Blake's Visions of the Daughters of Albion and the Biopolitical Unconscious

PMLA ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 133 (2) ◽  
pp. 314-328
Author(s):  
Karen Hadley
Keyword(s):  
Michel Foucault ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
Central Character ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Romantic Period ◽  
Poetic Text ◽  
Mutual Relations ◽  
Capitalist Ideology ◽  
Population And Environment

Alan Bewell identifies a newly globalized, consumerist nature in the Romantic period, one aspect of a larger context in which Michel Foucault observed the “dawn of biopolitics.” This historical context, along with Erasmus Darwin's best-selling poem The Loves of the Plants (1789), is brought to bear here on William Blake's Visions of the Daughters of Albion and on traditional readings of it that manifest nostalgia for an idealized past, a past predating enclosure's separation of population and environment, of human being and nature. Correcting the prevalent misidentification of the marigold that Oothoon plucks in Visions, my reading newly envisions an Oothoon whose relation to the life-forms around her replicates the modes of domination and exploitation inherent in capitalist ideology. What have seemed to be anomalies in Oothoon, her curious connections to Bromion and her offer to procure girls for Theotormon, instead reflect central character traits. In the end, a reaccounting of the historicity of Blake's poetic text yields a heroine and a reading population struggling to view themselves as at the center of a reflexive system that governs and exploits the mutual relations of natural and social surroundings but that also is governed and exploited by the same biopolitical apparatus.

scholarly journals Human Rights and Human Nature

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 523-534
Author(s):  
Jean Rhéaume
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Human Nature ◽  
Natural Law ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Positive Law

At least two important consequences follow from the fact that human rights are based on human nature. First, they exist according to natural law even in cases where positive law does not recognize them. Secondly, they cannot evolve because the nature and purpose of the human being does not change: only their formulation and level of protection in positive law can vary according to the socio-historical context.

scholarly journals Práticas matemáticas inscritas em cadernos escolares: o caso das fraçõesMathematical practices inscribed in school notebooks: the case of fractions

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 751-788
Author(s):  
Francine Fragoso de Miranda Silva ◽  
Cláudia Regina Flores ◽  
Rosilene Beatriz Machado
Keyword(s):  
Michel Foucault ◽  
History Of Mathematics ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Santa Catarina ◽  
Mathematical Practices ◽  
New Approach ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The City

ResumoEste artigo tem por objetivo identificar e analisar práticas matemáticas inscritas em cadernos escolares de uma escola mista estadual do município de Antônio Carlos (SC), nas décadas de 1930 e 1940, com enfoque dado para as frações. São utilizadas as teorizações de Michel Foucault para nortear os preceitos teórico-metodológicos. Os resultados da pesquisa indicam práticas matemáticas desenvolvidas nessa escola obedecendo aos programas oficiais catarinenses da época, com soluções rápidas e sucintas e voltadas às tarefas de seu cotidiano. Também se observam que elas estão inseridas num contexto histórico, compreendido entre a Reforma Francisco Campos, de 1931, e o início do Movimento da Matemática Moderna, nos anos de 1960, no qual a fração recebe uma nova abordagem, distanciando-se da relação entre número e medida e aproximando-se da noção de parte-todo.Palavras-chave: Práticas matemáticas, Cadernos escolares, Frações, História da educação matemática.AbstractThis article aims to identify and analyze mathematical practices registered in school notebooks of a mixed state school in the city of Antônio Carlos (SC), in the 1930s and 1940s, focused on fractions. Michel Foucault's theorizations are used to guide theoretical and methodological precepts. The results of the research show mathematical practices developed in these schools obeying the Santa Catarina official programs of the time, with quick and succinct solutions and focused on their daily tasks. It is also observed that they are inserted in a historical context, between the Francisco Campos Reform, of 1931, and the beginning of the Modern Mathematics Movement, in the 1960s, in which the fraction receives a new approach, moving away from the relationship between number and measure and approaching the notion of part-whole.Keywords: Mathematical practices, School notebooks, Fractions, History of mathematics education.ResumenEste artículo tiene como objetivo identificar y analizar las prácticas matemáticas registradas en los cuadernos escolares de una escuela estatal mixta en la ciudad de Antônio Carlos (SC), en la década de 1930 y 1940, con un enfoque en las fracciones. Las teorizaciones de Michel Foucault se utilizan para guiar los preceptos teóricos y metodológicos. Los resultados de la investigación muestran prácticas matemáticas desarrolladas en estas escuelas que obedecen los programas oficiales de Santa Catarina de la época, con soluciones rápidas y sucintas y centradas en sus tareas diarias. También se observa que se insertan en un contexto histórico, entre la Reforma Francisco Campos, de 1931, y el comienzo del Movimiento de Matemáticas Modernas, en la década de 1960, en el que la fracción recibe un nuevo enfoque, alejándose de la relación entre numerar y medir y acercándose a la noción de parte-todo.Palabras clave: Prácticas matemáticas, Cuadernos escolares, Fracciones, Historia de la educación matemática

scholarly journals Deotyma – Norwid’s “Tenth Muse”

