Canonical Texts Research Articles

Pre-9/11 Islamophobia: A Contrapuntal Reading of Don DeLillo’s Falling Man

Don DeLillo’s Falling Man reproduces the same Orientalist mantra of the Muslim terrorist. Although he is much celebrated for writing thrilling terrorism and assassination novels long before the 9/11 event, many critics situated his Falling Man within the 9/11 neo-Orientalist framework. This study argues that the 9/11 occurrence (while acknowledging its significance) is not the only trigger behind DeLillo’s representation of Muslims in his novel. As such, the study underscores DeLillo’s ideological inclinations by examining his records and the contextual circumstances that transpired before 9/11. By rereading Falling Man, this study situates the investigation within three parameters: the Iranian Revolution, the Rushdie affair and the Clash of Civilisations thesis, thus appropriating the novel within its Islamophobic implicature. Edward Said’s theory of contrapuntal reading, which urges a nonconventional reading of a canonical text, is employed as the theoretical underpinning of this study.

Exploration of Fear in the Pāli Canonical Texts: Contextualizing the Pandemic of Fear

Exploration of Fear in the Pāli Canonical Texts: Contextualizing the Pandemic of Fear

Exploring Buddhist Literature and Philosophical Counseling Techniques: A Pathway to Social and Cultural Resilience in Strengthening Asia

Buddhism, one of the most profound philosophical systems in Asia, has historically influenced the social, cultural, and intellectual fabric of many Asian societies. This study explores the literature of Buddhism and the techniques of Buddhist philosophical counseling, investigating their contemporary relevance and impact on strengthening the socio-cultural cohesion across Asia. The motivations behind this study stem from the need to understand how ancient wisdom can address modern-day challenges such as mental health crises, social fragmentation, and ethical dilemmas. By examining canonical Buddhist texts and contemporary interpretations, this research seeks to demonstrate how Buddhist teachings—particularly those related to mindfulness, compassion, and interdependence—can be applied through counseling practices to enhance individual well-being and foster collective harmony. The methodology involves a comprehensive review of Buddhist literature, along with qualitative analysis of case studies where Buddhist philosophical counseling has been effectively integrated into modern counseling practices in Asian contexts. The major conclusions indicate that Buddhist techniques offer a unique approach to counseling, emphasizing inner transformation and ethical living, which align with the core values of many Asian societies. This study holds significant implications, as it highlights how Buddhist counseling not only addresses individual psychological needs but also promotes social solidarity, cultural continuity, and regional unity in Asia, especially in times of globalization and rapid modernization. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of how ancient Buddhist philosophies can be effectively harnessed to address the contemporary issues facing Asia today, reinforcing both personal growth and collective resilience.

Reimagining the Classics: Feminist Perspectives on Canonical Texts

This paper explores feminist perspectives on canonical texts, reimagining classical literature through the lens of gender, power, and voice. “Canonical works have traditionally reflected patriarchal norms, often marginalizing or silencing female characters. Feminist literary criticism challenges these interpretations, offering new ways to understand these texts by reclaiming the voices of women and exposing the gendered structures embedded within them. Through the examination of key themes such as the male gaze, intersectionality, and the subversion of patriarchal norms, this paper seeks to demonstrate how feminist reinterpretations transform the reader's understanding of classical works. Case studies of iconic texts highlight how female characters are redefined, shifting from passive figures to empowered agents of change. The paper also considers the intersection of race, class, and gender in feminist critiques and how modern adaptations and retellings of canonical texts continue to challenge traditional narratives. By critically engaging with feminist theory and literature, this paper argues that these reimagined readings not only provide a more inclusive understanding of classical texts but also reveal their contemporary relevance in addressing issues of gender equality, empowerment, and social justice. This study contributes to feminist literary scholarship by deepening the dialogue between classical literature and feminist thought.

Poetry unveiled: Multimodality and aesthetic responses as a fresh approach to teaching and reading verse

AbstractIn secondary English classrooms, poetry is often a text that is least liked because it is viewed as being “inaccessible,” reserved for the elite, and/or too abstract. Part of the reason for this also lies in the traditional, colonial structures of introducing poetry such as relying on canonical texts and close reading analysis. Yet, outside of the classroom poetry is used in more accessible and engaging manners. With the advancements of technology, there also includes multimodal ways in which to read and write poetry that could be much more interesting for both educators and youth. This paper opens a discussion to consider multimodal and aesthetic responses to including poetry such as using digital apps like PhoneMe, a free accessible platform that allows users to post their written poems, record themselves reciting poems, and pin their poems directly on to an interactive digital map. The uniqueness of PhoneMe—a layered multimodal approach—can provide a more engaging way to teach and learn poetry.

