Robo sapiens japanicus

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Science Fiction ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Humanoid Robots ◽  
Press Releases ◽  
The Past ◽  
Human Exceptionalism ◽  
History Of ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Gender System

Japan is arguably the first postindustrial society to embrace the prospect of human-robot coexistence. Over the past decade, Japanese humanoid robots designed for use in homes, hospitals, offices, and schools have become celebrated in the global mass media and on social media. Robo sapiens japanicus casts a critical eye on press releases and PR videos that (mis)represent actual robots as being as versatile and agile as their science fiction counterparts. An ethnography and sociocultural history of governmental, academic, and popular discourses of human-robot relations in Japan, this book explores how actual robots—humanoids, androids, animaloids—are “imagineered” in ways that reinforce the conventional sex/gender system and political-economic status quo. The granting of “civil rights” to robots is interrogated in tandem with the notion of human exceptionalism. Similarly, how robots and robotic exoskeletons reinforce a conception of the “normal” body is juxtaposed with a deconstruction of the much-invoked theory of the uncanny valley.

scholarly journals Counterfactuality as a Polyphonic Assemblage. Entangled Human and Nonhuman Stories of Early Modern Sciences in Neal Stephenson’s The Baroque Cycle

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-121
Author(s):  
Mateusz Chaberski
Keyword(s):  
Science Fiction ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Multispecies Ethnography ◽  
The Past ◽  
Political Effects ◽  
Neal Stephenson ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ways Of Being ◽  
Point Of Departure

Summary In recent science-fiction literature, we can witness a proliferation of new counterfactual narratives which take the 17th century as their point of departure. Unlike steampunk narratives, however, their aim is not to criticise the socio-political effects caused by contemporary technological development. Such authors as Neal Stephenson or Ian Tregillis, among others, are interested in revisiting the model of development in Western societies, routing around the logic of progress. Moreover, they demonstrate that modernity is but an effect of manifold contingent and indeterminate encounters of humans and nonhumans and their distinct temporalities. Even the slightest modification of their ways of being could have changed Western societies and cultures. Thus, they necessitate a rather non-anthropocentric model of counterfactuality which is not tantamount to the traditional alternative histories which depart from official narratives of the past. By drawing on contemporary multispecies ethnography, I put forward a new understanding of counter-factuality which aims to reveal multiple entangled human and nonhuman stories already embedded in the seemingly unified history of the West. In this context, the concept of “polyphonic assemblage” (Lowenhaupt-Tsing) is employed to conceptualize the contingent and open-ended encounters of human and nonhuman historical actors which cut across different discourses and practices. I analyse Stephenson’s The Baroque Cycle to show the entangled stories of humans and nonhumans in 17th century sciences, hardly present in traditional historiographies. In particular, Stephenson’s depiction of quicksilver and coffeehouse as nonhuman historical actors is scrutinized to show their vital role in the production of knowledge at the dawn of modernity.

scholarly journals Ka Mua, Ka Muri-Walking Backwards into the Future: An Environmental History of the South Wairarapa Region 1984-2016

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Eleanor Jane Rainford
Keyword(s):  
Environmental History ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
The South ◽  
Neoliberal Reform ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Future ◽  
History Of ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
History Of The South

<p>‘Ka mua, ka muri’, Walking backwards into the future, is a Māori proverb that aptly describes the findings of this thesis. That we should look to the past to inform the future is arguably the purpose of history, yet we have to walk back far enough. Tracing back from the present, this thesis will address what has driven political, economic, environmental and social change within the South Wairarapa region from 1984 to the present day. The region has experienced significant changes to its physical and social environment over the past thirty years. Many modern historians have attributed the key changes of this period, such as agricultural intensification, diversification, rising unemployment and environmental degradation, to the economic re-structuring of the Fourth Labour Government. This thesis will argue that these changes, and neoliberal reform itself, are consequent of much longer historiographical trends. Examination of the historical context and legacies of the intensification of dairy farming, rise of the viticulture industry, and the relationship between Ngāti Kahungunu and Rangitāne o Wairarapa and their whenua, reveals complexities in the history of the region that histories of neoliberal change commonly conceal. The identification of these long running historiographical trends aides understanding of the historical context in which neoliberal reform occurred, and provides alternative narratives for the changes that have occurred over the past thirty years. Furthermore, it suggests alternative trajectories for how viticulture, agriculture and Te Ao Māori may walk into the future.</p>

scholarly journals Two crossbows and a carbine: Out of the commentary on A.N. and B.N. Strugatsky’s novel “Hard to be a God”