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (English Version) ◽  
pp. 5-20
Author(s):  
Olaf Krysowski
Keyword(s):  
Historical Period ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Literary Works ◽  
Romantic Period ◽  
Female Figure

This article attempts to recreate the image of Jadwiga Łuszczewska from the literary works and letters by Cyprian Norwid. The young improviser sparked controversy not only among the critics, but also among the Warsaw socialites in Romantic period. Norwid, however, considered her personality as original, modern and capable of refreshing Polish poetry. In his poems he describes her as “the tenth Muse” and compares her to Sappho, who was called exactly the same name by Plato in recognition of her poetic talent. Moreover, he depicts her in an idealized manner, like a contemporary sibyl who advises the nation on how to proceed in a tragic historical period. Norwid’s enthusiasm waned at the beginning of the 1860s when it became clear that the poetic works by Deotyma were becoming repetitive, constantly revisiting the same motives, ideas and aesthetic means, unable to go beyond the horizon defined at the onset of her career. He realized that behind the female figure he himself ennobled – as comforter, Samaritan, visionary, and statuesque Muse – there is a human being, imperfect and, in some aspects trivial, affected or even philistine.

scholarly journals Black Cat Bone: the Life of Blues Legend Robert Johnson by J. P. Lewis

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Sivak
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Education ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
The United States ◽  
Older Children ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Library And Information Studies ◽  
Poetic Text ◽  
History Of ◽  
The University

Lewis, J. P. Black Cat Bone: the Life of Blues Legend Robert Johnson. Illus. Gary Kelley. Mankato: Creative Editions, 2006. Print.Although this book is designed as a large-format picture book, Black Cat Bone is more likely to appeal to older children (middle school and adolescents) as a poetic text, with its rich illustrations and unusual narrative flow. The foreword of the book addresses a reader who knows some about blues musicians, as well as has some hint of the history of blues music in the United States. The language of the text is not trying to tell a linear story, but to be more evocative of a time, and of some of the historical context. The book actually has several texts: the address of the historical context that bookends the work, the bluesy poems which make up the majority of the text, excerpts from Johnson's own lyrics, and a footer running throughout the book, which provides aphoristic summaries of Johnson's story: “He was destined for legend not a field hand's work.” Each text tells a part of the interpretation of Johnson's story. With the images, it adds up to a faceted narrative of the man and his musical legacy. The illustrations alternate between impressionistic pastels in deep dark colours, reinforcing the air of mystery around Johnson's life as understood by popular culture. Kelley's other illustrative style is reminiscent of Indonesian shadow-puppets, dramatic and exaggerated in their execution. A particularly lovely example is show in full on the cover, a depiction of Johnson and the devil facing each other, each with a hand on the guitar. This image is reproduced in the text, split by the page turn in a clever design turn. Recommended: 3 stars out of 4Reviewer: Allison SivakAllison Sivak is the Assessment Librarian at the University of Alberta Libraries. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Library and Information Studies and Elementary Education, focusing on how the aesthetics of information design influence young people’s trust in the credibility of information content.

Two Readings of Kant’s Enlightenment: Gendering Chatterjee’s Global Dialogue with Foucault

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-95
Author(s):  
Kanchana Mahadevan
Keyword(s):  
Michel Foucault ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Political Context ◽  
European Context ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Free Thought ◽  
Partha Chatterjee

Abstract Partha Chatterjee initiates a global dialogue on modernity through his engagement with Michel Foucault. He does so through a reading of Kant’s What is Enlightenment?, which is avowedly influenced by Foucault to reveal many similarities. Foucault and Chatterjee are both apprehensive about Kant’s equation of Enlightenment with maturity. They argue against interpreting Kant as an advocate of unfettered free thought. Both suggest that Kant situates thought in its local historical context. Yet, like any other dialogue, Chatterjee’s conversation with Foucault is marked by differences. Foucault’s critique of Kant operates within the European context to explore the formation of the subject of desire. In contrast, Chatterjee targets colonialism and its vestiges in nationalist responses, for example in India, to European Enlightenment’s imposition on non-Western cultures. Foucault’s focus is on the subject of desire, while Chatterjee emphasizes the socio-political context of colonization, thus leading their dialogue to an impasse. This essay suggests that this impasse can be addressed by turning to women, from both England and India, who endeavored to simultaneously reinvent themselves and their communities in contexts of colonization.

Slovakia and the European ethos

Human Affairs ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Viera Bilasová
Keyword(s):  
Historical Context ◽  
Moral Values ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Ethical Reflection ◽  
Moral Issues ◽  
Moral Consciousness ◽  
The Way

AbstractThe paper explores how the ethos in Slovakia has been shaped and “matured” in the context of the values, principles and norms inherent in the European ethos. The presence of this ethos, including its sources and forms, can be considered in the Slovak historical context to be a moral phenomenon and an integral part of human being, encoded in the moral values held by individuals and society. By seeking out its ties and analysing the way it is intertwined with the evolution of the European ethos, it provides us with the space to understand and resolve many of today’s issues and conflicts in an ethical manner. The author considers moral consciousness to be an important part of the culture of civilization today, which faces the challenge of finding new forms of human coexistence and a life in peace. It attests to the importance of ethics and morality in the life of individual and society, and the utility of ethical reflection in solving moral issues in life and in searching for one’s own way through it.

