Venedikt Yerofeev, Moscow–Petushki (1970): self and others

Author(s):  
Steven Earnshaw

In Venedikt Yerofeev’s Moscow Stations the character Venichka, a version of the author, takes an increasingly surreal train ride towards Petushki, a town at the end of a Moscow line which he believes to be like paradise. Unlike other drinker novels where the committed central drinker’s behaviour is regarded as outside social norms, Venichka is surrounded by like-minded Russian souls who also drink continuously. One of the central conceits of the novel explored in this chapter is thus the role of Venichka as a Russian everyman who is simultaneously alienated from the State, and paradoxically also from the people – drinking is his chosen vocation rather than a means of dulling self-medication. Venichka’s alienation is manifest in his ongoing argument with God, Russia and Fate. The chapter assesses how the novel refuses to privilege rationality, philosophy or empiricism in its determination to fully exist in a country/world which lacks any kind of coherence, and offers a comparison between this novel and Exley’s A Fan’s Notes in their treatment of the individual, drink, and the Nation State.

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-183
Author(s):  
Mary L. Mullen

This article considers the politics and aesthetics of the colonial Bildungsroman by reading George Moore's often-overlooked novel A Drama in Muslin (1886). It argues that the colonial Bildungsroman does not simply register difference from the metropolitan novel of development or express tension between the core and periphery, as Jed Esty suggests, but rather can imagine a heterogeneous historical time that does not find its end in the nation-state. A Drama in Muslin combines naturalist and realist modes, and moves between Ireland and England to construct a form of untimely development that emphasises political processes (dissent, negotiation) rather than political forms (the state, the nation). Ultimately, the messy, discordant history represented in the novel shows the political potential of anachronism as it celebrates the untimeliness of everyday life.


Author(s):  
Richard Beardsworth

With its moral commitment to the individual, cosmopolitanism has often downplayed the role of the state in cosmopolitan commitments and their practices. There is, however, emerging concern to put the state back into cosmopolitan concerns. This chapter argues that two outstanding reasons for this intellectual move are of an institutional and political nature. First, despite the recent pluralization of global actors, states remain the major agents of change within a (post-Western) system of states; both the moral and political purpose of the state should therefore be aligned with global imperatives. Second, a clearly formulated “marriage” between the global and the national is required to line up institutional motivation for enlightened global policy. This chapter argues, accordingly, for cosmopolitan state responsibilities toward the provision of global public goods (examples include nuclear disarmament, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and sustainable development).


2021 ◽  

Since the dawn of colonialism in Southern Africa, the province of the Eastern Cape emerged as the cradle of African resistance against colonial oppression. A closer look at the province reveals opportunities for progress and ultimate resurgence of economic and social development, yet conflated by a myriad of challenges. This book brings together different perspectives and realities of the post-apartheid Eastern Cape to provide an in-depth exploration of the developmental dilemmas that the province faces. This book provides insightful reflections on development and its sustainability some 25 years since democracy, and specifically focuses on sociological and demographic realities in the areas of migration and its impact on families. The book further grapples with the role of the state in developing culture and heritage in the province, pointing to fundamental and multiple challenges of deprivation, unemployment and subsequent community resilience in a variety of sectors including health and education. While it provides a historical analysis of contextual issues facing the province, the book also highlights the agency of the people of the Eastern Cape in confronting challenges in leadership, accountability, citizen participation and service provision. The book will be useful for development scholars and practitioners who are interested in understanding the state of the province, and similar settings, and the degree to which it has emerged from the shadows of its colonial and apartheid legacies.


2021 ◽  

The COVID-19 pandemic forced physicians around the world to make tragic decisions: Whose life should be saved when it is apparent that available resources are insufficient to treat everyone? Under the heading of "triage" a broad societal debate ensued that also ignited the scientific community. This anthology unites voices from medicine, law, and philosophy for a conversation. It reveals controversies that are deeply rooted in ideas of law, morality, and the role of the individual in the state. Simultaneously, answers are being formulated to questions that have become sadly prominent in the COVID pandemic but could also valid beyond it.


Author(s):  
Richard Whiting

In assessing the relationship between trade unions and British politics, this chapter has two focuses. First, it examines the role of trade unions as significant intermediate associations within the political system. They have been significant as the means for the development of citizenship and involvement in society, as well as a restraint upon the power of the state. Their power has also raised questions about the relationship between the role of associations and the freedom of the individual. Second, the chapter considers critical moments when the trade unions challenged the authority of governments, especially in the periods 1918–26 and 1979–85. Both of these lines of inquiry underline the importance of conservatism in the achievement of stability in modern Britain.


1976 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toni Noble ◽  
Maureen Ryan

Data from a questionnaire survey completed by fifty Australian-born parents and fifty Greek-born parents of grade three children in seven inner-urban schools in Melbourne draw attention to the parents' different attitudes towards and understanding of the primary schools which their children attend. Although the groups of parents are not directly comparable, recurrent themes emerging in the responses particularly reflect the Australian parents' concern for the individual child's development and the Greek parents' concern with teacher control. The Greek parents generally revealed a greater understanding of Greek schools than of the state primary schools that their children were attending. Possible effects of such attitudes on the Greek child in his quest for identity and the role of the school in coping with these difficulties are discussed.


