The Cult of Beauty

2018 ◽  
pp. 192-224
Author(s):  
Robert Holland
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
North American ◽  
Grand Tour ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
British Culture

This chapter details British engagement with the Mediterranean from 1890 to 1918. It has been argued that cultural despair was the distinguishing mark of modernism in the British compared to their European and North American counterparts, where a generally upbeat tone was more evident. Since the age of the Grand Tour, a pathology deeply marked by Mediterranean influences had characterized British culture. Thus, it was only logical that this remained true entering the twentieth century, and that despair and a sense of national fragility remained part of the mix. That hallmark characteristic had various roots, but critical to it was a continuing apprehension that the British remained unique as a leading European power in lacking an authentic, mature civilization of their own.

Tito Caula’s photographic imaginary and mid-century Caraqueño modernity

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-79
Author(s):  
Russell White
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
North American ◽  
The United States ◽  
Consumer Society ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Shopping Malls ◽  
Urban Forms ◽  
Economic Boom ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Physical Changes

The photography of the Argentinian photographer Francisco ‘Tito’ Caula tracked some of the key social and physical changes that Caracas underwent during the middle decades of the twentieth century. This period saw the country transition from dictatorship to democracy. Caula’s advertising photographs together with his images of spectacular spaces and buildings such as the Sabana Grande and the Centro Simón Bolívar presented Caracas as a mecca of mid-century ‘petro-modernity’ (LeMenager 2014). In contrast to late nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century modernity, which was predominantly European in influence, Caraqueño modernity at mid-century was more cosmopolitan, taking particular inspiration from the United States. Caula’s photographs speak to the process of Americanization, defined as the adoption of North American cultural products, urban forms and patterns of living that Venezuela underwent during the years Caula spent in the country. Venezuela witnessed an economic boom in the 1960s and 70s, which was fuelled by the US acquisition of Venezuelan oil. In Venezuela, the boom facilitated the growth of a consumer society as well as the development of such quintessentially North American urban forms as freeways, shopping malls, drive-in movie theatres, suburbs and skyscrapers. It was also accompanied by the adoption of violent security tactics by the state’s security apparatus and the political marginalization of the radical left. Given that Caula held left-wing views, it is perhaps surprising that his photographs (at least those that have been published) do not explore the tensions at the heart of the Pacto de Punto Fijo, instituted to ensure that the transition from dictatorship to democracy would hold following elections in 1958. The celebration of North American influence within Caula’s photographs puts them in dialogue with critical perspectives that have seen US cultural influence rather more negatively. Moreover, their celebration of prosperity and their presentation of Caracas as an exciting city means that, for some, they have taken on a nostalgic hue.

Metrics

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin J. Duffell
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Literary Theory ◽  
Empirical Observation ◽  
British Culture ◽  
British Study

This chapter examines the history and developments in British study of medieval metrics during the twentieth century. It explains that the contribution of British scholars to medieval metrics has been minor partly because British culture prefers empirical observation to abstract systems. In the second half of the century several British scholars made substantial contributions to historical metrics. They include Geoffrey Leech in his linguistic guide to poetics, W. Sidney Allen in his reconstruction of Classical Latin phonology and Nigel Fabb in his study of form and literary theory.

Iris Murdoch (1919–1999)

Iris Murdoch ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Anne Rowe
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Personal Relationships ◽  
Social Boundaries ◽  
Iris Murdoch ◽  
Biographical Information ◽  
Media Attention ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Late Twentieth ◽  
British Culture ◽  
Late Twentieth Century

Iris Murdoch is introduced as a writer of brave and open –minded novels that are not only idiosyncratic in their dealing with issues that push against accepted moral and social boundaries but also relevant to the everyday experiences of all types of readers. With reference to significant biographical information the chapter suggests why her novels have carved out her place in British culture in the late twentieth century and outlines the ways in which her often tortuous personal relationships and complex personality are inextricably entwined with her art. The considerable media attention she has attracted since her death in 1999 is evaluated and the reasons for the fluctuations within the critical reception of Murdoch’s novels over four decades are explained. The introduction concludes with summaries of the following four chapters on Murdoch’s philosophy, theology, aesthetics and settings.

Looking Again: The Critical Heritage

2017 ◽  
pp. 21-28
Author(s):  
Jessica Gildersleeve
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Contemporary Literature ◽  
Literary Text ◽  
Late Twentieth ◽  
Critical Heritage ◽  
Literature And Film ◽  
British Culture ◽  
Late Twentieth Century

This chapter examines Don't Look Now (1973) in the context of Daphne Du Maurier's Gothic narratives, with particular emphasis on those which had previously been adapted to film, and Nicolas Roeg's earlier films, particularly those which deal with themes of trauma and violence. It proposes that Du Maurier and Roeg's works should be read within the context of mid- to late-twentieth-century British culture, considering them as particularly concerned to depict the cultural traumas of the period. Although there are some distinctive differences between the film and the story from which it is adapted, one must not forget that Don't Look Now is adapted from a literary text, and that this may have implications for the representations and adaptations of trauma in contemporary literature and film. The chapter then reviews the existing studies of the film and the story from which it is adapted. It interrogates Don't Look Now's critical heritage as both avoiding and approaching the ever-retreating position of the trauma-text: a simultaneous recognition and avowal of the film's horror and its anxieties.

Mapping Twentieth-Century British Culture

2004 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 723-735
Author(s):  
Patrick Deer
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
British Culture

Francisco de Miranda in Russia

1950 ◽  
Vol 6 (04) ◽  
pp. 431-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph O. Baylen ◽  
Dorothy Woodward
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
American Continent ◽  
Grand Tour ◽  
North American Continent ◽  
The North ◽  
Austrian Minister

On September 26, 1786, Don Francisco de Miranda, adventurer and patriot, secured a passport from the Austrian Minister in Constantinople which enabled him to continue his “grand tour” to Russia. The nature of Miranda’s subsequent visit, and the extent to which his reception at the court of Catherine II influenced Spanish and Russian policy, assumes significance in the light of events on the North American continent immediately preceding and during his stay in Russia.

Cockleburs

1987 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 359-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larry W. Mitich
Keyword(s):  
American Indians ◽  
North American ◽  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Far East ◽  
North American Indians ◽  
Ancient Times ◽  
The Mediterranean

Although the word “xanthium” may conjure up visions of the exotic Far East, it is the generic name of spiny cocklebur (Xanthium spinosum L. #3 XANSP) and common cocklebur (X. strumarium L. # XANST). A familiar weed of fields and roadsides, cocklebur may have originated in the Mediterranean region and has plagued farmers and shepherds since Biblical times. Common cocklebur was considered a beneficient herb in ancient times. Its roots, seeds, and leaves were used as a diuretic and as a tonic to purify the blood. North American Indians used the leaves of spiny cocklebur to counteract hydrophobia.

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