Commons, Associations, And Possibilities of egalitarian life in Paris, France

In this article I ask, at what level does the egalitarian life of the French Republic manifest itself? In what social spaces do people get to enjoy its slogan, Liberté, égalité, fraternité? I take these questions to be closely entangled with the concepts of public space and civil society, as well as that of the commons. How do Parisians use their urban commons? What kinds of restrictions and barriers exist to exclude people from this space? I describe the Bois de Boulogne public park in Paris and explore why this vast space of common enjoyment is subdivided to such a degree into zones of privilege and membership. I propose that the park exists as a miniature version, a heterotopia, of larger French society.publishedVersio

Partage à la demande et clôtures : Quelques aspects des nouvelles maisonnées de Port-Vila

Cet article discute certains aspects de la vie urbaine dans la capitale du Vanuatu. Lors de mes dernières recherches de terrain (2010 et 2014), j’ai étudié l’économie des maisonnées et l’organisation sociale des quartiers informels existant autour de la ville de Port-Vila. Je présente ici un aspect particulier de ces quartiers et mets à l’épreuve le débat établi sur la réciprocité mélanésienne, soit le partage à la demande et le don. Dans le cas qui m’intéresse, les résidents de nombreuses maisonnées installent un petit magasin où les membres de la famille et les amis du voisinage peuvent acheter les articles ménagers dont ils ont besoin. Comme la maison elle-même, ce petit magasin est clôturé et fermé, non par peur du vol, mais comme moyen de protection contre le partage à la demande agressif et la convoitise. Je défends l’idée que les gens de Port-Vila ont recours à ces magasins pour protéger la valeur du partage de la famille et des voisins toujours plus envahissantsThis article addresses certain aspects of town life in the capital of Vanuatu. In my most recent fieldwork in 2010 and 2014 I have been investigating household economy and aspects of social organization in the settlements that rapidly spring up around the town of Port Vila. I will present one particular feature of these settlements as a test case for revisiting the long debate about Melanesian reciprocity, demand sharing and gift. Notably, in many households people set up a little store, from which kin and friends in the neighborhood can buy their household supplies. Like the household itself, the store is typically fenced off and barred in – not directly from fear of theft, but as a defense against aggressive demand-sharing and envy. My point will be that people in Port Vila now tend to use the store economy as a way of protecting the value of sharing from the too intruding world of relatives and neighbors

Streets, sqares and heterotopia in the city. A comment to the last years’ events in Paris

Utgangspunktet for artikkelen er hvordan offentlige steder på forskjellige måter tiltrekker seg ulike kollektive uttrykk. For å peke på den særskilte rollen som gaten og torget spiller i byens utvikling, diskuteres de siste års hendelser i Paris gjennom begreper om «urban thresholds» og «heterotopi». På den ene siden legges det vekt på bevisst tilrettelegging av byrom for borgernes kollektive utrykk, eksemplifisert gjennom Place de la République i Paris. På den andre siden tvinger nye bevegelser seg frem i de offentlige rommene på tross av regien fra byplanleggere, med krav om sosial endring som ikke vinner frem på andre politiske arenaer enn gaten og torget. Dette eksemplifiseres i hovedsak gjennom aksjonene til «de gule vestene» på Champs-Élysées. I diskusjonen understrekes det at gaten og torget har en unik status i byen som møtested for forskjellige grupperinger, for opplevelsen av annerledeshet og mangfold og dermed også sosial nyskapning og kompleksitet.publishedVersio

Om Leiv Eiriksson, norrøn mytologi, vitenskap og våre samlinger fra "Amerikas Oldtid"

Sist vinter oppstod det en interessant diskusjon rundt det kjente maleriet til Christian Krogh, «Leiv Eiriksson oppdager Amerika». Det nasjonalromantiske maleriet kom i søkelyset til det nye nasjonalmuseet i hovedstaden, da direktøren mente maleriet var «kolonialistisk» og derfor ikke kunne stilles ut. Vi kunne lese at Krogh i 1893 deltok i en konkurranse i foreningen «Leif Eriksson Memorial Association» i Chicago, og at maleriet ble vist frem under en feiring av de europeiske settlernes ankomst i Amerika. Disse omstendighetene førte til at direktøren mente at bildet nå i 2023 hadde kommet i vanære, i lys av Black Lives Matter bevegelsen, oppmerksomhet om urfolks rettigheter og protester mot koloniale monumenter. Etter press fra mediene ble riktignok avgjørelsen omgjort, og bildet ble likevel hengt opp

