Laughter and Knowledge in Contemporary Poetry

Twenty-first-century poets use humor to examine and convey different kinds of knowledge—cultural, scientific, and emotional. Laughter in the work of poets like Raymond McDaniel, Stephanie Burt, Cathy Park Hong, Albert Goldbarth, Kim Rosenfield, Jamaal May, Patricia Lockwood, and Lucille Clifton prompts us to examine competing epistemologies. These poets examine how we exchange the material of laughter, and expose the ways that affective responses can determine what we think we know. They show how laughter can re-shape our sense of canons and render unfamiliar material accessible, expanding our literary knowledge and the sympathetic capacities that knowledge carries with it. They demonstrate how laughter breaks down categories like “science” and “literature,” expanding the kinds of knowledge that we value as “fact.” At the same time, they warn that laughter’s power to heal trauma or mediate other minds is limited, and that we should not trust humorous insights too far.

The literature/science boundary in sociological articles: Using fiction to discover patterns in co-authorship, author gender, and citation rank

Sociology has been described as a ‘third culture’ between science and literature. The distinctions between different orientations in sociological writing have been studied primarily through their non-textual manifestations (publication genres or venues, methodologies used, scientometric indicators, etc.). Our knowledge of how the science–literature boundary relates to the rhetorical composition of sociological texts therefore remains limited. We mixed a bespoke corpus of Czech sociological articles with a corpus of Czech short fiction to straightforwardly account for the relationship between sociology and literature. Unsupervised classification based on the distribution of most frequent verbs yielded two categories of sociological articles. Each cluster exhibited significant association with non-textual variables. Articles less similar to literature were associated with higher rates of co-authorship, citation counts, and number of women as first authors. Both clusters also displayed clear semantic differences. The signal from literary works increased variance in the textual feature space and subsequent pseudo-experimental validation confirmed its indispensability for the discovery of the association between the rhetorical pattern of verbs usage and non-textual variables related to sociological articles.

Na tropie polskiej encyklopedii, czyli o wzorcu publikacji ogólnoinformacyjnych w końcu XVIII w. i I poł. XIX w.

The article deals with the issue of Polish encyclopedism of the 18th and 19th centuries against the background of the European Baroque and Enlightenment trends. The phenomenon of the encyclopaedia by B. Chmielowski, I. Krasicki, F.S. Jezierski was analysed in the text. These were works that did not follow a specific and consistent pattern of encyclopaedic publications, were not popular and did not occupy a permanent place in Polish science and literature. Other ephemeral encyclopaedia initiatives taken into account by the author were undertaken without due patronage, and — as research has shown — were secondary and amateur publications. Some attempts, such as the Encyklopedia powszechna. Zbiór wiadomości dla wszystkich stanów of the Glücksbergs from 1839, or the Mała Polska Encyklopedia by S. Plater did not manage to achieve success. Only the creation of S. Orgelbrand’s Encyklopedia powszechna in 1859 filled a significant gap in the Polish publishing and writing “market”. The article also takes into account the statements of the creators and authors of the encyclopaedia regarding the patterns they used for creating such works, and a partial analysis of the megastructure, microstructure and publishing framework of these works.

Welt (World)

Goethe uses the word Welt (world) repeatedly in his writings, especially in his poetry, both singularly and in compounds, to establish a rich constellation of nature, divinity, and subjectivity, managed discursively at the intersection of economics, science, and literature. The most widely discussed example is Weltliteratur (world literature), but his understanding of Welt is equally evident in such compounds as Weltgeschichte (world history), Weltseele (world soul), Weltgeist (world spirit), Weltensumpf (world morass), Weltregiment (world regime), Weltwirrwesen (tumultuous world essence), Weltenschöpfer (world creator), Weltbürger (world citizen), Weltfrömmigkeit (world piety), and many more. I will focus in this lexicon entry on Goethe’s cosmological and phenomenological understandings of Welt, with the aim of showing how he enables the latter by his treatment of the former. Welt is such a widespread concept that it is not possible to do justice to all aspects of its use. As a result, the main textual references used in this entry are Faust, the Wilhelm Meister novels, and the poem “Auf dem See” (1775/89; On the Lake).

Terörizm Olgusuna Schrödinger’in Kedisi Olarak Bakmak

A partial agreement has been reached on the definitions of terror and terrorism in the literature. Despite this, incompatibilities on the concepts of terrorist and terrorist organization continue. The points of disagreement in the definition of these concepts will continue. This article aims to reveal that the definitions of terrorism cannot be the same even if they converge, through general relativity theory from the perspective of reality of critical realism. The study argues that the phenomenon of terrorism can be defined with an ontological approach. In this direction, the study aims to contribute to the unity of science and literature in order to establish a partnership in the definition of terrorism.

