Byzantine Biography

2020 ◽  
pp. 529-546
Author(s):  
Martin Hinterberger
Keyword(s):  
Significant Role ◽  
Late Antique ◽  
Scholarly Work ◽  
Point Of Reference

This chapter studies direct and indirect influences of classical and late antique biographical forms and contents on Byzantine biographical writing. Both the main characteristics of Byzantine biographical writing and the richness of forms and contents become clear. The influence of the vita/bios on other (even non-biographical) genres and the concomitant biographization are noted. Biography has to be interesting, edifying, and entertaining. ‘Adventures’ are an important element as is the constant movement of the heroes. Indeed, a recurrent topic is the hero’s flight and other people’s pursuit of him. It is remarkable that there are so many biographies of people from the provinces who came to Constantinople for various reasons. Constantinople itself is an important point of reference in many biographies, as is the emperor or the patriarch. Education and learning, too, play a significant role. The specific characteristics of Byzantine biography, however, still remain vague. A lot of further scholarly work needs to be done before the art of biography can be properly understood.

Carefully Constructed Yet Curiously Real: How Major American Animation Studios Generate Empathy Through a Shared Style of Character Design

Animation ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 191-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malou van Rooij
Keyword(s):  
Significant Role ◽  
Emotional Response ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Great Success ◽  
Uncanny Valley ◽  
Scholarly Work ◽  
Animated Films ◽  
Character Design ◽  
Perceptual Realism ◽  
Inside Out

Contemporary computer-animated films by the major American animation studios Pixar, Disney and DreamWorks are often described as evoking (extremely) emotional responses from their ever-growing audiences. Following Murray Smith’s assertion that characters are central to comprehending audiences’ engagement with narratives in Engaging Characters: Fiction, Emotion, and the Cinema (1995), this article points to a specific style of characterization as a possible reason for the overwhelming emotional response to and great success of these films, exemplified in contemporary examples including Inside Out (Pete Docter and Ronnie del Carmen, 2015), Big Hero 6 (Don Hall and Chris Williams, 2014) and How to Train Your Dragon (Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, 2010). Drawing on a variety of scholarly work including Stephen Prince’s ‘perceptual realism’, Scott McCloud’s model of ‘amplification through simplification’ and Masahiro Mori’s Uncanny Valley theory, this article will argue how a shared style of character design – defined as a paradoxical combination of lifelikeness and abstraction – plays a significant role in the empathetic potential of these films. This will result in the proposition of a new and reverse phenomenon to Mori’s Uncanny Valley, dubbed the Pixar Peak, where, as opposed to a steep drop, audiences reach a climactic height in empathy levels when presented with this specific type of characterization.

scholarly journals Effective Use of Benchmarking: The Context of the Centre for Preparatory Studies in Oman

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arab World English Journal ◽  
Meenalochana Inguva
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Small Study ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Quality Of Instruction ◽  
Sultan Qaboos University ◽  
Foundation Program ◽  
Effective Use ◽  
Point Of Reference

This paper examines the importance and the process of developing benchmarks for the courses offered at the Centre for Preparatory Studies, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman. Benchmarks are necessary for improving the quality of instruction. Considering the importance of benchmarking and taking it as a point of reference, a small study was undertaken at the Centre for Preparatory Studies to develop benchmarks for each course offered in the General Foundation Program. One of the aims of developing benchmarks was to make it clear to students what is expected of them at the end of each course. The study draws on some examples of benchmarking models to draft benchmarks for the purpose of study. The exploratory method was followed for gaining insights to write benchmarks. Literature review showed that course objectives are used synonymously with benchmarks. The outcomes of the research project played a significant role in designing curricula for the GFP courses though it was quite a challenging task. It is important to draft concise and clear benchmarks, which are accessible and comprehensible for students and teachers. So, using the level-specific proficiency descriptors, can-do statements for each skill bench markers were written to make it comprehensible for students to know what is expected of them by the end of each course. Benchmarks used in one context may not be effective in other contexts. One important insight gained was what benchmarking is and what it is not.

scholarly journals Gereformeerde piëtisme, Hieronymus van Alphen (1746- 1803) en die hemelse versugting in Susanna Smit (1799-1863) se godsdienstige dagboeke

2017 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andries Raath
Keyword(s):  
Significant Role ◽  
Key Terms ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Point Of Reference ◽  
Significant Point

Reformed Pietism, Hieronymus van Alphen and the heavenly quest in Susanna Smit’s spiritual diaries Hieronymus van Alphen’s pious poetry saw the light at a time Dutch pietism had reached its zenith. Van Alphen’s poetry comprises both poetic literature and hymns. Acting as co-author with Pieter Leonard van de Kasteele, Van Alphen was responsible for Proeve van stichtelijke mengelpoesij [Proofs of pious mixed poems] (1771). This source had a warm reception in religious circles at the Cape. His Proeve van stichtelijke gesangen [Proofs of pious hymns] (1802) had a similar impact in Holland and in Cape Reformed circles. Both works played a significant role in the Voortrekker woman Susanna Smit’s religious mentality profile, particularly the quest to be united with Jesus in heaven served as a significant point of reference in Susanna’s spirituality. In this essay the impact of Van Alphen’s pietistic poetry in Susanna’s religious diaries and the effects thereof on her religious mentality profile are investigated. Key terms: Hieronymus van Alphen, mysticism, poems, Pietism, Susanna Smit Hieronymus van Alphen se stigtelike poësie sien die lig op ‘n tydstip wat die Nederlandse piëtisme ‘n hoogtepunt bereik. Van Alphen se poësie val in twee kategorieë uiteen: poëtiese verse en digsange. Saam met Pieter Leonard van de Kasteele, was Van Alphen verantwoordelik vir die Proeve van stichtelijke mengel-poesij wat in 1771 verskyn het. Dié bron het ook in die Kaapse geloofsgemeenskap neerslag gevind. Sy Proeve van liederen en gezangen (1802 [1801]) het eweneens groot effek in Nederlandse gereformeerde kringe en aan die Kaap gehad. Beide werke speel in die Voortrekkervrou Susanna Smit se geloofsprofiel ‘n belangrike rol. Dit is egter veral die sug na die hemelse vereniging met Christus wat in dié verband by Susanna sterk na vore tree. In hierdie artikel word die neerslag van Van Alphen se piëtistiese poësie in Susanna se godsdienstige dagboeke en die effek daarvan op haar godsdienstige mentaliteitsprofiel ondersoek. Sleutelterme: Gedigte, Hieronymus van Alphen, mistiek, piëtisme, Susanna Smit

