Suchergebnisse

This article explores how China has been imagined in Western literature and culture from the eighteenth century to the contemporary era, using a series of emblematic figures to examine practices of appropriation and troping. It seeks to reveal how the historical construction and representation of China is refashioned in our time, against the background of China's rise to global power and a concomitant growing sense of doubt, fear and hostility in Europe and North America surrounding its ascendency. Two case studies are employed to elaborate on what this article considers to be exemplifications of Orientalism in Sino-Western cultural history: Daniel Defoe and Voltaire in Enlightenment Europe, and Western popular culture in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. In doing so this article addresses how China has incrementally come to be translated and represented as a principal Other for Euro-America, and how their perceptions of, and writings about, China today echo and reinforce its translations and representations produced by the Defoe-Voltaire axis: the binary schema of demonization and romanticization. It concludes that this mechanics at work in framing China for reception and consumption by the Anglophone readership provide effective means of translating and representing China as an ideologically menacing Other, thereby begetting self-perpetuating representations.

"The Re-Orientalised Cosmopolitan Turn in Yangsze Choo's The Ghost Bride. The magical realist bestseller The Ghost Bride (2013) by Yangsze Choo was adapted into a Netflix original series in 2020. The story revolves around the female protagonist, Pan Li Lan, whose hand has been requested to wed the late Lim Tian Ching, making it a "ghost marriage" or "spirit wedding," and her, a ghost bride. With the financial woes that the Pan family is facing, Li Lan has to carefully consider this macabre proposal by the wealthy and prominent Lim family. In this article, the authors look at the novel and the Netflix series, The Ghost Bride and argue that it is a form of re-orientalised metropolitan cosmopolitanism, contrived for global consumption in the current global cultural marketplace. Set in 1893, in the colonial cosmopolitan port city of Malacca, the production employs the elite culture of the Peranakan Chinese and re-orientalises it. The critics will, therefore, examine the dynamics of re-orientalism and cosmopolitanism and eventually contend that the production of The Ghost Bride manifests a re-orientalised cosmopolitan turn in depicting a local culture for a global audience. Keywords: re-orientalism, metropolitan cosmopolitanism, magical realism, Peranakan Chinese, The Ghost Bride"

SOMMARIO: 1 - Su di un critico arretramento nella teoria della giustizia - 2. La possibile riconduzione della giustizia alla 'logica' della carità religiosamente orientata - 3. Il pluralismo religioso come ausilio per un più equo e dinamico con-vivere nelle democrazie contemporanee - 4. Sul ritorno a Morgezia, italica matrice del plurale con-sistere di civiltà e culture euro-mediterranee - 5. - Una declinazione mediterranea della giustizia a sostegno delle realtà estromesse dalle "società dell'abbondanza".
Morgezia, Italic matrix of Euro-Mediterranean civilizations
ABSTRACT: The essay aims to claim to Calabria - identified with the "italic" name of Morgezia - the role of matrix of the cultures that have spread from the Mediterranean to the entire planet. It would recall that in the current era, characterized by globalization and emergencies induced by socio-environmental degradation and the regurgitation of conflicts, also according to the papal magisterium, the recovery of the most genuine and plural Mediterranean identities can help give again to Europe - of which Calabria is emblematically assumed as a metaphor - the ability to affect international relations in order to determine their more a fair and balanced structure, and therefore more peaceful with and among peoples, even the most "peripheral" and/or neglected ones.

In light of the increasing interest in academic integrity, this paper investigates how students from three major Romanian universities conceive academic integrity. We build up an argument of dependency of such definitions on existing academic culture, and on how fast universities, faculties, or fields of study grow with respect to number of enrolled students. The findings reveal that definitions of academic integrity offered by BA students were largely confused, with some of the students being completely unable to focus on the topic. The variation in definitions depends on the size and recent history of the department and university. The universities that experienced recent growths were found have students less likely to focus on academic integrity. The department size plays a buffering role through the inertia of organizational culture and increase in department size leads to better knowledge of academic integrity. Notably, no or very little impact was found across the fields of study in the patterns of defining academic integrity. Policy makers and academic leaders should therefore be aware that in fast-growing universities, academic integrity needs careful instillment among students, and promoting it in terms of knowledge might be rewarding for the health of the organization.

NikčevićSummaryThe two brothers emphasized, promoted and strengthened the Montenegrin national independence and uniqueness at all cultural levels in their scientific works. My scientific path is more strongly connected to Milorad's guidelines, although Vojislav and I met on the line of unwavering defense of Montenegrin statehood, which was (and still is) exposed to the aspirations of Greater Serbia.The works of both of them will show their attitude towards the Boka Kotorska literary heritage, especially that which belongs to the Croatian culture and literary heritage of Montenegro. In the words of Milorad Nikčević, talking about the role of Kotor and other literary communities in Boka (Perast, Budva) which, created in the social conditions of communes under Venetian domination in thematic, stylistic and linguistic terms, given the Croatian and Latin expression, are an organic part and Croatian literature, but, inheriting the experience of literary touches, they simultaneously and historically mean a version of the Montenegrin standard.Their work in relation to the Bay of Kotor will show the unique attitude of two Montenegrin scientists, with prominent Croatian scientists, both in the determination to strengthen Montenegrin statehood and in the specifics of the part of Croatian culture inherited by both countries. The Bay of Kotor occupies a special place in the presented framework.

