Review: Sarah Cooper (2013) The Soul of Film Theory, London: Palgrave. 224 pp

Review of Cooper, S. "The Soul of Film Theory" (2013), London: Palgrave. 224 p

Psychoanalysis and Ethics in Documentary Film

Psychoanalysis has been used extensively in film studies from the late 1960s and 1970s onwards. Inspired by Jacques Lacan, the work of Metz and Baudry in France and Mulvey and McCabe in the United Kingdom laid the foundations for film theory that explored the relationship between cinematic systems such as the apparatus and the screen on the one hand and the spectator on the other. The objects of these examinations were exclusively fictional texts. I use psychoanalysis differently through an interrogation of a largely untheorised embodied relationship between the documentary filmmaker and the subject of her or his film from a psychoanalytical perspective. There are many types of documentary film. I focus in this work on films in which a testimony, sometimes dealing with trauma, or an autobiographical account of the other, is gathered by the filmmaker. To this end I work with a number of documentary texts, including my own practice. I look at the potential tensions that these encounters might create between the need to gain as full a disclosure as possible, often fuelled by the filmmaker’s unconscious desire (which may or may not coincide with the consciously stated aim), and the ethical responsibility for the subject of the film. I suggest that a variety of unconscious mechanisms known from clinical psychoanalytical practice might be operating in the process of documentary filmmaking. These unconscious ‘hidden’ factors, notably transference, have a major influence on the decisions made in the creation of the final texts and therefore also have an impact on the future audiences of these films, which is why it is important to bring them to light. The thesis deals also with ethics of the documentary encounter. Apart from mainly Lacanian psychoanalytical thought, I draw on post-Second World War philosophy dealing with the relationship of the ‘I’ to the Other, led by Emmanuel Lévinas, but including Althusser, Badiou, Butler, Derrida and others

On the Usefulness of Erazm Rykaczewski’s Słownik języka polskiego in Research on the Territorial Diversification of Old Polish (Preliminary Remarks)

The aim of the article is to demonstrate the usefulness of Erazm Rykaczewski’s Słownik języka polskiego for the research on the regional diversity of Polish. The comparison of the register of 19th-century Modern Polish regionalisms, which I compiled, with theprovincialisms recorded in SR showed that, although the dictionary only included 176 of the analysed units, it also collected 27 new units, not recorded at all or not classified as elements of regional Polish in any of the dictionary publications I analysed. Hence, the results prove that SR is an interesting material base for lexicological research on regional Polish.The aim of the article is to demonstrate the usefulness of Erazm Rykaczewski’s Słownik języka polskiego for the research on the regional diversity of Polish. The comparison of the register of 19th-century Modern Polish regionalisms, which I compiled, with theprovincialisms recorded in SR showed that, although the dictionary only included 176 of the analysed units, it also collected 27 new units, not recorded at all or not classified as elements of regional Polish in any of the dictionary publications I analysed. Hence, the results prove that SR is an interesting material base for lexicological research on regional Polish

Actions for regional development in strategic documents of Polish universities: summary of research findings

W niniejszym artykule zaprezentowano częściowe wyniki badań dotyczące obecności komponentu działań na rzecz rozwoju regionu w dokumentach strategicznych szkół wyższych w Polsce. Wykorzystując jedną z metod badań niereaktywch – analizę treści, przedstawiono dostępne misje i strategie uczelni pod kątem kierunku oraz obszaru deklarowanych działań na rzecz rozwoju regionalnego.The paper presents partial results of research on the presence of the question of regional development activities in the strategic documents of higher education institutions in Poland. Using a non-reactive method: content analysis, the author explores the available missions and strategies of universities in terms of the direction and the scope of pledged actions for regional [email protected] Agnieszka Piotrowska-Piątek – Urząd Statystyczny w Kielcac

Cooperation of higher education institutions with environment. Selected issues on measurement of HEIs' third stream activities

Purpose: This article discusses cooperation of Polish higher education institutions (HEIs) with their environment and offers a way of measuring these activities. The concept and scope of the third stream are discussed and selected model and indicators of measuring HEIs’ activities in this field are presented. The Author suggests Indicator of Cooperation with Environment (ICE) in order to measure levels of HEIs’ interaction with the world around them.Methodology: The article draws on relevant literature both from Poland and abroad. In order to verify the proposed ICE indicator empirically, a survey was carried out among 100 heads of Polish HEIs. The results of the survey were analysed by using tools of descriptive statistics, and presented according to HEI types.Findings: The results show correlation between the ICE level and HEI type. The highest level of ICE is observed in public academic HEIs, which makes them stand out as a group as against the other types of HEIs. A signifi cantly lower level of ICE is identified in the case of state vocational HEIs and private HEIs, which makes them a homogeneous group in terms of ICE.Originality: As can be seen in the literature, the issue of how to measure HEIs’ third stream is rarely raised at a conceptual level and, consequently, in empirical research. The ICE indicator proposed in this article is based on simple indicators which are easy to operationalise and which reflect activities involving teaching, research, academic entrepreneurship as well as HEI management. Validation has confirmed that ICE is effective in achieving the intended measurement goals

