“A Weapon to Change Modern Reality”: Action and Agitation in On Kawara's Thanatophanies, 1955–1956

October ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 163 ◽  
pp. 102-130
Author(s):  
Mycah Braxton
Keyword(s):  
Social Action ◽  
Original Work ◽  
Art Museums ◽  
Social Conditions ◽  
Aesthetic Theory ◽  
Institutional Form ◽  
Postwar Japan ◽  
New Form

In the context of 1950s Japanese aesthetic theory, On Kawara's Death Masks can be seen a tool of agitation and provocation. Through these drawings, Kawara resisted the destruction of individual thought and action in the harsh social conditions of postwar Japan, seeking to return agency to the viewer in two ways. First, by warping his human figures in a metaphor of “material” objectification, Kawara aimed to provoke anxiety and thus spur the audience to social action. Second, by creating “imaginary objects” in the process of drafting the Death Masks, Kawara refused the guide of historical reference and prompted viewers to invent associations between his figures and social conditions. This series can be seen as providing a prototype for a new form of art, the “Printed Paintings.” Kawara, critical of the institutional form of art museums and galleries, sought to create a system of art that would directly invite creative responses to the original work and thereby achieve a new actualization of individual subjects and of society at large.

The sequence form of accounting for atrocity

2021 ◽  
pp. 175069802110179
Author(s):  
Meredith Kimenyi Shepard
Keyword(s):  
Original Work ◽  
Alternative Form ◽  
Mass Violence ◽  
Mass Atrocity ◽  
New Form ◽  
Poetry Collection

Discussions of aesthetic representations of mass atrocity have tended to focus on a particular form—the atrocity allegory—that figures a collective horror through the narrative of an individual protagonist. This essay outlines some of the limits of the atrocity allegory and then examines an alternative form of denoting collective horror, the sequence, through two examples of sequential representation of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda: Juliane Okot Bitek’s poetry collection 100 Days and Wangechi Mutu’s photography essay #100Days. I argue that the sequence offers a radically different method of conceptualizing mass violence than the atrocity allegory by forcing the audience to confront multiple, intimate portraits of loss in quick succession. Unlike the allegory, the sequence does not require the audience to extrapolate from the singular to the collective, as the plurality of sequencing performs that link between individual and collective on its own. I furthermore suggest that the atrocity sequence inspires collaboration and activism by inviting audiences to continue the sequence in a new form where the original work ends, a continuation made possible by the sequence form’s resistance to closure.

Utopien des Übergangs. Don Quixote und Zarathustra

2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-180
Author(s):  
Henry Kerger
Keyword(s):  
Don Quixote ◽  
Social Conditions ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Ultimate Question ◽  
Law And Morality ◽  
New Form ◽  
Ecce Homo ◽  
Good And Evil

Abstract The subject of this article points beyond a purely literary or literary-historical approach. The question is, whether and how a human being is able to change the (social) conditions of their life by changing himself through transition into another form of existence. In order to overcome established (social) conditions and one’s self, it is necessary to begin with a vision, a utopian dream. Those who pursue the utopian dream of overcoming their current (social) conditions must acknowledge their own good and evil, that is, their position vis-à-vis equality and justice, law and morality. The person itself, and its personality, is revealed in the relation between the utopia of changing its current way of life and its social reality. The ultimate question is: what is the essence of humanity, the ecce homo? Both the transition into a new form of being and the utopian dream differ decisively in Don Quixote and Zarathustra. It is not my concern to compare them as literary figures.

Health Promotion: From Concepts to Strategies

1988 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 24-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald Labonte
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Social Action ◽  
Medical Equipment ◽  
Community Leadership ◽  
Social Conditions ◽  
Disease Treatment

Just 20 years ago, health promotion was a little understood aspect of healthcare. Although still secondary to disease treatment, especially in hospitals, it now has gained a great deal of support. A number of charters, frameworks and reports have been put forth in the last several years which have tried to establish that social conditions and personal actions are also important in determining health, not only physicians and sophisticated medical equipment. Community leadership, consisting of collective discussion, decision making and action is the key. Two successful groups illustrate how social action can produce beneficial results, and how professionals and agencies can help communities put health promotion into operation.

Myth, Meaning and Work Organization

1989 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 405-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin L. Bowles
Keyword(s):  
Social Action ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Work Organization ◽  
New Order ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
New Form ◽  
The Church

The 'work organization' has, for many, come to replace the Church in dictating the meanings by which people are expected to structure their social action. This paper describes the function of myth in human life, the challenge to traditional mythologies through the emergence of science and technology and how the new order of organizational ideologies and myths fail to provide the integration necessary for life adjustment. The argument for the current emergence of a new form of mythology, one which challenges contemporary understandings of human beings and social organiza tion, is assessed.

