scholarly journals ‘Le geste architectural’; Symbolism and authority in the case of the Centre Beaubourg

Author(s):  
Angelos Psilopoulos

Architecture seems often imbued with the notion of “gesture.” The term is mentioned in abundance both when architecture is seen as a discipline and when it is seen as a social practice. Arguments about it can be found in an artefact as well as in an act of design. In this context it may be revealed as an object to be claimed (i.e., a fetish), or stand for a trace or a carrier of meaning. Thus, in a wider scope, gesture may be discussed as a persistent – if not necessary – theme in the field’s culture. This essay examines “gesture” as a mediator between society (including culture and power) and the practice of architecture. This will be discussed within the framework of the competition for the Centre Beaubourg (later known as Centre Georges Pompidou). The heated discourse revolving around the expression “le geste architectural,” including the proposal to design the building literally as an open hand and thereby as a gesture of offering, will be explored. We will thus show how “gesture” simultaneously creates a multifaceted existence: at once as a token of validity and a symbol of truth and beauty, as well as representing the very danger of banality. Furthermore, we will show how the Centre itself – to which was attributed the character of a feat – becomes a “political gesture” carrying the sperm that spawned the type of “heroic architecture” that is so distinctive to the Fifth Republic. Finally, we will revisit “gesture” as a token taking part in a conundrum where the modern ideal ends up substituting genuineness with genius ; and we will see this binary relationship in connection to all the “gestures” we discuss in the case of the Centre Beaubourg. On these premises we will propose that, before we ask to define “gesture” by its content, it is important to see it first and foremost for what it does ; namely, that it acts as a nominator, and thereby as a mediator, and even a weaver, of the collective between architecture and society. This shift in perspective is critical, as it reveals that gesture plays a more dynamic role than any doctrine would like to have it. Ultimately, we hope to show that gesture can be seen as taking an integral part in the very fabric of architecture, instead of merely playjng a role in one of its many histories. This essay is based on existing literature as well as original research conducted in the archives of the Centre Georges Pompidou – to which we extend our gratitude for the access.

Author(s):  
Robert Paul Churchill

Every year, thousands of girls and women die, often at the hands of blood relatives. These victims are accused of committing honor violations that bring shame upon their family—such transgressions range from walking with a boy in their neighborhood to seeking to marry a man of their own choosing to being a victim of rape. Women in the Crossfire presents a thorough examination of honor killing, an age-old social practice through which women are trapped and subjected to terror and deadly violence as consequences of the evolution of dysfunctional patriarchal structures and competition among men for domination. To understand the practice of honor killing, its root causes, and possibilities for protection and prevention, this book considers the issues from a variety of perspectives (epistemic, anthropological, sociological, cultural, ethical, historical, psychological, etc.) and makes use of original research—an analysis of a database of honor killing cases, published here for the first time. Specifically, the book addresses the salient traits and trends present in honor killing incidents and examines how honor is understood in sociocultural contexts where these killings occur. It illuminates socialization factors within honor-shame cultures that include gender construction, child-rearing practices, and adverse experiences that prime boys and men to take roles as one-day killers of sisters, daughters, and wives in the name of honor. In addition to this microcausal pathway, the book relies on theories of cultural evolution to explain how honor killing was an adaptation to specific ecological challenges and co-evolved with other patriarchic institutions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexa M. Tullett ◽  
Simine Vazire

AbstractWe contest the “building a wall” analogy of scientific progress. We argue that this analogy unfairly privileges original research (which is perceived as laying bricks and, therefore, constructive) over replication research (which is perceived as testing and removing bricks and, therefore, destructive). We propose an alternative analogy for scientific progress: solving a jigsaw puzzle.


2008 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 44-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Kalish ◽  
Peter Burke ◽  
Jim Feldman ◽  
Suresh Agarwal ◽  
Andrew Glantz ◽  
...  

1970 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. i-iv
Author(s):  
A K M A Islam

