Jerome and the Sham Christians of Rome

1997 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Curran
Keyword(s):  
Social Background ◽  
Urban Life ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Rhetorical Question ◽  
City Life ◽  
Good Family ◽  
The Social ◽  
Monastic Life ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The City

This rhetorical question was poseu by Jerome in AD 411 to challenge a young man of good family from Toulouse who was contemplating the responsibilities of monastic life. The old man of Bethlehem wrote on city life with some authority; he had achieved fame and notoriety simultaneously at the court of Pope Damasus in Rome in the 380s.2 And yet, as both men knew well, the moral and physical dangers of the city, the latter resoundingly demonstrated by the Gothic capture of Rome in the previous year, had not prompted the rejection of urban life by western Christians, save by a small and eccentric group of extreme ascetics. Jerome's praise for this group is well known, and his criticism of less committed Christians in Rome is legendary. But when one examines the uniquely vivid testimony of Jerome's letters, one can detect beneath the praise and polemic a vigorous struggle for the support of the city's elite. The social background to the struggle as revealed in Jerome's writings is the subject of this article. What emerges is a complex, contradictory and divided Christian community which Jerome unsuccessfully attempted to influence, a failure that brought final and ignominious exile from Rome.

scholarly journals Participatory Infrastructures: The Politics of Mobility Platforms

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 335-346
Author(s):  
Peter T. Dunn
Keyword(s):  
User Interfaces ◽  
Urban Politics ◽  
Urban Life ◽  
Urban Mobility ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Digital Architecture ◽  
City Life ◽  
The Social ◽  
Policy Deliberation ◽  
The City

Much of everyday life in cities is now mediated by digital platforms, a mode of organization in which control is both distributed widely among participants and sharply delimited by the platform’s constraints. This article uses examples of smartphone-based platforms for urban mobility to argue that platforms create new political arrangements of the city, intermediating the social processes of management and movement that characterize urban life. Its empirical basis is a study of user interfaces, data specifications, and algorithms used in the operation and regulation of ride-hailing services and bike-share systems. I focus on three aspects of urban politics affected by platforms: its location, its participants, and the types of conflict it addresses. First, the programming forums in which decisions are encoded in and distributed through platforms’ core digital architecture are new sites of policy deliberation outside the more familiar arenas of city politics. Second, travelers have new opportunities to use platforms for travel on their own terms, but this expanded participation is circumscribed by interfaces that presuppose individual, transactional engagement rather than a participation attentive to a broader social and environmental context. Finally, digital systems show themselves to be well suited to enforcing quantifiable distributional goals, but struggle to resolve the more nuanced relational matters that constitute the politics of everyday city life. These illustrations suggest that digital tools for managing transportation are not only political products, but also reset the stage on which urban encounters play out.

scholarly journals The state of public city protection movements (on the example of Barnaul)

2020 ◽  
pp. 33-41
Author(s):  
Dmitrii Anatolevich Kachusov
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Political Life ◽  
The Political ◽  
Self Presentation ◽  
City Life ◽  
The Social ◽  
Public Consciousness ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The City

The subject of this article is the city protection movement in Barnaul. On the background of strengthening of authoritarian trends in political life of the country, takes place reorientation of the vector of civil activity from solution of the political problems of federal scale towards the local social issues. Namely the local public movements become an important element in the society of separate cities that allow the interaction between civil activists, society, and municipal authorities. The advancement of Internet and social networks greatly contributed to broadening of the audience of city protection communities, growth of opportunities for their influence upon public consciousness and government authorities. Assessment of the size, publication activity and staff composition of the city mono-problem communities in social networks in the key method for studying the city public movements. The research determined the presents of a number of organizations in Barnaul oriented toward the general questions (preservation of historical center of the city, protection of park zones, etc.), as well as solution of particular problems. The author also underlines a large portion of youth (below 30 years of age) among the members of city protection communities. Despite the fact that currently the social database is restricted, members of the communities actively participate in city life, using the Internet as an environment for public self-presentation and channel for communication with population, government, and mass media.

scholarly journals The End of the Right to the City: A Radical-Cooperative View

2021 ◽  
pp. 107808742110578
Author(s):  
Caleb Althorpe ◽  
Martin Horak
Keyword(s):  
Original Writing ◽  
Urban Politics ◽  
Urban Society ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Urban Life ◽  
Right To The City ◽  
Social Difference ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Right ◽  
The City

Is the Right to the City (RTTC) still a useful framework for a transformative urban politics? Given recent scholarly criticism of its real-world applications and appropriations, in this paper, we argue that the transformative promise in the RTTC lies beyond its role as a framework for oppositional struggle, and in its normative ends. Building upon Henri Lefebvre's original writing on the subject, we develop a “radical-cooperative” conception of the RTTC. Such a view, which is grounded in the lived experiences of the current city, envisions an urban society in which inhabitants can pursue their material and social needs through self-governed cooperation across social difference. Growing and diversifying spaces and sectors of urban life that are decoupled from global capitalism are, we argue, necessary to create space for this inclusionary politics. While grassroots action is essential to this process, so is multi-scalar support from the state.