If people think about Maoist/anti-revisionist groups in countries such as Britain, they are often seduced by an impression of exoticism and the incompatibility of such groups with a more humdrum native left-wing culture. What is also significant about such groups is the depth of their
ideological inheritance from the Soviet-inspired world communist movement. This is particularly clear in relation to such groups' cultural criticism. Cultural products such as folk or pop music tended to be reduced to simplistic class designations (i.e.bourgeois art) and were often ruthlessly
dismissed, sometimes for an apparent propensity to lead to fascism. Maoists called for a more political, communist art as an alternative, focused on serving the struggle for proletarian revolution. It's important to grasp that such criticism wasn't set apart from previous inner-CPGB debates
on cultural issues, where the oppositional left that had been apparent in the party since the Second World War had retained the thrust of the Zhdanov doctrine emphasised by the party majority in the immediate post-war years. This article explores the aesthetic responses of a number of groups
that developed during the first wave of international Maoism in the 1960s and measures them against inner-CPGB differences on art and culture.

AbstractThis article engages with the emerging scholarship on experiments in urban and regional contexts to investigate an architectural experiment overseen by Wang Shu, a renowned Chinese architect, in Wencun Village, a peri‐urban village on the fringe of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. In particular, we examine how architectural projects are mobilized to provide a solution to rural decline amidst deepening urban–rural integration. Architecture is supposed to generate knowledge about the relationships between built forms and positive social and cultural changes, in this case involving the revival of rural cultures and identities. Empirically, this article provides a novel study that investigates culture‐based interventions into the revival of peri‐urban regions in the context of intensifying urban–rural interactions. Theoretically, it contributes to the study of experiments in urban and regional contexts by, on the one hand, correcting the urban bias inherent in this corpus and arguing for the relevance of experiment to peri‐urban and rural contexts. On the other hand, while this study reaffirms the importance of using relatively bounded sites of study and controlled parameters to produce plausible knowledge about regional transformation, it equally calls for attention to the contingencies and surprises that exceed and destabilize preconceived theories, epistemological frameworks and hypotheses.

Of course it's brilliant. The Free World represents the hugely ambitious culmination of the efforts of a scholar of exceptional talent to explicate mid-century American culture, and to put it within a broad political and social context. With its immense attention to detail, The Free World frequently offers such fresh readings of a wide variety of topics that perhaps only subspecialists can profess to find familiar the evidence and interpretations that Louis Menand provides. It is emblazoned with bold personal opinions that keep the reader interested. At the Center is a very different book. It is a collective effort, and the authors seem to seek to avoid the kind of personalized style that Menand displays. But the effort that Casey Nelson Blake, Daniel H. Borus, and Howard Brick make to tie the disparate threads together distinguish At the Center from Menand's volume, and therefore offer an invaluable contrast. These books are aimed at different categories of reader, provide divergent temporal and geographic frames, and rarely overlap in attentiveness to the same material. Such variations can make for vigorous scholarly arguments about how to pack thought and culture into American historiography.

The birth of modern state with her technological advancements was hailed as a new dawn for humankind. The merits of enlightenment had finally been realized and the ensuing scientific inventions would finally perpetuate the entry of humanity towards a universal culture. The problems such as disease, ignorance and poverty that had perennially affected humanity would be forgotten given that science and industrialization had heightened human reason and production. In spite of this grand narrative, emerging voices have singled out the failures of modernism and the narrative project. They have decried modernist tendencies to mechanize humanity and eradicate the individual's creativity and morality. Through coercion and conformity, the modern state replaces individual revaluation of culture and perpetuates violence and intellectual passivity hence the demise of progress. This article is a postmodernist critique of modernism and her grand narrative with reference to Ibuse (1970), Black Rain. It shows how the ideals of modernism can only lead humanity to inhumanity, violence and chaos. The ideas of Friedrich Nietzsche and Martin Heidegger will form a theoretical basis of interpretation. This is an analytical study that proceeds through close textual reading of primary and secondary texts.

The Visegrad Group (V4) is one of the most intriguing examples of cooperation among countries in Central Europe. It unites the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Together, these countries form a useful framework which facilitates policy coordination at the regional level. They also implement EU agendas by creating networks of cooperation with neighbouring countries. These networks are based on the countries' mutual security geography and a common strategic culture. When, in 2014, the most important political goals were achieved, there emerged a need to set a new direction for cooperation. It turned out that many issues in the field of public policy, such as transport infrastructure, natural environment, tourism, migration, culture or education, can be effectively implemented at the V4 level. Moreover, cooperation in a common cybersecurity policy is now a chance for deeper cooperation between the four countries. However, changes in the use and dissemination of cybertechnology in the public space began to gather momentum only in the first decade of the 21st century. Thus, the process of cyberrevolution was a harbinger of changes in state management. This study analyses the cybersecurity policy of the Visegrad Group countries from 2011–2022 from both military and non-military aspects.

