scholarly journals Country cousins: Europeanness, sexuality and locality in contemporary Italian television

Modern Italy ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 479-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Dines ◽  
Sergio Rigoletto
Keyword(s):  
Coming Out ◽  
Gay Marriage ◽  
The Political ◽  
The West ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
Alternative Vision ◽  
Domestic Partnerships ◽  
Political Spectrum ◽  
The One ◽  
Local Traditions

This article examines the consequences of the concurrence of a recent surge of interest in LGBT lives in the Italian media with the perceived transformation of Spain. Long considered Italy's close – though inferior – cultural cousin, Spain has been seen to be forging its own path with the reforms of the Zapatero administration, gay marriage especially. The article focuses on Il padre delle spose (RAIl, 2006), which generated intense discussion across the political spectrum precisely during the period in which the issue of recognising domestic partnerships between same-sex couples was being contested in Italy. The drama and surrounding media debates are analysed in order to articulate both the anxieties and the sense of opportunity brought about by Spain's ‘sorpasso’ of Italy. The drama is also informative for the way it reverses the standard ‘metropolitan’ trajectory of LGBT narrative. By relocating its lesbian protagonists to rural Puglia, the drama indicates how local traditions might be better able to respond to hetero-patriarchal oppression than imported ideals of ‘coming out’. Further, the drama's emphasis on local forms of solidarity suggests an alternative vision of LGBT existence to the one increasingly dominant across Europe and the West which privileges economically productive subjects.

‘There shall be no musical servitude’: Towards a Multitudinous Shostakovich in the West

2020 ◽  
Vol 145 (2) ◽  
pp. 495-505
Author(s):  
EIRINI DIAMANTOULI
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Communist Party ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Political ◽  
Musical Style ◽  
The West ◽  
Political Views ◽  
Political Interests ◽  
The One ◽  
The Cold War

Ideologically motivated attempts to elucidate Shostakovich’s political views and to determine whether and how they may be coded into his compositions have come to characterize the Western reception of the composer’s works since his death in 1975. Fuelled by the political oppositions of the cold war, Shostakovich’s posthumous reputation in the West has been largely shaped by two conflicting perspectives. These have positioned him on the one hand as a secret dissident, bent and broken under the unbearable strain of totalitarianism, made heroic through his veiled musical resistance to Communism; and on the other hand as a composer compromised by his capitulation to the regime – represented in an anachronistic musical style. Both perspectives surrender Shostakovich and his music to a crude oversimplification driven by vested political interests. Western listeners thus conditioned are primed to hear either the coded dissidence of a tragic victim of Communist brutality or the sinister submission of a ‘loyal son of the Communist Party’.1 For those prepared to accept Shostakovich as a ‘tragic victim’, the publication of his purported memoirs in 1979, ‘as related to and edited by’ the author Solomon Volkov, presents a tantalizing conclusion: bitterly yet discreetly scornful of the Stalinist regime, Shostakovich was indeed a secret dissident and this dissidence was made tangible in his music.

scholarly journals What’s Left? Political orientation, economic conditions and incarceration in Greece under Syriza-led government

2020 ◽  
pp. 147737082096656
Author(s):  
Leonidas K. Cheliotis ◽  
Sappho Xenakis
Keyword(s):  
Political Orientation ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
The Political ◽  
Economic Downturn ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
State Punishment ◽  
National Economic ◽  
Political Spectrum ◽  
The One ◽  
Fiscal Implications