Archtypology of the Figural Antagonist in Classical Fairy Tales and Other Culture-Forming Stories

The present study focuses on the semiotic profile of a literary character acting as a villain/antagonist (Propp) as one of the central factors of the existential problem situation (the de facto “originator” of problems), which represents a general theme in the folk fairy tales and/or culture-forming stories. The aim of this paper is neither to cover all the principles and manifestations of antagonists exhaustively, nor to present a complete typological description of antagonistic characters, but to cover those basic forms and most frequent or otherwise essential attributes that canonically standardize and significantly universalize the archetype of an antagonist in the selected range of narratives. The issue is approached from the perspective of literary theory (with an emphasis on the morphological, structural, and thematic analysis of the literary characters), and it is materially and argumentatively based on the representative sets of folklore and culture-forming narratives (Aarne-Thompson-Uther’s international catalog of fairy tale types, world myths, canonical texts, etc.), as well as on their national (Slovak) variants.

Rewriting the Heart Sutra: Buddhism and the (Geo)Politics of Symbols in Qiu Zhijie's Art

This article studies the Chinese artist Qiu Zhijie's (b. 1969) three experimental “rewrites” of the canonical text Heart Sutra and their geopolitical connotations within and beyond China. Examining Qiu's copious writings as well as curatorial and artistic practices over a decade, the article shows how the artist's evolving views of Buddhism have triggered, justified, and added nuances to his shifting positions in art and politics, including assertions of “native” identity and aesthetics, pursuits of non-elitist art and “folk” wisdom, and ambivalent takes on cultural colonialism. To contextualize Qiu's Buddhist-affiliated art, the article also traces how the modernized versions of Buddhism entangled with avant-garde art and politics in the postwar era, and how concepts like authenticity and cultural influence claimed not only aesthetic and thus market value, but also territorial ambitions. The citation of Buddhist doctrines and practices, the article argues, enabled Qiu to present his aesthetic maneuvers as ostensibly apolitical and hence more powerful as embodied ideologies. The artworks create “fragile” yet potent symbols of geopolitical connections that serve the discourse of a Sinocentric world, where China shares roots with “peripheries” such as Taiwan and Tibet and draws its soft power from a collectively created yet mystical and singular identity.

Bridging the Gap Between Sīla and Samādhi: The Role of Mindfulness in Pre-Meditative Practice

This article explores the dynamic aspect of sīla, which entails divergent constructions of the moral practice in the schemes of the path in the Pāli canonical and post-canonical texts. In early Buddhist tradition, sīla is usually defined as the moral discipline consisting of three factors of the Eightfold Path (Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood), corresponding with varied lists of precepts applied to different agents. In addition to that partial understanding, this paper aspires to enrich the concept of sīla that goes beyond mere observance of precepts and includes practices related to the extended category of mindfulness. In the advanced stages of the path, mindfulness is usually incorporated with samādhi (concentration) to access deep meditative states. Nonetheless, the different interpretations of the path imply that some features of mindfulness practice have an active role in the prior mental dimension of moral development. Practices such as sati-sampajañña (mindfulness and clear comprehension), bhojane mattaññū (moderation in eating), jāgariyā (wakefulness), and santosa (contentment) all precede formal meditative development. However, they are included under the wide framework of mindfulness. Although these practices are not identified as ethical per se, they play a vital role in the practice of sīla and provide the necessary conditions for advanced mental development in formal meditative practice. As a result of these findings, this paper aspires to expand the notion of sīla as an integrated stage that combines bodily, verbal, and mental development, which comprises the pre-meditative practice.

