Cervantine Criticism since 2000 and into the Future

Author(s):  
Bruce R. Burningham

The past two decades have seen an explosion in Cervantes scholarship. Indeed, it would perhaps not be an exaggeration to suggest that the last twenty years arguably represent the Golden Age of Cervantes criticism: slightly more than half of scholarly works written since 1888 have been published during the last two decades. In other words, during the last twenty years, the body of Cervantes knowledge has more than doubled, greatly expanding our variety of critical perspectives along the way. This chapter discusses the ‘across the centuries’ trend resulting from the various anniversary celebrations related to Cervantes, the ‘Cervantes and the Americas’ collections, Cervantes’s treatment of Islam, and the modernity of the novel, among other trends that have expanded Cervantine criticism since the turn of the current century.

2015 ◽  
Vol 116 (9/10) ◽  
pp. 641-644 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce Massis

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe and provide several examples of evidence to support the estimation that libraries have entered a new “golden age”. Design/methodology/approach – Literature review and commentary on this topic that has been addressed by professionals, researchers and practitioners. Findings – Flexibility in the face of change has always been a hallmark of an exceptional service-minded organization and the library is no different. To maintain its reputation as a forward-looking service that appeals to an expansive and diverse audience, libraries must always be forward-thinking and forward-seeking in their ability to satisfy. Such a continual evolution can result in the conviction that the library is recognized as an institution whose golden age will not reside in the past, but fully in the present, and that its growth into the future remains persistent, evident and fully embraced by its customers and supporters. Originality/value – The value in addressing this issue is to demonstrate that there are ready examples of libraries leading the way in supporting the opinion that we are in a “golden age” for libraries.


Author(s):  
Matthew Scott Scarano ◽  
Jennifer Ann Krause

House of Leaves, by Mark Z. Danielewski, is a novel first published in 2000 that has since developed notoriety in literary circles for its arguably unique experimentation with a multi-layered plot, varied visual typography, and multi-media format. Despite being widely read and influential over the past decade, little scholarly analysis has been done on House of Leaves. As House of Leaves could represent an entire new genre of literature, it is important that we understand its themes and the ways in which various writerly techniques function within the novel. In this paper, I analyze House of Leaves through an existential lens, specifically utilizing the ideas of Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus to examine the psyche of one of the novel’s main characters, Johnny Truant. In addition to primary sources by Danielewski, Sartre and Camus, I employ a 2002 analysis of House of Leaves by Katherine N. Hayles to aid my research. I conclude that Johnny’s story, and House of Leaves as a whole, breaks down traditional notions of reality, but retains existential hope for individuals who are able to find a purpose in life, even if that “purpose” is necessarily subjective. My analysis presents an original take on House of Leaves, and contains wider implications for future novels that emulate its experimental style. Past analyses have focused on post-modern aspects of House of Leaves, but I analyze it through an existential lens. Beyond adding to the body of work on House of Leaves, my existential take on an otherwise post-modern text may prove influential to analyses of other “post-modern” novels in the future.


Navegações ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 86
Author(s):  
Fábio Henrique Novais de Mesquita ◽  
Márcia Manir Miguel Feitosa

As literaturas africanas em língua portuguesa despontam com muita força no século XX e, aos poucos, ganham espaço na contemporaneidade por meio de narrativas que problematizam a escrita da história a partir de epistemologias eurocêntricas. Nosso objetivo é analisar o romance Lueji, o nascimento de um império (1990), de Pepetela, a partir de olhares que nos ajudem a compreender de que forma a memória, a história e a tradição se entrelaçam em espaços-tempos diferentes e como as ações do presente se constituem por meio de uma reatualização da memória sem a pretensão de veracidade da história oficial. A tradição se constitui então como o elo entre o passado, a memória, e o futuro, reinvenção contínua do presente. As personagens centrais, Lu e Lueji, participam de realidades que questionam a força das tradições, dependendo das suas interpretações para validá-las ou não, cada uma em seus contextos. *** Memory, history and tradition: a dialogue between the old and the new novel Lueji, o nascimento de um império ***The African literatures in the Portuguese language appear and rise, strongly, in the 20th century and, slowly, get their space in the contemporaneity through the narratives which used to question the historical written based on the Eurocentric epistemology. Our goal is analyze the novel Lueji, o nascimento em um império (1990), by Pepetela, through points of view that help us to comprehend the way memory, story and tradition intertwine on different space-times and how the present actions are made by the memory upgrade without the needing of the legitimate story veracity. The tradition, therefore, was made as a bound between the past, memory and the future, a continuous present remake. The main characters, Lu and Lueji, participate on realities that question the traditions strength, depending on their interpretations to validate or no, each one in their own context.Keywords: Lueji; Angola; Lusophone African literature; Memory; History.


