The palimpsestuous face of the other: Homoerotic memory in Alan Hollinghurst’s the Stranger’s child

This paper contends that Alan Hollinghurst’s The Stranger’s Child (2011) revises Sarah Dillon’s renegotiation of De Quincey’s “palimpsest” and Emmanuel Lévinas’s “Face of the Other” to deal with the working of (homoerotic) memory. In joining the palimpsest and the Face of the Other as metaphors of the invocation and resurrection of Cecil Valance - the hero and tutelary spirit of the novel - I argue that the politics of remembrance and representation in The Stranger’s Child shift, and change us as readers as well. From being a closeted gay WWI poet to becoming an early-twenty-first-century relic, Valance works as a “palimpsestuous face” that returns our gaze and forces us to renegotiate our relation with the past and the Other

Transmodern Motion or the Rhizomatic Updated in In a Strange Room, "Take me to Church" and Babel

The article aims at exploring how the concept of the transmodern fits, comprises and helps to understand transcultural events from a wider perspective. To do so, three metaphors will be addressed, namely Enrique Dussel''s ''jungle'', Gilles Deleuze''s and Felix Guattari''s ''rhizome'' and Sarah Dillon''s ''palimpsestuous palimpsest''. In all three cases, issues like multiplicity, connectedness and a sense of motility are present. And, the article proves, they prove valid to render the aesthetic, ethical and political possibilities of contemporary texts that range from literature, Damon Galgut''s In a Strange Room (2010), to music, Hozier''s hit "Take me to Church" (2014), and to cinema, Gonzalez Inarritu''s Babel (2006).(1

Iraq Wars from the other Side: Transmodern Reconciliation in Sinan Antoon's The Corpse Washer

In the last years, more and more literary accounts of recent and current wars in the Middle East have been published. In most cases, they are authored from a Western viewpoint and provide a narrow account of the Muslim world. This article focuses on Sinan Antoon's The Corpse Washer because it opens the scope. That is, it constitutes an alternative to the imagery of the American film industry. Moreover, as Antoon is a Christian, his account of contemporary Iraq is particularly peripheral and hybrid. To analyse the novel, this article makes use of Transmodernity, a concept coined by Rosa Maria Rodriguez Magda in 1989. Yet, instead of Magda's Transmodernity as a neatly Euro-centric phenomenon of worldwide connectivity, Ziauddin Sardar's version of the concept is preferred. Sardar's Transmodernity adds to connectivity a message of reconciliation between progress and tradition, particularly in the context of non-Western cultures. This paper defends that Antoon's novel opens the debate on Islam to challenge the prejudiced Western discourses that have legitimized' war. To do so, Sardar's borders' and Judith Butler's grievability are particularly useful. In a Transmodern context, novels like Antoon's show that humans should never be bare lives

Macrodystrophia lipomatosa in a healthy newborn

A 15-day-old boy presented with an isolated enlargement of his second left toe. Physical examination showed no oedema, no bruit, no marks of amniotic constriction bands, or changes in the skin or the toenail. Afterwards, the toe exhibited a disproportionate growth with a progressive lateral deviation and dorsal flexion. Radiography showed an increase in size that involved the bone and the soft tissues

Programari lliure: Introducció i estat de la qüestió per als professionals de la informació i la documentació