«Литература в кавычках». Наследие Козьмы Пруткова и акционизм XX века

Kozma Prutkov is a collective pseudonym used by four writers: Alexey, Alexander, and Vladimir Zhemchuzhnikov, along with their cousin Alexei Tolstoy. In the 1850s and 1860s, they published humorous works under this name, creating a versatile character who parodied an official writer through fables, poems, plays, and aphorisms. Prutkov’s works first appeared in 1854 in the magazine Sovremennik, and later in Razvlechenije, Iskra, and Svistok. His fictional biography, elaborated in the book Biographical Information about Kozma Prutkov, included relatives and a position at the Ministry of Finance. After A.K. Tolstoy’s death, The Complete Works of Kozma Prutkov with a Portrait, Facsimile, and Biographical Information was published in 1884, quickly selling out and necessitating a second edition in 1885. The collection has been reprinted multiple times, with the 12th edition appearing in 1916. Prutkov’s persona created a broad literary universe, influencing a wide range of followers and imitators. This began with the satire of the 1860s, influencing figures like Shchedrin, Dostoevsky, and Vladimir Solovyov. Prutkov’s impact persisted through the Silver Age, the Oberiutes, and even into the cultural thaw and conceptualist movements of the 1980s-2000s, though these later periods are less documented. Prutkov's lasting presence in Russian culture is anchored by his body of work and the surrounding interpretations and commentary. His canonical texts are complemented by performative practices involving writers and academics, solidifying Prutkov’s satirical legacy.

Representing disability in queer fanfiction: Analyzing the role of whiteness and intimacy in depicting desirable disabled masculinity

Fanfiction is a media which blends canon texts with audience reimaginings, wherein fans take up existing narratives and make them their own. This paper analyzes story tags on the fanfiction site Archive of Our Own (AO3) and a case study of “Malex,” a notable relationship between two canonically disabled characters, to examine the salience of their disabilities in fanfiction which presents them as desirable romantic and/or sexual prospects. I discuss the desexualization of disabled people as well as the tendency for fanfiction to (re)produce norms of whiteness and maleness, and examine how Malex-focused stories are similar to and different from stories about characters who are not canonically in a relationship. Overall, I argue that fanfiction has the ability to queer and crip existing social narratives, depicting disability as a real and desirable part of diverse relationships. However, as it stands, whiteness, maleness, and the intimacy of perceived vulnerability remain the cornerstones of desirable disabilities.

Ann Yearsley and the Poetics and Politics of Breastfeeding

ABSTRACT This article argues that Ann Yearsley, a milkwoman, mother, and poet, not yet fully recovered into the British literary canon, challenges stereotypical representations of breastfeeding mothers created and perpetuated primarily by male authors in Romantic poetry, philosophy, and medical discourse. Her poem “To Mira, on the Care of Her Infant” depicts breastfeeding as a complex labor that requires skill, intelligence, empathy, and discipline. In this poem, Yearsley rejects the arguments of Romantic writers such as William Wordsworth, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and William Cadogan, who depict nursing mothers as passive vessels of milk or substitutes for a nurturing “mother nature.” I further locate Yearsley in rich networks of subscribers, printers, and periodicals adjacent to canon authors and texts. Thinking particularly about the conventions of epic and georgic forms, and their relationship to nationalism, labor, and motherhood, I ultimately show how Yearsley recasts the nursing mother as a subject rather than an object.

Pericles VR: towards pedagogical innovation through gamified adaptation of classic literature

ABSTRACT Our paper seeks to investigate how mediation using emerging technologies can increase student engagement within the context of teaching English Literature in Singapore. Through a discussion of our ongoing project to create an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Pericles, Prince of Tyre as an animated game in virtual reality, we focus upon the interdependencies between narrative content, style of visualization and interactive engagement to demonstrate the potential of fully immersive media in an educational context. Pericles is one of Shakespeare’s lesser-known plays: in five acts, it tells the dramatic story of a family separated at sea and reunited by fate. Our findings will highlight the opportunities that works of Shakespeare that fall outside the group of texts commonly studied offer for innovation within the classroom, as well as the benefits of taking a practice-led approach to research that draws together Shakespeare scholars, artists, researchers, and technical developers to adopt a playful yet meaningful approach towards educating secondary-level students. Most importantly, however, we will focus on demonstrating how our adaptation facilitates conclusions regarding employing animated immersive media for novel ways of teaching “boring”, complex, canonical literary texts. We suggest our adaptation prompts a reconsideration of means of student engagement for classical literature in general, and Shakespeare’s work in particular.