2020 ◽  
pp. 51-58
Author(s):  
Irina N. Arzamastseva ◽  
Alexander V. Kuznetsov
Keyword(s):  
Science Fiction ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
The Novel ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Fiction Writers ◽  
History Of ◽  
Sea Monster ◽  
Intertextual Connections

The article is devoted to the study of the functions of the characters’ weapons in A.N. and B.N. Strugatsky’s novel “Hard to be a God”. It is important for writing a commentary on the prologue of the novel. The authors used the historical-typological and mythopoetic research methods. As the result of reviewing the history of words-concepts, as it made by A.N. Veselovsky, the authors managed to study the intertextual connections of “Hard to be a God” with V.T. Shalamov’s poem “Crossbow” and his story “May”, as well as N.S. Gumilev’s poem “Just looks through the cliffs...” and E. Hemingway’s play “The fifth column”. Through these connections, the image of weapons is formed in the work of science fiction writers. It is necessary to destruct the mythological enemy – the sea monster, which symbolizes the social evil within the novel framework. As we have found out, the reason for such an intricate symbolism lies in the peculiarities of the age: the image of the sea monster standing for public evil is due to historical reasons. And since the elimination of social problems by such radical methods, according to the authors, is impossible, the movement towards a bright future should be only gradual and peaceful. As in reality, weapons are fundamentally unable to perform their task. Moreover, the weapon is dangerous for its owner, which indicates the ambivalence of the image. In addition, the comparison, important for the novel “Hard to be God”, of the past and future appears the first in the comparison of crossbows and carbines, further developing by other means. Weapons are involved in creating a number of important motives: doom, the danger of using force, and interference in the course of history.

scholarly journals Ka Mua, Ka Muri-Walking Backwards into the Future: An Environmental History of the South Wairarapa Region 1984-2016

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Eleanor Jane Rainford
Keyword(s):  
Environmental History ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
The South ◽  
Neoliberal Reform ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Future ◽  
History Of ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
History Of The South

<p>‘Ka mua, ka muri’, Walking backwards into the future, is a Māori proverb that aptly describes the findings of this thesis. That we should look to the past to inform the future is arguably the purpose of history, yet we have to walk back far enough. Tracing back from the present, this thesis will address what has driven political, economic, environmental and social change within the South Wairarapa region from 1984 to the present day. The region has experienced significant changes to its physical and social environment over the past thirty years. Many modern historians have attributed the key changes of this period, such as agricultural intensification, diversification, rising unemployment and environmental degradation, to the economic re-structuring of the Fourth Labour Government. This thesis will argue that these changes, and neoliberal reform itself, are consequent of much longer historiographical trends. Examination of the historical context and legacies of the intensification of dairy farming, rise of the viticulture industry, and the relationship between Ngāti Kahungunu and Rangitāne o Wairarapa and their whenua, reveals complexities in the history of the region that histories of neoliberal change commonly conceal. The identification of these long running historiographical trends aides understanding of the historical context in which neoliberal reform occurred, and provides alternative narratives for the changes that have occurred over the past thirty years. Furthermore, it suggests alternative trajectories for how viticulture, agriculture and Te Ao Māori may walk into the future.</p>

Who Really Shaped American Science Fiction?

Prospects ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 45-72
Author(s):  
Eric S. Rabkin ◽  
James B. Mitchell ◽  
Carl P. Simon
Keyword(s):  
Science Fiction ◽  
Peer Review ◽  
Literary History ◽  
Golden Age ◽  
Letters To The Editor ◽  
The Past ◽  
American Science ◽  
History Of

