Kinēsis, Navies, and the Power Trap in Thucydides

Author(s):  
Arlene W. Saxonhouse

In the Archaeology of his History, Thucydides traces those factors that led to the rise of the cities that face one another in the war that he records. Foremost among them is the navy. I contend that this focus on the navy as the basis of political power captures for Thucydides the connection between movement and power: possession of power is not a static condition but always entails the unending search for more power, allowing the cities who possess navies/power no respite from constant motion. In contrast to what I call the “power trap” that ultimately leads to the destruction of the city engaged in the constant motion of pursuing power after power stands the permanence of the speech, the logoi, of the historian who can offer an “everlasting possession” such as eludes the political leaders of cities such as Athens caught up as they are in the power trap.

Author(s):  
Priscila Romana Moraes de Melo

ResumoEste ensaio traz a fala de uma mulher que descobre em si um palhaço, mesmo atuando, há 13 anos, como palhaça. O encontro com o palhaço Uisquisito ocorreu em 2012, no grupo de teatro Palhaços Trovadores, do qual faço parte há 10 anos. A partir disso, atuar na palhaçaria com gêneros diferentes, feminino e masculino, trouxe-me reflexões não só na arte do palhaço, fato de ter dois palhaços, mas sobretudo, de se provocar discussões do que é uma mulher que tem um palhaço, que em suas primeiras experimentações faz leituras de poemas-manifestos. Com um olhar de pesquisadora para meu fazer artístico, escrever e ler poemas-manifestos se tornou uma característica do Uisquisito. Seus escritos sempre relacionados aos contextos políticos atuais da cidade de Belém, muitos referentes a falta de investimentos na área da cultura, ao descaso com os artistas, as limitações de acesso aos teatros e outros espaços para o movimento artístico na cidade. O Uisquisito me faz pensar na potência política que a comicidade tem, tanto no ato transgressor de uma mulher ser palhaça e ser palhaço por desejo, não por imposição, como era no circo antigamente, quanto na força de provocar reflexões sobre os contextos políticos na atualidade, trazendo o teatro, a comicidade e a palhaçaria como uma forte arma de discussão.AbstractThis essay brings the speech of a woman who discovers in herself a male clown, even though she has been acting for 13 years as a female clown. The meeting with the clown Uisquisito took place in 2012, in the theater group Palhaços Trovadores, which I have been a part of for the last 10 years. Acting through different gender in clowns brought me reflections, not only in the art of clown, in the fact of having two them, but most of all, provoking discussions of what is a woman who has a male clown, who in his first experiments performed poem-manifest readings. With a researcher’s eye at my artistic work, writing and reading poems-manifest has become a feature of Uisquisito. His writings are related to the current political contexts at the city of Belém, referring mainly to investments in the cultural area, neglect of artists, limitations of theaters and spaces for the artistic movement in the city. Uisquisito makes me think about the political power comedy has, first in the transgressing act of a woman being a being a male clown by desire, not by imposition, as it used to be in the circus of old. Second, in the force of provoking reflections on the political contexts nowadays, bringing the theater, comedy and clownery as a strong weapon of discussion.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 89
Author(s):  
Andrea Nicolotti

Resumen: En la Edad Media, había una gran variedad de sudarios venerados en distintas zonas del mundo cristiano. El sudario de Oviedo, tejido en torno al siglo VIII d.C, aparece registrado en las fuentes a partir del último cuarto del siglo XI y forma parte de las reliquias conservadas en la catedral de la ciudad. Su existencia puede considerarse uno de los efectos de los esfuerzos conjuntos que el clero y la política realizaron para proveer una legitimación histórica y propagandística a la supremacía de la sede de Oviedo. En los últimos cincuenta años, como consecuencia de la poderosa propaganda efectuada por algunos exponentes de una pseudo-ciencia conocida como “sindonología”, el Sudario de Oviedo goza de creciente fama, sobre todo mediática, y es presentado como si fuera una reliquia auténtica, es decir, como el verdadero sudario que envolvió la cabeza de Jesús de Nazaret.Abstract: In the Middle Ages, there was a great variety of shrouds venerated in different parts of the Christian world. The Sudarium of Oviedo, woven around the eighth century AD, is recorded in the sources as from the last quarter of the eleventh century and is one of the relics preserved in the cathedral of the city. Its existence can be considered one of the effects of the joint efforts that the clergy and the political power made to provide a historical and propagandistic legitimation to the supremacy of Oviedo’s bishopric. In the last fifty years, as a result of the powerful propaganda carried out by some exponents of a pseudo-science known as “syndonology”, the Sudarium of Oviedo enjoys a growing fame, especially in the media, and it is presented as if it were an authentic relic, that is, as the true shroud that wrapped the head of Jesus of Nazareth.