AbstractThis article addresses the issue of renewing a sense of vocation in finance. Drawing on experiences in the UK, Australia, and Ireland, three common law jurisdictions at various phases of developing "an ethical esprit de corps" to professionalize the banking industry, it argues that adopting some aspects of a profession, a "trajectory towards professionalization" of the banking industry, could serve, at least to some extent, to improve the industry‐wide norms that influence firms' cultures and individual behaviors. It contends that professionalization could help to develop bankers with a professional, pro‐social identity, in which there is a recognition of broader obligations to society, that exists independently of the profit‐driven nature of banking and the hierarchy of their own firms. This analysis is informed by an integration of regulatory theory, which casts doubt on the utility of sanctions except as a last resort, behavioral science, which offers insights into how ethics and culture, not just law and markets, can constrain irresponsible behavior in the financial services sector, and criminological theory, which emphasizes that particular types of controls, including individual attachments to groups, build "stakes in conformity" which encourage law abiding and responsible behaviors.

Studies acknowledge that COVID-19 is a game-changer resulting in an operational "new normal" across organizational endeavours including university governance. One effect of COVID-19 on social change organizations like universities in Africa is that it intensified operational disruptions. The study utilizes narrative analysis to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on university governance using South Africa-Nigeria settings as a template to generalize for Africa. Its data stems from a methodological qualitative orientation, implying that the narrations derive from unstructured interviews with key players within the university system. It is anchored on a conceptual framework founded on the ontology of African administrative and organizational culture that dialectically prompts epistemological analysis. The ontology facet deals with the status quo of university governance before COVID-19, denoting universities as mini societies reflecting the continent's general operational culture. The epistemology aspect dealt with knowledge generation, indicating innovation African universities need to adopt to operate effectually during and aftermath of COVID-19. It finds that e-university governance application in Nigeria is underdeveloped compared to South Africa's model which is basic. However, it concludes that improved investment in digitalizing operations of universities is imperative for their successful governance in a postCOVID-19 pandemic epoch in Africa.

Abstract
On a bell hanging in front of the main hall of the Shurijo Castle in Naha, Okinawa, the following inscription is engraved: "Ryukyu is located in a blessed region in the South Seas…sailing on ships and serving as a bridge between all nations, the land is filled with treasures." This article, which is based on an ethnographic fieldwork in Okinawa in 2018, looks at contemporary young Okinawans' narratives and experiences of 'globalization' as part of their everyday lives and future perspectives. It explores the role of the history and culture of the country – connecting it to China, Japan, and USA – in the young islanders' local and global identities and networks. I use the Okinawan concept of chanpuru, referring to the art of fusing objects and ideas from different sources to create new cultural identities, to explain the way Okinawans reflect on global transformation processes, for example in relation to consumerism, militarism, tourism, and revitalisation of 'Okinawan culture' (e.g., local languages). Has the inscription on the old bell regained importance in the 21st century? How do young people from Okinawa capitalize from their cultural capital and international networks in a globalizing world? This article presents the view from an island community in transition.

Michael Beil's scenic composition Hide to Show (2021) thematizes a basic principle of social media, namely hiding mistakes, failures, or any vulnerable matters with the purpose of simulating an ever-perfect, active, and successful image and profile. Beil's piece, with memes and memefication as a guiding principle and compositional format, plays along the hyperreal boundary between live performance and digital re-representation. The audience is continuously misled and often left guessing between real and digital, confusing a real body with its projected simulation and live performed music with a (pre)recording. Perhaps more misleading, the live music and vocals are frequently processed in real time, too. Mistakes, but also individual interpretations and authentic appropriations of the piece are smoothed out or erased. Beil's composition may realize with this 'fixing' technique one ideal of today's live performer: guaranteed perfectionism on stage. In this article, a performer-researcher from Hide to Show and a sociologist of culture and politics analyze the possibilities and limitations of digital art and Internet culture found in Beil's work. What (new) requirements are demanded of the live performers and technicians? And how does digital simulation affect the artistic experience and aesthetics of contemporary art music and of social life itself?

My intention was, not to survey political novels, or the ones I like best, or novels that meet some ahistorical standard of excellence, but to consider those that are in one way or another central to American bourgeois culture, and to help students understand that culture through their reading of the novels. . . . I adopted an approach that might be unsympa­thetically described as building the novels up in order to knock them down. But I think the strategy is warranted. Looking closely at what's good in one of these novels almost invariably means following some insight into the difficulty of living a good life on the terms offered by our society. (Many of the novelists would probably let it go at "living a good life," but since they take America as a given, the mimesis of capitalism is always there.) This is, to put it crudely, the problem posed by each novel, often revealingly. Most go on to hint at solutions, and here's where I think they fall apart. They displace politics and offer personal or anarchist or pre-industrial remedies for human sorrows that are rooted in advanced capitalist, industrial society.