The Eye ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (128) ◽  
pp. 19-22
Author(s):  
Gregory DeNaeyer

The world-wide use of scleral contact lenses has dramatically increased over the past 10 year and has changed the way that we manage patients with corneal irregularity. Successfully fitting them can be challenging especially for eyes that have significant asymmetries of the cornea or sclera. The future of scleral lens fitting is utilizing corneo-scleral topography to accurately measure the anterior ocular surface and then using software to design lenses that identically match the scleral surface and evenly vault the cornea. This process allows the practitioner to efficiently fit a customized scleral lens that successfully provides the patient with comfortable wear and improved vision.


Author(s):  
Elizabeth Gaskell ◽  
Dinah Birch

A man … is so in the way in the house!’ A vivid and affectionate portrait of a provincial town in early Victorian England, Elizabeth Gaskell’s Cranford describes a community dominated by its independent and refined women. Undaunted by poverty, but dismayed by changes brought by the railway and by new commercial practices, the ladies of Cranford respond to disruption with both suspicion and courage. Miss Matty and her sister Deborah uphold standards and survive personal tragedy and everyday dramas; innovation may bring loss, but it also brings growth, and welcome freedoms. Cranford suggests that representatives of different and apparently hostile social worlds, their minds opened by sympathy and suffering, can learn from each other. Its social comedy develops into a study of generous reconciliation, of a kind that will value the past as it actively shapes the future. This edition includes two related short pieces by Gaskell, ‘The Last Generation in England’ and ‘The Cage at Cranford’, as well as a selection from the diverse literary and social contexts in which the Cranford tales take their place.


Philosophy ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Stoneham

AbstractThere are many questions we can ask about time, but perhaps the most fundamental is whether there are metaphysically interesting differences between past, present and future events. An eternalist believes in a block universe: past, present and future events are all on an equal footing. A gradualist believes in a growing block: he agrees with the eternalist about the past and the present but not about the future. A presentist believes that what is present has a special status. My first claim is that the familiar ways of articulating these views result in there being no substantive disagreement at all between the three parties. I then show that if we accept the controversial truthmaking principle, we can articulate a substantive disagreement. Finally, I apply this way of formulating the debate to related questions such as the open future and determinism, showing that these do not always line up in quite the way one would expect.


Futures ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 118-134
Author(s):  
Barbara Adam

This chapter comprises an interview between Barbara Adam and the editors, and is followed by Adam’s ‘Honing Futures’, which is presented in four short verses of distilled theory. In the interview Adam reflects on thirty-five years of futures-thinking rooted in her deeply original work on time and temporality, and her innovative response to qualitative and linear definitions of time within the social sciences. The interview continues with a discussion of the way Adam’s thinking on futures intersects in her work with ideas of ethics and collective responsibility politics and concludes with a brief rationale for writing theory in verse form. In ‘Honing Futures’, a piece of futures theory verse form, Adam charts the movements and moments in considerations of the Not Yet and futurity’s active creation: from pluralized imaginings of the future, to an increasingly tangible and narrower anticipated future, to future-making as designing and reality-creating performance. Collectively, the verses identify the varied complex interdependencies of time, space, and matter with the past and future in all iterations of honing and making futures.


Literator ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlies Taljard

This article aims to illustrate how Hans du Plessis, in his novel Die pad na Skuilhoek [The path to Skuilhoek] (a place of shelter), subverts the way in which history had been presented in historical novels in the past by addressing social issues that contemporary readers find relevant. The first part of the article deals with the social codes that shape the identities of the main characters and how these identities are relevant in terms of the social framework within which the novel is received. In the second place the focus will shift towards Du Plessis’s representation of cultural and national identities. The question: ‘Who were the Afrikaners at the time of the Great Trek?’ will be answered with reference to these identities. In conclusion it will be pointed out how Du Plessis avoids dated practices of historical interpretation by choosing ecocrticism as the ideological framework for his novel and is, in this way, constructing a new social myth about the Great Trek.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zohra Akbari

Buildings and city forms are restructured and reused through time in response to evolving contexts, with each successive change leaving traces of the past that accumulate as layers. Collective knowledge and memory are strongly tied to these artifacts, which provide the depth and continuity necessary for the affirmation of identity. Dramatic changes in the contemporary city have prompted a reconsideration of the way architecture adapts, and highlights the need for a creative approach to change and advancement. A successful approach would meaningfully engage the past and memory to record and transmit vital aspects of culture and history while simultaneously using them to inform future actions. The palimpsest as an evolving record provides a productive framework for this kind of transformation, and uncovers the tangible and intangible layers of a site to protect and project the future layers.


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