Le volcan, la mine et la tombe: alchimie et transmutations d’auteur dans l’œuvre de Sade

The Marquis de Sade’s writing is often associated with the explosive force of the volcano. The violence and destruction of the natural phenomenon inspires the libertinage of his most ‘sadian’ of works. But there are other subterranean motifs that warrant comparison, especially since they connect Sade’s pornography with his avowed writing. The mine and the tomb, appearing in texts he signs, seem to reject and corroborate, respectively, the volcanic imagery and ethos. Brought together, these images create a dialectic in which Sade’s authorial persona morphs from one idiosyncratic space to the next. Starting with his enigmatic will, which condemns the posterity of the author to nothingness – a disappearance from ‘the memory of men’ –, this study will treat his will as an intermediary text in a process of circular retractions. I argue that the absence of a tombstone is part of a larger metaphorical alchemy that the marquis uses to contemplate the totality of his ‘Great Work’

La théorie des climats ou la structure poétique de l’interrelationnel : Jean Bodin peut-il contribuer à l’esprit géocritique ?

Dans l’histoire du déterminisme climatique, on peut facilement ignorer l’éventuelle créativité éthique des fameuses « théories des climats », surtout dans le cas de Jean Bodin, qui utilise la théorie pour promouvoir une vision hybride et harmonieuse du monde et ce, à une époque où les Guerres de religion sévissent sur les passions populaires. Ainsi, je m’intéresserai d’une part à l’expression rhétorique des climats, en quoi les différences climatiques jouent un rôle critique à l’égard de la société. Au fond, j’avancerai une performativité des climats qui instrumentalise l’espace et qui cherche à enraciner certaines valeurs dans une conscience nationale. D’autre part, ma discussion des climats dressera une analogie avec la géocritique de Bertrand Westphal. De façon métacritique, on pourrait s’interroger sur la structure argumentative ainsi que sur les fondements idéologiques de ce discours contemporain, où les valeurs d’« hybridité » ou d’« interdépendance » jouent aussi un rôle déterminant.In the history of climatic determinism, we can easily ignore the possibility of an ethical creativity within the climatic stereotype, a possible critical agency, especially in the case of Bodin, who uses the theory in order to promote a hybrid and harmonious vision of the world at a critical time in French history. I will argue that his version of climate theory has a performative function which instrumentalizes space and seeks to instill certain values within a national consciousness and, in turn, play a critical yet figurative role towards the intolerance of the civil war. On the other hand, my discussion of Bodin’s climate theory will draw an analogy with the “geocriticism” of Bertrand Westphal. In a metacritical way, we can question the argumentative structure as well as the ideological foundations of this contemporary discourse, where the values of “hybridity” and “interdependence” also play an important role.En la historia del determinismo climático, podemos fácilmente ignorar la posibilidad de una creatividad ética en las famosas “teorías de los climas,” especialmente en el caso de Jean Bodin, que usa esta teoría para promover una visión hibrida y harmoniosa del mundo, particularmente en una época en la cual las guerras de religión castigan duramente las pasiones populares. Me interesaré en parte a la expresión retorica de los climas, en la cual ellos juegan un papel crítico ante los ojos de la sociedad. Fundamentalmente, me refiero a una performatividad de climas que instrumentaliza el espacio y busca consolidar ciertos valores en una consciencia nacional. Por otro lado, mi análisis de climas hará referencia a una analogía con la geocrítica de Bertrand Westphal. De manera metacrítica, podríamos interrogarnos sobre la estructura argumentativa y también sobre el fundamento ideológico de este discurso contemporáneo, en donde los valores de la “hibridad” o de la “interdependencia” juegan asimismo un papel determinante

Politcal Symbols of Climate: Bodin, Montesquieu, Rousseau

My dissertation studies the discursive and performative functions of climactic determinism, a theory that explains human diversity as the natural effect of geographical influence. In a corpus which spans the Renaissance to the Enlightenment, I discover a common idiom in the famous "climate theories" of early modern France: representations of climate in Bodin, Montesquieu and Rousseau act as rhetorical straw men in which the scientificity of the discourse creates a veil for the expression of political thought and its controversies. Following a trajectory which leads from absolute to popular sovereignty, the role of climates is to stylize and reorganize different sociopolitical forces of the French kingdom. Beyond relativism and scientific validity, they reveal meta-juridical finalities of which the complexity is clarified through external metaphors. I show how the diverse reconfigurations of the "geography of others" reveals a social commentary of the philosopher, who reduces the components of a society into an imaginative and experimental schema.Ph.D.2016-11-30 00:00:0

Reflecting on parental insights into healthy lifestyles: a qualitative study

Children living in the most deprived regions are more than twice as likely as their affluent peers to be obese. One way we can explain the social gradient of health (determined by relative position on the scale of social disadvantage or advantage) is by identifying the barriers and drivers to health that different groups of people experience. This study explored the understanding and perceptions of (and barriers and drivers to) a healthy lifestyle to investigate how commissioned services can better support residents to enable behaviour change in an area of high social deprivation. This community engagement activity was also conducted to inform commissioning decisions in children's public health services. We used a qualitative study design with a semi-structured interview schedule. Four focus groups (5-8 participants, n=26) were conducted in an area of high deprivation in northwest England. Parents or carers were invited to attend anonymously by the Public Health Community Engagement Officer (in June 2022). The inclusion criteria were previous attendance on a weight management programme. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Engagement activities do not require ethics approval. All participants provided written informed consent to take part. No further information was collected about personal characteristics. The study participants demonstrated an awareness and understanding of factors affecting child and family health and health behaviours: healthy eating, exercise, mental health and emotional wellbeing, family values and attitudes towards a healthy lifestyle, cooking and budgeting, wider social connections, access to open spaces, availability of local activities, costs (including hidden costs), and structural barriers. Using the finding that participants recognise barriers and drivers to behaviour change beyond knowledge and skills, we reflect on why there was no take up for a commissioned intervention that aimed to address childhood obesity in the Lancashire area. These reflections inform arguments for an alternative model of service commission that relies less on established randomised trial evidence base and more on participatory codesign and a place-based approach (working with populations' existing knowledge and skills) and is particularly sensitive to people's own perception of the specific drivers and barriers they experience to behaviour change. Limitations include sampling from an area with low diversity and selection of participants who have previously agreed to uptake a weight management intervention. None. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.