scholarly journals “Art Has a Bad (W)rap”: A Conversation with Michael Cullen about the “Wrapped Reichstag”

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Gross ◽  
Keyword(s):  
The People ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Voice

“The history of monuments teaches us much more about people and societies that commissioned them than the people and events for whom they were commissioned.” This is how Michael S. Cullen explained the meaning of commemorative architecture in an interview conducted by telephone, due to Corona restrictions, on 17 September 2020 (see also his introduction to Das Holocaust-Mahnmal, 18). Monuments are designed to commemorate important figures and events, but they also materialize the discussions and debates involved in their construction. Cullen should know. His work has made him the voice, perhaps even the conscience, of what is perhaps the most dialogic monument in Berlin: the Reichstag.

‘Where are we going?’ International Relations and the voice from below

1999 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRISTOPHER HILL
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Second World War ◽  
World War ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Masses ◽  
The Great War ◽  
The Voice ◽  
Second World

They tell us that the Pharoahs built the pyramids. Well, the Pharoahs didn't lift their little fingers. The pyramids were built by thousands of anonymous slaves . . . and it's the same thing for the Second World War. There were masses of books on the subject. But what was the war like for those who lived it, who fought? I want to hear their stories.Writing about international relations is in part a history of writing about the people. The subject sprang from a desire to prevent the horrors of the Great War once again being visited upon the masses and since then some of its main themes have been international cooperation, decolonisation, poverty and development, and more recently issues of gender.

The Case for Literature

PMLA ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 116 (3) ◽  
pp. 594-608
Author(s):  
Gao Xingjian
Keyword(s):  
Existence Of God ◽  
The People ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Way Of Knowing ◽  
The Voice

I have no way of knowing whether it was fate that has pushed me onto this dais but as various lucky coincidences have created this opportunity I may as well call it fate. Putting aside discussion of the existence or non-existence of God. I would like to say that despite my being an atheist I have always shown reverence for the unknowable.A person cannot be God, certainly not replace God, and rule the world as a Superman; he will only succeed in creating more chaos and make a greater mess of the world. In the century after Nietzsche man-made disasters left the blackest records in the history of humankind. Supermen of all types called leader of the people, head of the nation and commander of the race did not baulk at resorting to various violent means in perpetrating crimes that in no way resemble the ravings of a very egotistic philosopher. However, I do not wish to waste this talk on literature by saying too much about politics and history, what I want to do is to use this opportunity to speak as one writer in the voice of an individual.

The Making and Unmaking of Assam-Bengal Borders and the Sylhet Referendum

2012 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 250-287
Author(s):  
ASHFAQUE HOSSAIN
Keyword(s):  
Political Mobilization ◽  
Binary Opposition ◽  
Defining Moment ◽  
The People ◽  
Autobiographical Texts ◽  
Colonial Archives ◽  
History Of ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Oral Evidence ◽  
The Voice

AbstractThe creation of Assam as a new province in 1874 and the transfer of Sylhet from Bengal to Assam provided a new twist in the shaping of the northeastern region of India. Sylhet remained part of Assam from 1874 to 1947, which had significant consequences in this frontier locality. This paper re-examines archival sources on political mobilization, rereads relevant autobiographical texts, and reviews oral evidence to discover the ‘experienced’ history of the region as distinct from the ‘imagined’ one. The sub-text of partition (Sylhet) is more intriguing than the main text (Bengal), because events in Sylhet offer us a micro-level study. Generations of historians—writing mostly in Bengali and relying on colonial archives—have tended to overlook the mindset of the people of Sylhet. This paper, on the basis of an examination of combined sources, argues that the new province was implicated in overlapping histories, across Bengal-Assam borders. The voice of the indigenous—mostly Hindus but partly Muslim—elites were dominant from 1874 onwards. However, the underdogs—particularly ‘pro-Pakistani’ dalits (lower-caste Hindus) and madrasa-educated ‘pro-Indian’ maulvis—emerged as crucial players in the referendum of 1947. Hardly any serious study, however, has focused on the Sylhet referendum—a defining moment in the region. This study of the Sylhet referendum will reveal a new dimension to the multiple responses to these issues and provide a glimpse of the ‘communal psyche’ of the people in this frontier district, rather than a binary opposition between ‘religious’ and ‘secular’ forces.

scholarly journals The Filibuster: A Means to Preserve the Voice of “We the People”

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 79
Author(s):  
Anna M. Cox
Keyword(s):  
Due Diligence ◽  
The People ◽  
American Citizen ◽  
True Representation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Governmental Institutions ◽  
The Individual ◽  
We The People ◽  
The Voice ◽  
The U.S

The Senatorial practice of the filibuster has a long history of being an established fixture in the U.S. Senate. The filibuster, a senatorial tool and tactic of extended or unlimited debate has a constitutional basis, reason and purpose. The filibuster when implemented in accordance with its constitutional basis can maintain the checks and balance of governmental institutions, preserve true representation of “We the People”, protect the individual liberties of the American citizen and the rights of the minority. Thus without the preservation of the filibuster the Senate’s ability to conduct their legislative and representative responsibilities on the behalf of their constituents they represent would be in severe jeopardy. Consequently, the Senate must take the position of doing its due diligence to preserve and sustain the fundamental practice of the filibuster for the American citizenry for whom they represent. 