An important body of scholarly work has been produced over recent decades to explain variation in levels and patterns of state punishment across and within different countries around the world. Two variables that have curiously evaded systematic attention in this regard are, first, the orientation of incumbent governments along the political spectrum, and second, the experience and fiscal implications of national economic downturn. Although recent years have seen both variables receive somewhat greater consideration, there is still precious little research into the effects on state punishment that they have in interaction with one another. With a view to helping fill this gap in the literature, this article identifies the direction and assesses the extent of influence exerted by government political orientation, on the one hand, and by economic downturn alongside its fiscal repercussions, on the other hand, upon the evolution of incarceration in the context of contemporary Greece. In so doing, we offer a uniquely detailed account of carceral trends before and during the period that a coalition government led by the left-wing Syriza party was in power. With regard to carceral trends as such, the scope of our analysis extends beyond conventional imprisonment also to include immigration detention. As well as arguing that economic downturn can place crucial limits on a government’s ability to execute progressive plans in carceral matters, we additionally conclude that a government’s scope of action in this vein may be further restricted depending on the autonomy it can wield in defiance of foreign forces intervening in both economic and political realms.

Conflicts Within the Anglican Communion

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Gay Marriage ◽  
First Century ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
The West ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Church

The churches of the Anglican Communion discussed issues of sex and gender throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century. Arguments about gender focused on the ordination of women to the diaconate, priesthood, and episcopate. Debates about sexuality covered polygamy, divorce and remarriage, and homosexuality. In the first decade of the twenty-first century, these debates became intensely focused on homosexuality and were particularly fierce as liberals and conservatives responded to openly gay bishops and the blessing and marriage of same-sex couples. By the second decade of the twenty-first century, the sex and gender debates had become less acrimonious, the Anglican Communion had not split on these issues as some feared, but the ‘disconnect’ between society and the Church, at least in the West, on issues such as the Church of England’s prevarication on female bishops and opposition to gay marriage, had decreased the Church’s credibility for many.

Enduring Competition

2020 ◽  
pp. 226-288
Author(s):  
Robert Kelz
Keyword(s):  
William Shakespeare ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
The Political ◽  
Postwar Period ◽  
Recent Past ◽  
The West ◽  
Political Landscape ◽  
German Speaking ◽  
Political Spectrum ◽  
Transformative Impact

This chapter tracks the trajectory of Argentina's German theaters against a changing political landscape and new waves of European emigration. In the postwar period, director Paul Walter Jacob endeavored to attract all German speakers to the Free German Stage; however, his failed efforts at reconciliation underscored the polarized environment in the Argentine capital. Without ever renouncing fascism, Ludwig Ney adopted a strategy of interculturalism to succeed professionally in Peronist Argentina. German-speaking artists from across the political spectrum embarked on cross-cultural projects, and their transformative impact on theater in Argentina is still evident today. Meanwhile, in its crusade against communism, the West German embassy intervened at both stages. Carefully staged depictions of German heritage and reconciliation reflected a specious contrivance, contingent on edited memories of the recent past. The intractable animosity ultimately led to a move away from German dramatists in favor of canonical European playwrights, such as William Shakespeare.

Military-humanitarian issues in the theological heritage of Greek Catholicism

2003 ◽  
pp. 110-118
Author(s):  
R.M. Kohanchuk
Keyword(s):  
Intercultural Dialogue ◽  
War And Peace ◽  
Holy War ◽  
The West ◽  
Specific Approach ◽  
Regional Component ◽  
The One ◽  
Local Traditions ◽  
Humanistic Orientation

In the coverage of the problems of war and peace in Catholicism, researchers (V. Brudzinski, L. Velikovich, M. Duboust, etc.) sometimes omit the regional component of their manifestation. We are talking about local traditions in Catholicism, which have their own specific approach to solving this problem and sometimes may differ significantly from the "conventional" position. The study of this field is necessary because in the delineated field the position of those theologians who were on the "outskirts" of Catholicism in the intercultural dialogue (or collision, according to S. Huntington), on the one hand, led to a deviation from the humanistic orientation about Catholicism. the war. An example would be the concept of a "holy war" of the Crusades, which had the anti-Islamic rhetoric generated not only in the West but also in the East.

