The Missing Body

Author(s):  
Hatem N. Akil

This chapter considers the presumed absence of figurative representations in Islamic art, which to some is yet another indication of Islam’s inability to face and represent reality (accept modernity) – as opposed to the body-centric aesthetics of the Renaissance. It is discovered that Islamic history in fact overflows with examples of representations of sentient life. The contrast between Islam’s figurative art (as secular) and abstract and geometric art (as sacred) should not be seen as contradictory, but as a case of cultural simultaneity, which reflects an Islamicate daily life that has always been both religious and secular at the same time.

GIS Business ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 202-206
Author(s):  
SAJITHA M

Food is one of the main requirements of human being. It is flattering for the preservation of wellbeing and nourishment of the body.  The food of a society exposes its custom, prosperity, status, habits as well as it help to develop a culture. Food is one of the most important social indicators of a society. History of food carries a dynamic character in the socio- economic, political, and cultural realm of a society. The food is one of the obligatory components in our daily life. It occupied an obvious atmosphere for the augmentation of healthy life and anticipation against the diseases.  The food also shows a significant character in establishing cultural distinctiveness, and it reflects who we are. Food also reflected as the symbol of individuality, generosity, social status and religious believes etc in a civilized society. Food is not a discriminating aspect. It is the part of a culture, habits, addiction, and identity of a civilization.Food plays a symbolic role in the social activities the world over. It’s a universal sign of hospitality.[1]


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 24-35
Author(s):  
Ghadeer Dardier Afify Khalifa

This paper aims to study some unpublished lanterns, preserved in the Islamic Art Museum in Cairo through analytical, historical and artistic study. In general, the lanterns are oil lamps and usually with a large round bulbous body, reaching to a narrower center, where above it is the flaming top section. These lanterns can be placed on a surface, however they were commonly suspended by chains and in these chains there were some loops on the outer surface of the body of lanterns that were used to light mosques or any other architectural buildings during Islamic times and in order to light large areas in groups of lanterns, hanging from a metal frame that had the form of a circle, these circular frames continued to be used in many mosques till nowadays. In researching for the collections and antiques, preserved in the Islamic Art Museum in Cairo, it is observed, that there are some unpublished lanterns, have not been discussed and have not been concentrated and strongly investigated by researchers. This study seeks to discuss these unpublished lanterns that include a significant layout of artistic styles, this is besides the historical and archaeological value of these lanterns. The methodology of this study will be addressed through descriptive, historical, artistic and analytical study; this will be revealed through discussion, investigation, analysis that can be detected through detailed interrogation of the objects, elements and structure of the content of this study.


Author(s):  
Nina Rossholt

Working with concepts from Foucault and Deleuze I analyze how the youngest children relate to matter and the environment around them in a preschool context. The children are always connected to space, time and place and here I analyze how space, time and place are linked to the body in an epistemological and ontological sense. I research the daily life in preschools, analyzing early childhood spaces in an environment comprising water, sand, spades, leaves, trees, clothes, buildings, other bodies, etc. These relate further to how movements are situated, not only in language, but in bodily practices. From this angle I also make my selves as a researcher visible both during my fieldwork and in the writings.


2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Hsiu-fen

AbstractThis article sets out to explore the ideas and practices of yangsheng (nourishing life or health preservation) in the late Ming, i.e. late sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century China. Yangsheng had long played a key role in the traditions of Chinese medicine, religions and court societies. Initially restricted to certain social classes and milieux, knowledge of yangsheng began to spread much more widely from the Song dynasty (960–1279) onwards, mostly owing to rapid social and economic change. In this context, the theories and practices of yangsheng attracted the attention and curiosity of many scholars. The popularisation of yangsheng peaked in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Numerous literary works, essay collections and household encyclopaedias for everyday use have passages and sections on yangsheng. They describe various ideas and techniques of yangsheng by means of regulating the body in daily life, involving sleeping, exercising, washing, eating, drinking, etc. Through a survey of the most famous late Ming work on yangsheng, Zunsheng bajian (1591), this article attempts to highlight how yangsheng came to dominate the scholarly lifestyle. It will give a clear picture of the ideas of a late Ming literatus on prolonging life and replenishing the body, while showing how these practices were inspired by the flourishing material culture of the late Ming as a whole.


2000 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaine Aston

In an earlier issue of New Theatre Quarterly, NTQ55 (August 1998), Marcia Blumberg examined the setting of the kitchen in performances by Bobby Baker and Jeanne Goosen, arguing for the ‘transitional and transgressive’ possibilities of this domesticcum-performance space. Here, Elaine Aston returns to the ‘kitchen’ in Bobby Baker's performances of ‘daily life’. The article examines Baker's ‘language’ of food which ‘speaks’ of domesticity, and her conjunction of comic playing and the hysterical marking of the body, to show how her performance work constitutes an angry, feminist protest at the lack of social transformation in women's lives. Elaine Aston has authored a number of studies on contemporary women's theatre, and is Chair of Contemporary Performance and Theatre Studies, Lancaster University.