Equality

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert Weale
Keyword(s):  
Social Action ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
Political Authority ◽  
Social Conditions ◽  
Central Question ◽  
Social Equality ◽  
Approximate Equality ◽  
Moral Claims ◽  
Mean Equality

Equality has long been a source of political and philosophical controversy. A central question about equality is how one might link empirical or moral claims about the extent to which persons are equal to judgements about the moral acceptability or unacceptability of social inequalities, and in particular how far considerations of equality license social action to bring about greater social equality. A traditional liberal argument holds that approximate equality of human strength makes it prudent for humans to place themselves under a common political authority, thus producing a justification for equality before the law. But any generalization of this argument ignores the cases where strength is unequal and the resulting balance of power unjust. Equality of worth is a principle recognized in many philosophical traditions, but its broad acceptance leaves open many problems of interpretation. In particular, it is not clear how far the principle calls for greater equality of social conditions. Persons may derive a sense of worth from enjoying the fruits of their labour, and this will legitimately block some redistribution; certain inequalities may work to everyone’s advantage; and the impartial concern of the equality principle may be at odds with the sense of ourselves as persons with specific attachments. In this context, some have wanted to soften the interpretation of equality to mean equality of opportunity or merely that inequalities should not be cumulative, although how far these moves are justified is a matter for dispute. By contrast, challenges to the equality principle from considerations of incentives, desert or difference can more easily be met.

scholarly journals Évaluation Des Prédispositions À L'Action Sociale

1986 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick O'Neill ◽  
Rachel Thibeault
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Social Action ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Social Conditions ◽  
Divergent Validity ◽  
English Version ◽  
Community Groups ◽  
Personal Power ◽  
The World ◽  
Convergent And Divergent Validity

Citizen participation in social change may depend, in part, on certain beliefs about the world and about the power of the citizen to change social conditions. To evaluate the belief in personal power and the belief that social conditions are often unjust, two scales were created. The multi-trait multi-method matrix of Campbell and Fiske was used to establish convergent and divergent validity of the English version of the scales. The scales predicted results in relevant experiments and distinguished among community groups that were, or were not, involved in social action. This article presents French versions of the two scales and reliability data from two studies. In the first study, data were gathered from a sample of 100 Acadians in Nova Scotia. The results indicated that the scales have both convergent and divergent validity. In the second study, we administered both the English and the French versions of the scales to a bilingual sample. The correlations between the English and French versions were sufficiently high for the versions to be considered equivalent.

scholarly journals Seeking a Research Method to Study Women Who Have Recovered from Trauma and Addiction that Combines Feminist Theory, Somatic Theory, Alternative Forms of Representation, and Social Justice

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon Stopforth
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Feminist Theory ◽  
Social Action ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Social Conditions ◽  
Cutting Edge ◽  
Verbal Interactions ◽  
The World

The following paper attempts to find an approach to research that will best suit women who have recovered from addictions and trauma and consider themselves resilient. This approach will need to combine contemporary feminist theory, somatic theory, and alternative forms of representation/interpretation. The paper will begin by exploring the connection between postmodern feminist theory and somatic theory and what they both have to say about how we embody social conditions of gender through non-verbal interactions. Research will then be examined that captures the non-verbal aspects of being in the world and how this intersects with the postmodern turn. Finally, in combining postmodernism, embodiment, and alternative forms of representation, cutting edge research will be explored that takes embodiment to the next level: social action.

scholarly journals The Impact of Project Activities on the Cultivation of Ecological Citizenship in a High School Climate Change Club

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-69
Author(s):  
Woo-Yong Park ◽  
Chan-Jong Kim
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
School Climate ◽  
Social Action ◽  
Scientific Models ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Ecological Citizenship ◽  
Social Actions ◽  
New Form ◽  
The Impact

Abstract This research explored the characteristics of students’ activities and their artifacts during their participation in climate change club projects and investigated the impacts of the club project participation on students’ ecological citizenship. Climate change club projects were developed to help students understand climate change, investigate climate change issues, and plan and participate in social actions. Participants developed scientific models of causes of climate change and were expected to develop the own perspectives about socio-scientific issues related to climate change. Five types of competences of ecological citizenship were targeted through club activities: knowledge and understanding, responsibility, justice, sustainability, and participation. Researchers found activities were student centered and interactive and artifacts generated by students were resources for social action. Climate change club activities demonstrated the potential for student participation in club projects to promote competence for mitigating climate change among future generations by fostering a new form of citizenship: ecological citizenship.

Part 3 The United Nations: What it Does, 17 Improving Social Conditions

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Higgins Dame Rosalyn, DBE, QC ◽  
Webb Philippa ◽  
Akande Dapo ◽  
Sivakumaran Sandesh ◽  
Sloan James
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Social Action ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Secretary General ◽  
Social Conditions ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
International Peace ◽  
Social Council ◽  
The Social ◽  
The United Nations

The concern of the United Nations (UN) with improving social conditions is expressed in the various parts of the UN Charter. Improving social conditions is seen not only as a goal in its own right, but as related to the aim of achieving international peace. This chapter discusses the types of activities for the purpose of improving social conditions; the ‘social’ issues addressed by the UN; major summits and conferences; social issues in the work of the principal UN organs; the General Assembly and social issues; the Economic and Social Council; social issues in the work of the Security Council and UN Secretary-General; UN Departments, Programmes, and Offices involved in social issues; and institutional coordination of UN social action.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document