Journal of Scientific Research EDITORIAL Do we need a new journal? The answer lies in the fact that currently no international journal (online and print) with interdisciplinary character which specifically caters to the academic needs of the international community operates from Bangladesh. This journal aims to fill this lacuna and to be a bridge for the scientists from the east and the west. This is the first issue of the Journal of Scientific Research (JSR). The idea of launching a journal that hopes to publish quality scientific works was planted in early 2008 during a science faculty meeting at Rajshahi University. Now it is our pleasure to see the idea blossom into the first issue of first volume (1 January 2009) that contains scientific work not only of Asian regions but of much beyond that. The inaugural issue indicates the type of journal we hope to become. It is wide ranging and interdisciplinary. Our contributors include scholars at every stage of their academic career. As regards editorial policy and scope the Journal of Scientific Research is a peer-reviewed international journal originally intended for publication annually. But due to a satisfactory flow of manuscripts since the first announcements the publication frequency has now been increased to 3 online issues (one print volume) per year.The journal is a unifying force, going across the barriers between disciplines, addressing all related topics and materials. An international Editorial Board (along with an Advisory Board) comprising of renowned academics from various fields guides our editorial policy and direction. The journal is devoted to the publication of original research (research paper, review paper, short communication) covering the following fields:Section A:  Physical and Mathematical Sciences: Physics, Mathematics, Statistics, Geophysics, Computer, Environmental Science, Communications and Information Technology, Engineering and related branches.Section B:  Chemical and Biological Sciences: Chemistry, Biochemistry, Pharmacy, Biology, Genetics, Fisheries and related branches.The articles selected for the first issue have been reviewed by two discipline-specialists, and their recommendations have been appropriately incorporated. Submissions from the world research community are encouraged to fulfill our mission and aim for the journal to stand for the international scientific publishing standards.    It was clear during the planning and development of this first issue that the Asian region needs a forum through which research could be shared and acknowledged. I hope that this journal will soon be recognised by the wider research community as their forum for the dissemination of knowledge. We hope that the journal will not simply act as a place for publication of material, though obviously this is important, but should act as a catalyst for the advancement of science both within and outside the region.The journal is being published both online and in print. Online publishing, unique in nature, is faster and far less expensive than traditional hard copy publishing. Access of online journals is easier and better images, storage and multimedia are other advantages. I must thank the International Network for the availability of Scientific Publications (INASP) for helping us publish via BanglaJOL – and the help of Ms. Sioux Cumming in this regard is worthy of mention.The success of a journal depends on the quality of its Editorial Board and the reviewers. The effort that I have seen from them speaks well for the future of the new born journal.  Both the Editorial and Advisory Boards should deserve thanks for their indispensable advice and support during the planning phases of the journal. I should also thank the reviewers who contributed their valuable time to complete reviews within a reasonable time. I truly hope that the diversity contained in this first issue of the journal will be the hallmark of future issues. A K M A Islam email: [email protected]  website: www.banglajol.info/index.php/JSR           © 2009 JSR Publications. ISSN: 2070-0237 (Print); 2070-0245 (Online). All rights reserved.DOI: 10.3329/jsr.vlil.1703    


2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 281-297
Author(s):  
Tom Walker

Allusions to other texts abound in John McGahern's fiction. His works repeatedly, though diffidently, refer to literary tradition. Yet the nature of such allusiveness is still unclear. This article focuses on how allusion in The Pornographer (1979) is depicted as an intellectual and social practice, embodying particular attitudes towards the function of texts and the knowledge they represent. Moreover, the critique of the practice of allusion that the novel undertakes is shown to have broader significance in terms of McGahern's whole oeuvre and its evolving attempts to salvage something of present value from the literature of the past.


Author(s):  
Dale Chapman

Hailed by corporate, philanthropic, and governmental organizations as a metaphor for democratic interaction and business dynamics, contemporary jazz culture has a story to tell about the relationship between political economy and social practice in the era of neoliberal capitalism. The Jazz Bubble approaches the emergence of the neoclassical jazz aesthetic since the 1980s as a powerful, if unexpected, point of departure for a wide-ranging investigation of important social trends during this period. The emergence of financialization as a key dimension of the global economy shapes a variety of aspects of contemporary jazz culture, and jazz culture comments upon this dimension in turn. During the stateside return of Dexter Gordon in the mid-1970s, the cultural turmoil of the New York fiscal crisis served as a crucial backdrop to understanding the resonance of Gordon’s appearances in the city. The financial markets directly inform the structural upheaval that major label jazz subsidiaries must navigate in the music industry of the early twenty-first century, and they inform the disruptive impact of urban redevelopment in communities that have relied upon jazz as a site of economic vibrancy. In examining these issues, The Jazz Bubble seeks to intensify conversations surrounding music, culture, and political economy.


Author(s):  
Aaron Kupchik

Since the 1990s, K-12 schools across the U.S. have changed in important ways in an effort to maintain safe schools. They have added police officers, surveillance cameras, zero tolerance policies, and other equipment and personnel, while increasingly relying on suspension and other punishments. Unfortunately, we have implemented these practices based on assumptions that they will be effective at maintaining safety and helping youth, not based on evidence. The Real School Safety Problem addresses this problem in two ways. One, it provides a clear discussion of what we know and what we don’t yet know about the school security and punishment practices and their effects on students and schools. Two, it offers original research that extends what we know in important ways, showing how school security and punishment affects students, their families, their schools and their communities years into the future. Schools are indeed in crisis. But the real school safety problem is not that students are either out of control or in danger. Rather, the real school safety problem is that our efforts to maintain school safety have gone too far and in the wrong directions. As a result, we over-police and punish students in a way that hurts students, their families and their communities in broad and long-lasting ways.


2009 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Bielo

In this article I contribute to the sociology and anthropology of American Evangelicalism by examining the discourse of group Bible study. Every week millions of Christians in the U.S. meet for group study, and in doing so, actively negotiate the categories of meaning central to their faith. Yet, this crucial practice has received scant attention from scholars. This study is grounded in theories of social practice and symbolic interaction, where cultural life is understood through its vital institutions, and institutions are treated as inter-subjective accomplishments. I employ the concept of ‘interactive frames’ to define how Evangelicals understand the Bible study experience. Ultimately, I argue that the predominant interactive frame for Evangelicals is that of cultivating intimacy, which directly reflects the type of personalized, relational spirituality characteristic of their faith. This, in turn, has serious consequences for how Bible reading and interpretation are performed in groups. I use a case study approach, providing close ethnographic analyses of a mixed-gender group from a Restoration Movement congregation.


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