“My language has an immense potential”

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dolores Ross

Abstract This article sets out to chart the success of the Dutch novelist, poet and travel writer Cees Nooteboom, who has achieved literary fame in several countries of the world while recognition in his home country lagged behind. To analyse the reasons for the conflicting images attributed to this cosmopolitan author, I will look behind the curtains of the transnational production and reception of his writings, investigating his success in five central or semi-central languages (Heilbron 2010). The study of how this writer has succeeded in transcending the peripheral position of the Dutch language in the world literary system will be carried out by combining the sociology of translation with reception studies and imagological considerations. Nooteboom appears to be a peculiar case of image building: he is internationally represented as a Dutch and a European writer, but his lack of Dutchness appears to have hindered his recognition in the Netherlands.

2021 ◽  
pp. 136843102110021
Author(s):  
Esperança Bielsa

This article argues for a non-reductive approach to translation as a basic social process that shapes both the world that sociologists study and the sociological endeavour itself. It starts by referring to accounts from the sociology of translation and translation studies, which have problematized simplistic views of processes of cultural globalization. From this point of view, translation can offer an approach to contemporary interconnectedness that escapes from both methodological nationalism and what can be designated as the monolingual vision, providing substantive perspectives on the proliferation of contact zones or borderlands in a diversity of domains. The article centrally argues for a sociological perspective that examines not just the circulation of meaning but translation as a process of linguistic transformation that is necessarily embodied in words. Only if this more material aspect of translation is attended to can the nature of translation as an ordinary social process be fully grasped and its intervention in meaning-making activities explored. This has far-ranging implications for any reflexive account of the production of sociological works and interpretations.


Resources ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 38
Author(s):  
Leandro Pereira ◽  
Rita Carvalho ◽  
Álvaro Dias ◽  
Renato Costa ◽  
Nelson António

The fashion industry being one of the most polluting industries in the world means that it is an industry with an immense potential for change. Consumers are central and are closely intertwined with how companies act. This research reflects consumer perspectives and practices towards the topic of sustainability implemented in the fashion industry. The relevance of sustainability in the fashion industry and the key role of consumers in its implementation are undeniable and confirmed by consumers in a representation of general awareness and concern, despite not always being translated into actual practices. A qualitative research methodology, followed by a set of interviews conducted with consumers, revealed that the great majority are implementing a variety of practices when making their buying choices towards fashion items. Barriers such as lack of education, information, knowledge and transparency were identified, and this aspect was shared by consumers as a reason why they are not motivated to make more conscious decisions. Companies should educate consumers from a general perspective and focus on the group of consumers that are not implementing sustainability in the fashion industry in their buying choices, as they represent the potential for the future.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 297-313
Author(s):  
David Damrosch

Abstract The growth of globalization has greatly expanded the exposure of writers and now filmmakers to the wider world beyond their home country or region, offering new opportunities to bring elements of the outside world into their works, and in turn to take their works out to distant audiences. This essay discusses the increasing presence of foreign cultures in the progression from the literary detail to the stage prop and then the movie location, and then focuses on three films based on literary works, films that display the growing presence of the world in contemporary cinema and of the films in the world.


2021 ◽  
Vol 60 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 219-228

Abstract According to Durkheim, the notion of ‘sacred’ is per se ambivalent, because it includes antinomic notions such as the pure and the impure. This theory would be justified by the original ambiguity of the Latin sacer. Only one case is always quoted: the peculiar condition of the homo sacer, a criminal consecrated to the gods. But the ambiguity of the sacer is not a problem for the Romans. The uncertainties of modern interpretation stem from the fact that this consecratio of a criminal is often explained as a sacrifice, but the destiny of the homo sacer is more analogous to the fate reserved for the violators of international treaties: on the profane side, the culprit is deprived of his citizenship and becomes a foreigner. Nor, however, is he accepted by enemies. In the same way, from an anthropological point of view, the consecrated person stays on a liminal stage: he remains forever in an uncertain gap between the sphere of men and the world of the gods. There is no ambiguity of the sacred because the homo sacer could not really reach the gods or pollute them.


2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (9) ◽  
pp. 1362-1374
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Jasko ◽  
David Webber ◽  
Erica Molinario ◽  
Arie W. Kruglanski ◽  
Katharine Touchton-Leonard

The conflict in Syria created a dire humanitarian situation, as nations around the world struggled with how best to deal with the more than 6.6 million Syrian refugees who fled their homes to escape aggression. Resistance to granting refugee status to individuals often originates in the belief that the influx of refugees endangers national security because of the presumably extremist religious and political beliefs that refugees hold. The present research surveyed Syrian refugees residing in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Iraq ( N = 1,000). The results revealed that the majority of surveyed refugees did not intend to migrate to the West and would rather return to their home country. More importantly, refugees most interested in moving to Western countries were the least likely to subscribe to Islamist extremism or to harbor negative sentiment toward the West. Theoretical and practical implications for addressing the current refugee crisis are discussed.