scholarly journals Housing and living conditions of working youth in the plants of Buryat-Mongolian ASSR during the Great Patriotic War

2020 ◽  
pp. 86-93
Author(s):  
Anastasiya Nikolaevna Soboleva
Keyword(s):  
Living Conditions ◽  
Industrial Plant ◽  
The Social ◽  
Critical Problems ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Poor Nutrition ◽  
The City

The object of this research is the youth of Buryat-Mongolian ASSR as most active social group within the social structure of 1941 – 1945, which was the major source for replenishment of labor reserves. The subject of this research is the examination of core financial and social problems faced by the youth working at the defense industry plants of the republic. Special attention is given to analysis of the impact of wartime struggles and hardships upon household and food procurement. It is noted that shortage of housing, low salaries, insecure life, poor nutrition, deficit of clothing and footwear often led breach of employee discipline. The article explores the important vectors in the activity of Komsomol with regards to housing and living conditions, as well as various forms of financial and psychological incentives that promote adaptation of youth to working at the industrial plant. The scientific novelty consists in introduction into the scientific discourse of a number of previously unpublished source that were collected specifically for this research. As a result of the conducted research, it was established that working youth, who for the most part came from rural localities to the city, were put in quite difficult social and living conditions, experiencing critical problems in the process of adaptation; however, they accomplished significant labor achievements and made their contribution to the common Victory.

scholarly journals The possibilities and limits of political contestation in times of ‘urban austerity’

Urban Studies ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (9) ◽  
pp. 2087-2106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Crispian Fuller ◽  
Karen West
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
City Government ◽  
Discourse Theory ◽  
Policy Area ◽  
Planning Policy ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Social Logics ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The City

This paper seeks to provide a conceptual framework in which to examine the social practices of contemporary austerity programmes in urban areas, including how these relate to different conceptions of crisis. Of current theoretical interest is the apparent ease with which these austerity measures have been accepted by urban governing agents. In order to advance these understandings we follow the recent post-structuralist discourse theory ‘logics’ approach of Glynos and Howarth (2007), focusing on the relationship between hegemony, political and social logics, and the subject whose identificatory practices are key to understanding the form, nature and stability of discursive settlements. In such thinking it is not only the formation of discourses and the mobilisation of rhetoric that are of interest, but also the manner in which the subjects of austerity identify with these. Through such an approach we examine the case of the regeneration/economic development and planning policy area in the city government of Birmingham (UK). In conclusion, we argue that the logics approach is a useful framework through which to examine how austerity has been uncontested in a city government, and the dynamics of acquiescence in relation to broader hegemonic discursive formations.

Lively cities made in sound: A study of the sonic sensibilities of listening and hearing in Wollongong, New South Wales

Urban Studies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (10) ◽  
pp. 2131-2146
Author(s):  
Gordon Waitt ◽  
Ian Buchanan ◽  
Michelle Duffy
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Urban Life ◽  
City Centre ◽  
Recent Analysis ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
South Wales ◽  
The Social ◽  
The City

This paper seeks to better understand the lively city with reference to recent analysis of sonic affects, bodily sensations and emotions. The notion of ‘hearing contacts’, as it is usually deployed in discussion of the lively city, emphasises the social interactions with other people in a rather narrow anthropocentric way. Yet, it overlooks the diversity of felt and affective dimensions of city sounds. This paper takes up this challenge by bringing Deleuze and Guattari’s notion of territory into conversation with Greimas’s semiotic square. In doing so, this paper offers a compelling theoretical framework to better understand the sonic sensibilities of listening and hearing to provide a clearer sense of how people decide to attach specific meanings to sound, and which ones they do not. The paper first reviews various theoretical approaches to sound and the city. Next, the paper turns to an ethnographic account of sound and city-centre urban life recently conducted in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. This research seeks to better understand the ways bodily dispositions to sonic affects, materials and cultural norms helped participants territorialise the city centre, distinguishing ‘energetic buzz’, ‘dead noise’, ‘dead quiet’ and ‘quiet calm’.