L'article fa una introducció a les característiques generals del programari lliure i el model de negoci en què es basa, partint de la definició de conceptes clau i un breu repàs de la seva història i situació actual. Es centra en les repercussions que ha tingut fins al moment en l'àmbit de la gestió de la informació i la documentació, i en la diversitat de projectes i iniciatives que han estat més rellevants o significatius tant per la seva repercussió com per l'aproximació innovadora o pertinent que fan, des del punt de vista de la competència de les biblioteques, al respecte del programari lliure. Planteja els avantatges d'aquest model pels professionals de la informació i la documentació des de dues perspectives: pràctica i deontològica. L'aproximació pràctica es basa en els arguments de rendibilitat, independència tecnològica i interoperabilitat, mentre que la vessant deontològica tracta aspectes relacionats amb l'accés públic a la informació. Finalment proposa accions que el col·lectiu professional ha de dur a terme com a responsable social de la gestió de la informació, per garantir l'accés i la preservació del coneixement. | El artículo hace una introducción a las características generales de la software libre y del modelo de negocio en que está basado, partiendo de la definición de conceptos clave y un breve repaso a su historia y a su situación actual. Se centra en las repercusiones que ha tenido hasta el momento en el ámbito de la gestión de la información y la documentación, y en la diversidad de proyectos e iniciativas más relevantes o significativas tanto por su repercusión como por la aproximación innovadora o pertinente que hacen, desde un punto de vista de la competencia de las bibliotecas, respecto al software libre. Plantea las ventajas que este modelo tiene para los profesionales de la información y la documentación desde dos perspectivas: práctica y deontológica. La aproximación práctica se basa en los argumentos de rentabilidad, independencia tecnológica e interoperabilidad, mientras que la vertiente deontológica trata de aspectos relacionados con el acceso público a la información. Finalmente propone una serie de acciones a llevar a cabo por el colectivo profesional en tanto que responsable social de la gestión de la información, para garantizar el acceso a la información y la preservación del documento. | The article introduces the general characteristics of free source software and of the business model on which it is based, starting with a definition of key concepts and a brief review of the history and current status. It focuses on the impact of the free source movement on the management of information and documentation. It also examines the variety of projects and initiatives that have been most significant in terms of their impact as well as of their innovative approach to free source software, from the library's vantage point. The advantages of this model for information and documentation professionals are discussed from both the practical and ethical perspectives. The practical viewpoint is based on the issues of profitability, technological independence, and interoperability, while the ethical viewpoint touches upon aspects related to public access to information. The article concludes by proposing actions to be taken by information professionals the community responsible for information management in order to guarantee access to, and the preservation of, knowledge

British Casuals: Influences, Music, Film, and the Cult of Clothing

By revisiting the subcultures that British youngsters followed throughout the second half of the twentieth century, principally Mods, Skins, and Casuals, this BA Dissertation searches the principal connections among them. Starting with influences from the decade of the 60s, and following with the next decades, the Casual subculture historically evolved from earlier tribes such as Mods or Skins. The similarities among the three tribes have been shown to stem from the sociologic development of the working-class teenagers of the United Kingdom, attracted by the British clothing brands that were popular among the high class. Their aim was to appear well dressed and thus, unperceived by the police authorities during the violent clashes that frequently surrounded them. This dissertation will trace those developments to finally describe how the role of music and film, as much as football, has been crucial in spreading the success of Casual fashion and clothing styles internationally.Revisitando las subculturas que los jóvenes Británicos siguieron durante la segunda mitad del siglo XX, principalmente Mods, Skins y Casuals, este Trabajo de Fin de Grado busca las principales conexiones entre ellas. Empezando con las influencias de la década de los 60, y las posteriores décadas, la subcultura Casual evolucionó históricamente a partir de tribus urbanas anteriores como los Mods o los Skins. Las similitudes entre estas tres tribus tienen su raíz en el desarrollo sociológico de los adolescentes de la clase obrera de Reino Unido, atraídos por marcas de ropa británicas que eran populares entre la clase alta. Tenian el proposito de vestir bien y por consiguiente no llamar la atención de la policía durante los frecuentes enfrentamientos violentos que los rodeaban. Este trabajo trazará esa evolución para finalmente describir cómo los roles de la música y el cine, asi como del fútbol, resultaron cruciales para expandir el éxito de la moda Casual y su estilo de ropa en el ámbito internacional.Departamento de Filología InglesaGrado en Estudios Inglese

David Alderson. 2016. Sex, Needs & Queer Culture. From Liberation to the Post-Gay. London: Zed Books. 316 pp.

In Sex, Needs & Queer Culture. From Liberation to the Post-Gay, David Alderson defends a humanist conviction whereby “the subject is not merely discursively produced, but a substantial entity in its own right” (18).1 In opposition to the queer perfomative principle, the book is based on the reality principle, mostly through its alignment with cultural materialism and socialist politics. Drawing on Alan Sinfield (1998), Alderson calls for an organic role for the critic, well beyond the straightjacketed limits of academic tradition. That the critic intervenes socially does not convert him into a protagonist, but into a part of a relational community..