Author(s):  
Andrew Milner ◽  
J.R. Burgmann

The chapter opens with a discussion of two early instances of global warming cli-fi, Arthur Herzog’s Heat and George Turner’s The Sea and Summer, and argues that both are more or less oblivious to the wider world beyond their respective national frontiers. It proceeds to elaborate an account of the place of SF in the world literary system, understood in Wallerstein and Moretti’s terms as comprising a core, semi-periphery and periphery. This model is then applied more specifically to cli-fi, distinguishing between structural and conjunctural determinants of the evolution of the sub-genre. The main structural determinant, it argues, will be the world SF system. But this may be either countered or reinforced by one or more of three main conjunctural factors: the degree of perceived vulnerability to extreme climate change of any particular national political economy; the salience of Green politics within any particular national polity; and the salience of climate change within broader environmentalist discussions in any particular national culture. The chapter concludes with critical accounts of Kim Stanley Robinson’s Science in the Capital trilogy, Frank Schätzing’s Der Schwarm, Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy and Antti Tuomainen’s Parantaja.


Author(s):  
Nick Williams

The chapter introduces key debates related to the role of the diaspora in their home economies, particularly the role that they can play as returnee entrepreneurs. With increased movements of people around the world, the role of transnational economic activity is becoming ever more significant. The chapter shows that the diaspora can be caught between isolation and assimilation. They can be isolated because of their years living abroad, as well as their negative perceptions of the institutional environment at home. Yet many of them also wish to become more assimilated and have an emotional desire to help their home country. Many stay away and do not invest. Those who return later can seek to avoid the negative impact of barriers to entrepreneurship, and can for example avoid government engagement activities as they mistrust policy actors’ intentions. The chapter sets out the implications of these different types of engagement for homeland economies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 94 (5) ◽  
pp. 319-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert Tsang ◽  
Fei Xie ◽  
Xiangang Xin

ABSTRACT We examine the impact of foreign institutional investors on firms' voluntary disclosure practices measured by management forecasts. In a sample of 32 non-U.S. countries, we find that, on average, foreign institutional investments lead to improved voluntary disclosure, and their impact is larger than that of domestic institutional investors. These results are more pronounced when foreign institutional investors (1) are unfamiliar with the firm's home country, (2) have longer investment horizons, and (3) are from countries with stronger investor protection and disclosure requirements than the firm's home country. However, we also find some evidence of voluntary disclosure deterioration in firms with foreign institutional investors from countries with inferior disclosure requirements and securities regulations and with concentrated foreign institutional ownership. Overall, our results suggest that the relation between foreign institutional investors and voluntary disclosure is much richer and more complex than what has been documented for domestic institutional investors in the literature.


Revue Romane ◽  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mickaëlle Cedergren

Abstract This article considers the Francophone literary canon based on a transnational reception study. It focuses on the circulation of French language literature within the Swedish academic system during the last thirty years. A longitudinal empirical study of bachelor and doctoral dissertations in French between 1986 and 2016 allows the author to examine the dynamics of canon formation and renewal, as well as the role of universities in this process, particularly in regard to the creation of a canon of Francophone literary works. In response to recent scholarly anthologies which have debated the Francophone canon, this study is able to confirm the existence of Francophone classics. Finally, it is argued that further reception studies focusing on areas outwith the Francophone literary system will be of prime importance if the question of the Francophone canon is to be fully assessed beyond the immediate context of the Hexagone.


Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 503
Author(s):  
Joanna Bik ◽  
Andrzej Stasiak

The organization of numerous religious mass events of international, or even global, reach is a phenomenon of the early 21st century. It is sometimes termed “eventization of faith”. This article presents a multifaceted analysis of the initial stage of the World Youth Day in 2016, which took place in the Archdiocese of Łódź (Poland). While multiple scholarly publications have been written about World Youth Day (WYD) itself, its first part of preparatory nature, the so-called “Days in Dioceses”, has not been studied yet. The authors of this paper used a wide array of research methods, such as participant observation, questionnaire (official statistics concerning 10,000 pilgrims), pilot survey (258 respondents), and analysis of media reports (over 100 films and 30 articles). The analysis of the organizational method of such a major religious event leads to a conclusion that it is a complex logistic undertaking, which requires professional preparation and implementation by a team of specialists in different fields as well as an army of deeply involved volunteers and public services employees. Over 10.2 thousand young pilgrims (mostly at the age of 15–29) participated in the youth meeting in the Archdiocese of Łódź; apart from spiritual motives (strengthening faith, meeting Pope Francis, following in the footsteps of St. John Paul II) they exhibited strong social (willingness to be in the community of believers, making new friends), recreational and tourist (visiting Poland) needs as well. In view of the hermetic and low-budget character of World Youth Day, its impact on the economy of the region was deemed negligible. Above all, the event played a promotional and image-building part, which perhaps in the years to come will result in an increase in visits of foreign tourists to Łódź.


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