Afro-Pessimism and the (Un)Logic of Anti-Blackness

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 96-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annie Olaloku-Teriba
Keyword(s):  
Social Theory ◽  
The Other ◽  
Frantz Fanon ◽  
The Political ◽  
Racial Oppression ◽  
The West ◽  
Political Class ◽  
Subtle Racism ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The One

AbstractIn the coming months and years, the left faces a historic juncture. On the one hand, racist violence is on the rise across the West, and the political class seems intent on mobilising both overt and subtle racism. On the other hand, strategies of anti-racist organising, which have developed on both sides of the Atlantic, have reached a theoretical impasse. I argue that now, more than ever, a serious project of historical and intellectual retrieval is necessary. This article interrogates the theoretical limitations of ‘anti-blackness’ as an analysis of racialised oppression. Through the thought of Frantz Fanon and Steve Biko, among others, I argue that theories of ‘anti-blackness’, specifically those rooted in Afro-pessimism, are predicated on a theoretical shift away from relational social theory to identitarian essentialism which obscures, rather than illuminates, the processes of racialisation which undergird racial oppression.

Reversing defeat through non-violent power

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 566-575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia Hijab
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
State Solution ◽  
The Political ◽  
The West ◽  
Palestine Liberation Organization ◽  
The Third ◽  
Democratic State ◽  
West Bank And Gaza ◽  
The One ◽  
State Of Israel

When the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) decided to embark on the two-state political platform in 1974, this constituted tacit recognition of the reality of the state of Israel in Palestine within the Green Line. The PLO's shift was also effectively an admission of defeat for the previous PLO programme that called for a secular, democratic state throughout all of Palestine. Today, advocates of the one-state solution argue that the two-state solution is no longer possible due to the realities Israel has created on the ground in the West Bank and Gaza. In other words, the political programme launched by the PLO in 1974 has effectively been defeated. The growing one-state movement is, thus, the third time Palestinians are reacting to Israel's defeat of Palestinian attempts to obtain their human rights. It is against this background that this paper attempts to address three questions: Why has the two-state political programme not been achieved?; What sources of non-violent power could potentially realize and effect Palestinian human rights?; and What is the single most important strategy of which no Palestinian political programme should ever lose sight?

scholarly journals Volhynian Revolution or Emergence of Conspiracy Theories in the Borderlands of the Russian Empire

2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 710-720
Author(s):  
Kseniia B. Egorova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Russian Empire ◽  
The Political ◽  
The West ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Contributory Factors ◽  
The Russian Empire ◽  
The One ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Further Development

This article is devoted to the issue of the emergence of conspiracy theories and their existence in the borderlands; the research is focused on the western boundaries of the Russian Empire, belonging to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth before its partition. The material relating to these territories enables to have a fresh look on genesis of “the conspiracy theories’” in society, on the one hand, to reflect on the peculiarity of the borderland as a special cultural space, and, on the other hand, to add specific characteristics of “conspiracy theories” of the borderlands to the list of contributory factors to emergence of conspiracy theories in society. Reference to the west borders of the Russian Empire enables to use the material related to the beginning of 19th century, which is important for further development of the conspiracy study in Russia. This article centers around the analysis of “The letters written by court counsillor Opytov to countess Starozhilova with historical overview of the political mood of the nobility in Volhynian governorate”. Life of Volhynian Governorate at the beginning of the 19th century is reflected in the letters which contain the exposure of the Polish gentry’s plot against the Russian stateness. The extent of the “historicity” of this document and the possibility of assessing the situation in this region based on so-called Opytov’s evidence raise doubts. The performed analysis shows that Opytov’s letter was a fiction aimed at a narrow circle of readers familiar with the situation in Volhynia and western regions in general. The text of this letter contains the encrypted conspiracy narratives, known to Opytov’s contemporaries, which can become the key to understanding what type of text it is.