Treating science fiction, critics have taught us to understand that the field shrugged itself out of the swamp of its pulp origins in two great evolutionary metamorphoses, each associated with a uniquely visionary magazine editor: Hugo Gernsback and John W. Campbell Jr. Paul Carter, to cite one critic among many, makes a case that Hugo Gernsback's magazines were the first to suggest thatscience fiction was not only legitimate extrapolation… [but] might even become a positive incentive to discovery, inspiring some engineer or inventor to develop in the laboratory an idea he had first read about in one of the stories. (5)Another, critic and author Isaac Asimov, argues that science fiction's fabledGolden Age began in 1938, when John Campbell became editor of Astounding Stories and remolded it, and the whole field, into something closer to his heart's desire. During the Golden Age, he and the magazine he edited so dominated science fiction that to read Astounding was to know the field entire. (Before the Golden Age, xii)Critics arrive at such understandings not only by surveying the field but also — perhaps more importantly — by studying, accepting, modifying, or even occasionally rejecting the work of other critics. This indirect and many-voiced conversation is usually seen as a self-correcting process, an informal yet public peer review. Such interested scrutiny has driven science fiction (SF) criticism to evolve from the letters to the editor and editorials and mimeographed essays of the past to the nuanced literary history of today, just as, this literary history states, those firm-minded editors helped SF literature evolve from the primordial fictions of Edgar Rice Burroughs into the sophisticated constructs of William S. Burroughs.

After the Storm

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lon Kurashige
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Asian American ◽  
Cultural Memory ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
Japanese American ◽  
Japanese American Internment ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Popular Interest

This chapter examines the final end of formal anti-Asian policies in the Immigration Act of 1965, which gave Asian nations equal immigration quotas with all other nations in the world. An important part of this egalitarian context was Hawaii statehood because the new state’s large Asian American constituency boosted this group’s political influence in Congress. At the same time, the civil rights and anti-war movements and protests rooted in the Asian American movement during the long 1960s stirred scholarly and popular interest in the history of Asian exclusion and Japanese American internment that flowered throughout the late 20th and early 21st centuries into a robust cultural memory that, curiously, occluded the significance of the egalitarian opposition to anti-Asian racism. Instead, the picture of the past was stark, emphasizing racism, injustice, victimization, and white domination.

Breve Histórico do Ensino de Enfermagem em Portugal

2009 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 732
Author(s):  
Maria Rosa Pereira Silvestre
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Education ◽  
Education History ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Economic Changes ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
Em 12 ◽  
On Line ◽  
La Red ◽  
Political Economic

ABSTRACTObjective: to analyse and understand the history of the nursing´s education over the past two centuries. Method: this was an exploratory research study. There were searches in 12 written texts (books, articles and theses) and 4 on-line texts (or revised pages online), recently, researchers in the history of teaching and assessment documents. Results: it was found that Portuguese was not nursing an easy path over the past two centuries. In 1860, the nursing was seen as an undifferentiated group, however, in the last three decades, the progress of science and the socio-economic changes that are occurring in Portugal contributed to a growing appreciation of nursing, both technical skills and / or science, of skills as political, economic, social, moral and ethical. Conclusion: there are many studies and a significant dispersion in them, so that they can make some valid results of analysis and historical research focused mainly on the life stories of people, institutions or ideas that have contributed in one way or another, for the evolution of the history of the teaching of Portuguese nursing. Descriptors: teachers of nursing; education; nursing; nurses; education; history of nursing.RESUMO Objectivo: analisar e compreender a história do ensino de enfermagem nos últimos dois séculos. Método: estudo de pesquisa exploratório. Realizaram-se pesquisas em 12 textos escritos (livros, artigos e teses) e 4 textos on-line (revistas ou páginas on-line), recentes, de investigadores na área da história do ensino e respectiva análise documental. Resultados: constatou-se que a enfermagem portuguesa não teve um caminho fácil ao longo dos últimos dois séculos. Em 1860, a enfermagem era tida como um grupo indiferenciado, contudo, nas três últimas décadas, o progresso da ciência, bem como as mudanças sócio-económicas que se operaram em Portugal contribuíram para uma crescente valorização da enfermagem, tanto a nível de competências técnicas e/ou científicas, como de competências políticas, económicas, sociais, morais e éticas. Conclusão: existem numerosos estudos e uma notável dispersão nos mesmos, de maneira a que se possam apresentar alguns resultados válidos de análise e de pesquisa histórica centrada essencialmente nas histórias de vida de pessoas, instituições ou ideias que contribuíram, de um modo ou de outro, para a evolução da história do ensino de enfermagem portuguesa.  Descritores: docentes de enfermagem; educação; enfermagem; enfermeiros; ensino; história de enfermagem.RESUMENObjetivo: analizar y comprender la historia de la enfermería en materia de educación durante los últimos dos siglos. Método: este es un estudio de investigación exploratoria. Hubo búsquedas en 12 textos escritos (libros, artículos y tesis) y 4 textos en la red (o páginas revisadas en la red), recientemente, los investigadores en la historia de la enseñanza y evaluación de los documentos. Resultados: se constató que comparando a la enfermería en Europa, la enfermería portuguesa no tuvo un camino fácil, en estos dos siglos. En 1860, la enfermería es considerada como un grupo indiferenciado, que se mantuvo hasta 1861-1869. Sin embargo, en los últimos tres decenios, el progreso de la ciencia y los cambios socioeconómicos han contribuido a un creciente reconocimiento de la enfermería en Portugal, tanto en los conocimientos técnicos y / o científicos, como en el nivel de competencia política, económica, social, moral y ética. Conclusión: Hay muchos estudios y una importante dispersión en los mismos, a fin de que puedan se validar algunos, los resultados de los análisis y la investigación histórica se centró principalmente en las historias de vida de las personas, instituciones o ideas que han contribuido de una o otra manera, para la evolución de la historia de la enseñanza de enfermería portuguesa. Descriptores: facultad de enfermería, educación, enfermería, enfermeras, educación, historia de la enfermería.