Letters of the Christian intellectual: Alcuin and his epistolary heritage

2020 ◽  
pp. 96-107
Author(s):  
Anastasia Ilyina
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Late Antique ◽  
Semiotic Analysis ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Intellectual Community ◽  
The Social ◽  
Inner World ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Characteristic Features ◽  
Alcuin Of York

The article examines the epistolary legacy (numbering more than three hundred letters) of Alcuin of York, perhaps the most prominent figure of the so-called Carolingian Renaissance, a famous associate of Charlemagne. Comparison of Alcuin’s letters with samples of late antique epistolography makes it possible to trace the degree of continuity of cultural and social practices of pagan Antiquity and the Christian Middle Ages. In addition, reference to Alcuin’s correspondence makes it possible to look into the inner world of a Christian intellectual, to get acquainted with the issues and problems that occupy the minds of his contemporaries, to build a scheme of Alcuin’s network communication and to understand how far his spiritual influence extended in Europe and with which social layers he communicated. Setting the goal of identifying the characteristic features of the Christian intellectual community at the turn of the VIII—IX centuries on the basis of the analysis of Alcuin’s epistolary heritage, the author of the article defines the social and geographical boundaries of the circulation of Alcuin’s letters, identifies the succession of his letters from the ancient epistolary tradition, identifies and analyzes the main problems raised in Alcuin’s letters. To achieve this goal, the article uses a historical and anthropological approach with elements of semiotic analysis. The succession of Alcuin’s correspondence from the traditions of late antique epistolography is reflected, first of all, in the form of letters, the way they were written, and the use of stable rhetorical techniques. At the same time, attention is drawn to the change in the social portrait of the address and, due to this, the expansion of the circle of addressees, which now includes not only representatives of the highest secular and church elite, but also nsufficiently educated and ignoble people, for whom Alcuin acted as a spiritual father and mentor. The analysis of the letters shows that Alcuin’s awareness of his responsibility for the fate of the addressees determines the subject matter of the letters, many of which are devoted to explaining the responsibilities of certain members of the Christian community, defining the area of responsibility of the laity and clergy, constructing of the image of an ideal clergyman or a righteous layman.

Defining the City ‘Trumpeter’: German Civic Identity and the Employment of Brass Instrumentalists, c.1500

2011 ◽  
Vol 136 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Green
Keyword(s):  
Social Hierarchy ◽  
Civic Identity ◽  
The Political ◽  
City Life ◽  
The Social ◽  
City Walls ◽  
Instrumental Ensembles ◽  
German Cities ◽  
The City

This article examines the employment of brass instrumentalists in German cities around 1500, as a reflection of the political circumstances of the epoch, where rivalry between the distinct components of the social hierarchy encouraged the assertion of power and status through musical patronage. Archival records and contemporary chronicles provide invaluable insights into the performances of civic brass instrumentalists, whether in the provision of signals (by the city watchmen or those who played alongside the cities’ troops) or for the entertainment of the citizens and their guests (within the civic instrumental ensembles – the Stadtpfeifer (‘town pipers’)). Although the use of ambiguous nomenclature in contemporary records can hinder a definitive understanding of the instruments used by these musicians, the musicians different duties within the city walls can often be inferred. Important insights can thereby be gained into the extent of the patronage of these civic brass instrumentalists, their roles within everyday city life, and their resultant contribution to the communication of civic strength to the populace and their guests.

scholarly journals Battling "the bane of our cities": Class, territory, and the prohibition debate in Toronto, 1877

2013 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-48
Author(s):  
M. P. Sendbuehler
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Alcohol Abuse ◽  
Urban Life ◽  
Class Politics ◽  
The People ◽  
The Social ◽  
Local Option ◽  
Public Drinking ◽  
The City ◽  
Urban Working

In the nineteenth century, the tavern was an important institution in urban working-class life. Because of the social ills associated with alcohol abuse and public drinking, there were frequent attempts to lessen the tavern's importance or to eliminate it entirely. This paper examines several tavern-related issues that emerged in Toronto in the 1870s and 1880s. The Crooks Act, passed in 1876, employed powerful measures to deal with political and temperance questions simultaneously. The intersection of class, politics, temperance, and urban life led to a territorial solution to the liquor question. These issues were dealt with by the people of Toronto in 1877, when they declined to prohibit public drinking in the city via the Dunkin Act, a local option prohibition statute of the Province of Canada.

scholarly journals The Social Background of 1 Corinthians 1-4

Perichoresis ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (s2) ◽  
pp. 27-40
Author(s):  
Corin Mihăilă
Keyword(s):  
Social Background ◽  
1 Corinthians ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
The People ◽  
Household Model ◽  
The Social ◽  
Unique Identity ◽  
Large Household ◽  
The Cross ◽  
The Church

Abstract The social structure of the Corinthian ecclesia is a reasonable cause for the dissensions that had occurred between her members. The people from the higher social strata of the church may have sought to advance their honor by desiring to extend their patronage over those teachers in the church that could help them in that regard. This situation was aided by the fact that the members of the Christian community have failed to allow the cross to redefine the new entity to which they now belonged. Rather, they perceived the Christian ecclesia according to different social models that were available at that time in the society at large: household model, collegia model, political ecclesia, and Jewish synagogue. As a result, the apostle Paul, in the first four chapter of 1 Corinthians, shows how the cross has overturned the social values inherent in these models. He argues that the Christian ecclesia is a new entity, with a unique identity, and distinct network of relations, which should separate those inside the Christian community from those outside.

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