Spectral theory of approximate lattices in nilpotent Lie groups

We consider approximate lattices in nilpotent Lie groups. With every such approximate lattice one can associate a hull dynamical system and, to every invariant measure of this system, a corresponding unitary representation. Our results concern both the spectral theory of the representation and the topological dynamics of the system. On the spectral side we construct explicit eigenfunctions for a large collection of central characters using weighted periodization against a twisted fiber density function. We construct this density function by establishing a parametric version of the Bombieri–Taylor conjecture and apply our results to locate high-intensity Bragg peaks in the central diffraction of an approximate lattice. On the topological side we show that under some mild regularity conditions the hull of an approximate lattice admits a sequence of continuous horizontal factors, where the final horizontal factor is abelian and each intermediate factor corresponds to a central extension. We apply this to extend theorems of Meyer and Dani–Navada concerning number-theoretic properties of Meyer sets to the nilpotent setting.

Portrayals of gender and identity in the soundtrack of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (CD Projekt Red, 2019) is an award-winning role-playing video game (RPG); the third instalment of The Witcher game series inspired by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski’s fantasy novels. Centring upon the protagonist Geralt of Rivia, The Witcher 3 has been praised for developing a complex, authentic, and immersive game environment that combines magic and fantasy elements within a broadly medieval setting. A central aspect of the game’s success is its soundtrack – the fusion of music, sound, and voice – which further contributes to building the game’s overall narrative and the complex construction of its central characters. This paper explores how The Witcher 3’s soundtrack constructs identity, focusing in particular on its use of neo-medievalist signifiers and its contrasting representations of masculinity and femininity. Neo-medievalist sounds are a central concept in building the game’s identity; these sounds draw on folkloristic elements surrounding the choice of instrumentation and the recurrence of folk music throughout the game’s narrative, thus increasing the player’s immersion within The Witcher 3’s world. Regarding gender, female vocalisations are used within the soundtrack to add depth and emotion to male characters – particularly Geralt of Rivia, who due to his mutations lacks in conventional emotional capabilities. Despite the inclusion and emphasis of female voices on the soundtrack, the placement of women in influential roles is limited through other musical scoring techniques, which effectively reduces the agency of these characters, thus suggesting an imbalanced treatment towards gender. Through exploring these aspects, I argue that the soundtrack is a crucial part of how gender and identity are constructed throughout The Witcher 3, further exploring how these elements affect the player’s overall in-game immersion.

Telling the Stories of Left-behind Children in China

The issue of “left-behind children” in China has been widely recognized as a significant social problem, as more than 61 million children are living in villages away from their parents, who have migrated to large cities to seek employment opportunities. There is a very limited number of media products depicting left-behind children in rural China as central characters with individual personalities. As Stuart Hall states, representation is the process or channel or medium through which meanings are both created and reified. This paper analyzes how stories and voices of this underprivileged group are presented in recent years to the public in different non-fictional media forms, particularly documentary films. Through content analysis of selected samples, the paper examines how narratives are weaved about the lives and emotions of these children, and how the stories make sense of their family experiences. The paper discusses the power of digital narratives and visual-based expressions. It also examines how the products of representation are mediated by different types of storytellers, who are often motivated by a sense of social engagement to raise awareness about the plight of these children to appeal for support but addresses the issue from their specific perspectives. Image Credit: Still of Children at a Village School by Nengjie Jiang

ANDROGYNOUS MOTIVES IN LENA ELTANG’S NOVEL “STONE MAPLES” (“KAMENNYE KLEYNY”)

Введение. Образ андрогина, начиная с «Пира» Платона, служит осмыслению темы любви, проблемы поиска антропологической цельности. Широкую палитру вариантов осмысления андрогинности дает модернистская литература рубежа ХIX–ХХ вв., в традиции которой вписывается творчество современного писателя Лены Элтанг. Цель – проанализировать воплощение мотива андрогина в романе Л. Элтанг «Каменные клены». Материал и методы. Работа М. Элиаде «Мефистофель и Андрогин, или Тайна целостности», исследования образа андрогина в литературе Серебряного века и философии И. А. Едошиной, Е. С. Турутиной, Н. А. Копыловой, труды Б. М. Гаспарова и И. В. Силантьева о мотивном анализе. Результаты и обсуждение. В «Каменных кленах» андрогинные мотивы проявлены в коллизиях взаимоотношений центральных персонажей Саши Сонли и Луэллина Элдерберри, сводных сестер Саши и Эдны, представлены в нескольких вариантах, включая «интерсексуальные переодевания» (М. Элиаде), жертвоприношение. Обретение любви, обеспечивающее антропологическую и онтологическую полноту бытия, сопряжено с преодолением трудностей (мотивы прохождения испытаний, разгадывания загадок, выбор суженого). Соединение двух людей в гармоничное целое передано через метафорические образы женщины и мужчины: «автор – читатель», «хозяйка гостиницы – постоялец». Л. Элтанг принципиально дистанцируется от телесной семантики мотива андрогина, актуализируя его символический смысл: соединение со второй половиной трактуется как встреча автора со своим читателем, готовым стать соавтором. Заключение. Роман Лены Элтанг «Каменные клены» вписывается в традиционную, начиная с Античности, интерпретацию образа андрогина, выражающего идею «реинтеграции противоположностей» (М. Элиаде), преодоления одиночества, обретения антропологической и онтологической полноты и целостности личности. Андрогинные мотивы раскрывают в романе темы любви и творчества. Обретение Другого и соединение с ним, подобное по сути андрогинности, дает центральным персонажам романа смысл существования. Introduction. Lena Eltang’s novel “Stone Maples” fits into the traditional, since antiquity, interpretation of the androgynous image associated with the idea of “reintegration of opposites” (M. Eliade), the problem of finding the Other to gain the anthropological and ontological completeness and integrity of the individual. The aim is to analyze the semantics of the androgynous motif in L. Eltang’s novel “Stone Maples”. The theoretical and methodological basis of the research is the work of M. Eliade “Mephistopheles and Androgynes”, the research of I. A. Edoshina, E. S. Turutina, N. A. Kopylova, devoted to the image of androgynes in the literature of the Silver Age and philosophy. Results and discussion. In “Stone Maples”, androgynous motifs are manifested in the conflicts between the central characters of Sasha Sonley and Llewellyn Elderberry, the half-sisters of Sasha and Edna. Androgynous motifs are presented in several versions: homosexual attraction, “intersex disguises”, sacrifice, as well as through specific metaphors of connecting two people into a harmonious whole “author-reader”, “hotel hostess-guest”. Finding love, which provides the anthropological and ontological completeness of being, is fraught with difficulties (motives for passing tests, solving riddles, choosing a betrothed). L. Eltang fundamentally distances hirself from the bodily semantics of the androgynous motif, actualizing its symbolic meaning: unity with the second half is interpreted as a meeting of the author with his reader, who is ready to become a co-author. Conclusion. Androgynous motifs reveal the themes of love and creativity in the novel. Only the acquisition of the Other gives the fullness and meaning of existence.

