Embracing Darkness and Silence: A Cognitive Reading of Trauma in A Small Silence, by Jumoke Verissimo

The purpose of the present article is to discuss how A Small Silence (2019), by the Nigerian author Jumoke Verissimo, conjures up a provocative approach to traumatic memories. The tropes of silence and darkness—closely bound to the Nigerian context where power outages are frequent—are sensuously explored in evocative prose. Darkness is offered as a refuge against the blinding effect of light, and silence is oftentimes preferred to healing through narrativisation. Desire and Prof, the two main fictional characters, devise a peculiar dialogue of half-uttered and unspoken words—and reminiscences—that are arguably in tune with cognitive literary approaches to individual trauma. In addition, in this article an Oriental aesthetics is deployed to delineate the novel’s use of shadows and isolation. In contrast to classical trauma fiction, A Small Silence presents a less experimental literary narrative of individual trauma. At the same time, the novel rejects simplistic binaries such as trauma-health, dark-light, forgetfulness-memory and mind-body. Rather, it lingers in a space between individual healing and Nigeria’s intricate neocolonial circumstances.

Mythological Signification in Smetana’s Tábor and Blaník and its Implications on Personal Compositional Output

<p>The presented thesis is an examination of the mythology and literary narrative that is present within the two orchestral tone poems of Bedřich Smetana, Tábor and Blaník, and how ideas pertaining to the examination of Smetana’s compositions may be applied to my own compositional output. In my research, I propose potential source materials, and have a brief discussion about how literary narrative may be applied to musical narrative, particularly with compositions of the 19th century. In the analysis of Tábor and Blaník, I examine Smetana’s use of the chorale Kdož jsú Boží bojovníci and how he utilizes this chorale as the compositional foundation of both pieces, as well as looking at the musical elements and structure that combine to suggest narrative function being present within both compositions. The latter portion of my thesis contains an analysis of the compositions that I wrote throughout the course of my study that were inspired by, or were direct reflections of, issues and ideas that came up during the course of my research. All of my own compositions presented are based on ideas of mythology and the presence of a literary narrative. Accompanying this analysis, are copies of the scores of my compositions.</p>

Mythological Signification in Smetana’s Tábor and Blaník and its Implications on Personal Compositional Output

<p>The presented thesis is an examination of the mythology and literary narrative that is present within the two orchestral tone poems of Bedřich Smetana, Tábor and Blaník, and how ideas pertaining to the examination of Smetana’s compositions may be applied to my own compositional output. In my research, I propose potential source materials, and have a brief discussion about how literary narrative may be applied to musical narrative, particularly with compositions of the 19th century. In the analysis of Tábor and Blaník, I examine Smetana’s use of the chorale Kdož jsú Boží bojovníci and how he utilizes this chorale as the compositional foundation of both pieces, as well as looking at the musical elements and structure that combine to suggest narrative function being present within both compositions. The latter portion of my thesis contains an analysis of the compositions that I wrote throughout the course of my study that were inspired by, or were direct reflections of, issues and ideas that came up during the course of my research. All of my own compositions presented are based on ideas of mythology and the presence of a literary narrative. Accompanying this analysis, are copies of the scores of my compositions.</p>

The Science of Stories: Human History and the Narrative Philosophy of Science

<p>There is a pronounced tendency within contemporary philosophy of history to think of historical knowledge as something apart from the kind of knowledge generated in the sciences. This has given rise to a myriad of epistemological issues. For if historical knowledge is not related to the scientific, then what is it? By what logic does it proceed? How are historical conclusions justified? Although almost the entirety of contemporary philosophy of history has been dedicated to such questions, there has been little real and agreed upon progress. Rather than fire yet another salvo in this rhetorical war, however, this thesis wishes instead to examine what lies beneath the basic presumption of separatism which animates it. Part One examines several paradigmatic examples of twentieth century philosophy of history in order to identify the grounds by which their authors considered history fundamentally different in kind from the sciences. It is concluded that, in each case, the case for separatism fows from the pervasive assumption that any body of knowledge which might rightly be called a science can be recognised by its search for general laws of nature. As history does not seem to share this aim, it is therefore considered to be knowledge of a fundamentally different kind. This thesis terms this the "nomothetic assumption." Part Two argues that such nomothetic assumptions are not an accurate representation of either scientific theory or practice and therefore that any assumption of separatism based upon them is unsound. To do this, examples of acknowledged scientific problems from the biological and geological sciences which do not involve the use of general laws are examined, with the aim of discovering how these historical disciplines are able to do the work of explanation in their absence. They do so, it is concluded, through a mechanism of epistemic (as opposed to literary) narrative. Having thus identified how historical sciences proceed without making direct use of laws, Part Two then generalises this model of scientific narrative and shows how it can be used to model existing practices in human history. This conclusion has far-reaching consequences, for it brings a single definition, method, and logic of confirmation to all studies of the past – whether traditionally acknowledged as scientific or historical. Thus all historical enquiries proceed by a common logic and by a common method. This effectively and definitively places human history among the sciences, without the need for the kind of radical transformation past attempts to do this have required.</p>