Stadtschmerz: Stories of Loss and Guilt in Times of Gentrification

This essay detects a genre of non-fiction, which it coins as Stadtschmerz. In this genre, middle class residents who experience alienation due to gentrification turn this experience into stories of loss and guilt (for being the target group of gentrification). This essay explores four canonical texts of Stadtschmerz from the mid-19th century to the present; the authors explore the gentrifying city as flâneurs and report on their findings in a feuilleton. As such, the essay shows how through expressing Stadtschmerz the middle-class attempts to cope with the making of the middle-class city. In this way, Stadtschmerz neutralizes the positionality of the writer and his readership within processes of gentrification. Furthermore, it offers readers voyeurism into the lives of the displaced lower classes. Lastly, Stadtschmerz processes middle-class anxiety amid gentrification. A deconstructive analysis of Stadtschmerz tells us that the experience of gentrification is above all a hot topic for the middle-class itself.

Grammatical Interpretations in the Udāna Aṭṭhakathā by Ᾱcariya Dhammapāla: A Critical Analysis

This research aims to explore the grammatical interpretations found in in the Udāna Aṭṭhakathā, a commentary attributed to Ᾱcariya Dhammapāla. The Udāna Aṭṭhakathā represents a significant work within Theravāda Buddhism. Ᾱcariya Dhammapāla, following the Mahāvihāra tradition, wrote the commentary on Udāna, by giving more information and elucidation of words with grammatical interpretation. Through this library research, this research investigates the methodology utilized by Ᾱcariya Dhammapāla in his commentaries. It highlights his method to follow the traditional grammatical rules while providing an interpretation of the canonical texts. The study draws upon primary and secondary sources to investigate Ᾱcariya Dhammapāla's approach to grammatical interpretation. Pāli literature including canon and commentaries are considered as the primary sources. While, secondary sources represented by books, journals, articles and previous research related to the topic. As results, this research provides deep understanding on the Ᾱcariya Dhammapāla's commentary, his methodology in writing the commentary and the grammatical interpretations in his commentary.

Tibetan Buddhism: artistic, literary, and social legacy

Since the 7th century, Tibetan culture and society have been profoundly influenced by Buddhism. This paper aims to explore how Buddhism has shaped Tibetan aesthetics, music, literature, and social structures and to understand its enduring role in Tibetan identity and history. Employing a qualitative research methodology that includes historical analysis, textual interpretation, and ethnographic studies, the paper investigates the development of a unique Tibetan aesthetic tradition, the establishment of monasteries and the monastic system, and the translation and creation of Buddhist texts. Findings reveal that Buddhism has significantly impacted Tibetan art by fostering the creation of intricate religious art forms like thangkas and mandalas, which are central to Tibetan Buddhist practice and reflect a profound spiritual connection between art and religion. The influence of Buddhism on Tibetan literature is evident in the rich body of original, translated, and adapted texts that have shaped Tibetan literary culture and transmitted Buddhist values and philosophies. Furthermore, Buddhism's centrality in Tibetan society is underscored by the establishment of monasteries and the monastic system, which have been pivotal in preserving Tibetan heritage and culture, providing essential services, and acting as beacons of learning and compassion within the community. The paper recommends further research into the specific ways Buddhist philosophy has influenced Tibetan art and music, the impact of various Buddhist canonical texts on Tibetan literature, and the continuing influence of Buddhism on modern Tibetan society.

Interpreting Confucianism in Chinese Philosophical Context with Qualia Structure

Chinese philosophy understood through the key philosophical terms has been made familiar to Western readers by first “Christianizing” it, and then by “Orientalizing” it. Many of new translations of these canonical texts are uncritically perpetuating the same formula for rendering key philosophical terms proffered in the earlier efforts at cultural translation. Those who are working with the Master of Confucianism in China reconsider the Confucian values and attempt to interpret Confucianism in Chinese philosophical context. This paper employs the qualia structure (Pustejovsky 1991) to verify the validation of three important Confucian concepts, rén (仁), lǐ(礼) and dé (德), of the total 92 Confucian conceptual terms from The Analects (Lúnyǚ,《论语》) and Tao-Te Ching (Dàodéjīng,《道德经》) as the case studies. The qualia structure investigates the semantic information of the core characters in both source and target text which can effectively clarify the correspondence in Chinese-English translation in that the equivalent semantic information can be regarded as the equivalent translation. Furthermore, through this research, misunderstandings can be avoided and foreigners will find it easy to understand Chinese culture.

