Scripted bodies: reading the spectacle of Jacob wrestling the Angel

This article argues that by reading the spectacle of Jacob’s struggle with the angel/man in Genesis 32:22-32, we might explore how the difficulties of representing human and divine male bodies are also bound up with certain scriptings of what these bodies can mean. This is not to simply map biblical characters onto modern masculinities, but to focus on the ‘technologies of the self’ that are involved in reading in the present, a type of ‘pre-posterous’ reading (Bal, 2008) of these biblical patriarchs who inhabit a textual world that has historically been a part of constructing our conceptions of how social, political and theological textualities structure everyday life. I am concerned with how such representations are formed by interpretation and, if such interpretations are to become more androcritical, this includes the necessary acknowledgment of a poetic-ethic double-bind in deconstructive reading and retelling

Scripted bodies: reading the spectacle of Jacob wrestling the Angel

This article argues that by reading the spectacle of Jacob’s struggle with the angel/man in Genesis 32:22-32, we might explore how the difficulties of representing human and divine male bodies are also bound up with certain scriptings of what these bodies can mean. This is not to simply map biblical characters onto modern masculinities, but to focus on the ‘technologies of the self’ that are involved in reading in the present, a type of ‘pre-posterous’ reading (Bal, 2008) of these biblical patriarchs who inhabit a textual world that has historically been a part of constructing our conceptions of how social, political and theological textualities structure everyday life. I am concerned with how such representations are formed by interpretation and, if such interpretations are to become more androcritical, this includes the necessary acknowledgment of a poetic-ethic double-bind in deconstructive reading and retelling

What’s the Difference: A Study of the Nature and Extent of Racism in Rugby League

At the start of the 1993/4 season the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) and the Professional Footballers' Association launched the 'Let's Kick Racism Out of Football' campaign which subsequently gained the support of the Football Association, the FA Premier, the Endsleigh League and the Football Trust (CRE/PFA, 1994). That campaign led to discussions between the Rugby Football League (RFL), Leeds City Council and the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) with a view to taking action to address racism in rugby league. Some sports though have become renowned as being sites for racialist confrontations, most notably football, as recorded in Hill's (1989) account of John Barnes' experiences and Holland's (1994) work on the terraces at Newcastle, Leeds and Bolton. General impressions suggested that the position in rugby league was not as bad as in football, but racist abuse and occasional incidents of banana throwing and monkey chants have all been recorded at rugby league matches. Concern about racism at matches has also been expressed recently in the letters pages of the rugby league press and players have talked about their own experiences on television. Since we live in a racist society it would be remarkable if there was no evidence of racism in sport. Nonetheless, as the National Governing Body of the sport, the RFL recognised that this was not a reason for taking no action if it were demonstrated that there are cases of racism in rugby league. However, before embarking on direct action it was decided that information was needed on the nature and extent of racism within the game. To that end Leeds Metropolitan University was asked to survey attitudes and it was agreed that this investigation should have three main components: a) the attitudes of the clubs b) the attitudes of (black and white) players c) the attitudes of spectators At this stage we have been concerned only with the professional game, thou

Vistics

Vistics is a 2.5D platformer game for virtual reality devices such as the Oculus Rift. One of the major software goals in the Vistics design is to reduce the effects of simulation sickness in virtual reality devices. On the technical side, Vistics needs to achieve a low enough rendering time that matches the refresh rate of the device of the Oculus Rift - 90 Hz (also known as 90 frames per seconds). Additionally, the camera in the game must be capable of updating in under 16ms. This means that when the user changes their head position in the real world, the camera in the game must respond in less than 1/6th of a second. The camera system in Vistics is also designed to account for locomotion. Since the game world is moving as the player moves their head, the camera system must take this dual movement system into account. These issues are solved by designing and developing optimized software that can run on the PC hardware designed for the Oculus Rift. The Vistics presentation will feature a playable demo of the game. It will also feature a detailed explanation of the technology used to design the camera system in Vistics

Telemedical and Self-Managed Abortion: A Human Rights Imperative?

Early into the COVID-19 pandemic, abortion rights advocates highlighted the importance of maintaining access to abortion through telemedicine. It was argued that telemedical and self-managed abortion was, in the pandemic context, a human rights imperative. This article argues that providing for telemedical and self-managed abortion remains a human rights imperative beyond the duration of the pandemic. Telemedical and self-managed abortion is safe and effective, supports the pregnant person’s preferences and reproductive autonomy, and minimises many of the physical and structural barriers faced by pregnant people in accessing abortion services. International and European human rights standards access to abortion require states to take positive measures to guarantee access to abortion, and this article argues that such measures include telemedical and self-managed abortion