scholarly journals Social activism in the United States: Digital collection and primary sources

2017 ◽  
Vol 78 (8) ◽  
pp. 418
Author(s):  
Jennifer Kaari
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Social Activism ◽  
The United States ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
The Past ◽  
Digital Collection ◽  
History Of ◽  
Radical Ideas

The United States is currently going through a time of increasing political and social activism, from the Black Lives Matter movement to health care activism. This has brought on a renewed interest in the history of social activism to both learn lessons from the successful movements of the past, as well as gain a deeper understanding of the forces that have shaped our current environment. Studying the history of activism and social movements is essential to understanding how once radical ideas like women’s suffrage and civil rights have been able to move increasingly into the mainstream.

The Rectification Campaign at Peking University: May—June 1957

1962 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 138-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
René Goldman
Keyword(s):  
Communist Party ◽  
Previous Article ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Past ◽  
Sequence Of Events ◽  
Total Control ◽  
Peking University ◽  
Communist China ◽  
History Of ◽  
Political Economic

In a previous article I outlined briefly the development of the situation on the campus of Peking University (Pei-Ta) before, during and after the momentous events of the spring of 1957, the period of the “rectification campaign.”The sequence of events in the past four years permits us to view the rectification campaign as a dividing date in the history of Communist China. The rectification campaign was the culminating point of a period that had seen the post-revolutionary reorganisation of the country, the assertion by the Communist Party of total control over the political, economic and ideological life of the nation and, following a campaign of liquidation of counter-revolutionary elements in the summer of 1955, a sudden “thaw.”

scholarly journals Modern teaching on the rights and freedoms of human and citizen

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-360
Author(s):  
D. G. Vasilevich
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Classification Problem ◽  
Fourth Generation ◽  
The Past ◽  
Current Period ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Relationship

The article examines the doctrine of the rights and freedoms of man and citizen. The connection between the theory of human rights and freedoms and the history of the development of society is traced. The works of thinkers of the past are analyzed. The dynamics of views on the development of rights and freedoms is shown. Special attention is focused on two basic concepts of rights and freedoms – natural-legal and positivist, the general and special in their content are highlighted. Both of these concepts consider human rights as a certain view of the world outlook, worldview, which are based on the principle of humanism, and also as a system of humanistic values that determine relationships in society. Attention is drawn to the essential features of human rights. A brief analysis of three generations of human rights is carried out. It is emphasized that this classification is classical. However, new times force us to look at the classification problem in a new way. The classification of human and civil rights allows you to see their evolution, the historical connection of times, the general trend of development. The conclusion is substantiated that in the current period of human development, taking into account the achievements of science, primarily biomedicine, we can talk about the fourth generation of human rights, the socalled somatic rights. In this century, the focus on somatic human rights has become a feature. They increasingly occupy the attention of international organizations, become the subject of discussion at the national and international levels, since through their prism the nature of the relationship between a person and a state is assessed.

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