POETICS OF MYTH IN N. IZHENDEY’S POEM “THE VOICE OF THE UNBORN CHILD”

2021 ◽  
pp. 134-141
Author(s):  
Ирина Владимировна Софронова ◽  
Юрий Михайлович Артемьев ◽  
Юрий Николаевич Исаев
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Space ◽  
Literary Text ◽  
Transitional Period ◽  
Generation Gap ◽  
Unborn Child ◽  
Semantic Meaning ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of ◽  
Good And Evil ◽  
The Voice

В научной статье рассматриваются мифологические образы, мотивы, детали, используемые в творчестве чувашского поэта Николая Ижендея (Петрова). Целью работы является определение роли и значения поэтики мифа в поэме «Суралман ача сасси» («Голос нерожденного ребенка»). Посредством поэтики мифа поэт создает новый вариант мифа о происхождении Ардури (Лешего), применяет для этого представление народа о добром и злом началах, загробном мире, духах предков, описание обрядов, связанных с рождением ребенка. Нестабильное положение в обществе приводит к разрушению связи между поколениями. На этом фоне автор рассматривает проблему судьбы чувашского языка, будущего нации. Предупреждает нас о возможных трагических последствиях, изображая смерть нерожденного ребенка. Мифологические образы и детали позволили поэту передать специфику смутного, переходного периода развития истории страны и народа. Мифологизм способствует углублению семантического пространства художественного текста, придает трагизм сказанному. Смысловое значение используемых поэтом мифологических образов типично и для других авторов чувашской литературы. В завершение статьи делается вывод о том, что поэт использует поэтику мифа для создания своеобразного художественного мира, для описания актуальных проблем современности. The article considers mythological images, motives, details employed in the works of the Chuvash poet Nikolay Izhendey (Petrov). The aim of the work is to determine the role and significance of the poetics of myth in the poem “Shuralmanachasassi” (“The voice of the unborn child”). Through the poetics of the myth, the poet creates a new version of the myth of the origin of Arshuri (wood spirit), bases on the idea of the people of good and evil principles, the afterlife, the spirits of ancestors, the description of the rituals associated with the birth of a child. The unstable situation in society leads to the generation gap. Against this background, the author examines the problem of the fate of the Chuvash language, the future of the nation; warns us against possible tragic consequences by depicting the death of an unborn child. Mythological images and details allowed the poet to convey the specifics of the vague, transitional period in the development of the history of the country and the people. Mythologism contributes to the deepening of the semantic space of the literary text, adds tragedy to what was said. The semantic meaning of the mythological images used by the poet is typical for other authors of the Chuvash literature. At the end of the article, the author concludes that the poet uses the poetics of myth to create a kind of artistic world, to describe the pressing problems of our time.

THE PLIGHT OF COMMON PEOPLE IN THE PARTITION LITERATURE OF INDIAN SUBCONTINENT

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (36) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aijaz Ahmad Ganie ◽  
M. S. Rathor
Keyword(s):  
Indian Subcontinent ◽  
Common People ◽  
Indian History ◽  
Long Period ◽  
The People ◽  
Partition Literature ◽  
History Of ◽  
The One ◽  
Partition Of India ◽  
The Voice

The sources of history and literature witnessed that few people on the name of religion divided the subcontinent and created severe problems in all regions of the subcontinent that people still are facing even after seventy years of partition. If we go through the pages of Indian History and Partition Literature many admirable characters will come alive in front of us. About numerous events and disasters we can learn from the books of historians and literary giants who portrayed all the situations, disasters and predicaments faced by the people before, during and after partition. Partition of India is still a darkest period in the history of subcontinent and it has left indelible marks on the pages of Indian history. Many writers have attempted to represent the trauma of partition skilfully through their writings. Britishers before leaving the subcontinent tried to break the unity of religions on the name of partition, many people were shocked as they were aware about the consequences of this division. After partition, the people who earlier were friends, neighbours, colleagues were labelled as Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians and became thirsty of each others’ blood. They acted as savages; they forgot the respect for elders and women, love towards children. To represent the people who on the name of religion killed millions of precious lives, many writers of the Indian subcontinent produced a literature called Partition Literature. The partition led to huge movements and disastrous conflicts across Indo-Pak border. About ten million Hindus and Sikhs were expelled from Pakistan and nearly seven million Muslims from India to Pakistan and thousands of people were killed in this conflict. Though, independence for Indian subcontinent was an event of celebration, but it was celebrated in the shape of mourning, tears, separation, exile, crying, bloodshed, abduction, rape, murder etc. India was the one of the largest colonies of Great Britain and was granted freedom after a long period of subjugation, however resulted into the partition of country which caused a big destruction to the subcontinent in the form of ethnic and religious riots. This paper aims to explore the voice of people and their plight, who badly suffered during the cataclysmic event of partition.

The Case for Literature

PMLA ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 116 (3) ◽  
pp. 594-608
Author(s):  
Gao Xingjian
Keyword(s):  
Existence Of God ◽  
The People ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Way Of Knowing ◽  
The Voice

I have no way of knowing whether it was fate that has pushed me onto this dais but as various lucky coincidences have created this opportunity I may as well call it fate. Putting aside discussion of the existence or non-existence of God. I would like to say that despite my being an atheist I have always shown reverence for the unknowable.A person cannot be God, certainly not replace God, and rule the world as a Superman; he will only succeed in creating more chaos and make a greater mess of the world. In the century after Nietzsche man-made disasters left the blackest records in the history of humankind. Supermen of all types called leader of the people, head of the nation and commander of the race did not baulk at resorting to various violent means in perpetrating crimes that in no way resemble the ravings of a very egotistic philosopher. However, I do not wish to waste this talk on literature by saying too much about politics and history, what I want to do is to use this opportunity to speak as one writer in the voice of an individual.

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