Author(s):  
Constance Classen

This chapter discusses how humans dealt with animals through the sense of touch. After all, intimate contact with animals was part of daily life in the premodern world. They were everywhere; and although zoological symbolism associated the sense of touch with the tortoise and the spider, all animals had a general association with touch. This was due to touch being considered the primary sense of the body and animals being considered virtually all body. Furthermore, many familiar animals were eminently touchable (furry, sleek and warm)—and their speechlessness made touch an essential medium for human–animal interaction. Thus, the chapter looks at the ways in which humans interacted with and perceived animals—through companionship, through distinctions between the human and the bestial, through the capacity for reason, and through suffering.


Author(s):  
Andrea Olsen

This chapter focuses on reimagining our relationship to the dancing body, inviting connection to self, others, and the natural world. Body systems and earth systems are seen as intricately interconnected, and dance as an essential way to experience this connection. Utilizing personal narrative, scientific research, experiential exercises, and visual imagery as modes of inquiry enables one to create the conditions for wellbeing through movement. The goal is to bind subjective experience with a scientific foundation through embodied scholarship. This multifaceted approach enhances the reader’s receptivity to discovery and discernment, encouraging agency in creative projects, intercultural communication, and daily life through dance. Attention is given to the science of perception, including tools for balancing the autonomic nervous system to support healing and creative thinking. Throughout, we foster positive responses to challenging social and environmental conditions through moving, dancing, performing, and writing—celebrating the intrinsic intelligence of the body.


2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S380-S381
Author(s):  
L. Lipskaya-Velikovsky ◽  
T. Krupa ◽  
M. Kotler

ObjectivesMental health conditions (MHC) have been associated with restrictions in daily life participation and functioning affecting health and well-being. Substantial numbers of people with MHC experience hospitalizations, however, there is limited evidence supporting functional interventions in the in-patient setting to promote recovery. The OC is an intervention implemented during sub-acute hospitalization, which attempts to promote activity and participation of people with MHC, both during the in-patient stay and upon return to the community, with a view to enabling recovery. To facilitate its implementation, we investigate the OC effectiveness.AimsInvestigate the OC contribution to cognition, symptoms and functional capacity among inpatients with schizophrenia.MethodsThis is a quasi-experimental, prospective, pre/post-designed study with convenience sampling. Inpatients with schizophrenia were enrolled into the study group participating in the OC intervention (n = 16); or the control group participating in hospital treatment as usual (n = 17). The study participants completed evaluations at baseline and at discharge or after 10 weeks with: Neurocognitive State Examination, Trail Making Test, Ray Complex Figure, and Category Fluency Test for aspects of cognition; Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale for symptoms severity, and Observed Tasks of Daily Living-Revised for functional capacity.ResultsStatistically significant improvement in cognitive functioning, symptoms severity and functional capacity was found in the study group after the intervention. These changes were not observed in the control group.ConclusionThe results support the OC effectiveness for cognitive and functional capacity improvement and symptomology relief. The findings advance the body of evidence for functional interventions in hospital settings.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boris Bornemann ◽  
Beate M. Herbert ◽  
Tania Singer

Interoceptive body awareness (IA) is crucial for psychological well-being and plays an important role in many contemplative traditions. However, until recently, standardized self-report measures of IA were scarce, not comprehensive, and the effects of interoceptive training on such measures were largely unknown. The Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA) questionnaire measures IA with eight different scales. In the current study, we investigated whether and how these different aspects of IA are influenced by a 3-months contemplative intervention in the context of the ReSource project, in which 148 subjects engaged in daily practices of “Body Scan” and “Breath Meditation.” We developed a German version of the MAIA and tested it in a large and diverse sample (n = 1,076). Internal consistencies were similar to the English version (0.56– 0.89), retest reliability was high (r s: 0.66–0.79), and the MAIA showed good convergent and discriminant validity. Importantly, interoceptive training improved five out of eight aspects of IA, compared to a retest control group. Participants with low IA scores at baseline showed the biggest changes. Whereas practice duration only weakly predicted individual differences in change, self-reported liking of the practices and degree of integration into daily life predicted changes on most scales. Interestingly, the magnitude of observed changes varied across scales. The strongest changes were observed for the regulatory aspects of IA, that is, how the body is used for self-regulation in daily life. No significant changes were observed for the Noticing aspect (becoming aware of bodily changes), which is the aspect that is predominantly assessed in other IA measures. This differential pattern underscores the importance to assess IA multi-dimensionally, particularly when interested in enhancement of IA through contemplative practice or other mind–body interventions.


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