into the text, which arose from video letters, images, and interactions on a virtual learning environment. The objective of the research was to understand from an ethic-aesthetic perspective, the processes of subjectivity formation of the involved participants that supported collaborative authorship in online environments

The species of Grammostola (Araneae: Theraphosidae) from Central Argentina: taxonomy, distribution, and surface ultrastructure of coxal setae

Three species of Grammostola (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Theraphosidae) from central Argentina are redescribed and illustrated. Moreover, their geographic distribution is reported. A new synonymy between G. vachoni Schiapelli and Gerschman 1961 and G. schulzei (Schmidt 1994) n. syn. is proposed. We did not find zones of co-occurrence with the three species but, in several localities, we found two Grammostola species in sympatry. The surface ultrastructure of three types of coxal setae was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Two morphological types of spiniform setae were found on the coxae. The first type consisted of short and strong piriform setae, with the surface completely covered by ridges, and the second type consisted of long and thinner spiniform setae, with a piriform basal portion. The basal portion of the setae had ridges, the central portion was smooth and the apical zone had numerous short barbs with curved tips. The different types of setae found in these Grammostola species are clearly distinguished, and could be new useful character to diagnose at least these species. In combination with other characteristics, these characters could probably help to solve the problems in other species of this difficult genus if not also other genera.Fil: Ferretti, Nelson Edgardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores; ArgentinaFil: Pompozzi, Gabriel Alejandro. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Pérez Miles, Fernando. Universidad de la República. Facultad de Ciencias; Urugua

Kinematics of male Eupalaestrus weijenberghi (Araneae, Theraphosidae) locomotion on different substrates and inclines

Background. The mechanics and energetics of spider locomotion have not been deeply investigated, despite their importance in the life of a spider. For example, the reproductive success of males of several species is dependent upon their ability to move from one area to another. The aim of this work was to describe gait patterns and analyze the gait parameters of Eupalaestrus weijenberghi (Araneae, Theraphosidae) in order to investigate the mechanics of their locomotion and the mechanisms by which they conserve energy while traversing different inclinations and surfaces. Methods. Tarantulas were collected and marked for kinematic analysis. Free displacements, both level and on an incline, were recorded using glass and Teflon as experimental surfaces. Body segments of the experimental animals were measured, weighed, and their center of mass was experimentally determined. Through reconstruction of the trajectories of the body segments, we were able to estimate their internal and external mechanical work and analyze their gait patterns. Results. Spiders mainly employed a walk-trot gait. Significant differences between the first two pairs and the second two pairs were detected. No significant differences were detected regarding the different planes or surfaces with respect to duty factor, time lags, stride frequency, and stride length. However, postural changes were observed on slippery surfaces. The mechanical work required for traversing a level plane was lower than expected. In all conditions, the external work, and within it the vertical work, accounted for almost all of the total mechanical work. The internal work was extremely low and did not rise as the gradient increased. Discussion. Our results support the idea of considering the eight limbs functionally divided into two quadrupeds in series. The anterior was composed of the first two pairs of limbs, which have an explorative and steering purpose and the posterior was more involved in supporting the weight of the body. The mechanical work to move one unit of mass a unit distance is almost constant among the different species tested. However, spiders showed lower values than expected. Minimizing the mechanical work could help to limit metabolic energy expenditure that, in small animals, is relatively very high. However, energy recovery due to inverted pendulum mechanics only accounts for only a small fraction of the energy saved. Adhesive setae present in the tarsal, scopulae, and claw tufts could contribute in different ways during different moments of the step cycle, compensating for part of the energetic cost on gradients which could also help to maintain constant gait parameters

The genus Grammostola Simon 1892 (Araneae: Theraphosidae): a new species from western Argentina, new synonymy and distributional data

Grammostola diminuta sp. nov. (Araneae: Theraphosidae) is described from northwestern Argentina; Grammostola vachoni Schiapelli and Gerschman 1961 is considered a senior synonym of Grammostola fossor syn. nov. Schmidt 2001 on the basis of material examined from the collection of the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ?Bernardino Rivadavia? (MACN). The geographic distribution of G. vachoni is extended on the basis of new records. Additionally, we present new diagnoses and new distributional data for Grammostola chalcothrix Chamberlin 1917, Grammostola inermis Mello-Leitão, 1941 and Grammostola pulchripes (Simon 1891).Fil: Ferretti, Nelson Edgardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico la Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores (i); ArgentinaFil: Pompozzi, Gabriel Alejandro. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Laboratorio de Zoología de Invertebrados Ii; ArgentinaFil: Gonzalez, Alda. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico la Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores (i); ArgentinaFil: Pérez Miles, Fernando. Universidad de la República. Facultad de Ciencias; Urugua