My Father's Dreams

Kara Abdolmaleki provides an English translation of the short Story “My Father’s Dreams” by the well-known Iranian writer Gholamhosein Saedi and a biographical introduction.

Truth, Violence, and Domestic Space: Contesting Patriarchal Ontology in José Triana’s "La noche de los asesinos" and Ariel Dorfman’s "La muerte y la doncella"

This paper analyzes the staging of domestic space and gender reversals in José Triana's La noche de los asesinos and Ariel Dorfman's La muerte y la doncella. Both aspects indicate the intersection between space and identity, especially in regards to the enforcement of patriarchal order. Although differing in their political contexts, both plays explore the oppression and containment of fixed gender and spatial values under authoritarian regimes and how such repression leads to a reversal of gender identities and the emergence of liminal spaces.

Review of Franco Moretti's Distant Reading

Review of Franco Moretti's Distant Reading

Metaphoric Recurrences of Dreamlike Imagery in M. Khvylovy’s “My Self (Romantica)” and N. Gogol’s “Diary of a Madman”

Delusional states such as madness and hallucination are traditionally viewed as mental disorders characterized by a chaotic activity or as an experience in which something is perceived as true but is not real. In a literary discourse, madness and hallucination can be viewed as analogous to metaphoric perception of reality. Primarily, due to the fact that the way protagonists think and see things shifts from accepted societal norms to unaccountable patterns of behavior.In this article I approach madness and hallucination as dreamlike states of mind and follow George Lakoff’s belief that everyday abstract concepts like time, change, causation, and purpose appear to be metaphorical (1). From this point, I explore the narrative of madness and hallucination through the metaphoric recurrences of dreamlike imagery in Nikolai Gogol’s “Diary of a Madman” and Mykola Khvylovy’s “My Self (Romantica).”I suggest that both stories present situations of crisis, in which the characters appear on the edge of mental breakdown and thus experience the dreamlike states. Symbolically, the recurrent images that appear in the stories are connected to the idea of nationhood and social pressures within imperial Russia (1835) in “Diary of a Madman” and to the Communist Party ideology during its early rule in Ukraine (approximately 1920s-1930s) in “Myself (Romantica).” Therefore, by depicting the progression of their protagonists’ mental disorders, the writers reveal the truth about social and political struggles of their times

Differences and Similarities in Attitudes towards Intellectual and Visual Culture within the Ukrainian-Canadian Community in Edmonton, Alberta

Ukrainian-Canadians are a relatively well-established group in Canada. This paper draws on data gathered from ten interviews about ethnic identity discourses which I conducted with new and established members of the Ukrainian-Canadian community in Edmonton, Alberta. Using critical discourse analysis, I investigate the responses to nine of the original thirty-seven interview questions, which included two ranking questions; these questions inquired about participants’ opinions and evaluations of [Ukrainian] literature, language, music and important “kinds” and aspects of culture. Responses exposed some of the similarities and differences in attitudes the two groups held towards intellectual and visual culture, highlighting the evolving nature of this community, and providing detail that enhances understanding of these attitudes. I present key arguments as to why these similarities and differences may, at least in part, correlate to the unique socio-cultural environments in which each group has been developing culture since Ukraine’s Independence. In particular, I posit that “the linguistic factor” (a term I use to summarize the interconnected influence that language, literature, and linguistic ability have on each other) is one of the most salient forces in shaping and informing these similarities and differences in attitudes towards intellectual and visual culture.

Instances of Repair in Oral Exam Settings

What started off as a field of interest in studies revolving around Conversation Analysis in the late 1970s (Sacks et al.), has experienced an increasing interest in research on second language learning in institutional settings – repair. Many studies have found that repair is not exclusively targeted at error correction but has been shown to fulfill discourse-related functions as well (e.g. Liebscher and Dailey-O’Cain; Razfar). However, despite its crucial role in institutional settings, assessment situations have been largely neglected in this research. This study aims to fill this gap. It examines how repair is done amongst the instructor and beginner students of German during oral exams. The instances of repair are categorized as self- or other-initiated self-repair (Schegloff et al.). Self-initiated repair is described following the categories identified by Levelt. Nine beginner learners of German, who have previously shown different levels of learning success, were video-recorded during their oral exams. Using conversational analyst methods, this study aims at identifying 1) What forms of repair occur and which functions they fulfil, and 2) How successful repairs are depending on the learners’ level of success. While self-initiated self-repair and error corrections are the most dominant form, the findings also indicate that the oral exam setting elicits economic and pragmatic functions as well and further sharpens the learners’ self-perception of their own performance depending on their success level, which influences the ability to spot and repair trouble sources. Pedagogical implications of these findings will be discussed.

Five Villains

Houssem Ben Lazreg provides an English translation of the poem “Five Villains” by the Iraqi poet Ahmed Matta, as well as a commentary that introduces the poet and explains the cultural and political references in the poem.

Rebel Girl and the Wrecking Ball – The Cruel Optimism of Empowerment and the Revival of Feminism in Contemporary Popular Music

In this article, I explore ways in which contemporary two female artists convey their individual feminist agenda through their artistic expression. The juxtaposition of two allegedly ideologically opposed cultural products—Miley Cyrus’ video for her song “Wrecking Ball” and a simultaneously released video by former Riot Grrrl activist Kathleen Hanna—will allow me to explore the mechanics of Lauren Berlant’s cruel optimism with respect to claims of empowerment in art. In addition, a revisit of the media scandal surrounding Cyrus’ videos opens pathways into the delineation of a continuum within feminist art that will result in a plea for the re-appropriation of punk feminist DIY practices for the present of the 2010s.

Rome and its Ukrainian Soul: Fragments of Ukraine in Gogol’s Rim

Gogol’s persona is still nowadays at the centre of a debate, which aims to place him either within the Russian or Ukrainian borders. His Russian contemporary scholars - such as Belinsky - while building a national literature, placed Gogol’ into their literary canon. Today, instead, scholars such as Bojanowska are trying to deconstruct the Russian imperialist discourse, in order to affirm a new awareness on Gogol’s writings and personal inclination. Although the two main currents exclude one another, they both trace a moment in Gogol’s production when the author seems to detach himself from his Ukrainianness.Nevertheless, the debate on Gogol’s persona does not end in the Russian, Ukrainian, and North American context. Further studies, which are less concerned about the nationalistic discourse or postcolonial theories, provide other interpretations of the matter. For instance, in her preface to the Italian translation of Rome, Giuliani traces a topographic triangle in the Gogolian literature. The summits are represented by three main places and the correspondent literary works: Ukraine (Mirgorod, 1835), Saint Petersburg (Nevsky Prospekt, 1835), and Rome (Rome, 1842). At the same time, these three places trace Gogol’s literary growth: Ukraine is seen as his beloved homeland, Saint Petersburg as the place where he started his career, and Rome as the city where his spirit finally found peace.Following these steps, the present work aims to analyze the fragment Rome, in order to trace its Ukrainian elements by comparing it to the stories in the collection Evening from a Farm Near Dikanka.