Actualising History

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 79-92
Author(s):  
Aamir Aziz ◽  
Frans Willem Korsten

Whereas prior studies have focused on Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible in relation to the Puritan past of the United States of America, this article looks at the play’s present in relation to a future. If, as is the case, the play is an intervention in its contemporary circumstances, this is obviously with the aim of moving towards a better future. The question then becomes: how does the play deal with the past in the way that the Salem trials (1692) relate, by means of a theatrical intervention, to a future? In the twentieth century the relation of theatre, and of theatricality in general, with the future was paradigmatically explored in the work of Bertolt Brecht. In his view, the role of theatre was to produce a distance, not an unreflexive and emotional involvement in a plot. This distance or alienation was necessary to make people see behind the scenes of the socio-political and economic system, as a result of which they would start to think and become able to act in order to change the course of history. This appears to be an essential strategy as well if we think about the powers of spectacle, as they have been dealt with in previous studies in performance research, and a possible theatrical response to them.

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 249-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
DAVID SEHAT

The United States is a deeply Christian country, but over the last sixty years American public culture has become increasingly detached from religious concerns. Christian activists, when not speaking within the Republican Party, have had to assert their privilege in a way that they never had to do in the past. In spite of their efforts, the role of Christianity in culture and politics has seen a more or less continuous decline. This essay examines how and why that process occurred. It puts forward a schematic narrative that relies on the concepts of public reason, the avant-garde, and an overlapping consensus to explain how different people came together in the mid-twentieth century to secularize and liberalize American public life.


Author(s):  
M.V. Maksimov

This essay presents a description of the scholarly events commemorating the 20th anniversary of the journal “Solovyov Studies”. It gives an overview of the exhibition "20 years of the journal “Solovyov Studies”: 2001–2021," prepared by the editorial board of the journal together with the Library of the ISPU. It highlights a variety of the sections of the exposition and the materials presented, reflecting the development of the journal over two decades, the composition of its editorial board, including authoritative experts from Russia, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, the United States of America, Ukraine, and France. The reader’s attention is drawn to the information about the journal's position in various ratings schemes, both domestic and foreign, and citation indices, the share of publications by foreign authors and their geographical location, as well as the number of journal-views over the past five years. The article shows the role of scientific communications in the development of the journal, Information is given on the participation of the editorial board in international scientific events, on publications devoted to the journal and its presentations in Russian and foreign publications, universities and research centers. The article describes the Solovyov seminar’s cultural and student projects, which received substantial content and information support from “Solovyov Studies”. The level of interest of the scientific community in the journal is also noted.


2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-142
Author(s):  
Esther B. Schupak

Abstract Because of its potential for fostering antisemitic stereotypes, in the twentieth century The Merchant of Venice has a history of being subject to censorship in secondary schools in the United States. While in the past it has often been argued that the play can be used to teach tolerance and to fight societal evils such as xenophobia, racism and antisemitism, I argue that this is no longer the case due to the proliferation of performance methods in the classroom, and the resultant emphasis on watching film and stage productions. Because images – particularly film images – carry such strong emotional valence, they have the capacity to subsume other pedagogical aspects of this drama in their emotional power and memorability. I therefore question whether the debate over teaching this play is truly a question of ‘censorship’, or simply educational choice.


Author(s):  
Karen Ann Donnachie ◽  
Andy Simionato

This paper will outline the ideation, background and development of the electronic artwork The Trumpet of the Swan (Donnachie & Simionato, 2017) presented by the authors at the Electronic Literature Organisation conference in Porto, Portugal in 2017. The artwork is a custom-coded drawing-robot which automatically inscribes in natural media, every post published from the personal Twitter profile of the 45th President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, identified on Twitter as @realDonaldTrump. The machine, which has the appearance reminiscent of a swan, including a broad “body” balanced on two short legs that end in webbed “feet”, is a semi-autonomous robot that writes in a pen, crowned by a long white plume, on a continuous scroll of paper while producing bird-like sounds. The drawing-robot remains permanently in a state of attention and the demonstrated sequence of actions can only be triggered remotely and by the 45th President of the U.S.A. himself (or more precisely, by whomever publishes a new tweet through his Twitter account ‘@realDonaldTrump’). In other words, to borrow a popular phrase taken from twentieth century cold-war propaganda: only the President has the ability to “launch” this artwork which otherwise remains dormant, in waiting.


Author(s):  
Daniel Alexis Tovar-Montalvo ◽  
Monserrat Medina-Acevedo ◽  
Miguel Angel García-Bielma ◽  
Jesús Jaime Guerra-Santos

Resumen: Antecedentes y Objetivos: La avena de mar, Uniola paniculata, se distribuye en el Caribe, los Estados Unidos de América y México. El objetivo de este trabajo es reportar su presencia y registro en el estado de Campeche, México. Métodos: Se colectaron ejemplares de la familia Poaceae creciendo en una duna frontal al suroeste del estado de Campeche, específicamente en la Isla del Carmen. Las colectas fueron procesadas y herborizadas, para su conservación e identificación.Resultado clave: Con la identificación de ejemplares, y después de hacer una revisión de su distribución, se registra por primera vez la presencia de Uniola paniculata (Poaceae) en la Península de Yucatán, representando una contribución al conocimiento florístico de la región y a la flora de México.Conclusiones: Esta especie solo había sido reportada para la costa del Golfo de México, en los estados de Tamaulipas, Veracruz y Tabasco. Este registro adquiere relevancia por el papel ecológico de este pasto en las dunas costeras.Palabras clave: avena de mar, conocimiento florístico, dunas costeras, flora de Campeche.Abstract: Background and Aims: The oat sea grass, Uniola paniculata, is distributed in the Caribbean, the United States of America and Mexico. The aim of this work is to report its occurrence and record in the state of Campeche, Mexico.Methods: Individuals of the family Poaceae were collected growing in a coastal dune in the southwest of the state of Campeche, particularly on the Isla del Carmen. The collections were processed and herborized for their conservation and classification.Key results: With the individuals’ identification and after reviewing its distribution, this is the first report of the presence of Uniola paniculata (Poaceae) on the Yucatan Peninsula, representing a contribution to the floristic knowledge of the region and the flora of Mexico.Conclusions: This species had only been reported from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico in the states of Tamaulipas, Veracruz and Tabasco. This record is relevant because of the ecological role of this oat sea grass in the coastal dunes.Key words: Campeche flora, coast dunes, floristic knowledge, sea oat.


2002 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 199

Book Review - Psycho-economics: managed care in mental health in the new millennium Edited by Robert D WeitzThis book comprises ten separately authored chapters on the general theme of managed care, and the way that it has affected mental health care in the United States of America. The main focus is on the role of the psychologist in private practice.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document