Ghevond Alishan's Literary Activity Through the Light of Russian

The history of Russian-Armenian literary relationships is one of the brightest and most significant events of the time. It undoubtedly enhanced the mutual cultural heritage and left a profound mark on the worldview, moral and aesthetic values of Armenian and Russian writers, translators, and literary critics. Since the beginning of the 20th-century Armenian culture, mainly Armenian literature, aroused great interest among such outstanding classics, as M. Gorky, V. Bryusov, A. Blok, O. Mandelstam, A. Bely, A. Akhmatova and others who not only appreciated its aesthetic and stylistic texture but also embarked on the laborious work of translating its best achievements into Russian. In this sense, the anthology "The Poetry of Armenia from Ancient Times to the Present" in 1916 can be considered a significant cultural event. It was edited by Valery Bryusov, who also wrote the introductory part of the work. The publication was carried out with M. Gorky's direct assistance and support. It should be noted that many Russian translations done by V. Bryusov and A. Blok are still brilliant samples of the artistic heritage of translation. The present work focuses on the evaluations and interpretations of Russian critics (V. Bryusov, Y. Veselovsky) of the creative heritage of Gh. Alishan, his poetic individuality and the influence on the development of the literary process of that time. It also reveals the role of Russian poets, translators and literary critics in promoting the publication and popularization of Bryusov's anthology as a significant cultural event of the time. The section of the anthology "Poetry of Western Armenians" includes the most famous poems of Gh. Alishan, M. Peshiktashlyan, P. Duryan, Sipil, L. Shant, and others are parallelly illustrated by the excellent translations of V. Bryusov, S. Shervinsky, V. Khodasevich, K. Balmont, S. Bobrov and others. The scientific research has shown that among Russian poets and translators, Bryusov was one of the first interested in Gh. Alishan's literary works and his bright poetic individuality. It can be explained by the fact that Alishan was a well-known representative of Western Armenian poetry and a comprehensive creator of his time, a man with encyclopedic knowledge. In addition, he was a historian, philosopher, translator, philosopher, geographer who devoted his whole life to science and enlightenment. Bryusov was also a gifted man. He had a poetic talent; he contributed to improving the Russian dialect, elevating it to a new, higher level. Consequently, there are many common features between Bryusov and Alishan. These are the breadth of the intellectual range, brilliant knowledge of languages and world literature, devotion to scientific activities, profound love for their Motherland, its cultural values and the highest level of humanism. Undoubtedly, they were outstanding figures of their era who made a significant contribution to the development of culture, science and literature. This article is an attempt at a comprehensive study of the principles of the Russian translation theory used in the translation of Armenian literature, with particular reference to the poem "Hrazdan", an extract from Gh. Alishan's patriotic lyrics. The proficiency of Russian translators and the revelation of Armenian linguistic and national characteristics helped them interpret the linguo-stylistic peculiarities of the original and recreate their equivalent counterparts.

The Significance of the Production of Books at the Historical Trnava University to the Development of Science and Literature on the Territory of the Present-Day Slovakia from the Perspective of Research Conducted Over the Last Two Decades

Over the last two decades, there has been more comprehensive and focused research on old prints produced by the historical Jesuit Trnava University. It existed in Trnava between 1635 and 1777, when it was moved to Buda (today's Budapest, Hungary) by the monarch Maria Theresa. Thus the university influenced the educational level of the Hungarian population in the 17th and especially the 18th century, and became the centre of Baroque education in what is today Slovakia. The establishment and existence of Trnava University was of fundamental importance for the development of many scientific disciplines, which was further multiplied by the titles published by the Academic Printing House. The aim of this study is to highlight those aspects of the activities of the university and individuals that have contributed to a major breakthrough in scientific knowledge and at the same time have been the subject of partial or systematic research since 2000.

Useful Objects

Useful Objects: Museums, Science, and Literature in Nineteenth-Century America explores the debates that surrounded the development of American museums during the nineteenth century. Throughout this period, museums included a wide range of objects, from botanical and zoological specimens to antiquarian artifacts and technological models. Intended to promote “useful knowledge,” these collections generated broader discussions about how objects were selected, preserved, and classified. In guidebooks and periodicals, visitors described their experiences within museum galleries and marveled at the objects they encountered. And in fiction, essays, and poems, writers embraced the imaginative possibilities represented by collections and proposed alternative systems of arrangement. These conversations spanned spheres of American culture, raising deeper questions about how objects are valued—and who gets to decide. Combining literary criticism, the history of science, and museum studies, Useful Objects examines the dynamic and often fraught debates that emerged during a crucial period in the history of museums. As museums gradually transformed from encyclopedic cabinets to more specialized public institutions, many writers questioned who would have access to collections and the authority to interpret them. Throughout this period, they reflected on loss and preservation, raised concerns about the place of new ideas, and resisted increasingly fixed categories. These conversations extended beyond individual institutions, shaping broader debates about the scope and purpose of museums in American culture that continue to resonate today.