Author(s):  
Paul Stangl

The center of Berlin lay in ruins at the end of World War II. Cultural and political leaders faced decisions regarding what to restore, rebuild, or raze. Yet the future of Berlin would not be envisioned in a vacuum. They would wittingly and unwittingly draw from inherited traditions, ideologies, and theories to structure their understanding of the city and guide decision-making about its future. For Berliners, the rebuilding of their destroyed city would remain a central part of their lives for years. Communist political leaders sought to mobilize the population for the reconstruction effort and to use this effort in the political socialization of the citizenry.


Author(s):  
David M. Bergeron

This chapter focuses mainly on the Robert Carr-Frances Howard relationship, her divorce from the Earl of Essex, and subsequent marriage to Carr in an elaborate wedding on 26 December. This marriage solidified the political power of the Howard family. For the wedding, Thomas Campion wrote the first masque, and Jonson wrote two masques. The celebration extended into the City of London in early January with a procession to the Merchant Taylors’ Hall, which included a play, a banquet, a masque by Thomas Middleton, and other entertainments. On 6 January, the court witnessed the performance of Masque of Flowers, financed by Francis Bacon. Only Frances Howard and possibly Carr knew that Thomas Overbury, Carr’s friend, had been murdered in the Tower at her instigation. Not until 1615 did others learn of this plot.


1934 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 254-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold F. Gosnell

Political meetings constitute one of the means employed by the Negro political leaders in Chicago to develop and maintain party morale. The Republican rallies in the second and third wards are unique affairs, not to be duplicated in other parts of the city. The political meetings have taken over some of the patterns of religious revivals or camp meetings. A party gathering which is not packed and which does not stir up an emotional response is looked upon as very unusual. The audience is attentive, enthusiastic, patient, good natured, and content to sit for many hours on uncomfortable seats. When a speaker says something which strikes a popular chord, the listeners shout, clap, or wave programs, hats, or hands in the air.


Author(s):  
Gopal Krishna

When the european war ended in November 1918 the fate of the defeated Turkish Empire was no longer in doubt. The other fallen empire, Austria-Hungary, had been dismembered, and the Ottoman Turks could not hope to escape the consequences of allying themselves with Germany. For Indian Muslims this raised grave issues of the political power of Islam. They had provided a large number of recruits in the war and had contributed materially towards the defeat of Turkey. Their political leaders had regretted Turkey's entry into the war on the side of Britain's enemies; their sympathies, however, were with the Turks, for the Turkish Sultan was looked upon as the Khalifa, the temporal and spiritual leader of the Islamic community, and—still more important for Indian Muslims—the Khalifa stood for the unity of the Islamic people, and the Turkish Empire, by then the only surviving Islamic Empire, was the symbol of Islam's worldly power. Muslims in India fervently believed in the ideal of Islamic brotherhood. This had always been an integral part of the religious outlook of Islam, but Pan-Islamism appealed especially to Muslims in India because of their minority status. Their interest in the Khalifate was largely due to the fact that it was the one centre of authority to which they could look for protection. The spread of nationalism threatened to submerge them and made them anxious to preserve and strengthen the Khalifate as an institution which might provide them with a rallying point and mobilize in their defence the united forces of the Islamic world.


Pro Memorie ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-89
Author(s):  
Cornelis Marinus

Summary This contribution studies the cessio bonorum of painter Rembrandt van Rhijn in relation to the relevant rules and institutions of Amsterdam. In the Rembrandt case the procedural rules on the cessio bonorum were followed to a large extend. In regard to the beweysinge, a few weeks before the application for the cessio, it seems more convincing that it should be interpreted as a promise than as a conveyance of the house he owned. This new perspective on the beweysinge, however, does not alter the fact that it seems likely that there was a conflict between the Orphans Chamber (serving the interests of Titus) and the Insolvency Chamber (serving the interests of the creditors, and among them especially the former burgomaster Cornelis Witsen). Arguments for this are derived from: 1) the new bylaw issued by the Orphans Chamber shortly after Rembrandt’s application for the cessio, 2) the appointment of the renowned lawyer Louis Crayers as guardian of Titus (instead of Jan Verwout), and 3) the position of Titus’ preferential claim in the concursus creditorum. Crenshaw has stated that this conflict was decided by the personal influence of Cornelis Witsen. This contribution defends that Witsen only could enforce the sale of the house because of the institutional and political power structures within the city government. Witsen belonged to the powerful reigning faction of Cornelis de Graeff, whereas the majority of the officials in the Orphans Chamber belonged to the ‘political opposition’. In the end it was especially Witsen who profited from the sale (at the expense of Titus).