En bergenser i Shanghai

I utstillingen i 4. etasje på Kulturhistorie har vi for tiden utstilt noen av våre mest spektakulære etnografiske gjenstander. Disse gjenstandene i montrene har vært vitner til spennende historiske hendelser og personlige skjebner, og de fører oss alltid til dramatiske øyeblikk. Dette er i hvert fall tilfellet når det gjelder den utsøkte dragen av sølv som nå har en hedersplass i vår utstilling

An Introduction to Egalitarian Thought and Dynamics

In this introduction we approach egalitarianism as an upsetting force that in various ways has shaped much of modern, especially Western, human history. We outline philosophical trajectories from the Enlightenment onward; consider the historical realization of an agency of ‘the people’ for the articulation of state, society, and politics; and highlight some issues that arise when the claims to freedom and equality clash against established institutions and values. Stressing the dynamic intertwining of the egalitarian with the hierarchical, we portray egalitarian life forms as modes of relationality that negate, subvert, or take advantage of open potentials in existing systems. Egalitarian life strives toward reconfiguring social orders through rupturing moments of effervescence and liminality while attempting to redefine central categories of life.publishedVersio

Kolonitidens lange røtter og den samiske samlingens aktualitet i dag

I vår samling av samisk kulturarv ved Universitetsmuseet i Bergen har vi gjenstander som ble innkjøpt til museet fra 1825 og frem til 1917. De rundt fem hundre gjenstandene vitner om flere av de mest avgjørende hendelser i samisk historie. Som museum må  vi i dag tenke nytt rundt den rollen som innsamlingen til museer hadde i den norske koloniale historien. Slik kan vår samiske samling bli relevant for forståelsen av oss selv som flerfoldig nasjon, og forholdet mellom den norske stat, embetsverket, vitenskapen og behandlingen av samisk kulturarv

Ventilatory drive and the apnea-hypopnea index in six-to-twelve year old children

BACKGROUND: We tested the hypothesis that ventilatory drive in hypoxia and hypercapnia is inversely correlated with the number of hypopneas and obstructive apneas per hour of sleep (obstructive apnea hypopnea index, OAHI) in children. METHODS: Fifty children, 6 to 12 years of age were studied. Participants had an in-home unattended polysomnogram to compute the OAHI. We subsequently estimated ventilatory drive in normoxia, at two levels of isocapnic hypoxia, and at three levels of hyperoxic hypercapnia in each subject. Experiments were done during wakefulness, and the mouth occlusion pressure measured 0.1 seconds after inspiratory onset (P(0.1)) was measured in all conditions. The slope of the relation between P(0.1 )and the partial pressure of end-tidal O(2 )or CO(2 )(P(ET)O(2 )and P(ET)CO(2)) served as the index of hypoxic or hypercapnic ventilatory drive. RESULTS: Hypoxic ventilatory drive correlated inversely with OAHI (r = -0.31, P = 0.041), but the hypercapnic ventilatory drive did not (r = -0.19, P = 0.27). We also found that the resting P(ET)CO(2 )was significantly and positively correlated with the OAHI, suggesting that high OAHI values were associated with resting CO(2 )retention. CONCLUSIONS: In awake children the OAHI correlates inversely with the hypoxic ventilatory drive and positively with the resting P(ET)CO(2). Whether or not diminished hypoxic drive or resting CO(2 )retention while awake can explain the severity of sleep-disordered breathing in this population is uncertain, but a reduced hypoxic ventilatory drive and resting CO(2 )retention are associated with sleep-disordered breathing in 6–12 year old children

Neuroprotective function for ramified microglia in hippocampal excitotoxicity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Most of the known functions of microglia, including neurotoxic and neuroprotective properties, are attributed to morphologically-activated microglia. Resting, ramified microglia are suggested to primarily monitor their environment including synapses. Here, we show an active protective role of ramified microglia in excitotoxicity-induced neurodegeneration.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Mouse organotypic hippocampal slice cultures were treated with <it>N</it>-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) to induce excitotoxic neuronal cell death. This procedure was performed in slices containing resting microglia or slices that were chemically or genetically depleted of their endogenous microglia.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Treatment of mouse organotypic hippocampal slice cultures with 10-50 μM <it>N</it>-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) induced region-specific excitotoxic neuronal cell death with CA1 neurons being most vulnerable, whereas CA3 and DG neurons were affected less. Ablation of ramified microglia severely enhanced NMDA-induced neuronal cell death in the CA3 and DG region rendering them almost as sensitive as CA1 neurons. Replenishment of microglia-free slices with microglia restored the original resistance of CA3 and DG neurons towards NMDA.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our data strongly suggest that ramified microglia not only screen their microenvironment but additionally protect hippocampal neurons under pathological conditions. Morphological activation of ramified microglia is thus not required to influence neuronal survival.</p