‘To have been always what I am – and so changed from what I was’: Beckett's Female Subject Formation and the Problem of Becoming

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-63
Author(s):  
Rina Kim

The call for a new notion of personhood that goes beyond one's cognitive functions and a new account of human agency has gained interest with the impact of contemporary research in cognitive science over the last few decades. This paper aims to show that examining Beckett's female subject formation allows us to map out not only our changed perception of self, but also the changing patterns of reception of his works over time in relation to the issue of female agency. While Beckett's male subjects in his early novels are often preoccupied with their own journey to find a solipsistic world in their quest for their authentic self, his drama concerns his characters’ affective experience, namely how they live to go on. This paper, thus, will show that what Beckett perceives as gender difference plays a crucial role in his portrayal of personhood that is closely interconnected with other people and external artefacts, as well as his theatricality as a mode of perception that brackets moments of action and our affective experience of time.

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-33
Author(s):  
Mouhcine El-Hajjami ◽  
Souad Slaoui

The present paper aims at examining the extent to which Moroccan cinema could establish a diasporic visual discourse that cements national identity and contests the impact of westernization on migrants. Moreover, through the analysis the way in which independent identities are constructed in the host land, the article tries to incorporate a feminist discourse to highlight the role of the female subject in retrieving its own agency by challenging patriarchal oppression. Therefore, we argue that Mohammed Ismail’s feature-length film Ici et là (Here and There) has partially succeeded in creating a space for its diasporic subjects to build up their own independent identities beyond the scope of westernization and patriarchy.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta de Castro-Catala ◽  
Neus Barrantes-Vidal ◽  
Tamara Sheinbaum ◽  
Artal Moreno-Fortuny ◽  
Thomas R. Kwapil ◽  
...  

Schizotypy phenotypes in the general population share etiopathogenic mechanisms and risk factors with schizophrenia, supporting the notion of psychosis as a continuum ranging from nonclinical to clinical deviance. Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is a candidate susceptibility gene for schizophrenia that is involved in the regulation of dopamine in the prefrontal cortex. Several recent studies have reported a sex difference in the impact of COMT genotype on psychiatric and cognitive phenotypes and personality traits. The present study investigated the association of COMT Val158Met (rs4680) with psychometric positive and negative schizotypy and psychotic experiences in a sample of 808 nonclinical young adults. The main finding was that sex moderates the association of COMT genotype with the negative dimension of both schizotypy and psychotic experiences. Male subjects carrying the Val allele tended to score higher on the negative dimension of both trait and symptom-like measures. The results from the present study are consistent with recent work suggesting an association between negative schizotypy and diminished prefrontal dopamine availability. They support the idea that a biological differentiation underlies the positive and negative schizotypy dimensions. Additionally, these findings contribute to the growing literature on sex-specific effects of COMT on the predisposition to psychiatric disorders and personality traits.


Author(s):  
John A. Aitken ◽  
Seth A. Kaplan ◽  
Olivia Pagan ◽  
Carol M. Wong ◽  
Eric Sikorski ◽  
...  

1983 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank J. Prerost

Considering the relaxation of sex role restraints and the convergence of male/female reactions to erotica, this study examined the impact of humorous sexual stimuli on adult males and females. Results showed the importance of personal sexual experience and enjoyment with sexual expression on the reactions to sexual humor. Sexist ideas within sexual humor was a significant factor in influencing female appreciation of sexual jokes. Yet some females, depending on life experiences, evidenced cross-sex attitudes in humor preferences.


1998 ◽  
Vol 274 (1) ◽  
pp. E23-E28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Réjean Drouin ◽  
Carole Lavoie ◽  
Josée Bourque ◽  
Francine Ducros ◽  
Danielle Poisson ◽  
...  