Poznańska szkoła językoznawstwa historycznego

The article presents Poznań school of historical linguistics. The founder of the school is Władysław Kuraszkiewicz. The schools’ central idea is a scholarly attitude which is based on respect for material, philological akribeia (accuracy) and caution in ­drawing conclusions. The representatives of this school are characterised by aspiration for measurability of research results and understanding of the role of statistics. Research is conducted on the carefully selected, very extensive material taking into account numerous variable features: chronological, geographic, generic, stylistic or formal. Among the scholars who must be included in this school are the disciples of Professor Kuraszkiewicz: Zdzisława Krążyńska, Tadeusz Lewaszkiewicz, Leszek Moszyński, Wojciech Ryszard Rzepka, Tadeusz Skulina, Bogdan Walczak and Tadeusz Zdancewicz. Nowadays, their disciples form another generation of scholars connected with Poznań school of historical linguistics

Vitamin D – knowledge among people about its properties and effects based on anonymous surveys

Introduction: Vitamin D is produced under the influence of solar radiation. It can also be supplied in food or dietary supplements. The assessment of total serum 25(OH)D is widely accepted as an indicator of vitamin D concentration and observation of the population regarding hypovitaminosis or recommendations regarding supplementation. In fact, the definition of vitamin D deficiency is still a contentious issue, however, epidemiological data indicate that vitamin D deficiency is widespread worldwide, including Poland. The aim of the study: The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge of people about supplementation and the effects of vitamin D, its deficiency and consumed nutrients, in which it is found, based on anonymous surveys. Materials and methods: The research material was collected using an anonymous online survey in April and May 2023. The obtained results were analyzed and verified on the basis of scientific literature and statistically processed using Microsoft Office Excel. Results: 47.3% of the respondents take dietary supplements with vitamin D, but 76% of these people do not know the dose they are taking. More than half of them declare knowledge of the function of vitamin D3, of which 70.3% of respondents correlate the effect of cholecalciferol with the skeletal system. 50.2% of people eat fish rarely or not at all. 68.5% of respondents claim that vitamin D should be supplemented with vitamin K to be effective. Discussion and conclusions: Less than half of the respondents take preparations containing vitamin D. Few people know the full use of vitamin D in the body and its multidirectionality. More than half of the respondents do not know the effects of hypovitaminosis D. Prevention of vitamin D deficiency should be reintroduced due to lifestyle changes, e.g. after the COVID-19 pandemy. Keywords: vitamin D, hypovitaminosis, cholecalciferol, calciu

Leksyka religijna we współczesnych słownikach języka polskiego (nazwy zakonnic i zakonników)

The purpose of this text, being a continuation of our considerations concerning the functioning of religious vocabulary in lexicographical context, is the analysis of one-word Christian names of religious nuns and monks. The material for study has been extracted from three modern dictionaries of Polish (Słownik języka polskiego [Dictionary of Polish], edited by Mieczysław Szymczak, Słownik współczesnego języka polskiego [Dictionary of Modern Polish], edited by Bogusław Dunaj and Uniwersalny słownik języka polskiego [Universal Dictionary of Polish], edited by Stanisław Dubisz). The total number of entries obtained is composed of 50 designations extracted from the dictionary edited by Szymczak, 32 from the volume edited by Dunaj and 52 from the last of the three dictionaries (for comparison – in the dictionary that inspired us to study religious lexis – Słownik tematyczny języka polskiego. Człowiek w krainie słów [The Topical Dictionary of Polish. Man in the Land of Words], by Małgorzata Kita and Edward Polański – there were 120 names of religious nuns and monks). The paper offers a careful chronological analysis of the material with the use of numerous lexicographic studies – from Słownik staropolski [Old-Polish Dictionary], Słownik polszczyzny XVI wieku [Dictionary of Polish of the 16th Century], through Słownik [Dictionary] by Linde, wileński [Dictionary of Vilnius], warszawski [Dictionary of Warsaw], to Praktyczny słownik współczesnej polszczyzny [Practical Dictionary of Modern Polish], edited by Halina Zgółkowa. Additionally, the authors indicated that in the network of records of individual dictionaries, the same linguistic units appear most often, and, what is more, they are defined in a similar way. As far as the differences between the dictionaries are concerned, they become more conspicuous in the sphere of lexicographical description, and especially in qualification of entries.Celem niniejszego tekstu, będącego kontynuacją naszych rozważań dotyczących  unkcjonowania słownictwa religijnego na płaszczyźnie leksykograficznej, jest analiza jednowyrazowych chrześcijańskich nazw zakonnic i zakonników. Materiał badawczy został wyekscerpowany z trzech współczesnych słowników języka polskiego (Słownika języka polskiego pod redakcją Mieczysława Szymczaka, Słownika współczesnego języka polskiego pod redakcją Bogusława Dunaja oraz Uniwersalnego słownika języka polskiego pod redakcją Stanisława Dubisza). Na uzyskany z nich zbiór jednostek złożyło się 50 określeń wynotowanych ze słownika pod red. Szymczaka, 32 z dzieła pod red. Dunaja i 52 z ostatniego z wymienionych tytułów (dla porównania – w stanowiącym inspirację do podjęcia przez nas tego zagadnienia Słowniku tematycznym języka polskiego. Człowiek w krainie słów autorstwa Małgorzaty Kity i Edwarda Polańskiego nazw zakonnic i zakonników odnotowano 120). W tekście przeprowadziłyśmy wnikliwą analizę chronologiczną materiału, do czego posłużyły nam liczne opracowania leksykograficzne – od Słownika staropolskiego, Słownika polszczyzny XVI wieku, przez Słownik Lindego, wileński, warszawski, po Praktyczny słownik współczesnej polszczyzny pod redakcją Haliny Zgółkowej. Wykazałyśmy również, że w siatce haseł poszczególnych słowników pojawiają się w większości te same jednostki językowe, a także w podobny sposób są one definiowane. Natomiast różnice między słownikami zaznaczają się wyraźniej na płaszczyźnie opisu leksykograficznego, a zwłaszcza dotyczą kwestii kwalifikacji haseł

