Reflections on Phenomenology and the Poetry of Kevin Hart. Foreignness and Strangeness at the Heart of Australian Identity

In a deconstructive fashion, this paper analyses the Heideggerian concept of Bodenständigkeit (“rootedness”) from the point of view of the Boden (“earth”, “ground”) in general, that is, before its diffraction as Bodenständigkeit and Bodenlösigkeit (“uprootedness”). Whereas Heidegger makes of the concepts of “description” and “expression” two species of the genre Bodenständigkeit, we will proceed otherwise, and derive them from the general concept of Bodenlösigkeit (“uprootedness”). In this way, following the threads of the poetry of Kevin Hart, we will suggest that it is possible to affirm that all poetry is about finitude, contingency and destiny, both from the point of view of its form and of its content. In the course of our analysis, we will wonder about the role of identity and alterity in the construction of Australian identity

Cannibalism in Montaigne, de Certeau and Derrida

In this text we introduce the discursive strategies of Montaigne, de Certeau and Derrida in analysing the figure of the cannibal. Both de Certeau and Derrida use textual strategies for their analysis, but whereas de Certeau remains at the level of discourse and words and therefore at the level of phonocentric language, Derrida’s analysis moves beyond Western ethnocentrism. These different approaches lead de Certeau and Derrida to different conclusions. During the Renaissance, the figure of the cannibal was the source of horror because it ate its own kind and married several women. De Certeau inverts this ethnocentric ethics and shows that cannibalism was a form of paying tribute to the valor and honor of the victim, and polygamy showed the devotion and fidelity of women towards their husbands, not as a sign of male domination. Contrary to de Certeau, but building upon his critique of ethnocentrism, Derrida does not bring about any reversal of values when analysing a particular cosmovision in the figure of the cannibal, for example. Taking the meaning of the word “eating” in both a literal and a figurative sense, Derrida shows that all cultures are organized around a notion of sacrifice that consists in clearing up an area that allows for a noncriminal putting to death. It is in this context that Derrida denounces the ‘mass exterminations’ of animals and the ‘crimes’ against the environment that sustain carnivorous and industrialised countries. The figure of the cannibal also provides a good example of how Western society constructs the height of its morality and good consciousness symbolically sacrificing and demonizing the other (the savage, the cannibal) just because it sacrifices another ‘other’: as all cultures are organized around sacrificial structures that are ethnocentric

Reflections on Phenomenology and the Poetry of Kevin Hart. Foreignness and Strangeness at the Heart of Australian Identity

In a deconstructive fashion, this paper analyses the Heideggerian concept of Bodenständigkeit (“rootedness”) from the point of view of the Boden (“earth”, “ground”) in general, that is, before its diffraction as Bodenständigkeit and Bodenlösigkeit (“uprootedness”). Whereas Heidegger makes of the concepts of “description” and “expression” two species of the genre Bodenständigkeit, we will proceed otherwise, and derive them from the general concept of Bodenlösigkeit (“uprootedness”). In this way, following the threads of the poetry of Kevin Hart, we will suggest that it is possible to affirm that all poetry is about finitude, contingency and destiny, both from the point of view of its form and of its content. In the course of our analysis, we will wonder about the role of identity and alterity in the construction of Australian identity

Why should Aboriginal peoples learn to write?