scholarly journals A teologia da cidade segundo José Comblin

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (295) ◽  
pp. 564-598
Author(s):  
Alzirinha Rocha de Souza
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Human Dimensions ◽  
Theological Reflection ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Urban Structures ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The City ◽  
Do So

Em 1968, José Comblin publicou Théologie de la ville.1 Desde então, o assunto “cidade” tornou-se tema de reflexão teológica. Elaborado a partir da percepção das mudanças em curso nas cidades e, mesmo, a partir da formação de metrópoles latino-americanas, este tema será recorrente em sua vida e em suas obras. Mas, o presente artigo busca demonstrar: 1) que a reflexão de Comblin é, antes de tudo, uma reflexão sobre o ser humano; 2) que a centralidade antropológica é colocada a partir do papel que as estruturas urbanas desempenham na constituição e na integração das dimensões humanas; 3) que, o ser humano perfaz um caminho processual. Para tanto, estruturamos o texto em três partes: 1) Contextualização histórica; 2) Teologia da cidade; 3) Perspectiva humana e pastoral.Abstract: In 1968, Joseph Comblin published Théologie de la ville. Since then, the topic «city» became the subject of theological reflection. Drawn on the perception of the changes underway in the cities and even on the development of Latin American metropolises, this theme will recur in his life and in his works. This article, however, seeks to demonstrate: 1) that Comblin’s reflection is above all a reflection on the human being; 2) that the anthropological centrality is a result of the role that urban structures play in the creation and integration of human dimensions; 3) that the human being’s path is a procedural one. To do so, we structured the text into three parts: 1) Historical context; 2) Theology of the city; 3) Human and pastoral perspective.Keywords: Joseph Comblin. Anthropology. City. Theology of the city. Pastoral.

scholarly journals The Montoya Case: How Neoliberalism Has Impacted Medical Inadmissibility in Canada and Transformed Individuals with Disabilities into "Citizens Minus"

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Capurri
Keyword(s):  
Historical Context ◽  
The State ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Court Cases ◽  
Canadian Society ◽  
Individuals With Disabilities ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
The Way

In this paper, I read the narrative developed by mainstream media in the Montoya case in the context of a dominant neoliberal understanding of the worth of persons with disabilities in Canadian society. I argue that the way newspapers framed the story of the Montoya family feeds into the neoliberal script of who counts as a human being, and thus results in a disservice to individuals with disabilities. I also situate the case in a broader historical context as I examine a few court cases, all including dependents, related to the medical admissibility provision. My goal is to demonstrate how the courts have validated the state argument that distinguishes between valuable (read economically profitable) and non-valuable immigrants, further entrenching the neoliberal discourse of who counts and who is disposable in our society. This is a concerning trend that results in the commodification and layering of citizenship and should be resisted.

scholarly journals Estética post-humana en la obra gráfica de Claudio Romo

2021 ◽  
pp. 199-216
Author(s):  
Claire Mercier
Keyword(s):  
Human Nature ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Being ◽  
New Humanism ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The One ◽  
Graphic Work ◽  
Post Humanism

This paper considers the graphic work of the Chilean artist Claudio Romo from a post-human perspective. Romo's work realizes an opening of imaginaries, above all, new configurations of human being, in order to reconsider the boundaries of human nature and propose a new humanism in relation to a new understanding of modernity. After a theoretical tour of post-humanism, especially of Rosi Braidotti's philosophical nomadism, the paper will approach the post-human bestiary that elaborates Romo, on the one hand, as a questioning of access to empirical realities and, on the other hand, as a presentation of potential life forms. The paper will conclude on the presence, in Romo’s work, of a new affirmative humanism, that is, the experimentation of new modes of subjectivization, as well as the approach of new modes of knowledge.

Shakuntala and Somanatha

2017 ◽  
pp. 281-326
Author(s):  
Ramin Jahanbegloo ◽  
Romila Thapar ◽  
Neeladri Bhattacharya
Keyword(s):  
Historical Context ◽  
Historical Event ◽  
Central Character ◽  
Narrative Strategy ◽  
The Past ◽  
Over Time

In this section there is a discussion on two books written by Thapar, Shakuntala and Somanatha. She explains what made her choose these two subjects which, in a sense, suggest both a similar and yet a somewhat dissimilar narrative strategy. The story of Shakuntala is fictional yet it is a story that is frequently rewritten in history but incorporating some small changes. Thapar relates the changes in the drama to their historical context. She also shows how the projection of the central character in the story alters over time and is perceived differently both across time and by recourse to different cultural attributes. Her book on Somanatha takes the central historical event and examines how it is viewed in a variety of sources from variant perspectives. Some describe it in different ways whereas others do not refer to it despite writing about other events at Somanatha. The methods encapsulated in both these books are suggestive of new ways of looking at the past. This can also be seen in Thapar’s substantial work on how people in the past looked at their own past and how this illumines our understanding of that past.

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