scholarly journals COMMENT: THE UTILITY OF «CELEBRITY»

Author(s):  
J. Randolph ◽  

Replying to the two contributions in this special issue, this commentary considers the work “celebrity” can do as a concept and topic of inquiry for historians of Russia. The author compares and contrasts “celebrity” (as an angle of vision) with investigations the formation of “public” and “private” life in 19th century Russia. He underlines two uses of the concept: 1) as a reminder of continuities and instabilities that link modern forms of fame with pre-modern systems of reputation; and 2) as a marker of global forces that were pushing beyond nationalized, institutionalized frames of public and private life. The author returns to some earlier work he has done on Russian intellectual history, to consider how discussions of “celebrity” reframe what an older literature might describe as the “making of intelligentsia traditions.” He also highlights several important conceptual contributions made by Konstantin Shneyder’s historiographical analysis, and considers what conclusions can be drawn from Matthew Klopfenstein’s reconstruction of the “operatic” death of Angiolina Bosio.

Author(s):  
Nadezhda G. Mikhnovets

The article is devoted to the problem of studying the historiosophical views of Alexander Ostrovsky. The author examines it on the material of two works by the playwright written in different years: the drama "The Storm" and the libretto "The Storm". The article provides a comparative analysis of these works and substantiates the provision that they are in complementary relations. The author comes to the conclusion that Alexander Ostrovsky as a librettist restores the character of public and private life of the heroes of the 17th century, consistently removing the themes indicating the crisis state of the patriarchal world in the mid 19th century. The article shows that at the same time, the playwright reveals the causes of this crisis. The author points out the convergence between the libretto "The Storm" and the novel "The Idiot" by Fyodor Dostoevsky, as well as the book "The History of a Town" by Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin. The study helps clarify the historical and cultural realities of the two works of the same name by Alexander Ostrovsky and deepen their interpretations, which is topical in the context of the preparation of his Complete works and letters to publish.


2000 ◽  
pp. 60-67
Author(s):  
M. M. Nikitenko

The inclusion of Eastern Slavs in the sphere of religious and cultural influences of Byzantium was a tremendous event both in national and in world history. Since then, the main center of the culture of Kievan Rus, incorporating a complex of ideas and functions of the spiritual, public and private life of ancient Russian society, became the Eastern Christian temple in its local version


2021 ◽  
pp. 109019812110192
Author(s):  
Francisco Perez-Dominguez ◽  
Francisca Polanco-Ilabaca ◽  
Fernanda Pinto-Toledo ◽  
Daniel Michaeli ◽  
Jadi Achiardi ◽  
...  

The global pandemic caused by coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) disrupted both public and private life for many. Concerning medical students, practical teaching and classrooms were substituted with a virtual curriculum. However, how this new academic environment has affected students’ health and lifestyles has yet to be studied. In this study, we surveyed 2,776 students from nine different countries about changes in their university curricula and potential alterations in their daily habits, physical health, and psychological status. We found negative changes across all countries studied, in multiple categories. We found that 99% of respondents indicated changes in their instruction delivery system, with 90% stating a transition to online education, and 93% stating a reduction or suspension of their practical activities. On average, students spent 8.7 hours a day in front of a screen, with significant differences among countries. Students reported worsened studying, sleeping, and eating habits with substantial differences in Latin American countries. Finally, the participants frequently expressed onset and increase in both mental and physical health symptoms: backache, asthenopia, irritability, and emotional instability. Altogether, these results suggest a potential risk in the health and academic performance of future doctors if these new academic modalities are maintained.


Author(s):  
Sam Zimmerman

This research project seeks to establish a print culture context for popular British music during the time of the Napoleonic Wars. More specifically, this project investigates representations of Horatio Nelson, the Battle of the Nile (1798), and the Battle of Trafalgar (1805) to understand representations of heroism and the nature of public and private spheres during the time of the Napoleonic Wars. By studying these representations in popular song, this research better understands the jingoistic tropes of British early 19th century Britain as well as attitudes towards heroism and the Napoleonic Wars. Songs used in this project are: “Nelson’s Tomb,” “The Battle of the Nile,” “The Death of Nelson,” “The Disbanded Soldier” “The Mouth of the Nile,” and “The Orphan Boy’s Tale.” The conflicting perspectives found in these songs provide a greater understanding of British culture during the Napoleonic Wars. Songs which exclusively represent Nelson as the quintessential heroic sailor in the public sphere and Britain’s military acts as divinely sanctioned, choose to ignore Nelson’s relationship in the private sphere, and contrast songs which reject unqualified celebration in the wake of war, and focus on mourning as a result of the war. This disparity reflects the complexity and internal tension of 19th century British society, specifically oppositional attitudes of jingoism and mourning, as well as the celebration of renowned heroes versus the disregard of unknown soldiers and the dead. By considering such historical perspectives on war, we might better understand the voices that speak of war in our own time.


2021 ◽  
pp. 136754942110302
Author(s):  
Vanessa Ciccone

In this article, I draw from several months of fieldwork from 2019 to assess professional subjectivity in the software industry of Canada. I assess employees’ constructions of and feelings about their own productivity. I argue that the ways in which subjects understand and feel about their productivity says a great deal about how power is ‘willfully’ negotiated within everyday professional tech settings of neoliberal societies. My findings suggest that optimization is emerging as a technology of self among the individuals I studied, and bringing political consequences. In the first section of the article, I provide a brief overview of the productivity imperative’s cultural trajectory, and show its relation to optimization. Then, in the empirical analysis and discussion, I outline that the technology of optimization involves a discourse around bringing one’s best to public and private realms, offering a specific set of moral ideals. I then show that another facet of this technology of self is centered on willfully entangling public and private life. Finally, I theorize subjects’ reported feelings about their own productivity, assessing how the technology of optimization relates to a politics of privilege. With this study, I seek to make a contribution to the relation between the culture of productivity and professional subjectivity in the software industry, in an effort to expose how power is negotiated at the level of the self in an increasingly influential sector.


Race & Class ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 32-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neville Hoad

The author remembers his friend and colleague Barbara Harlow and provides an introductory context for the selection from her book-in-progress on Ruth First published in this special issue of Race & Class 60, no. 3 (2019). He describes just how Ruth First became of interest to Harlow, explaining the intersections of Ruth First’s personal history as a public intellectual with the history of decolonisation and the anti-apartheid movement, and the intersection of a ‘public’ and ‘private’ or domestic life. He speculates as to why the project of over thirty years remained unfinished in terms of a final publication.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document