National Dialogue in Ukraine: You Must Spoil before You Spin

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 358-380
Author(s):  
Natalia Mirimanova
Keyword(s):  
Political Elite ◽  
Internal Conflict ◽  
The Political ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Dialogue Process ◽  
Run Up ◽  
Political Spectrum ◽  
Political Differences ◽  
The One

The paper evaluates the attempt to launch a National Dialogue process in Ukraine backed by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (osce) from the perspective of its teleology, design and impact in the context of the aggravating internal divisions, problematic legitimacy of the post-Maidan leadership, Russia actively backing the forces in opposition to the interim government in Kiev and subversive of the integrity of the Ukrainian state, and peaked geopolitical tensions in the broader region. in the run up to the extraordinary presidential election in Ukraine scheduled for 25 May 2014, the osce backed the launching of a National Dialogue to prevent further escalation of the destructive and increasingly violent internal conflict. The efforts aimed at the consolidation of the Ukrainian political elite from across the country, including in the rebellious East and South regions, and across the political spectrum, also involving the party of the fugitive President Yanukovych. This endeavor, by the osce Swiss Chairmanship, provides insight into the opportunities and limitations of the top-down and elite-based approach to the National Dialogue in Ukraine, particularly in comparison with the local grassroots dialogue initiatives in the divided communities as well as the center-region dialogue formats, on the one hand, and with the extra-national formats of talks involving Ukraine and Russia, on the other. Besides, lack of the strategic sequencing and embeddedness of short-term objectives of the stakeholders to either keep or challenge the political status quo and long-term accommodation of political differences by the reformed political and administrative arrangements and national reconciliation prevented the National Dialogue from gaining the momentum, was prohibitive of its continuity and did not get traction with the population irrespective of the political preferences. There were objective reasons that prevented proper design and implementation of the dialogue, such as urgency, extreme polarisation and strong pressure on the post-Maidan leadership at the time from opposing constituents that ardently rejected dialogue, a factor that could not be ignored against the backdrop of the upcoming series of elections. However the osce political imperative had prevailed over the professional approach to the design and facilitation of the National Dialogue. In particular, no clear agenda that resonated with the diverse constituencies’ actual needs and grievances was developed, no broad consultations had been held prior to the dialogue, disagreements between the stakeholders regarding the participation were not resolved, and the very design of the events, including media presence, was not conducive of the genuine deliberation and joint search for the mutually acceptable short-term and long-term trajectory of the country.

scholarly journals The policy of Catholic Monarchs and Popes in the New World on the Christianization of the population and the policy of local authorities (1492–1513)

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 230-236
Author(s):  
Konstantin Eduardovich Ashrafyan
Keyword(s):  
New World ◽  
The Political ◽  
Equal Rights ◽  
The West ◽  
Christopher Columbus ◽  
Dominican Order ◽  
Las Casas ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The One ◽  
Pope Alexander Vi

The aim was to study the attitude towards slavery and freedom for the natives of the open lands of America on the part of the Spanish Crown, on the one hand, and Christopher Columbus in 14911504, and then his son Diego Columbus, appointed governor of Hispaniola in 1508 and became viceroy of the West Indies, on the other. As a result, the texts of the bulls of Pope Alexander VI for May 3 and May 4, September 26, 1493, letters of Catholic Monarchs, letters of Christopher Columbus, letters and orders of Bobadilla and Nicholas Ovando and the events of 1511 in Hispaniola described in the book of Las Casas, as well as documents on the results of the work of the Junta of Burgos in 1512 and the Junta of Valladolid in 1513 were studied and analyzed. The study showed the true and humane attitude of Catholic Monarchs towards the natives of America and the emergence of laws under which the natives of America were granted freedom and equal rights with the Castilians. It also shows the policy of slavery and exploitation set up by the House of Columbus against the Indians, and the political battles with the defenders of the Indians from the Dominican Order, that made possible Burgos Laws of 1512 and their amendments Laws of Valladolid laws of 1513 and their consequences for the freedom and life of the natives.

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