Cultures and worldviews are inscribed by means of ‘writing’, or what Derrida calls ‘the perdurable inscription of a sign’ (Of Grammatology). A sign is the union between signifier and signified. The signifier may be natural (clouds indicate that it is going to rain) or artificial. All cultures are made up of relations that stay at the level of signs, that is, everything that belongs to culture is empirical and conventional. In this regard, both Aboriginal and Western culture remain at the same level. Moreover, both cultures produce objectivity by means of contrast and experimentation, in the design of a sharp object, for example an arrow or a knife. In Ancient Greece, Havelock contends that the invention of writing dramatically increased the possibilities of objective thought (The Muse Learns To Write), but it also created a logic of binaries that transcended the objectivity of science and transpired into the ideology behind colonialism. In this context, the role of writing is analyzed in David Malouf’s Remembering Babylon. How does writing affect Gemmy all throughout the book? Already in the first Chapter, the teacher and the minister of the colony analyze Gemmy ‘in writing’. Gemmy knows what writing is but hasn’t learnt its ‘trick’: he does not know how to read or write. All he can see is that what he tells about his life, all his pain and suffering, is translated into marks and magic squiggles on the paper: only the spirit of the story he tells is captured. But little by little, the cognitive effects of writing get hold of Gemmy, until he starts to understand his life within the framework of the logic of binaries and identity upon which all reflective thought and science rest. All in all, this deconstructive reading can be seen as a critique of Europe’s modern idea of the autonomy of reason, in the name of a heteronymous rationality in the form of writing

Link level performance evaluation and link abstraction for LTE/LTE-advanced downlink

Els objectius principals d'aquesta tesis són l'avaluació del rendiment a nivell d'enllaç i l'estudi de l'abstracció de l'enllaç pel LTE/LTE-Advanced DL. S’ha desenvolupat un simulador del nivell d'enllaç E-UTRA DL basat en la tecnologia MIMO-OFDM. Es simulen els errors d'estimació de canal amb un model d'error de soroll additiu Gaussià anomenat CEEM. El resultat d'aquest simulador serveix per avaluar el rendiment a nivell d'enllaç del LTE/LTE-Advanced DL en diferents entorns . La idea bàsica dels mètodes d'abstracció de l'enllaç és mapejar el vector de SNRs de les subportadores a un valor escalar, l'anomenada ESNR, la qual és usada per a predir la BLER. Proposem un innovador mètode d'abstracció de l'enllaç que pot predir la BLER amb bona precisió en esvaïments multicamí i que inclouen els efectes de les retransmissions HARQ. El mètode proposat es basa amb l'estimació de la informació mútua entre els bits transmesos i els LLRs rebuts.The main objectives of this dissertation are the evaluation of the link level performance and the study of link abstraction for LTE/LTE-Advanced DL. An E-UTRA DL link level simulator has been developed based on MIMO-OFDM technology. We simulate channel estimation errors by a Gaussian additive noise error model called CEEM. The result of this simulator serves to evaluate the MIMO-OFDM LTE/LTE-Advanced DL link level performance in different environments. The basic idea of link abstraction methods is to map the vector of the subcarrier SNRs to a single scalar, the ESNR, which is then used to predict the BLER. We propose a novel link abstraction method that can predict the BLER with good accuracy in multipath fading and including the effects of HARQ retransmissions. The proposed method is based on estimating the mutual information between the transmitted bits and the received LLRs.Postprint (published version