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-145
Author(s):  
İsmail Güllü

Yarım aşırı aşan bir geçmişe sahip Almanya’ya göç olgusu beraberinde önemli bir edebi birikimi (Migrantenliteratur) de getirmiştir. Farklı adlandırmalar ile anılan bu edebi birikim, kendi içinde de farklı renkleri de barındıran bir özelliğe sahiptir. Edebi yazını besleyen en önemli kaynaklardan biri toplumdur. Yazarın içinde yaşadığı toplumsal yapı ve problemler üstü kapalı veya açık bir şekilde onun yazılarına yansımaktadır. Bu bağlamda araştırma, 50’li yaşlarında Almanya’ya giden ve ömrünün sonuna kadar orada yaşayan, birçok edebi ve düşünsel çalışması ile Türk edebiyatında önemli bir isim olan Fakir Baykurt’un “Koca Ren” ve Yüksek Fırınlar” adlı romanları ile birlikte Duisburg Üçlemesi’nin son kitabı olan “Yarım Ekmek” romanında ele aldığı konu ve roman kahramanları üzerinden din ve gelenek olgusu sosyolojik bir yaklaşımla ele alınmaktadır. Toplumcu-gerçekçi çizgide yer alan yazarın, uzun yıllar yaşadığı Türkiye’deki siyasi ve ideolojik geçmişi bu romanda kullandığı dil ve kurguladığı kahramanlarda kendini göstermektedir. Romanda Almanya’nın Duisburg şehrinde yaşayan Türklerin yeni kültürel ortamda yaşadıkları çatışma, kültürel şok, arada kalmışlık, iki kültürlülük temaları ön plandadır. Yazar romanda sadece Almanya’daki Türkleri ele almamakta, aynı zamanda Türkiye ile hatta başka ülkeler ile de ilişkilendirmeler yaparak bireysel ve toplumsal konuları ele almaktadır. Araştırmada, romanda yer alan dini ve geleneksel unsurlar sosyolojik olarak analiz edilmiştir. Genel anlamda bir göç romanı olma özelliği yanında Yarım Ekmek romanında dini, siyasi ve ideolojik birçok yorum ve tartışma söz konusudur. Romandaki bu veriler, inanç, ritüel, siyaset ve toplumsal boyutlarda kategorize edilerek ele alınmıştır.  ENGLISH ABSTRACTReligion and identity reflections in literature of immigrant: Religion and Tradition in Fakir Baykurt’s novel Yarım EkmekThe immigration fact which has nearly half century in Germany have brought a significant literal accumulation (Migrantenliteratur) in its wake. This literal accumulation, which is named as several denominations, has a feature including different colours in itself. One of the most important source snourishing literature is society. Societal structure and problems that the writer lives inside, directly or indirectly reflect on his/her compositions. In this context, the matter of religion and tradition by way of the issue and fictious characters in the novel of Fakir Baykurt who went to Germany in her 50’s and lived in there till his death and who is a considerable name in Turkish literature with his several literal and intellectual workings; “Yarım Ekmek” which is the third novel of Duisburg Trilogy with “Koca Ren” and “Yüksek Fırınlar” are discussed sociologically in the study. The political and ideological past of the socialist realist lined writer in Turkey where he spent his life for a long time, manifest itself on the speech and fictious characters of novel. In the novel, themes of new Turks’ conflict, cultural shock, being in the middle, bi culturalism in their new cultural nature in Duisburg which is the city they live in. The writer not only deals with Turks in Germany but also personal and social subjects via comparing them to Turkey and even other countries. In the study, religious and traditional elements analyzed sociologically. Besides the speciality of being a migration novel in general, there are a lot of religious, political and ideological interpretations and discussions in the novel. These datum in the novel are examinated in the context of belief, ritual, politics and social categorisation. 


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 126-143
Author(s):  
Ocean Howell

American urban historians have begun to understand that digital mapping provides a potentially powerful tool to describe political power. There are now important projects that map change in the American city along a number of dimensions, including zoning, suburbanization, commercial development, transportation infrastructure, and especially segregation. Most projects use their visual sources to illustrate the material consequences of the policies of powerful agencies and dominant planning ‘regimes.’ As useful as these projects are, they often inadvertently imbue their visualizations with an aura of inevitability, and thereby present political power as a kind of static substance–possess this and you can remake the city to serve your interests. A new project called ‘Imagined San Francisco’ is motivated by a desire to expand upon this approach, treating visual material not only to illustrate outcomes, but also to interrogate historical processes, and using maps, plans, drawings, and photographs not only to show what did happen, but also what might have happened. By enabling users to layer a series of historical urban plans–with a special emphasis on unrealized plans–‘Imagined San Francisco’ presents the city not only as a series of material changes, but also as a contingent process and a battleground for political power.


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