"The open door": liminalità e soprannaturale nelle ghost stories di Margaret Oliphant

“The Open Door”: il titolo rispecchia i concetti trattati in questo questo elaborato, nonché l’argomento stesso della ricerca, cioè il motivo della liminalità in rapporto al soprannaturale nelle ghost stories di Margaret Oliphant. In questa analisi, abbiamo focalizzato la nostra attenzione sulla prima accezione di significato del termine ‘limen’, ossia quella di ‘soglia’, approfondendone la comprensione tramite il ricorso alla teorizzazione lotmaniana. Abbiamo constatato poi, come il motivo della soglia sia ravvisabile in tutti i livelli del testo, tanto da indurci a considerarlo la caratteristica peculiare delle ghost stories della Oliphant. L’evidenza testuale ha messo in luce come questo motivo rivesta un ruolo cruciale in questi racconti, sia sul piano quantitativo sia su quello qualitativo, per di più assumendo, a seconda dei casi, valenze simboliche differenti. Nonostante la soglia si carichi di connotazioni simboliche diverse, essa svolge però, la medesima funzione all’interno di tutte le opere qui esaminate, ossia quella di marcare il confine tra due realtà diverse e potenzialmente antitetiche. Quest’ultime corrispondono all’opposizione di vivi vs morti. Inoltre, come abbiamo notato nel corso dell’elaborato, la soglia rappresenta il centro tematico e formale cruciale, all’interno di ciascuno dei racconti qui presi in esame

Experimentation as a learning method: developing a path for a creative study about the harmonic potentialities of the electric bass

Organologically classified as a melodic instrument, the electric bass has tonal and ergonomic characteristics that enhance its use beyond this designation. In this perspective, an increasing number of bassists seek to use the electric bass as a harmonic instrument. However, the lack of research on this approach hinders its development beyond individual initiatives. Based on an alternative tonal concept to consolidated practice, called LCCTO (Russell, 2001) and guided by a research design structured according to the concept of Affordances (Gibson, 1977) and the Perceptual Learning theory (Gibson & Pick, 2000), this investigation adopts experimentation as a learning method for performing vertical harmonies on the electric bass. The development of this path involves, (i) the construction of a harmonic vocabulary for the instrument and (ii) the creation of musical works from this vocabulary. The result of this work intends to contribute to the construction of a new paradigm for the practice of the instrument, for the academic discussion about it and, consequently, bring pedagogical implications concerning the academic program for bassists and the teaching methodology for this harmonic content. Regarding the latter, the proposed research design, as well as the harmonic vocabulary, structured as a book, may point to an initial path for further debate. The results achieved so far point positively to the potential of using experimentation for the development of a, here called, Harmonic Approach to the Electric Bass. The experiments already concluded provided a number of 1153 chords playable on the instrument, which has been organized as a dictionary, as well as extensive material resulting from articulations (simultaneous execution) between these chords and the different scales proposed in the LCCTO. Also included in this material resulting from the experiments, are the Creative Applications, organized as musical studies, which reflect, through composition, the use of the contents already obtained.publishe

Du paraphe à la ratification : les défis de la mise en œuvre de l'APE UE-CARIFORUM

Le 16 décembre 2007, à la Barbade, quinze États parmi les seize pays membres du Forum des Caraïbes (CARIFORUM), – excepté Cuba – paraphaient un accord de partenariat économique (APE) complet avec la Commission européenne. Le fait est d’autant plus notable, que les Caraïbes sont la seule « région » à avoir conclu un accord complet avec l’Union Européenne à l’échéance de la période de négociations qui s’est terminée le 31 décembre 2007. Cette contribution s’organise en trois parties. La première partie rappelle les conditions juridiques d’entrée en vigueur et de mise en œuvre de l’accord. La deuxième partie propose d’identifier les intérêts commerciaux et géostratégiques en présence du côté européen comme du côté caribéen et de discerner quelle a été la stratégie de négociations suivie par les négociateurs caribéens, ayant conduit au choix d’un APE complet. Enfin, la troisième partie évalue le contenu de l’accord dans les principaux domaines pour déterminer ses avantages, ses inconvénients et les points litigieux