The Conception of the Formation of the Personality of the Heroes in the Novel by H. Böll ‘The Clown’ and the Novel by F. M. Dostoevsky ‘The Adolescent’: Creative Parallels

Through a comparative analysis of the images and conceptions of the formation of the personality of Hans Schnier and Arkady Dolgoruky, the paper reveals the signs of a literary dialogue between H. Böll and F. M. Dostoevsky in terms of disclosing the theme of upbringing in the novels ‘The Clown’ and ‘The Adolescent’. It was found that in both works the process of the formation of the characters and world views of the central characters is shown unevenly through the representation of the key moments of their biography which evoked a strong emotional response from the characters. In the above-mentioned novels, similar methods of psychologism are used: confession, recollection. At the same time, H. Böll endows his text with more acute social problems than F. M. Dostoevsky. His hero is categorical in his assessments and polemic in relation to the society around him, the morality of the majority of whose representatives he not only finds unacceptable, but also castigates. Based on this, we can conclude that H. Böll reconstructs the model of the hero’s personal development in the novel ‘The Clown’ by not only taking into account the traditions of the Russian classic author, but also in the context of sharp criticism of the realities of his contemporary society.

Darcy and Emma: Austen's Ironic Meditation on Gender

The central characters and plot lines of Emma are essentially those of Pride and Prejudice, retold from Darcy’s point of view with the genders of the characters reversed (men become women, women men). This whimsical antecedent accounts for why Emma may strike contemporary readers as uncommonly modern for an Austen heroine: She takes a lot of male privilege to herself, something that would have made her anomalous in her own day. The works of four writers and the reasons they likely influenced this gendered topsy-turvy are examined: Richardson, Fielding, Shakespeare, and the Reverend Fordyce.

Protagonists of War

Julián Romero, Sancho Dávila, Cristóbal de Mondragón, and Francisco de Valdés were prominent Spanish military commanders during the first decade of the Revolt in the Low Countries (1567–1577). Occupying key positions in this conflict, they featured as central characters in various war narratives and episodical descriptions of the events they were involved in, ranging from chronicles, poems, theatre plays, engravings, and songs to news pamphlets. To this day, they still figure as protagonists of historical novels: brave heroes in some, cruel oppressors in others. Yet personal, first-hand accounts also exist. Archival research into the letters written by these commanders now makes it possible to include their perspectives and the way they describe their own experiences. Looking through the eyes of four Spanish commanders, Protagonists of War provides the reader with an alternative reading of the Revolt, contrasting the subjective experiences of these protagonists with fictionalised perceptions.

Protagonists of War

Julián Romero, Sancho Dávila, Cristóbal de Mondragón, and Francisco de Valdés were prominent Spanish military commanders during the first decade of the Revolt in the Low Countries (1567–1577). Occupying key positions in this conflict, they featured as central characters in various war narratives and episodical descriptions of the events they were involved in, ranging from chronicles, poems, theatre plays, engravings, and songs to news pamphlets. To this day, they still figure as protagonists of historical novels: brave heroes in some, cruel oppressors in others. Yet personal, first-hand accounts also exist. Archival research into the letters written by these commanders now makes it possible to include their perspectives and the way they describe their own experiences. Looking through the eyes of four Spanish commanders, Protagonists of War provides the reader with an alternative reading of the Revolt, contrasting the subjective experiences of these protagonists with fictionalised perceptions.

“I Saw a Different Life. I Can't Stop Seeing It”: Perfectionist Visions in Revolutionary Road

In this article, I claim that Sam Mendes’ Revolutionary Road (2008) is a recent version of the film genre that Stanley Cavell calls the “melodrama of the unknown woman”. Accordingly, my discussion focuses on two key elements of that identification: the film's overriding dramatic and thematic emphasis on conversation, and the central characters’ relation to the wider social and political concerns of America.

Heroes, Villains, and Victims

This chapter explores the construction of dramaturgic characters in social movement narratives surrounding breast cancer. It contributes to developing a better understanding of the role of plotting and characterization in these social movement narratives by highlighting three primary functions. First, the authors elaborate on the functions of the plotting of the central characters of a social movement narrative and their emotional appeal, in contributing to mobilizing collective action as well as operating a disciplining tool for the biological citizen. Second, they shed light on the effects of the simplification versus complexification of the characterization of the villain on mobilizing the audience’s emotions. Finally, they discuss the role of the individualization and collectivization dynamics in the various social movement narratives in stabilizing and/or destabilizing certain political realities.