The Science of Stories: Human History and the Narrative Philosophy of Science

<p>There is a pronounced tendency within contemporary philosophy of history to think of historical knowledge as something apart from the kind of knowledge generated in the sciences. This has given rise to a myriad of epistemological issues. For if historical knowledge is not related to the scientific, then what is it? By what logic does it proceed? How are historical conclusions justified? Although almost the entirety of contemporary philosophy of history has been dedicated to such questions, there has been little real and agreed upon progress. Rather than fire yet another salvo in this rhetorical war, however, this thesis wishes instead to examine what lies beneath the basic presumption of separatism which animates it. Part One examines several paradigmatic examples of twentieth century philosophy of history in order to identify the grounds by which their authors considered history fundamentally different in kind from the sciences. It is concluded that, in each case, the case for separatism fows from the pervasive assumption that any body of knowledge which might rightly be called a science can be recognised by its search for general laws of nature. As history does not seem to share this aim, it is therefore considered to be knowledge of a fundamentally different kind. This thesis terms this the "nomothetic assumption." Part Two argues that such nomothetic assumptions are not an accurate representation of either scientific theory or practice and therefore that any assumption of separatism based upon them is unsound. To do this, examples of acknowledged scientific problems from the biological and geological sciences which do not involve the use of general laws are examined, with the aim of discovering how these historical disciplines are able to do the work of explanation in their absence. They do so, it is concluded, through a mechanism of epistemic (as opposed to literary) narrative. Having thus identified how historical sciences proceed without making direct use of laws, Part Two then generalises this model of scientific narrative and shows how it can be used to model existing practices in human history. This conclusion has far-reaching consequences, for it brings a single definition, method, and logic of confirmation to all studies of the past – whether traditionally acknowledged as scientific or historical. Thus all historical enquiries proceed by a common logic and by a common method. This effectively and definitively places human history among the sciences, without the need for the kind of radical transformation past attempts to do this have required.</p>

Seeing through Someone Else's “I”

The author interrogates creative-critical writing assignments from an introductory literature course (ENG 125: Literary Narrative) for concerns about “truth,” arguing that writing and reflection, especially when informed by a theoretical vocabulary, alter the way students construct and understand both their own stories and the stories of others.

Tense Alternation in Japanese Literature: Translating Free Indirect Discourse and Focalization in Kashimada Maki’s Meido meguri

This paper examines the phenomenon of tense alternation in Japanese literary narrative, making specific reference to Kashimada Maki’s (鹿島田 真希) novella Meido meguri (冥途めぐり Touring the Land of the Dead, 2012) as a case study. It argues that tense alternation in sentence‑final predicative verbs should be regarded a stylistic technique that serves as an indicator of free indirect discourse and of focalization through a central character, and that it moreover establishes an opposition between external narration and internal focalization. It then illustrates how this dynamic is employed in Meido Meguri to create a contrast between a mode suggesting narrative distance and another suggesting mental interiority. This paper thus highlights a significant linguistic difference in the construction of free indirect discourse in Japanese and English narratives.

Teaching The Manifesto

In this article, we look at the genre of the manifesto and its possible uses in high school. First, we point out some basic characteristics of this type of text and link them to the idea of a “form of rebellion”. Second, we make a connection between teaching literature in school with teaching the literary events and facts as part of the so-called literary narrative, i.e., putting the phenomena into the larger framework of what is happening in the cultural context of the observed period. we propose a possible way of teaching the manifesto, based on an example of the aesthetico-theoretical work of Geo Milev, having in mind that the author has texts with the characteristics of a manifesto, not complete manifestos.

Realising potentials for arts-based sustainability science

In recent years, a profusion of methods, practices, and experiences has emerged in the interface between arts and sustainability science. Drawing from two strong currents within sustainability science, namely, the emphasis on transdisciplinary approaches and the need to move towards societal transformations, such hybrid approaches seemingly contribute with unique methods to sustainability research. Despite repeated claims from sustainability scientists about art’s role in sustainability transformations, joint analyses with artists and practitioners are still rare. We conveyed a collaborative and exploratory workshop with scientists, artists, and practitioners from the fields of education, public engagement, and activism to identify the potentials for arts-based sustainability research. Participants were invited to facilitate and trial various artistic practices from disciplines of performative, literary, narrative, audio-visual and plastic arts. In this paper, we present five key areas identified in the workshop, where arts-based methods can significantly contribute to sustainability research: embracing more-than-cognitive aspects of knowledge, improving communication, grappling with power dynamics, shifting relationships to nature, and facilitating futures visioning. Workshop participants also identified challenges related to power dynamics, tensions across paradigms, and implementation conditions, providing insights into how to leverage arts’ potential to respond to global environmental challenges while boosting societal transformations. We then discuss research questions identified that address challenges and limitations for arts-based research in sustainability. Overall, these results suggest there are yet untapped resources and experiences within the field of arts-based sustainability science. (Audio-visual abstract available on S1)