The Right to Health in an African Cultural Context: The Role of Ubuntu in the Realization of the Right to Health with Special Reference to South Africa

2013 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuma Himonga
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Special Reference ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Right To Health ◽  
Special Point ◽  
The Right ◽  
Point Of Reference

AbstractThe article examines the realization of the right to health through the African concept of ubuntu. It attempts to show that ubuntu plays or ought to play a significant role in the realization of the right to health. This argument is advanced by identifying the attributes of ubuntu relevant to the implementation of the right to health and then applying these attributes to practical scenarios to operationalize the right to health. South Africa is used as a special point of reference because of the jurisprudence on ubuntu that has emerged there since 1994.

scholarly journals Haupt postromantyczny? O czterech prozach i dwóch wierszach

2021 ◽  
pp. 325-356
Author(s):  
Andrzej Niewiadomski
Keyword(s):  
Significant Role ◽  
Creative Design ◽  
Specific Kind ◽  
Close Analysis ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Point Of Reference

The article is devoted to the relationship between Zygmunt Haupt’s prose and the romantic worldview, more precisely to the references to Juliusz Słowacki’s works clearly visible in Haupt’s prose. The issue, which has been previously pointed out by other researchers, required verification by means of close analysis of the specific kind of game that Haupt plays with Słowacki’s texts: Beniowski, Lilla Weneda, the poems Do pastereczki… (To a shepherdess…) and Patrz nad grotą… (Look, above the grotto…), and a fragment of Raptularz (Notebook). Seemingly simple references turn out to be part of a design of making a modern attempt at challenging the incommunicable by means of referring to both Słowacki’s text and his biography, together with an ambiguous, and suspended between repetition and ironic distance, attitude towards the romantic diagnoses of existence. Haupt’s prose, referring to many other traditions as well, presents a Mannerist creative design in which the romantic tradition plays a significant role, yet is not the only point of reference.

Dodds’s Influence on Neoplatonic Studies

2019 ◽  
pp. 167-181
Author(s):  
Anne Sheppard
Keyword(s):  
Spiritual Experience ◽  
Late Antique ◽  
Scholarly Work ◽  
Classical Scholarship

This chapter explores E.R. Dodds’s work on Neoplatonism, which has been fundamental to the development of Neoplatonic studies over the last one hundred years. The challenge in understanding the Neoplatonists is to understand the remarkable way in which the mystical and the analytical are combined in their thought. In his scholarly work on Neoplatonism, Dodds applied the rigorous methods of traditional classical scholarship to the elucidation of Neoplatonic texts, and in his treatment of Plotinian mysticism, he stressed that for Plotinus, as for Plato, any kind of spiritual experience of a transcendent world comes only after a great deal of study of mathematics and dialectic. Ultimately, the significance of Dodds’s work on Neoplatonism lies not only in his publications on Plotinus, Proclus, and other late antique thinkers but also in his network of contacts with European scholars in the field and in his influence on individuals who went on to work on Neoplatonism themselves.

Reflecting on Former Chief Justice Ngcobo’s Approach to Gender Equality: Revisiting the Jordan and Volks Judgments

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (1&2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ntombizozuko Dyani-Mhango
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Bill Of Rights ◽  
Scholarly Work ◽  
Legal Rules ◽  
Chief Justice ◽  
Duty To Protect

More than a decade ago, Ngcobo CJ upset gender scholars and activists in two judgments for failing consider the interface between social context and legal rules in relation to women as sex workers, in one instance, and those who are in unmarried permanent life partnerships, in another. These two judgments were the topics of much scholarly work. Further, there have been recent legal developments in relation to these two issues. This article examines these criticisms with a view to reflecting on Ngcobo CJ’s jurisprudence on gender equality in relation to Jordan and Volks. The aim is not to determine the validity or invalidity of these claims, but to highlight the issues raised in order to discuss Ngcobo CJ’s legacy in relation to these two judgments. The latest developments since the two cases will also be examined. The article emphasises the significant role of the Legislature and argues that the Legislature has a constitutional duty to protect the rights enshrined in the Bill of Rights: the time has arrived for it legislate on these issues.

Monasteries and Villages: Rural Economy and Religious Interdependency in Late Antique Palestine

2017 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob Ashkenazi ◽  
Mordechai Aviam
Keyword(s):  
Significant Role ◽  
Rural Economy ◽  
Holy Land ◽  
Late Antique ◽  
Monastic Community ◽  
Holy City

Monasticism played a significant role in the Late Antique economy of the Holy Land, as it did in neighboring regions, a role that can be traced both in hagiography and in archaeology. Though holy men settled in secluded monasteries in the desert of the Holy City, most of the monks of Palestine were living in and near villages throughout the land. The rural monastery housed presses that produced wine and oil in quantities exceeding the needs of the local monastic community. It seems that the monasteries, in addition to their obvious spiritual and religious functions, served as part of the region’s economy, thus creating substantial relations with their lay neighbors.

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