Men in David Malouf’s Fiction

[eng] The aim of this thesis is to assess David Malouf’s contribution to the field of gender and men studies in his fiction books. In order to do so, I have proceeded by offering a close reading of each of his novels so as to emphasise those parts of the plot where gender and masculinities are more relevant, and from here engaging in a series of theoretical discourses as I saw convenient in the course of my analysis. We read his largely autobiographical novel Johnno in the tradition of the Bildungsroman. In this tradition, the main characters fulfil themselves when they meet the roles that society expects of them. Therefore, becoming a man or a woman means meeting these expectations. In Johnno, Malouf offers an alternative form of successful socialisation that redeems the main character, Dante as an artist but is also built on personal tragedy. We use Judith Butler’s studies on the performativity of gender, Hélène Cixous and Julia Kristeva’s ècriture feminine and their distinction between symbolic and semiotic language, Eve K. Sedgwick and René Girard’s studies on homosocial desire and triangulation, and Simone the Beauvoir and Pierre Bourdieu’s ethnographic research on women and Kabyle society, respectively, to read An Imaginary Life and Harland’s Half Acre. In An Imaginary Life, Malouf fictionalises the life of the poet Ovid in exile. In Rome, Ovid defies patriarchy and the Emperor writing a poetry that is uncivil and gay. In his exile in Tomis, Ovid decides to raise a feral Child against the advice of the women in the village, who end up using their power, based on folklore and superstition, to get rid of them. In Harland’s Half Acre, Malouf creates a male household where women are mostly absent, and a female one where the women are the main actors and men play a secondary role. When the main character of the novel, Frank Harland, finally recovers the family estate for his family’s only descendant, his nephew Gerald, the latter commits suicide. One of Malouf’s main concerns in his writings, the outcome of the novels privilege a spiritual sort of possession over one based on the values of patriarchy, that is, bloodline succession by right of the first-born male child, hierarchical power relations and ownership: Ovid survives in his poems thanks to the human need for magic and superstition, and so does Frank in his art. Michael S. Kimmel and R. W. Connell’s studies on men and masculinities, and historical research on Australian identity as it was forged during the colonial period and the World Wars help us read Fly Away Peter, The Great World, Remembering Babylon and The Conversations at Curlow Creek. In Australia, national identity and definitions of manhood are closely tied to frontier and war masculinities. In these novels, Malouf portrays the Australian legend: sceptical of authority, easy-going, egalitarian, larrikin, resourceful, etc. Unfortunately, the legend had a destructive effect on women and the feminine, and that is the reason why we recover from oblivion the important role that women played in the construction of Australia. Edward Said’s research in Culture and Imperialism, Homi Bhabha’s notions of hybridity and mimicry, and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness provide us valuable tools to analyse class and ethnic issues when we ask ourselves what it means to be a man in Remembering Babylon. Margaret M. Gullette’s studies on the representation of age bias in literature and Ashton Applewhite’s research against ageism provide the theoretical framework for Ransom, where Malouf tells the story of Priam’s ransom of his son Hector, urging us to wonder what kind of heroism is left to a man in his old age. Finally, we offer a close reading of the outcome of the novels, where the agents of transformation are always male or involve male characters: Dante and Johnno, the eponymous hero of the novel; the Child in An Imaginary Life; Digger and Vic in The Great World; Gemmy in Remembering Babylon or Priam and Achilles in Ransom. In this way, we hope to better understand and more clearly render the world of men that Malouf portrays in his novels.