This study was designed to characterize the impact of endurance training on the hepatic response to glucagon. We measured the effect of glucagon on hepatic glucose production (HGP) in resting trained ( n = 8) and untrained ( n = 8) healthy male subjects (maximal rate of O2 consumption: 65.9 ± 1.6 vs. 46.8 ± 0.6 ml O2 ⋅ kg−1 ⋅ min−1, respectively, P < 0.001). Endogenous insulin and glucagon were suppressed by somatostatin (somatotropin release-inhibiting hormone) infusion (450 μg/h) over 4 h. Insulin (0.15 mU ⋅ kg−1 ⋅ min−1) was infused throughout the study, and glucagon (1.5 ng ⋅ kg−1 ⋅ min−1) was infused over the last 2 h. During the latter period, plasma glucagon and insulin remained constant at 138.2 ± 3.1 vs. 145.3 ± 2.1 ng/l and at 95.5 ± 4.5 vs. 96.2 ± 1.9 pmol/l in trained and untrained subjects, respectively. Plasma glucose increased and peaked at 11.4 ± 1.1 mmol/l in trained subjects and at 8.9 ± 0.8 mmol/l in untrained subjects ( P < 0.001). During glucagon stimulation, the mean increase in HGP area under the curve was 15.8 ± 2.8 mol ⋅ kg−1 ⋅ min−1in trained subjects compared with 7.4 ± 1.6 mol ⋅ kg−1 ⋅ min−1in untrained subjects ( P < 0.01) over the first hour and declined to 6.8 ± 2.8 and 4.9 ± 1.4 mol ⋅ kg−1 ⋅ min−1during the second hour. In conclusion, these observations indicate that endurance training is associated with an increase in HGP in response to physiological levels of glucagon, thus suggesting an increase in hepatic glucagon sensitivity.


2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-88
Author(s):  
Annemarie Dinvaut

Le sensoriel et l’expression plastique sont-ils des outils de formation pertinents pour aller à la rencontre de l’altérité et de la diversité linguistique et culturelle ? Nous nous proposons de répondre à cette question en analysant des productions d’étudiants : ceux-ci rendent compte de leur fréquentation d’une langue par une création plastique qui privilégie les aspects sensoriels de cette expérience. Ce double processus les amène à une réflexion métalinguistique et à une posture d’accueil du plurilinguisme. We sketch our languages and develop teaching skills Abstract: Are sensorial and plastic activities appropriate tools to develop language awareness and intercultural skills, in a college of education? To answer this question, we ask students to express their sensorial and affective experience of a language they choose: scrutinizing their productions enables us to see the impact of this activity, regarding their metalinguistic reflection and their receptiveness to linguistic and cultural plurality.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 303-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianjun Zhang ◽  
Wei Zhao ◽  
Yanlong Zhang

ABSTRACTDrawing insights from the institutional embeddedness perspective, this article explores the changing patterns and significance of two types of strategic networking along with the institutional transformation in China. Using two-wave survey data on Chinese private firms, we find that after the state relaxed its control of resources the importance of networking with the state tends to decline, while ties with market actors become increasingly important. Determinants of network investment have shifted from managers’ perceived importance of different types of network ties to a firm's immediate institutional environment. Finally, the impact of networking on firm growth has also altered over time. These findings advance our understanding of the crucial role of the institutional environment in shaping firms’ networking strategies and have important theoretical and practical implications.


2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (162) ◽  
pp. 225-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances Nolan

AbstractThis article examines the case of Helen Arthur, a Catholic and Jacobite Irish woman who travelled with her children to France following William III’s victory over James II in the War of the Two Kings (1689–91). It considers Helen’s circumstances and her representation inThe Popish pretenders to the forfeited estates in Ireland, a pamphlet published in London in 1702 as a criticism of the act of resumption. The act, introduced by the English parliament in 1700, voided the majority of William III’s grants to favourites and supporters. Its provisions offered many dispossessed, including the dependants of outlawed males, a chance to reclaim compromised or forfeited property by submitting a claim to a board of trustees in Dublin. Helen Arthur missed the initial deadline for submissions, but secured an extension to submit through a clause in a 1701 supply bill, a development that brought her to the attention of the anonymous author ofThe Popish pretenders. Charting Helen’s efforts to reclaim her jointure, her eldest son’s estate and her younger children’s portions, this article looks at the ways in which dispossessed Irish Catholics and/or Jacobites reacted to legislative developments. More specifically, it shines a light on the possibilities for female agency in a period of significant upheaval, demonstrating opportunities for participation and representation in the public sphere, both in London and in Dublin. It also considers the impact of the politicisation of religion upon understandings of women’s roles and experiences during the Williamite confiscation, and suggests that a synonymising of Catholicism with Jacobitism (and Protestantism with the Williamite cause) has significant repercussions for understandings of women’s activities during the period. It also examines contemporary attitudes to women’s activity, interrogating the casting of Helen as a ‘cat’s paw’ in a bigger political game, invariably played by men.


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