2004 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 337-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Koh

AbstractIn the drama of negotiation of state boundaries, the role of local administrators as mediators is indispensable. They mediate between state demands for more discipline and societal demands for more liberties. Their ability and willingness to enforce determines the extent of state power. They are a particular type of elites chosen by the state to administer; yet often they have an irrational and morally corrupt relationship with their subjects. The questions that arise then are: When do the local administrators decide to or not to enforce the rules? What considerations do they hold in the face of contradicting demands for their loyalties? This paper seeks answers to the above questions by examining state enforcement of its construction rules in Hanoi after 1975, in which the ward, a level of local administrators in the urban administration landscape, plays an important role in holding up (or letting down) the fences. I will examine the irrationality of the housing regime that led to widespread offences against construction rules, and then show why and how local administrators may or may not enforce rules. This paper comprises two parts. The first part outlines the nature and history of the housing regime in Vietnam and the situation of state provision of housing to the people. These provide the context in which illegal construction arises. Part Two looks at illegal construction in Hanoi chronologically, and focuses on important episodes. The theme that runs through this paper is the role of local administrators in the reality of illegal construction.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Christine Reid

The study of animals in Shakespeare’s collected works has expanded over the last 30 years. While a number of different animals have been discussed, the importance of the worm in the larger scope of the canon has largely been ignored. By focusing on the perception and presentation of worms in relation to cultural ideas of death, corruption, and consumption, ideas surrounding the body and soul are brought to the forefront. Worms are integral to our understanding of the Early Modern cultural constructs of the body and soul as the presence of worms reveals the state of the individual or the broader environment. Overall, the depiction of worms in Shakespeare’s works serves as a way to understand the metaphysical processes surrounding death and corruption.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 37-54
Author(s):  
Zoha Adel Mahmoud

institution is one of the highest institutions that have the task of providing the development needs of the community of specialists in various fields, in addition to being the centers of scientific research and applied to ensure economic and social progress It enriches decision makers with expertise and skills and thus controls political performance. In any society, the university can not play its full role in social change without interaction between the individual on the one hand and the social environment on the other, Social and interdependent Ah syndrome change, they strengthen the skills, and enrich the spirit of innovation of the individual, and raise the level of social progress. It helps to improve the conditions of the poor segments of the population and facilitates the employment opportunities of the individuals imposed by the society as they meet the needs of the individual and society of different professions, thus providing an opportunity for production and thus have a positive impact on the standard of living to achieve the well-being of the individual and the citizen. The interest reflected on the progress, such as Germany, which was interested in it became one of the main reasons that led to the rise of Germany from the ruins of the Second World War as well as the State of Malaysia, which moved from developing countries to the second world countries by changing the plan Colleges and institutes of universities. In 2020, Malaysia will be among the developed countries. In these countries, higher education, vocational training and training are viewed as a basis for life supplementation and are seen as a major means of improving and upgrading society. If we are to explore the dimensions of education in the 21st century, one of the pillars of education is learning for action, Usually involves the acquisition of skills and the linking of knowledge to practice as an essential part of the training and rehabilitation of the individual for practical life. Hence, such new trends in linking educational preparation to work have been imposed by the labor market and the working life in its new forms. Production and service facilities, The advanced, assumed graduates who can be employed and absorbed can contribute to the development of competitiveness, to provide innovations and creations to achieve the competitive advantage of the enterprise, and to improve production and productivity based primarily on the acquisition and application of knowledge. Gamerdinger reveals that the new technology does not accelerate the possibilities for sound economic policies and increasing global trade, and this requires strategies to develop work related to the development of human performance, and in order to face the state of chronic unemployment globally, education policies are headed towards the so-called reverse conversion as many graduates of specializations Literaries choose vocational and technical education in technical and community colleges. Unemployment in the Arab world carries certain characteristics that must be taken into account when developing the solutions available to them. The most important of these characteristics are: Unemployment is a youth phenomenon. Weak professional experience available to the unemployed. Lack of targeted planning for the labor market. The large gap between the outputs of higher education for youth and the requirements of the labor market. The most important recommendations aimed at enhancing the role of universities in Iraq are: 1 - the operation of labor graduates of technical and technical institutes in the industrial field in order to promote them and eliminate unemployment and increase the hard currency as an important category of Iraqi society, which contributes actively to the renaissance of the country. Linking the Ministry of Industry and Commerce with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research to be managed by the Minister of Education alone. The Ministry is keen on the funds of the Iraqi people and contributes to the development of the industrial and commercial sectors with the help of professors and university students. 3 - the need to match the needs of the market and education outputs to reduce unemployment, in addition to the vocational education has become an urgent need at this stage to keep pace with the needs of life in society away from the negative view of this education. 4 - Increasing the number of technical workshops and providing them with the means of material in order to provide the university student maximum desired learning. Enhancing the role of higher education in building a broader partnership and cooperation with various other community institutions (public, private and private sector). 6 - Re-admission plan in universities by making the number of admissions in scientific colleges more than the number of admissions in the humanitarian colleges. 7 - Attracting foreign investment companies to invest natural resources in Iraq such as phosphate, natural gas, oil, oil shale, uranium, silica and geothermal energy for the recovery of the economy and the trend towards domestic consumption.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 239-259
Author(s):  
Valentina E. Vetlovskaya

<p>The article explores the role of logical connections in an epic text. It is these connections, according to the author of the article, that connect the individual components of the narrative (motifs, complexes of motifs) and make up in the reader&rsquo;s perception for the missing elements. The reticence and failures to mention, common in fiction, appear in the narrative for various reasons. Sometimes due to the aesthetic principles of the writer who prefers ambiguity to a completed statement depriving readers of the opportunity to finish thinking over a vague idea. And sometimes, due to the author&rsquo;s conviction that there is no need to explain the idea implied by what has been earlier said. But it also happens that the omissions in the narrative are engendered by the requirements for the presentation of a chosen topic, for example in crime fiction. But these reasons may go together as it occurs in Crime and Punishment. These ideas are illustrated by the analysis of one of the themes of the novel Crime and Punishment.</p>


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