[cat] L’objectiu de la tesi és valorar la contribució de les obres de ficció de David Malouf als estudis de gènere i de masculinitats. Per tal d’aconseguir-ho, hem dut a terme una lectura fidel de les seves novel·les tot emfasitzant aquells elements de la història on el gènere i les masculinitats són més rellevants, i a partir d’aquí hem emprat una sèrie de teories que consideràvem adients en la nostra anàlisi. Hem llegit la seva novel·la àmpliament autobiogràfica, Johnno en la tradició de la Bildungsroman. En aquesta tradició, els personatges principals es realitzen quan compleixen les expectatives que la societat espera d’ells. Així doncs, fer-se un home o una dona vol dir complir aquestes expectatives. A Johnno, Malouf ens dóna una forma alternativa de socialització exitosa que redimeix al personatge principal, Dante, però que també s’erigeix sobre una tragèdia personal. Emprem la recerca de Judith Butler sobre la “performativitat” del gènere, l’ècriture feminine d’Hélène Cixous i Julia Kristeva i la distinció que fan entre llenguatge semiòtic i simbòlic, els estudis de Eve K. Sedgwick i René Girard sobre desig homosocial i el triangle amorós, i la recerca etnogràfica de Simone the Beauvoir i Pierre Bourdieu sobre la dona I la societat Kabyle, respectivament, en la nostra anàlisi d’An Imaginary Life i Harland’s Half Acre. A An Imaginary Life, Malouf narra la vida del poeta Ovidi a l’exili. A Roma, Ovidi desafia el patriarcat escrivint una poesia que és impertinent i divertida. Al seu exili a Tomis, Ovidi decideix criar un nen salvatge, contradient el consell de les dones del poble, que acaben utilitzant el seu poder, basat en les tradicions populars i la superstició, per lliurar-se’n. A Harland’s Half Acre, Malouf crea una llar principalment masculina on les dones hi són absents, i una de femenina on les dones porten les rendes de la casa i els homes hi tenen un paper secundari. Quan el personatge principal de la novel·la, Frank Harland, finalment recupera l’herència de la seva família i la vol entregar a l’únic descendent que queda de la família, el seu nebot Gerald, aquest es suïcida. Un dels temes més recurrents a les novel·les de David Malouf, el desenllaç de les novel·les privilegien una possessió de tipus espiritual per damunt d’una possessió basada en els valors del patriarcat, és a dir, la descendència basada en els fills legítims o de sang i els privilegis del fill primogènit, relacions jeràrquiques de poder i la propietat. Emprem els estudis sobre homes i masculinitats de Michael S. Kimmel i R. W. Connell, la recerca històrica de la identitat Australiana tal com es va forjar durant el període colonial i les dues Guerres Mundials en la nostra anàlisi de Fly Away Peter, The Great World, Remembering Babylon i The Conversations at Curlow Creek. A Austràlia, la identitat nacional i les definicions de masculinitat estan estretament lligades a les masculinitats de fronteres i de guerra. En aquestes novel·les, Malouf representa la llegenda del típic Australià: escèptic de l’autoritat, relaxat, igualitari, malparlat, informal, amb recursos, etc. Malauradament, la llegenda va tenir un efecte molt destructiu en les dones i els valors femenins, i per això recuperem de l’oblit l’important paper que van jugar les dones en la construcció d’Austràlia. La recerca d’Edward Said a Culture and Imperialism, les nocions d’hibridització i mimetisme d’Homi Bhabha, i la novel·la Heart of Darkness, de Joseph Conrad, ens proporcionen eines valuoses per la nostra anàlisi de qüestions ètniques i de classe quan ens preguntem què vol dir ser home a Remembering Babylon. Els estudis de Margaret M. Gullette sobre els prejudicis de la representació de l’edat a la literatura, i la recerca d’Ashton Applewhite contra els prejudicis de l’edat, ens proporcionen el marc teòric de la nostra lectura de Ransom, on Malouf explica la història de Priam, que rescata el cos del seu fill Hèctor de les mans d’Aquil·les, tot preguntant-nos quin tipus d’heroisme li queda a un home quan es fa vell. Finalment, oferim una lectura atenta de la resolució de les novel·les, on els agents del canvi són sempre masculins o impliquen personatges masculins. Per exemple, Dante i Johnno, l’heori epònim de la novel·la; el nen salvatge a An Imaginary Life; Digger i Vic a The Great World; Gemmy a Remembering Babylon o Priam i Achilles a Ransom. D’aquesta manera, esperem entendre millor i transmetre més clarament el món dels homes que Malouf ens representa a les seves novel·les

Reflections on phenomenology and the poetry of Kevin Hart. Foreigness and stangeness at the heart of Australian identity.

In a deconstructive fashion, this paper analyses the Heideggerian concept of Bodenständigkeit ("rootedness") from the point of view of the Boden ("earth", "ground") in general, that is, before its diffraction as Bodenständigkeit and Bodenlösigkeit ("uprootedness"). Whereas Heidegger makes of the concepts of "description" and "expression" two species of the genre Bodenständigkeit, we will proceed otherwise, and derive them from the general concept of Bodenlösigkeit ("uprootedness"). In this way, following the threads of the poetry of Kevin Hart, we will suggest that it is possible to affirm that all poetry is about finitude, contingency and destiny, both from the point of view of its form and of its content. In the course of our analysis, we will wonder about the role of identity and alterity in the construction of Australian identity