Psychoanalysis and Ethics in Documentary Film

Psychoanalysis has been used extensively in film studies from the late 1960s and 1970s onwards. Inspired by Jacques Lacan, the work of Metz and Baudry in France and Mulvey and McCabe in the United Kingdom laid the foundations for film theory that explored the relationship between cinematic systems such as the apparatus and the screen on the one hand and the spectator on the other. The objects of these examinations were exclusively fictional texts. I use psychoanalysis differently through an interrogation of a largely untheorised embodied relationship between the documentary filmmaker and the subject of her or his film from a psychoanalytical perspective. There are many types of documentary film. I focus in this work on films in which a testimony, sometimes dealing with trauma, or an autobiographical account of the other, is gathered by the filmmaker. To this end I work with a number of documentary texts, including my own practice. I look at the potential tensions that these encounters might create between the need to gain as full a disclosure as possible, often fuelled by the filmmaker’s unconscious desire (which may or may not coincide with the consciously stated aim), and the ethical responsibility for the subject of the film. I suggest that a variety of unconscious mechanisms known from clinical psychoanalytical practice might be operating in the process of documentary filmmaking. These unconscious ‘hidden’ factors, notably transference, have a major influence on the decisions made in the creation of the final texts and therefore also have an impact on the future audiences of these films, which is why it is important to bring them to light. The thesis deals also with ethics of the documentary encounter. Apart from mainly Lacanian psychoanalytical thought, I draw on post-Second World War philosophy dealing with the relationship of the ‘I’ to the Other, led by Emmanuel Lévinas, but including Althusser, Badiou, Butler, Derrida and others

‘Tentacular thinking’ in creative practice research as a radical intellectual gesture

As a filmmaker and scholar I have been involved in the project of creating knowledge through making films, even before I did a PhD and became an academic. It has always been unclear to me why there is the curious divide between the so called ‘academic’ and creative’. All my documentaries for the broadcasters in some way I would argue were ‘practice research’ without me being quite aware of it. The paper considers the notion of what ‘knowledge’ might be for a creative research practitioner and how ‘high theory’ might be of assistance in inspiring ideas and creative strategies. I will share my most recent experience of working across disciplines with the new experimental film Wash (2022). It is a hybrid documentary with element of animation and drama dealing with serious issues of development in Zimbabwe, a country in which I have done much work over the years. The piece of work has been funded by Strategic England Research 2021 and the University of Edinburgh. In terms of methodology for any creative practice research work, here I suggest that casting a wide net in the search for theoretical and artistic inspirations, using what Donna Haraway would call ‘tentacular thinking’ is not only not a hindrance in the creative process but could be positively helpful. In this context I discuss here Surrealism, arguably the most influential artistic and theoretical movement, which itself began with a bold drawing from a different praxis and theory, namely psychoanalysis and the work of Sigmund Freud. Surrealism as a creative tool has of course been re-framed, re-thought and re-positioned by various cultures as demonstrated by Venice Bienale and the recent exhibition at Tate Modern in London.) In some way it has also influenced the hybrid film Wash I am presenting here, even as it deals with important issues of understanding a given community before introducing practices that might even be ‘good for them. In the film I have used a patchwork of knowledge, a patchwork of influences, drawing from Surrealism as well as other influences such as postcolonial theories and intangible local knowledge reservoirs