Law in the Buddhist Tradition in Ancient Indian Society

The Vinaya pitaka is the sacred literature of the Buddhists which contains the regulations for the outward life of the members of the Buddhist samgha - nearly the oldest, and probably the most influential, of all fraternities of monks. Unlike the primarily prescriptive Brahmanical law codes, the vinayas contain narrative portions, commentaries, and casuistries, albeit to different degree. 1Law in the Vinaya texts highlighted as - 1) a body of rules considered binding on a particular political or social unit, and the principle of justice underlying in it. 2) A code or canons of such rules. 3) Institutions and practices for the creation and application of such rules and for of disputes. 4) laws also include such other practices such as the social customs, practices and rules that constitute a form of social control for the maintenance of the groups. 5) Social manners, customary practices etiquette and general behaviors regulating silence, speech, interaction. The set of canonical law texts containing rules, descriptions, case studies, definitions, and punishments and some ancillary material that was used to regulate the samgha. 2The paper explores on how the laws were evolved, the process of making law, the need to make laws? How it regulated? The notion of society during the evolution of law? And in the society how the Buddhist tradition different or similar to the other traditions which existed in during the period? What were the political and economic conditions? Internal relations within the samgha? Law relates to Bhikkhus and law relates to Bhikkhunîs? The relation between laity and renouncers?

MUSICOLOGICAL-CULTURAL AND ARTISTIC-AESTHETIC ANALYSIS OF THE GENRE PALETTE OF CHURCH CHANTS ON THE EXAMPLE OF CANONICAL AND NON-CANONICAL WORKS

A comprehensive musicological and cultural cross-section of the specifics of the use of spiritual genres of sacred music during church services is carried out; the problem of the presence of canonical liturgical texts in these spiritual chants is highlighted; The specifics of the existence of the studied genres of sacred music with secular, non-canonical texts on church themes in the Orthodox tradition are determined. A musical-theoretical, artistic-aesthetic and lexical-phonetic analysis of the genre spectrum of sacred music of Ukrainian Orthodoxy, which crystallized over the centuries in church practice and still exists in Orthodox worship, is made. Among the main genres: spiritual Cant, Psalm, Monody, Spiritual Song, church prayer of ancient Ukrainian everyday melody, Canon. It is noted that Orthodox music in symbiosis with oral folk art influenced the formation of the entire genre and style palette of national music, nurtured the aesthetic culture of our people, contributed to the awareness of national identity by means of musical art.

R2P, the Imperial Critique, and Self-Determination: Recovering the Narrative of the Tlaxcaltecas

Abstract Scholars look to early modern canonical texts to understand the philosophical underpinnings of R2P. Meanwhile, critiques argue these origins couch Western imperial intentions. This article complicates the story by returning to a pivotal historical moment – the Spanish encounter with the Aztecs – to explore protective war from an overlooked angle: that of Spain’s indigenous allies, the Tlaxcaltecas. Despite being oppressed by the imperialistic Aztecs, canonical Western texts related to R2P and post-colonial critiques both elide the Tlaxcaltecas’ precarious agency – the rights and duties moulded by endemic structures of violence before, during, and after protective intervention – by problematically embracing simple binaries of European oppressor and indigenous oppressed. Restoring the Tlaxcaltecas to the story complicates tropes about imperial projections of force and the pervasive assumption in R2P discussions of the ‘innocent oppressed’. Our conclusions provide new perspective from which to view future Pillar 3 dilemmas by recognising that the protected sometimes have a bellicose role to play.

John Stuart Mill on the Suez Canal and the limits of self-defence

Abstract Michael Walzer's use of John Stuart Mill's A Few Words on Non-Intervention (1859) helped to inaugurate it as a canonical text of international theory. However, Walzer's use of the text was highly selective because he viewed the first half as a historically parochial discussion of British foreign policy, and his interest in the second was restricted to the passages in which Mill proposes principles of international morality to govern foreign military interventions to protect third parties. As a result, theorists tend to see those canonized passages as if through a glass darkly. Attention to the detail and context of Mill's first-half critique of Lord Palmerston's opposition to the Suez Canal project reveals that his discussion of purely protective intervention is embedded in a broader exploration of the limits of self-defence, including the moral permissibility of preventive military force and the use of protective interventions for defensive purposes. Moreover, reading the text holistically facilitates a refutation of some objections directed at it by Michael Doyle to the effect that Mill's conception of self-defence incorporates elements of aggression which makes it extremely dangerous when adapted for application to the contemporary world.